14631/BDH

BDH
Date of Scene:	07 December 2022
Location:	Doesn't matter
Synopsis:	Some fighting with an armoured car.
Cast of Characters:	Arana, Nightwing, Black Canary

---

Arana has posed:
The armoured car careens down the freeway, police in hot pursuit. The children strapped to the doors keep the cops at bay; they know that the men inside will do the children harm if they get too close.

Apparently someone came up with the brilliant idea of stealing an armored car full of gold, but they took some children and TIED THEM TO THE DOORS! On the outsides!

Anya, still in her t-shirt, cargo pants and backpack, looks down from the vantage point she and Dinah have met at, and rubs the back of her head. "Okay, so what NOW? I can get on top probably."

Planning wasn't something we've had time for yet.

Nightwing has posed:
Armored car? Police in hot pursuit?

To some that's an exciting bit of insanity. To Dick Grayson? That's just Tuesday. A loud motorcycle sounds off through the streets in pursuit of the armored car. Sleek black with blue decal, Nightwing is rides the Nightcycle through the streets, eyes narrowed ahead.

He ends up driving right past Anya!

"HI-BYE!"

Blink and you'll miss him, but soon enough, he's drawing nearer.

"Canary, you on me?"

Black Canary has posed:
*<<Got you, Nightwing. Fall back. If they make you, the kids get hurt.>>*

She glances across at Anya and adds, *<<Hold on a sec. I've got someone who can maybe get on top undetected.>>*

She fires up her own bike and points at the seat behind her.

"I know where they're going and we can intercept. I'll drive a parallel course and you get on top. Priority for you is to get the kids free undetected." Her face breaks into a cold smile. "Then Dick and I handle the violence. Hope your balance is as good as you say it is."

Arana has posed:
Ana blinks at the plan, then gives her head a little shake. "It's all I've got, it had damn well better be," she says in response. Then she looks up at the motorcyclist and sighs. "I was never that young," she adds.

Which has got to be the second worst comment ever, second only to the captain of the Titanic commenting on how he's almost got all his mileage points and he'll just catch the next lifeboat out.

Up ahead, the armoured car pulls further away. As Ana gets onto the bike, and holds on. Even now she's remarkably easy to balance. Go figure.

Nightwing has posed:
They're right.

If he catches up to that car, they'll hurt the kids either by purposefully crashing into something or by simply unloading on them with their weapons. Nightwing frowns as he stares ahead. <<Alright, falling back. Hurry up, babe, or those kids are gonna be in trouble. I hope you're right about this one.>>

He hasn't seen a plan like this by criminals since the Joker. He still hasno idea how Batman got those kids out without casualties.

<<Let me know when I'm needed. I can give them something to shoot at.>>

Black Canary has posed:
"OK, this is the part where I tell you the whole plan," Canary says, comms open so that Nightwing can listen in. "I couldn't tell you until you were committed because you'd refuse to get on the bike."

The bike that is now careering down the road, weaving between (oncoming!) cars and occasionally using the sloped parts of sidewalk edges as impromptu ramps to leap cars that can't be woven around.

And somehow the plan is scarier.

"There's an overpass under construction up ahead. I'll be able to get there ahead of them. I'm going to jump from this side to the other. You're going to jump on top of their car as they pass underneath us."

The bike's tires squeal as she kicks desperately to one side to miss a city bus, the engine then roaring to a scream as she pushes the poor machine to its edge to slip in ahead of an oncoming Metro train.

"Overpass coming in 5... 4... 3..." She doesn't count down the last two. She's too busy timing the jump over the barricade at the end to coincide with the speeding perps' car.

The bike takes to the air.

"HAVE FUN!"

Arana has posed:
"You do remember that I have no powers right?" Ana yells as they approach the overpass, but no way she's loud enough to be heard over the motorcycle. Or she is and Dinah just doesn't mind too much. Which amounts to the same in the end.

Ana Corazon, formerly a spider-man, now a human with a highly accelerated sense of balance and jack all else, looks at the target armoured car, then gauges when to jump as best as she can. She hikes her heels up onto the seat, showing remarkable flexibility, and then gets off.

And drops, just before the bike leaves the ground. She has a ton of inertia still so she goes over, but on a different tack. Vanishing under the second overpass as Dinah goes up onto it, she hits the truck.

And slides right off the other side, heading for pavement.

With her grapple out, she throws it for the other side of the truck, grabbing onto the fuselage. It skids, scraping up the side of the truck before sticking in right next to one of the kids. Then it goes taut, and Ana hangs off the other side, held on by her grapple and two boots designed to get the wearer home during winter in Santa Rosa.

She may be saying something, but it's probably nothing important. Something about geese and someone else's parentage.

Nightwing has posed:
<<Babe, I don't know if that's such a great ide->> The overpass comes quickly, just as Dinah's talking about the plan. Dick doesn't fully trust said plan, because it's completely fucking terrifying. The squealing tires do nothing to help his confidence in it. <<Maybe we should reconsider!>>

'Have fun!'

<Whoa!>

Nightwing almost swerves when Ana nearly hits the ground, but instead, the grapple she fires off goes taut and Ana hangs off the side. Not to mention, Dinah straight up just /ditched/ her right off the bike! Ana missed the trick - or more accurately, bounced off of it.

<<You okay?>> Nightwing calls out for Ana.

Black Canary has posed:
<<It's OK. I haven't got any relevant powers either,>> Dinah cheerfully babbles into comms. <<But I'd do the jump if I didn't have the bike to control.>>

Goose ancestry is just apparently not something she knows anything about.

She goes silent a bit as she dodges a plethora of construction equipment, eventually having to, near the bottom, actually jump from the partially-built overpass on that end, landing on a conveniently-placed dump-truck in the process of dumping to get to ground softly enough to survive. She then starts navigating her way to where Nightwing is.

<<She'll be fine. She's got the stuff.>>

Matching speeds with Nightwing, the pair hold back.

<<Let us know when you've got the kids in the clear. Then I'll put a stop to the truck and Dick will put a stop to anybody still awake.>>

Arana has posed:
"Oh, hi there," Anya says.

That might sound weird as a response to Dick's question, but it makes a lot more sense if you put it in context. On the side of the truck, she's looking in the side window at a guy in a mask. He looks up, then starts to make sounds of some type.

The other guy pulls a gun, and then starts shooting, while Anya (Ana?) slides down the back of the truck toward one of the kids.

"Distraction would be good right now actually!" she calls out, hoping the comms catch it, while she grabs a kid and starts getting the little guy loose.

One question. What do you do with a kid in your arms, when you have others to save, and are pulling them up onto the top of a moving truck?

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing falls in line with Black Canary, his eyes turning to look at her when she pulls up beside him. <<You sure about that? It looks like she's hanging on for dear life.>> He says with a serious look in his eyes, a frown on his face. <<Your plan was kinda crazy.>>

Kind of?

Distraction! The call out was something that caught Nightwing's attention. That, and Ana casually saying hi to him. <<....okay I stand corrected.>> Nightwing turns his attention to Dinah, a grin on his face. <<Don't get shot!>>

He accelerates his bike, doing a wheelie and pushing his engine to it's limit, soaring past the armored car and putting him right in a good spot to be an easy target.

"Hey guys! Didn't your parents ever teach you not to kidnap kids like a bunch of freaks?"

Black Canary has posed:
<<Got it.>> Canary flashes a grin at Nightwing and then kicks the engine into a high scream as she gears down and accelerates briefly before gearing back up.

<<I'll take the kid, you keep collecting,>> she instructs Ana. <<And Nightwing, you do what you do best: introduce the bastards to pain.>>

Canary pulls up alongside Anya and stands on her bike, steering it with one foot at the centre of the handlebars while reaching out. "Hand the child over, Anya!" she calls out over the noise of the wind.

Somehow making herself heard.

Arana has posed:
"We gotcha chico!" Ana says, holding onto one kid with one hand, and the rope with the other. "I just need to plan this out a bit better next time." She can't hold on nearly as well as when she had super strength, and that is becoming an issue. But she sees the bike pull up alongside, as Nightwing gets someone's attention.

Pretty good timing, because the guy with the gun? He looks panicky, and...

You remember that threat, earlier? When they said that the kids were in trouble if any of the cops got too close? The guy inside stops shooting, and reaches instead for the rope that's holding all the other kids onto the car.

Dick can see it. Anya is tossing a kid at Dinah at that point.

There are three more kids, as the rope loosens. One on the back, one on the front, and one on the far side.

Think fast!

Nightwing has posed:
There was not just one.

There's never just one.

<<That's what I do.>> Dick grins back at Canary, and his eyes shift right back to the armored car. The guy with the gun? He left the window open. Rookie mistake. But with three more kids on the back, front, and side? Dick pushes a few buttons on a gauntlet, and a voice is heard:

'Autopilot engaged: awaiting instruction'.

Dick, with a masterful flip, is in the air, landing on top of the armored vehicle as he tossed a smoke pellet through the open window. Should help keep him from getting shot at. He swings to the side, grabbing the child in front and rolling with them over the car until he literally /throws/ them off the vehicle, where his motorcycle will sense the collision and drift suddenly as if to catch them.

Two left.

He immediately reaches to grab the one on the side of the car, while a line is launched for the kid on the back, as if to wrap around them and keep them secure.

Dick Grayson has no superpowers. But thinking quick to avoid catastrophe?

That's as close a power as he can possibly get. And that's assuming any of this goes off without a hitch. <<Anytime!>>

Dick's way of saying 'this is a bit too much, could use a hand here ladies!'

Black Canary has posed:
Kid caught and placed on seat where Dinah would usually sit. She doesn't have Dick's fancy autopilot, so she has to do things the manual way.

Sitting.

On the bike.

Behind the kid.

"Isn't this fun!?" she asks the kid with a friendly smile as she hits the brakes, hard, and jinks to the left. "I'm the Black Canary," she continues the patter, while racing up to the back. "Hold that thought. And my leg. Tightly."

How is the girl supposed to ... oh. She's standing on the seat again. The girl desperately clutches at Canary's leg while the latter steps forward on the handlebar, again keeping the bike steady by ankle motion alone while she reaches forward for the child at the back, so ably caught by Dick's rope.

<<OK, I got this one, release and get to your bike.>>

<<Anya, things are going to go a little ... broken. You should get off the truck at first available opportunity.>>

Canary slides back into the seat of her bike, then hits the brakes hard, sluicing the bike to a halt.

"OK, this is where you get off," she says in as kind and calming a voice she can muster to the squealing children. (One is squealing in fear, the other in excitement. One of these two is destined for a career in vigilante work.) Her worried eyes watch the departing truck, cab filled with smoke, Dick attached to one side, Anya to another, willing the children to move more quickly in their evacuation of the motorcycle.

Arana has posed:
Actually at this point Anya has gotten up top. She said that she would, and her papa didn't raise no liars! Standing as if she's basically leaning against a light wind, she saw what Dick just did. And what Canary pulled off, her eyes disbelieving. No time, got to work. She leans down to where Dick is, and offers him a hand.

"I got her," she says, holding her hand out for the kid he's got in his arms.

She pulls the child up, trusting Dick to get out on his own, and glances back at Canary's bike as she gets the child's arms around her neck.

"Here we go, chiquita," she says. "This is where it gets fun."

She backs up to the furthest part of the roof, then starts to run. At the last moment she leaps, holding the child close, and lands on the back of a nearby motorcycle. Without overbalancing the other rider, she caroms off of the bike, doing a flip in the air, and lands on both feet on the side of the road. Her feet skid, legs in a hugely wide stance, and she ends up rolling.

And ends up on her feet, the dismount one that should have been impossible. Especially hitting that bike.

The kid's got a few scratches and is crying, but she -can- cry so that's one point in the win column. "<LL YOURS!">R

Nightwing has posed:
<<Read you loud and clear.>>

Nightwing remarks back to Canary, having passed a child off to Anya - <<Here ya go!>> and he manages to pass the child successfully, before he quickly manages to settle himself onto the vehicle.

With a crack of his neck, Nightwing - in a show of gymnastic ability - immediately backflips off of the vehicle, landing on the autopiloted bike, where a child was hanging on for dear life! "Hey kid! Don't worry, you'll be telling your parents about your field trip and eating your favorite meal before you even know what happened."

<<Babe! Show 'em you're good singing voice.>> Nightwing transmits to Canary, before he looks to make sure Ana abandoned ship. <<Good dismount!>>

Black Canary has posed:
Canary kicks her bike into gear and, tires spitting little bits of gravel in a big blast behind her, hits the road and closes in behind the van. Inside her throat her special voice box prepares for action.

Taking a deep breath, deeper than a human should be able to take, Canary prepares to sing. When she starts it's inaudible. Half the voice box emits ultrasound at an absurdly high frequency; one that would make a dog say 'OK, that's just stupid!'. Then the other half kicks in and, initially, generates the same ultrasound. It's now doubly-loud ultrasound.

But then the two frequencies shift against each other, with overlapping constructive and destructive interference forming "beats" of sound pressure that, as the frequencies start to diverge, form their own sonic wave. Inititally very low (infrasonic) in scope, they rapidly climb to the audible and then ear-piercingly loud, high-pitched scream.

And her ears, able to hear all of this, somehow, without being damaged, listen intently. Not to her song, but to what it does. In under a second she's found it.

The resonant frequency of the van's fuel tank.

And now she doubles down. The ear-piercing shriek becomes, amazingly, louder. Anybody in its path would be deafened. Anybody in the vehicle she's targeted as well is going to have ringing ears for days afterward.

But that's the least of their worries.

The gas tank, stimulated by the resonant scream, shakes and heats up and ... blows. The tank tears itself to shreds and fuel sprays out in a micro-tsunami behind the vehicle, just in time to hit a spark caused by electrical wires being sliced through by the shattering steel tank.

The back end of the vehicle, and a good portion of the road, erupt into a brief fireball, visually impressive but largely harmless since it wasn't in a contained vessel. It does cause the rear tires to melt, however. And it causes the engine to founder after a few seconds before conking out. The van, back end in flames, rear wheels grinding hubs into the highway, comes to a shuddering halt.

Canary blows her way through the flames at high speed before kicking her bike into a sideways slide to stop in front of the van.

"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" she says, in a voice too unnaturally loud to be real. "OR YOU'LL FIND OUT WHAT I CAN DO TO YOUR HEADS WITH MY VOICE!"

An old game made by people trying to let others play their favourite superheroes from the pages of the news would call that a 'presence attack'.

Arana has posed:
The police whip past Anya and her charge, one car slowing down to take her and the child. There's some conversation, what with the fledgeling hero not being nearly as recognizeable as Nightwing or Canary. But she's smart; she doesn't argue, much. "I'm one of the good guys, I swear," she says.

More importantly she turns the kid she's holding over without argument, which is a point in her favour.

"I swear, we could have handled it on our own after the kids were done," one cop says to his partner in the squadcar, watching the armoured car go up. Then slow, and stop. "But she is effective." "They all are. That's why we don't shoot them." His partner is a pessimist.

One supposes that it's not -just- Canary's presence, and Nightwing's arrival shortly after (likely?) that causes the robbers to come out with their hands on their heads. The red and blues pulling up and blocking off any and all escape is probably part of it as well.

But it helps. And the car holding Anya pulls up shortly afterward.

Nightwing has posed:
"Remind me never to piss her off."

Nightwing says off to the side, most likely to Anya when she finally pulls up, at Dinah's high-pitched shriek and the sudden /danger/ n her voice as she demands the inhabitatns of the very down vehicle to come out with their hands up. Dick dismounts his vehicle, approaching closer with his arms at his sides, ready to throw shuriken projectiles or other gadgets.

Can neve rtrust these guys. One second they may come out with their hands up and with their tails between their legs, only to pull a gun at the last second. But between all of them? Dinah packs the biggest punch.

Nightwing's ready. At a moments notice. The kids are safe. The people are safe.

But these assholes? He keeps his eyes on them. Like a wild west...he's ready for a quick draw at high noon.

Ah shit, Anya's in a police cruiser. "Hey guys, I think there's been a small misunderstanding..."

Black Canary has posed:
"Hey, officers!" Dinah says, grinning in greeting. "Great job coralling these guys to where we could deal with them!"

It never hurts to let the cops claim the collar.

"If you need testimony I'm down for it. Just contact Alpha Flight's police liaison office and ..." She pauses as she butters up the cops, her eyes falling on Anya in the cruiser.

"Oh, you brought my friend up to us. That's very kind. Hey, Anya, congrats on your first operation! You did so well!"

Message delivered. And if the cops have any brains, they'll figure out what the message is and how to react.

Arana has posed:
I mean, I guess we could let her go. If we have to. I suppose.

There's some good-natured ribbing when they finally open the door, giving Anya a good hazing before they do so. One cop actually gives her a punch card that's 'good for one free arrest' after she's done nine of her own. She almost looks happy about it, even though she wasn't sure she was going to get away this time.

"Work on your skills, kid. We were watching, you've got guts but I'd worry if I were your father." That one makes her look like she was punched in the gut, so as she's walking away, and the cops are cuffing the bad guys, Anya looks at Dinah and Dick and sighs.

"My father knows this shirt. If they use footage from that chase.." She looks at her outfit. She's not wrong.

Nightwing has posed:
Dick is about to talk to the police officers, leaning against the cruiser with his elbow on the roof, and as he's about to put on his classic Nightwing charm, Dinah is coming in hot with equal if not greater amounts of charm, assisted by feminine wiles.

He huffs, but she's got this. Probably. He turns to look at Anya then, though he raises a brow at the whole punch card thing.

"I wouldn't worry about it. That kind of footage has a knack of not being shown. They don't like it when we talk to cops. You know, cause technically vigilantes are illegal?" Dick smiles at her, before he looks at Dinah.

"Nice Schmoozing."

Black Canary has posed:
"It's not 'schmoozing' if you genuinely like cops, Nightwing!" Canary says, laughing. "It's just interaction."

Schmoozing master levels.

"But yes, they tend not to like showing us in action because it undermines their authority. People think we're doing the work instead of just helping out."

Legendary levels.

"So I wouldn't worry too much," she continues, addressing Anya directly. "But if it comes to that, would it be helpful to have a famous blonde standing behind you as you explained?"

Arana has posed:
"Why, do you know Captain America?" Anya says instantly, not even pausing to think. Then she blushes, realizing that she said that out loud. But she's grinning, and she's on a high from her first real win.

"Not so bad, chica, not bad at all," she says to herself. Then she looks at Dick, and blinks. "You're...Batman, right?" She really hasn't been around for long, not compared to some.

Nightwing has posed:
Dick walks over to Dinah, intending to put an arm around her shoulders with a big smile on his face. "I like cops. Only thing is they have to like you back." He starts to laugh. "We gotta let them have some of the credit. Otherwise they'll just start paying us to do their jobs, and that's not very hero."

He turns to look at Anya. "I know of him." He tells Anya regarding Captain America. Thoug hhe...frowns deeply when she calls him Batman. "Nightwing." He corrects her.