14098/Road Rage

Road Rage
Date of Scene:	31 January 2022
Location:	Midvale, New Troy
Synopsis:	Supergirl helps a police officer
Cast of Characters:	John Connor, Supergirl

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John Connor has posed:
It was late in the evening, or early in the morning, depending on one's point of view. There was some light from the street lights, the buildings, but out here, it was more residential, so there were areas of less light.

But what it lacked in illumination, it made up for with sound: the sound of gunshots that is. A bus was currently driving, recklessly, passengers aboard, who were scared for their lives, through a residential street. One of the braver passengers even jumped out, since the driver didn't seem to care.

He was more interested in what lay ahead. The front window had been smashed and popped out, he had a gun, and was firing at a yellow Mitsubishi Mirage. There were several bullet holes in the cheap little compact, though the driver seemed to know what he was doing, getting some good speed, doing his best to evade the fire from the bus driver.

Supergirl has posed:
Honestly, gunshots and screaming were not something that happened that often in a city, even one this size. Some areas were worse than others. It's just how things worked. Most bad guys tried to not call the attention of cops and cops usually got phone calls on gunfire.

So superheroes with super hearing had to learn to tune into things and gauge what was happening. But when they heard gunshots, that generally would get their attention above a scream that might be someone seeing a mouse in their living room. It was a difficult game to play but they couldn't react to everything. Even Kryptonians. There was only so much time.

Hearing the sound of gunfire, Supergirl turned her head sharply that direction then shifted her flight line.

As the bus and car came into view, she gauged and was moving before she fully formulated a plan. Person in bus endangering lives and shooting at a car. No idea why the car was being shot at but both should be stopped. Bus first since car didn't seem to be shooting back.

She swooped down, coming down to a hover in front of the bus but continuing to fly--backwards. "Stop the vehicle and put down your weapon!"

She was proud of how serious she sounded!

John Connor has posed:
Some of the bus riders exclaimed quiet cheers or phrases like 'oh thank god' at the sudden appearance of the superhero. The bus driver, one arm on the oversized bus steering wheel, another on the gun, which was still extended, barely looked at Supergirl. It did, but it was a minor shift of its neck, so it could keep one eye on the car ahead, while addressing this new arrival.

It did not stop the bus, nor did it put down the weapon. It didn't have a good shot right now. It had been conserving ammunition, only taking shots with a certain probability. All had missed the intended target. The next shot, would be aimed at the vehicle's rear left tire, although when dealing with a Kryptonian, all bets were off.

John Connor heard the girl, how authoritative she sounded, although his sense of it was distorted by the wind from driving at such a high speed, with holes in the windows.

Supergirl has posed:
Supergirl frowned as the man fired again. A quick glance showed it wouldn't hit anyone so she focused instead on the gun itself. For a moment, her eyes glowed red and then a beam of light came from her eyes, focusing on the gun and attempting to melt it enough it would be unusable.

"That is enough of that!" She needed to stop the bus as well. But how to do so with the passengers? It wasn't like they had seatbelts if she were to stop it immediately. So it needed to be more gradual, like it was braking. She could do that! "Hold on everyone, this could get bumpy!"

She then shifted to a position a bit lower, so she would be able to exert pressure on the bus and began to fly with it, then against it a tiny bit, gradually increasing. In the hopes it would slow the bus down quickly but without flinging anyone forward.

John Connor has posed:
The gun shot was true, and it blew out the rear left tire, which made driving far more problematic for John Connor. The wheel flopped about with every turn, as it became more of a bag around the wheel, rather than inflated. It also unbalanced the car. Normally, people slow down. He didn't. He tried to drive with it. Soon, sparks would begin to fly. But it was no easy feat to drive with a tire hanging on by its rubber.

Supergirl would indeed slow the bus with what she was doing, but would she be able to slow the bus, while also dealing with a human being appearing to deliberately try and throw themselves through the area where the window used to be?

Because this man cared not for the bus, nor the girl. He had a mission, and if she didn't stop him, he would fly through the window, roll on the ground, breaking the fall, and into a running stance, after the car. Oh, and the gun, it melted skin, fusing it with the weapon, but the man did not let go of it. It would cool, and he would be able to fire it again. Actually melting a gun was very different from heating it enough that most people would let go of it.

Supergirl has posed:
As the bus slowed, the man who had been firing leapt out the front window. What the hecK? Supergirl had to bring it to a full stop and lost a few seconds as she turned her head to track the bad guy. He still had the gun but--what was going on with the hand. She had been trying to melt the barrel of the gun but the guy hadn't let go and his skin melted? Skin didn't do that in her experience. Burns acted differently. But the guy just was running toward the still moving car.

"Stay here, folks. You're safe now. Police are on the way!" Because she could hear the sirens even at a distance, getting loader.

For now, there was a nut to deal with. A quick swoop and she was in front of the running man holding the gun in his melted hand. She reached out a hand to try and grab him.

John Connor has posed:
The man ran perfectly. It was as if he were an Olympic sprinter. Every movement was efficient, exerting the least amount of effort needed, decreasing his wind resistance, moving as fast as a human mechanically can do. But, determination aside, he still seemed to be human. He wasn't the Flash or anything like that. And she could easily fly faster than he could run.

The grab was resisted, as much as he could. The gun was still burned against his skin, as the heat had melted flesh, which after it began to cool, once removed from the heat source, clung to it. It smelt horrible. It looked even worse. He did not seem to care.

The car continued to drive as best as it could, though it was seriously impaired by the lack of a rear wheel, and with this man as determined as he was, the driver had no option of getting out and changing the tire, or running.

Though, her grabbing, and presumably holding onto him, would cost him more time, increase the gap between him and the car. The man hit her with his free hand, as she had grabbed the gun hand, though he was not strong enough to harm the Kryptonian.

Supergirl has posed:
That was the thing about Kryptonians. They were tough. And strong. Sum it up, they had won the jackpot on superpowers. By merely living under a yellow sun. However, even though it was hard to hit them, they could tell a difference in how someone hit.

This guy hit far harder than any human punch she had taken. Superpowered? Must be to continue fighting with a gun melted to his hand. "You can't hurt me. Why are you chasing that man?" Then a horrible thought got her and she glanced at the car still moving away before looking back to the man she was holding by one arm.

"Are you a cop? Oh man I hope I stopped the right bad guy..."

John Connor has posed:
Sometimes being the strong silent type helped with things. "Yes, my name is Lieutenant James Murphy, and you are letting him get away." Her question had triggered a suitable response. She may be able to help him in tracking down his target. The man sounded sincere, although there was something off about him. It was if he believed every word he said, but was more like an actor, reading a script, rather than a normal person. Either way, there was something different about him, perhaps many things.

For his part, John had gotten a fair bit of distance, he'd even turned a corner, while Supergirl held the man. The people on the bus had gotten out, thankfully none of them had any serious injuries, with most of them calling cabs, relatives, or just plain moving away in whatever direction suited them.

Supergirl has posed:
"Well...shoot!" Because she better not say that other world. Her parents would give her disapproving looks. Kal would be far far worse than her adoptive parents. She didn't even want to think about the Kents reaction!

"I'll get him."

And with that, she let the man go. And was airborne, a streak of blue and red racing toward the escaping car. She came down in front of it as she had the bus, "Stop now! You are under arrest! Or will be. When the officer catches up."

John Connor has posed:
The escaping car had been abandoned after taking the corner, with John Connor hoping that she would district it long enough that he could escape. What he didn't count on was a pursuer with the ability to see through objects. He had climbed behind a fence, and was making his way to the opposite side, using the dim light, hoping to climb over the other one, and then see about stealing another car once he was on a different street.

The 'officer' didn't let her just go grab him either, following after, but when it arrived, it looked around, using its sensors. It still had the gun, fused to its hand. It should be in pain. It did not look to be in any discomfort, save for having lost its target. "Where did he go, citizen?" Obviously, it did not know who Supergirl was. What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks, Skynet? Get with the programming.

Supergirl has posed:
"Citizen?" Now that was funny. It shouldn't be but it sounded funny to her. "I told you to wait. I'll get him and bring him back to you. And.." She eyed the hand. "Doesn't that hurt? You should go back to the others. Get an EMT to look at it. They've arrived back by the bus."

She then looked away, focusing so she could look through objects. If only she'd done that while looking at Lt. James Murphy's hand. And there really was something odd about this cop though she was too caught up in the moment to figure it out. "He's over there." And with that, she headed for John, leaving the cop behind and hoping he would go get medical help.

John Connor has posed:
"Yes," the man said when she asked if it hurt. It was an answer, just not a normal one. Most people would be wincing. He seemed determined. He didn't even look at her as she asked the question, his eyes scanning for a sign of which way John Connor went. "I will, after." He added that he would seek medical attention later. If he wasn't careful, he might even form a complete sentence.

Hearing a direction, the "Lieutenant" began running. It was harder to jump over a fence with a gun fused to your hand, but he managed it, looking quite acrobatic while doing it. By this point, John had gotten to the other side. Supergirl found him first though.

Seeing Supergirl, John did what most 17 year olds would do in his situation, "Supergirl! Help, I'm being chased by a cyborg that's trying to kill me."

Supergirl has posed:
"If I had a nickel for everytime I've heard that one," Supergirl said as she landed next to John. And there was the Lt. jumping the fence. What was wrong with him? She heard of stubborn but this was a new level.

But she focused on John. "Actually, that's a new one. But the Lieutenant already told me the truth. So just cooperate and face your charges. Okay?"

She turned to face the oncoming officer, motioning to John. "I told you I'd get him."

John Connor has posed:
It was good that she didn't grab John. She landed next to him. It was better that she turned towards Lieutenant Murphy, as that gave John the opportunity to draw and fire his own gun, hitting him in the right eye. John was a good shot, but that was a lucky shot for him. Instead of going through, it clanged. There was something red beneath the gunshot wound. Red and glowing.

The lieutenant was unfazed by the shot, continuing to move towards John. If Supergirl didn't stop him, or John, there would be several more shots coming the cyborg's way...

Supergirl has posed:
Supergirl jumped. Literally jumped because she hadn't expected John to fire a weapon at the cop. After all, he hadn't been shooting when being chased. Usually bad guys fired while being chased.

Even as she reached for John's gun to try and block further shots, she was trying to figure out the clang! Her eyes going to the Lieutenant. Seeing where the impact had happened--and realizing that he was still moving just fine. That was not normal. She focused her vision on the cop, trying to see if that was some weird impant or what. And realized he was metal underneath it all.

"You were serious?!" came the words from her to John as she put herself between the two men. Then to the approaching man with the red eye. "Alright, just stop. I don't want to hurt you. Either of you!"

John Connor has posed:
There was little John Connor could do with Supergirl reaching for his gun and using her body to block further shots. He wasn't stupid; he wasn't going to fire a gun at close range at Supergirl. He read the Daily Planet, he knew they bounced off her, and could easily hit him. But it was the one way he could try and make her aware of how serious the situation was.

"Yes!" He said, sounding calmer than most kids would be in this situation, but still very much excited. The other man would not stop. John said, "fly him up to the air, destroy the gun, or he'll kill me." In fact, the Terminator, knowing that his gun would not function, that his chances were dwindling, used his free hand to reach for his shirt, trying to do something under his skin. If he was allowed, he would tear skin to access his power core, hoping to detonate it, and kill John, itself, the people in a few homes, and likely piss off Supergirl. A small price to pay for victory.

Supergirl has posed:
There was something there. And she wasn't giving a chance to find out what it was. She'd already messed this all up something awful.

She took the steps to the threat so quickly, it looked like she teleported. Then she shot skyward, though she waited until she was high enough to put on the real speed. The sonic boom ripped through the area but was low enough it just rattled windows and set off car alarms instead of blowing out all the windows in the area. She was thoughtful like that.

When she reached height above that of normal planes, if it had continued it's actions, she would fling it high into the sky (no planes in the area on a glance) so that the explosion would be no danger to the city below. If it had not continued its actions, she would instead reach out to try to rip the head off of it.

John Connor has posed:
There was serious debate, from a computer's perspective, on how to proceed here. Should it continue, or should it stop. In its last few moments, the Terminator was genuinely uncertain. It's programming did not account for an eventuality like this. It was so unusual.

But it would continue, deciding that if it can take out Supergirl, it would be beneficial to Skynet and the future. It did not know she was strong enough to hurl it far enough away that the blast would not affect her. However, even as quickly as all of these events happened, it was giving one John Connor time, time he needed to make a break for it.

He found the first car he could find, hotwired it, and began driving... at a normal speed, as if he were just going to work for an early morning shift. Hopefully, she would not find him. Trying to explain this to her, or the police, the real ones, did not sit well with him.

Supergirl has posed:
As the machine person thing went flying away from her, Supergirl watched as it exploded. The air from the explosion did make her cape and skirt shift in the breeze, a few pieces of shrapnel bouncing off her. A quick focus and anything big enough to hurt people below was heat visioned out of existence.

Then she returned to Metropolis as a slower rate. No sonic booms. By the time she got back to the alley, there was no sign of the other man. She likely could find him but that was a lot of searching in a very large city and a lot of peeking through walls. She just put a mental note to keep an eye out should she ever see him again. Then she rose into the air, to head back and see if the police needed any assistance back at the bus.