12489/You can check in...

You can check in...
Date of Scene:	24 November 2020
Location:	Fulham Hotel - Exterior, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Kitsune applies pressure on some crooks next door to Voodoo's hotel room. Punisher decides to intervene, as well as Cloak and Dagger, and things become violent.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Dagger, Punisher, Voodoo, Cloak

---

Shredder has posed:
    Rain isn't fun, but it's even less fun when it's cold outside. The old Fulham Hotel's electric light fizzles a little in the failing light of day, and the puddles shimmer with the distorted reflection in pothole filled parking lot. The area isn't known as the highest crime bed, despite the rundown nature, but then, that doesn't mean it's exempt from such things, either.

    Mike, the night clerk, sits with his phone out, oblivious to his surroundings, while a new Toyota Corolla, black, pulls into the parking lot. They pull up, and a Japanese woman with a rather traditional shimada mage hairstyle gets out of the back seat, opening her umbrella. The other three doors open to reveal larger figures, men, each carrying their own umbrella as they make their way to the steps. They've come and gone for a couple of days now, the room recently vacated next door to Voodoo seems to be the one they've rented. No significant noise, no parties, they've actually been rather considerate neighbors, even if they don't seem interested in talking much.

Dagger has posed:
Sometimes, you just need a shower and a warm bed to sleep in. With the rain coming down and the winter months moving in to make New York even colder, Dagger needed a warm shower, and just something to sleep in that wasn't a sleeping bag on a concrete floor. So, as usual, they 'hotel hop' and sneak in free rooms now and again. After taking a shower and throwing some clothes on, Tandy is currently looking out the window from one of the hotel rooms that they commandeered for the night.

Chewing on a breakfast sandwich that she put together, she watches the coming and goings out on the street and sidewalk, letting out a soft sigh to herself. "You know, Ty, when I was younger, we'd travel a lot and I spent almost half of my life in hotels. There was days that I would come home and not even remember what my bedroom looked like." She props her chin up in her hand, blowing some blonde hair away from her face.

Punisher has posed:
A few moments after the black Corella pulls in, a white non-descript van pulls in casually.

Of course, the van itself is anything but casual. With a 'casually' dressed Punisher and enough weapons to level a small army in the back, the war has come too the Fulham Hotel.

As he parks, the Punisher takes out a monocular, hiding it until he's sure the group has their back turned on him, and he brings up the device to get a visual confirmation of each, a silent photo taken of them being transmitted to Microchip's computer station elsewhere.

"Yep... that's her. Looks like she's got some dirty judges in the pocket." Punisher notes grimly. "Give me an ID for the others when you can." Punisher requests of Microchip as he waits for them to enter the building.

Voodoo has posed:
Coming into the lobby, Voodoo's in her boots, the black ankle length with the gold set purple stones, and jeans and a faded t-shirt, it was once host to a pattern but now...it's just faded into gray. Kind of reflects the sky outside as Voodoo steps into the doorway of her suite looking up and down the corridor. She's managed the enviable feat of stretching and not spilling coffee. It's a wonder she didn't just sleep next door, but that'd send the wrong message. So back to her own bed it was.

She is wearing, as of right about now, faded jeans, a t-shirt that once had a cat on it, and her ankle length boots. Because those were the first ones she came to, literally next to her bed. And yes, she can pull off bed hair and still have it cascade down her back too.

The unfamiliar minds pique her interest, and she sets about a quick mental scan of who is who, since new minds, Voodoo's on alert since she's not sure if they are friend or foe...and she's hunted by enough folks already

Cloak has posed:
Cloak doesn't generally need things like sheltered places to sleep, or running water, or beds; but Dagger does. And so he got her inside and is now sitting in one of the chairs in the corner of the room in his only other mode which is general inaction. With nothing on their plans but to relax tonight, the shadowy man is in a state of rest and quiet, likely lost in his own head until Tandy speaks.

"Not hotels for us, they cost money. Though there were a few winters we'd spend a few nights in shelters till the family made enough money to pay the gas and electric up enough to turn it back on. Thankfully not too many."

For now, the activities of criminals and criminal-hunters goes under his notice.

Shredder has posed:
    The Japanese woman makes her way to the first floor door, and one of the men open it. She may be linked to the Foot, but there's no files on this woman, not even a trace that she's ever existed. As for the others, one of them has a record, but it's sealed, Himato Shigeru. The other two are ghosts like the woman.

    For those who sense such things, though, the woman has a most distinct presence. Not human. Not...demon. Not really. But something from beyond the mortal realm to be certain. Despite her appearance, she is filled with tension and turmoil, though not about tonight. It's something deeper, far below the surface of emotions.

     Another car pulls up, this one is quite a bit flashier. Underlit by purple LEDs, a blue mustang comes gliding into the parking lot, carefully evading the potholes to pull up a few spaces away from the corolla. Two men get out of this one, not bothering with things such as umbrellas, an African American man and a white man, with matching buzzcuts, and similar bling, they hop out of the rain and under the shelter of the walk way, making their way toward the same door that the woman and her entourage entered.

Voodoo has posed:
That's....odd. Voodoo's getting some strange readings off of one of them outside the hotel. Which if anything, puts her more on alert. but she just stays put. To all intents and purposes, she's drinking coffee and relaxing. That's the image she wants to project to everyone. Well, now more people have showed up, and now Priss has a feeling she knows vaguely what the woman with the emotional turmoil is...she's very much on alert now. Wonderful...so out of her doorway she goes locking it behind her, though really, who is going to break in and steal her costumes?

The locking is for peace of mind, as Voodoo steps toward the lobby. All the while focusing her telepathy exclusively on those who are under the walkway, since she's fairly sure the other hotel residents are harmless. She's not bothered them really...though she does have coffee in hand still. And if any telepaths are around, her doing mental scans is like setting off a psychic, walking, air raid siren, for the second time in as many minutes. Good job, Voodoo...broadcast your location loud and clear. If anyone wants to find her and can follow the telepathic energy, she's got a telepathic flashing neon sign over her head, in other words.

Punisher has posed:
Another group? They get snapshotted too by that monocular. Is that all of them? Punisher waits a few more seconds for anyone else coming to play now.

Shredder has posed:
    The two newcomes stop outside the door. "She's not gonna be happy bruh, with Meredith sayin' she didn't wanna come. She be real spazzed about that Kitsune lady," the darker skinned one says to the other.
    "Man, it is what it is, we just tell her she's sick or somethin', it'll be fine, I mean, what's she gonna do? We can't make her just appear or nothin'?"
    Yeah-yeah, but she ain't gonna be happy, I'm tellin' you."
    The white guy knocks on the door, which is promptly answered. They disappear inside.

    "Where is Meredith?" Kitsune asks in a calm but commanding tone.
    "She's uh, not feelin' it tonight, you know how things get, weather messin' with her," says the white guy, motioning across his face in illustration. "But we're here, got the regular tribute and all," he pulls from his jacket a few thick stacks of bills.

    "I didn't come here to pick up money," Kitsune says, "We have many people who can do that. I came to speak with Meredith."

    The exchange goes back and forth a few times filled with excuses and promises for her to arrive next time. It doesn't go well, though. Suddenly, the door swings back open to the room, and the two men are backpedaling out. "We'll get her, well get her!" the black man promises. "Get her right now."

    "You are lying," Kitsune says, following them out the door with a certain venom in her calm voice. The men with Kitsune file outside with her.

    "Look look," the white man declares, "We're outside, y'know, we don't all want a mess people will have questions, right? Don't want to tarnish your name, we aren't lookin' for that!"

    The men stand in the rain. Kitsune tilts her head to one side, there is a flash of her eyes red, and suddenly the two draw their guns. At each other?

    "Yes, it would be a pity if the neighborhood had to hear of two low-lifes shooting each other in a hotel parking lot, wouldn't it?" she asks.

Dagger has posed:
As she stares out the window, Tandy squints her eyes at the argument down below that echos upwards. She looks over towards Tyrone and clears her throat. "Something is going on down there. Argument. I heard something about people shootin each other up."

Letting out a sigh, she zips her hoodie up a bit, then pulls her hood over her head.

"Let's teleport down there and put some eyes on it. It's probably nothing, but if these idiots do pull guns, we should do something about it."

Cloak has posed:
Having settled back into a thoughtful quiet, Cloak turns his head at the muffled noises and Tandy's shifted attentions.

"Probably not. People shoot each other all of the time, but, there's nothing good on tv anyway. Let's see what's going on."

He gets up from where he was sitting and sweeps up his partner in the folds of his cloak. In a hushed noise of fabric and displaced air, the pair reappear atop the roof of the building across from the hotel. Cloak keeps one arm out as he releases Dagger, both muffling her light and keeping off the rain.

Punisher has posed:
Watching through the monocular, the Punisher opens his other eye to get a better idea of the parking lot... only to see the two aiming pistols at each other. A pair of thugs shooting each other? Just saves him the trouble. It's that Kitsune person that has his attention.

Mind control is not something trivial to deal with.... time for some recon.

Punisher waits, turning on the shotgun mic in the van to hear the conversation.

Voodoo has posed:
Hearing the conversation, Voodoo slips out the door quietly without her costume on. So jeans, boots, half top is still her attire slipping into the lot out the door by her suite. Which puts her near the group, but the door opening isn't exactly subtle, or Voodoo coming out into the rain either. Which puts her near them.

Kitsune is so getting it. She's not liking both the pistol waving thugs, and it dawns on her a moment after stepping out, she's in the sights of anyone who has eyes on the lot. On the other hand, she grows fangs and claws, her eyes blazing with anger at Kitsune as she fires off a mental blast at Kitsune. Mostly to break the hold she's got on those two...and yes the claws and fangs making her look scarier is a bonus too.

Shredder has posed:
    Despite what Kitsune is, both the appearance and sudden attack from Voodoo catch her quite off guard, and the two men drop their guns, tossing them to the ground, looking at each other, and looking at the guns. They take the opportunity to bolt. They don't know if they'll make it, but they certainly won't survive if they stick around. They start running through the rain toward their car.
    The countenance of Kitsune is decidedly shaken, a sneer of her lip revealing a slight transformation of her own. Her teeth look decidedly more canine than they did a moment ago. "Get her," she snarls, and the umbrellas the bodyguards were holding a moment ago are suddenly shed, revealing polished blades beneath them. Two of them burst forth with remarkable form and speed. These are not your average thugs. One blade comes overhead, while the second darts forward to Voodoo's side, twisting to swing a foot into a sweep at the rear of her ankles.

Dagger has posed:
"At least this isn't boring." Tandy says as she peeks out from behind Cloak's long flowing robes. She gives a furrow of her brow as the umbrellas become blades. From their vantage point and unseen for now, she summons a trio of light blades in her palm, then whisks them hard as she uses her control over them to guide to their targets.

If they strike, they'll be stunned for few moments, feeling a tased like sting.

Punisher has posed:
When it becomes clear the two are bolting for a car, the Punisher takes up an air pistol, aims, and fires a tracker into the space between the bumper and the car itself silently.

Killing them now won't give him the information he needs.. and he can always kill them later.

Then, Punisher's attention is on the group once more.

Well, nothing for it, now.

Taking an M4 and a pair of pistols along with a shotgun, Punisher equips himself before he programs the autodrive AI to *RAM* Kitsune right into the hotel wall, if it can. The Battle Van will be driving by AI, so no one to mind control.

Meanwhile, the Punisher opens the door, and starts to dash into cover as he works on making his way over to where the Battle Van will be trying to pin Kitsune against the wall.

If nothing else, a large, armored van racing towards her on smart autodrive will get her attention.

Cloak has posed:
"No, it isn't. I have no idea who these people are - except him." Cloak begins to say before his eyes catch the bolting Punisher from his vantage point. "But the question is, who are they?"

He doesn't leap into motion yet. Dagger's got her goals, and he's got his which is to protect his partner. He remains close to Dagger for the time being, shielding her behind his shadowy presence and taking the opportunity to study the combatants below to do a little recon of his own.

"When you're ready." He says aside to Dagger, a simple acknowledgement that he's ready to move when she wants to.

Voodoo has posed:
Voodoo leaps up and back when the blades and the foot sweep come at her, and she whistles. "Zealot, I'm over here" she shouts. Distraction? Yes. Unless Zealot decides to show up and join the fray, which would make Priss psychic. Well. More psychic. That whole distraction hinges on Kitsune even knowing who Zealot /is/ though as she rolls to her feet. Now she's away from the blades, well, she's not got a sword of her own. Claws however. Claws are good too, and there's that van, and the guy with enough guns to qualify as a walking armory...

So Voodoo stays still, just waiting.

Then, with her low end of superhuman speed, she pauses, and charges the two guards in a dead run, claws first. She's going to hate it if she gets stuck to a wall by claws, or bring chunks of wall with her, probably

Shredder has posed:
    The sound of the engine does catch Kitsune's attention, and she looks back, narrowing her eyes as the van comes careening toward her. Instead of dodging to the side she bursts forward with movement not seen from her previously, and leaps into the air at the van hands first. Before she makes contact, she materializes into a white fox, running up the windshield and over the vehicle as it slams into the hotel behind her, and lands on all fours on the other side.

    The final guard follows the attention of the van toward Punisher's approach. His hand goes to his pocket, "It is a trap," he declares, unaware that the interaction with two vigilantes is just happenstance. He flings a pair of smoke pellets in the direction of Frank to obscure his sight.

    The two that are engaged with Voodoo find themselves surprised as from behind they are struck with the stunning daggers, causing them both to be vulnerable as Voodoo connects with them, defenseless from Tandy's attack.

Dagger has posed:
"You see that? That girl turned into a fox. Mutant, maybe?" Tandy asks Tyrone as she summons another three blades between her knuckles. She eyes the Punisher's van, then looks back towards the ninja lady. She seems to have things well in hand for the moment.

For now, she just waits to see how the rest of this plays out as she keeps herself tucked within Cloak's folds. The Punisher most likely has the last guard and being that she still doesn't know what this is all about, she isn't looking to further intervene.

"I don't think anyone is normal in New York." She mutters to Ty.

Punisher has posed:
The distraction is more than enough for the Punisher to turn... and aim right at Kitsune *BANG BANG BANG* *BANG BANG BANG*. Three round bursts of stun rounds begin to pelt Kitsune from afar as the Punisher takes cover and moves between each burst.. or at least, he was about to, when that smoke bomb goes off. That has him switching targets to the asshole who threw it as he dashes across the parking lot for better vision. He's operating in guesstimates here; is that mind control line of sight based? Radius? He's about to find out.

In between bursts, the Punisher rapidly plants a shock trap on the ground from where he hunkers down once he finds a vantage. He's practically all but daring Kitsune to come after him...

And if she takes the bait, he has a surprise for her.

"Microchip, bring out the bomber drone. I don't know if I'm about to deal with a mentalist. If she gets me, keep the bitch occupied." Punisher barks over his commlink.

Cloak has posed:
"She could be anything." Cloak murmurs aside to Tandy with a considering frown on his face. Compared to the chaos below, he's a figure of calm, but then he doesn't have any particular horse in this race to be concerned with.

"No one is normal, not anymore. I am curious what this is about." He leans forward so he can get a better look over the edge of the building and down to the burgeoning chaos below. "I'm sure the cops will be here soon, they're all making enough noise. Who do you want to tail when they all bolt for cover?"

Voodoo has posed:
Voodoo's stake in this is extremely simple. That is her hotel suite in there...

Oh and there's a fox. Anyone bother to call Aninal Control now and report that? That is Priss's overriding thought as she fires another mental blast at the fox...thing...

Then she turns on her toes with dancer like grace and makes sure the guards are out of the fight, no sense in leaving a threat capable of hurting her, but hey, connecting with them and being stunned and clawed, kind of dealt with that.

Now to deal with the fox, not foxy, lady. Big, big difference there in her book as Voodoo's off and, literally, running after the fox. That last guard is a problem, but hopefully someone else can deal with him, Voodoo's focused on the fox. It's probably a good thing she's not on Halo Corp's books for /this/ mess, though really, she's considering it the more the fight goes on, she's considering it. The lack, currently, of wailing sirens has her worried, too come to think of it.

Shredder has posed:
    he fox disappears from sight, seemingly unconcerned as Punisher opens fire on her. The mental blast gets her attention, though, and she suddenly appears near Voodoo. Did she teleport? No, maybe she was already there, there seems to be a certain illusory element about her, one that makes it difficult to distinguish if she's really there or not. "Zealot," she echoes, making no offensive gestures. It's as if the voice is in her head, for the lips don't move. "I haven't seen you attempt to intervene with us before. Who are you?"

    Meanwhile, Tyrone and Tandy have managed to have less attention as the remaining Foot elite is occupied with the Punisher. He disappears into the cloud of smoke as Frank relocates, and an egg shaped device hurtles toward him, bursting on his cover. It releases a white powder, metsubushi into the air. A rather painful version of a pepper bomb, filled with spices, ashes, and even some small pieces of crushed glass.

Dagger has posed:
"See if you can swallow up all of that smoke and give Punisher some breathing room. I'll remain here and rain down the pain if I need to." Tandy says to Cloak as she squints her eyes through the chaos. As her eyes track towards the fox, she flips a light blade about her fingers, curls her arm back, then lets it fly swiftly through the air towards it.

As usual, with her mental control over her blades, she'll arc it quickly from a blind side, trying to tag the creature from behind in the back and stun her as if she was struck with a giant taser.

"We saw these guys before, right? The pajama ninjas."

Voodoo has posed:
Voodoo grinds her teeth moree and speaks mind to mind.

I am Voodoo, you would do well, to leave your illusions behind

With that, she looks to the illusions and looks...well...she's not a happy camper. At least the egg shaped pepper bomb thing doesn't get to her. She's already not happy. The last thing anyone needs is Priss to go full blooded Demonite. Or, close to, anyhow. Priss keeps her lips pressed together with a glance around, looking over the lot again for a moment. Priss is so done with this fox.

Looking over to the fox again, and illusion, Priss is breathing through her nose, controlling her anger, but...barely controlling it.

Punisher has posed:
He's seen this before, and he's already popping on the gas mask as the Foot soldier comes at him. Kitsune will need to wait.

He's dropped the M4 already and pulled his Ka-Bar, using his other hand to toss a flashbang into the smoke where the throw came from.

"You assholes really need to take a hint!" Punisher almost shouts as he takes a revolver out of his gear web with his other hand and aims, firing in a quickdraw as the Ka-Bar is held below the revolver, adding a bit of stability.

Punisher has no need to keep this one alive. .357 magnum rounds fire as Punisher gets an idea of where he's at, even as the Punisher himself retreats further away to keep distance and allow him to keep firing at the man.

Cloak has posed:
"We have." Cloak says with a low growl. "Call if you need me."

And then he's gone in a poof. He reappears half a moment later before the spreading cloud of smoke and makeshift shrapnel with the edges of his cloak sweeping out in the same motion to try and clear some of the air. He'll not get all of it by any means, it's too fine and widespread, but it may help provide a little better visibility to the Punisher.

He turns his head from the brilliance of the flashbang, though be it from actual discomfort or reflex is hard to say. Light has never seemed to bother him. Bullets don't seem to be concerning him too much either, but then he's not the target. Yet.

Shredder has posed:
    The mustang peels out of the parking space, spinning about and then going into gear. The flashbang has the ninja disoriented for the moment as he himself takes cover from the incoming bullets, trying to regain his orientation. Of course, the flashbang itself makes it difficult for the ninja in the suit to be aware of Cloak's presence at the moment, even though he is very nearby.
    Meanwhile, the fox chuckles at Voodoo's threat. "You live in an entire illusion..." whatever you are," she says. "An illusion that this is the real world. An illusion that...she examines the woman's form, "that you belong to it." She watches as the car pulls away, and then looks back at Voodoo. "As much as I'd love to have this conversation sometime, I'm afraid I have more pressing matters to attend-" she's cut short as the dagger strikes her, and she lets out a yip just as a fox might. She isn't quite as stunned as a person might expect, but it did certainly have an effect, and she spins around, looking up at the location Dagger threw from.

Voodoo has posed:
Voodoo narrows her gaze on the fox as she's stunned...and Voodoo takes then to cede the fight to those up above her, literally. It's on them now as Voodoo doesn't respond to the fox, instead backing away and seeking cover while this winds down. She's done her bit. Probably angered the Foot, and all in all, she's still got her hotel suite to return to, but...but...maybe it's time to move and find somewhere new to live. Especially if the Foot figure out where a possible threat to them is at,

Dagger has posed:
"Heh. That got your attention."

Dagger mutters to herself as she steps to the side to try and get out of sight. She isn't in costume and thus hardly stands out amongst a number of people watching curiously. She's just a girl in a hoodie with a hint of blonde hair peeking otu from it. That is, if anyone can see her from that height. Down below the window, she holds another light blade in her hand, out of sight, just in case she needs to defend herself.

Punisher has posed:
A speed loader replaces the spend casings, and the Punisher brings up the revolver again... aiming, and firing once the ninja is in plain sight, going for headshots or center mass, whichever seems to be easier, given his somewhat clouded vision.



It's around this time the bomber drone finally manages to join the fray as well.

Up above, the large drone isn't stealthy by any means. In fact, the engine is noisy and relentless... but that's because it needs to be able to go fast /AND/ carry it's explosive payload bay...

... which as it flies over the Foot soldier distracted by the Punisher's revolver, mini-bomblets begin to be precision bombed on Kitsune, courtesy of Microchip piloting it.

She is, after all, Punisher's primary target. the Foot ninja is just an annoyance.

Cloak has posed:
With the Punisher continuing to fire towards the ninja and his drone dropping bombs, Cloak seems to decide this is a warzone he doesn't need to be involved in. Besides, he has someone to protect. Once satisfied there's enough visibility for the Punisher not to take a surprise ninja to the back, the shadowy man vanishes once more from the street.

He reappears back behind Tandy with a sour noise. "Time to go before they start aiming at us." He waits only long enough for confirmation from his partner before the pair vanish in a rush of fabric and air and don't reappear anywhere visible in the immediate vicinity.

Voodoo has posed:
Something less subtle than Priss? alright, Voodoo wasn't expecting that one. See, the chaos is a great time to run away and hide. No need to get a bomb dropped on her head, nope. Punisher got this on his own, thanks.

There she goes, running for cover. That fox is right, though. Voodoo doesn't belong, but she still sticks around anyhow.

Either way, there she goes, outta the fight and she's running away. Time to find a new place to call home.

Shredder has posed:
    As the small bombs release, they detonate across the lot. And everyone thought there were potholes BEFORE tonight. Kitsune disappears into the explosions as smoke plumes across the neighborhood. Sirens can be heard wailing moments later. Surely someone in the building has called the police by now.

    As the flames in the lot reveal where Kitsune had been standing, she isn't there. Where she is...is a mystery, but she seems gone, as if she had been nothing more than a vapor to begin with. The two unconscious suited elites remain against the crashed van, and the third ninja retreats, taking a magnum round to his collarbone. He is knocked prone, clenching his teeth and gripping the wound.

    The other two are long gone, having taken the best choice, they fled the scene first.

Punisher has posed:
"I don't like this..." Punisher mumbles. Then, he whispers into the commlink. "Micro, pull the drone back and get the van back to the street. This ones a bust.

As the Punisher begins to dash towards the street, firing the last of his revolver rounds towards the ninja, he holsters it just as it runs out of ammo... and grabs his M4 he dropped, switching to automatic fire as he floods the air where the ninja is with stun rounds in suppression fire.

All this exertion has worked the pepper gas into his nose now though, and he gives a big hacking cough from it working it's way in.

Meanwhile, the Battle Van is mostly operational... but the sounds of the engine dying can be heard. The two knocked out ninja get a glance...

Without eyes on Kitsune, not worth the risk.