15777/That Sinking Feeling

That Sinking Feeling
Date of Scene:	06 November 2023
Location:	NYC - Brooklyn Bridge
Synopsis:	Wonder Woman and Troia provide assistance during an emergency situation on the East River. And then Donna made an unthinkable threat!
Cast of Characters:	Wonder Woman, Troia

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Wonder Woman has posed:
Morning traffic is not on the list of 'Top 10 Enjoyable Activities' in NYC. It is more of a necessary evil. Those unfortunate to have to drive into Manhattan have a number of options but they never seem like there are quite enough to ease the gridlock. Still there are other methods of getting into the city; The busses and subways are typically just as crowded as are the trains. The various ferries? Quite the same. There are just a lot of workers in need of arriving at destinations all within a very small geographic area.

Most days it is a tightly choreographed dance of vehicles and bodies commuting into the heart of the city in the morning and then leaving again in the afternoons.

At least that is how it is all -supposed- to work.

This Fall-time Monday evening has begun like all others. Each transportation system is in motion and everyone is looking forward to getting home.

On the East River, a passenger ferry pulls away from the Wall Street terminal and begins to make its way northeast toward the South Williamsburg terminal. Its course takes it underneath iconic bridges filled with traffic of their own - first the Brookyln bridge, then will come the Manhattan bridge. It begins in typical fashion until the straight and accurate course along the river is suddenly ignored. The passengers are largely oblivious as they focus on their phones or, more rarely, talking with others as the ride continues.

Only when the bow has turned in a port-side turn and the ferry crosses in front of another ferry travelling in the opposite direction is the situation truly recognized. The other ferry sounds its horn in warning and itself veers to avoid a collision. Each vessel carries almost 400 passengers and crew. A collision in the middle of the river would be unthinkable. Yet even as a collision is avoided, the seemingly stricken ferry continues to turn and its passengers begin to scramble to find life vests as the crew seeks to regain control of the straying ferry.

In the vessel's bridge, the crew rush in to find.. the captain collapsed against the wheel clutching at his chest. They rush to try and help him while trying to avert a larger disaster. Only it seems that fate has other plans as the sound of the ferry's metal hull wrending and crushing as it strikes the base of the western pillar of the Brooklyn Bridge. Drivers and pedestrians high above can feel the massive structure shudder and quake from the collision.

The Emergency lines quickly get flooded with calls, radio frequencies for the police and fire and city security chatter wildly with the initial details of the situation.

In upper Manhattan, Diana has just returned from a day of sessions at the United Nations. Emerging from the embassy's vehicle, she smiles and thanks her driver, bidding them a good evening.

Turning to walk into the building, she pauses, tilting her head to listen. Sirens begin to echo through the city. A lot of them.

Troia has posed:
Donna Troy has been... not conflicted lately, but introspective. Considerate. Worried that as she's slowly stepped away from active duty in the Titans, she has not found another way to serve society to the degree she should with her gifts and talents. After all, artistic photography may inspire the masses... but it does not provide direct action towards the application of justice to society's ills.

Which, of course, means she needs a friendly face, and a supporting shoulder... and, well, when one sees a friendly face in the mirror and is reminded someone /else/ has that same face... it's only natural Donna dropped by to visit Diana and catch up and perhaps vent her worries a little. But there are so much more important and time-sensitive worries to deal with.

_Some_ heroic sorts would come face to face and do some sort of humorous confused pointing at one another, but Donna simply smiles wryly to Diana and heaves out a sigh, "I /was/ going to suggest we catch up sister, but..." She glances towards those distant sirens, hands idly fussing with gleaming silver bracers, which of course... don't move, they're securely snug. As always. "I think we may need to provide assistance before we have time for conversation though."

Donna's gone for that 'classic' look of dark body suit that sparkles like a captured galaxy, with silver belt and boots. Her lips quirk in the slightest little grin. "I promise however, I will /most/ certainly pin you down for conversation after whatever trial and tribulation is going on is resolved."

She doesn't /streak/ into the sky, because it would simply be rude to try and outpace Diana. Besides, if they arrive together to the crisis it will be easier for them to coordinate... yes, Donna /does/ remember her training in tactical considerations!

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince felt her sister's presence as her ride drew closer to the Embassy. It made her smile as she looked out the window.

Now here, she looks down from the sky, from trying to pinpoint where the emergency seems to be located.

A warm smile crosses her features. "We will catch up. But yes, you are also correct that the city seems to be in need of us. And if not? We will at least make the offer to assist."

Even as Donna is already rising into the evening sky, Diana pauses. She brings her own silver bracers together, crossed in front of her face. Sliding one across the other as she sweeps her arms downward and then out and upward in a sweeping motion, the metal sparks and then flares almost as bright as a star for a brief moment. As the flare dissipates, Diana stands there in her iconic armor.

"Let's see what is the matter, sister." With a grim smile she, too, rises into the sky to keep pace with her twin. Taking a near vertical path to gain altitude, Diana turns, looking toward the direciton of the sirens and emergency vehicles - land, sea and air.

Smoke rises from the base of the western support of the Brooklyn bridge and a myriad of flashing lights.

"It appears to be at the river. We should move quickly."

Troia has posed:
Donna's own eyes are searching, face shifting into a serious, intent expression, rich blue eyes gleaming, darting, hands balling subconsciously into fists. It's mere seconds of searching and yet clearly even that delay in being able to help frustrates the woman.

But then Diana is in gleaming armor and Donna's grinning with playful insolence as she chirps out, "Well, hopefully nothing so dramatic as to need /two/ amazons. But I think it is good to have /too/ many amazons than too few. And I am feeling... distressingly out of practice."

Donna gives a solemn nod as Diana points to the clear distress at the Brooklyn bridge and Donna propels herself forward, "Indeed! Hopefully it is but an accident and that smoke is not a herald of worse to come. But I'm sure our swift arrival will help calm things..." She pauses for a playful moment, "Which, I admit, is something I'm not used to. The Titans tend to arrive and then make things more hectic! But then, we are, so many of us, more... exuberant than most heroic groups!"

Donna heads directly towards the smoke, but her eyes are sweeping the river on the way, looking for signs of anyone who may have fallen in from whatever has caused this trouble.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince laughs softly, "I don't know, sister. I think that most in the city would think there could never be enough Amazons present. Though likely /not/ for reasons of safety or aid.." Her tone is filled with amusement and irony.

Arriving at the bridge, the biggest concern is the ferry currently crashed into the upstream side of the Brooklyn bridge's pillar base. There seems to be some damage to the base of that pillar - but likely not so much as to place the bridge at risk. It was designed to protect against situations like this. Not that anyone tries to test just how well it could weather a huge impact. At least it wasn't a fully laden barge..

"We should check the ferry. If it is taking water the passengers will need help getting to safety." Calm and logical. Even in the face of an emergency, Diana seeks to remain focused and tactical. Emergencies are not so different from a battlefield.

Troia has posed:
Donna glances towards Diana, eyebrows perking high, "Sister! Really now! Some of the city would surely be of differing opinions. Admittedly, yes, /much/ of the population would be most amenable to an Amazon invasion of sorts... which, of course, is why we must always remain vigilant and steadfast in our dedication to justice and..." She mock frowns, "Well, you know, not taking advantage of the admiration they have for us!"

Donna drops towards the ferry and calls out, "Oh, most certainly! And it will be important to check if the vessel is intact enough to handle a little... helpful nudging! Once we've ensured everyone is safe of course."

And so Donna drops to the deck to begin doing very simple triage, and provide a calming, if somewhat authoritative presence to calm the passengers while working her way towards the bridge... though she has a feeling Diana might just land closer to the bridge of the ferry. She's really not sure why she didn't... must be that recent rustiness is all.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince looks over innocently. "What? I'm just speaking the truth, Donna." Her eyes twinkle with just a little mischief in them.

"Agreed." To checking the integrity of the ferry.

As Donna moves to check on the passengers, Diana does land near the bridge. As the crew tries to administer aid to the stricken Captain, they call to her in panic, "We think he's having a heart attack!" In the river, emergency boats are pulling along side the ferry now. Among them are fire fighters and EMTs as well as police.

Nodding to the crew Diana choses the direct approach. She takes to the air again, swooping down to pick up one of the EMTs under his shoulders. "I apologize but you are urgently needed on the bridge. The Captain is unwell. Possibly his heart the crew said."

Setting the startled EMT on the deck outside the bridge, Diana hovers a moment to make certain the situation on the bridge is under control. She then looks to one of the crew, "What is the status of the ferry. Is it safely floating?"

The woman looks to Diana with large eyes, "It's taking water at the bow because of the collision.We were able to seal off the forward compartments below decks but we're still looking for any other damage or leaking. It's..been difficult with trying to keep the passengers calm." The ferry isn't so large as to have more than a handful of crew members.

Diana nods. "Alright. My sister and I will see to the passengers and help get emergency aid to assist while your crew continue to check the rest of the hull. Call out for me if you find any damage of concern. I will hear you."

The crew member turns, getting the other two on the bridge to go with her to resume inspecting the ferry. As they leave several firefighters finish clambering up to the bridge and move to assist the EMT.

"Donna" comes the quiet voice of Diana, knowing her sister can hear her, "Are there many injured passengers? We may need to try and bring the ferry to shore to facilitate an evacuation."

Troia has posed:
Donna tries to give a world-weary sigh at Diana's blatant, infectious mirth, but it really is infectious and all she can do is smile wider before they're getting to the real nuts and bolts of maritime ferry rescue.

Not that Donna's studied the nuts and bolts of maritime rescue, but she's sure the Coast Guard manual doesn't cover super strength and flight anyhow.

She replies on reflex, just as quiet, "Nothing too severe. Bumps and scrapes, one older fellow with a real goose egg on his head but he insists he's fine... but he /did/ agree to at least stay seated for now after I asked. Nicely."

Donna continues to move through the passengers, ensuring they're calming, that everyone's staying well away from the edges of the deck. "I mean, if the ship's stable enough that it won't split in half, we could... lift it? I don't know... are the bottoms of these things flat like a longship? We could just set it down up on the river bank if they are..."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince considers and nods, seemingly to herself. They are at different ends of the ferry but still conversing as if they are face to face. "It does not seem to be taking on so much water it is at risk of sinking... yet. One moment sister" she asks.

Turning toward one of the emergency organizers she converses with him. "My sister and I are able to assist further. How can we help?" The man rubs the back of his neck. "Well the ferry doesn't seem to be sinking.. but if that changes, we're looking at depths of around forty feet here. It'll complicate things. A lot. We also need to get engineers in to examine the bridge support and make sure there's no risk to its integriy. Something like that? I don't want to think about having to try and evacuate the whole bridge. It's already a parking lot. NYPD is trying to get everyone moving and clear of the whole span but it's going to take time." He pauses as the crew woman returns. "We've secured all compartments. The flooding is just at the bow where the hull hit the pillings around the bridge. We've lost primary electrical. I think we're safe to be towed to shore but we're not going to be doing it on our own power for at least another thirty minutes.." the crew woman looks to the fire captain and then Diana to let them decide.

Diana nods to the report then looks to the fire captain, "My sister and I can easily pull the ferry back toward the dock. We can ensure that it will remain afloat long enough to get the passengers safely evacuated. Where do you want us to tow it? Back to the Wall Street terminal?"

The captain considers and nods. "We're close enough that makes sense. We'll have emergency services reroute there. There's more than enough room to set up triage and help everyone that needs it."

With a nod, Diana. rises into the air. "We well get the ferry safely to the dock while you coordinate, Captain. If you need us, just call out."

Quietly as before Diana speaks, "Donna. When you are able, please join me at the bow. The Fire Captain from the emergency boat has asked us to get the ferry back to the dock."

From the bridge the distance is less than a half mile.

Troia has posed:
Donna, of course, heard most of this, even as she was busy reassuring citizens and making sure the most vulnerable were secure, and of course, even following the buddy system. And so she's already moving to join her sister as Diana is doing what she does best, leading and strategizing.

Donna's even smiling as she arrives, eyes narrowing as she's reaching down to her hip to pat her own lasso, head tilting. "I'm afraid I don't have /all/ the nautical terms memorized, but we can certainly tie onto the... things that tug boats tie onto when /they/ pull a boat..."

She eyes the span of river to the shore and murmurs dryly, "If we stay /just/ above the water we won't even have to worry about getting too chilly. And we can move carefully."

She sighs out and proceeds to float further towards the bow of the ferry, "Let us get these poor people to the shore calmly and casually. I do believe they've had enough excitement for the day, no? And then we can go get... hm.." She tilts her head thoughtfully, "We will have to decide what is an appropriate post-maritime operation treat. Cinnamon rolls?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince barely contains a laugh at the oh-so-technical terms used. "Yes. Exacly." She considers, while reaching for her own lasso, "With both of us at the front, we should be fine until we near the dock then it might be best to split one to the bow and one to the stern to control bringing it to the dock so that it can be secured."

Looking to Donna, she smiles, ".. perhaps so, sister" she agrees but gently chides, "but we have work to do before we consider leisure."

Looping her lasso around one of the brackets along the front of the ferry, she waits for Donna to do the same and then begins to pull as they both fly toward the dock. Given their individual abilities, their combined strength makes quick work of the distance. Just a little less than five minute later the ferry is safely moored to the dock. Remaining until all of the passengers and crew are evacuated from the boat, Diana turns to Donna and then offers a smile to the coordinators approaching them on the dock.

"Wonder Woman.. Wonder.. girl?" someone hasn't gotten the memo, "Thank you for your quick response and all of your help. I don't know if we could have gotten the ferry back to the dock as safely if you hadn't been here to assist. We have engineering crews getting ready to go inspect the bridge foundations to make sure there is no actual structural damage. The pilings around the base of the tower are there to protect against events like this. But I can't remember the last time any vessel on the river did hit.. which is good." He smiles wearily then looks back to the two Amazons, "I think we've got everything under control. The ferry's captain is on his way to the hospital. He'll get all the help he needs. Thank you again."

Diana nods to the man, "We are happy to help as residents of Manhattan ourselves." A smile is exchanged with Donna.

Troia has posed:
Donna is so close to rolling her eyes at Diana but... she's right. And her sister. And means well.

And rolling your eyes at /Wonder Woman/ in front of people you're rescuing is downright unthinkable.

Which is why Donna is so very serene as she works alongside Diana to bring the ship to shore, and ensure it's properly secure and not going to slip back into the water, and even takes time to double check on the elderly fellow with the head bump and assure him that this /almost/ never happens really.

It's only once they're alone, or at least as alone enough to share soft words that Donna murmurs dryly, "I /will/ point out sister, that we may be best served enjoying any leisure at home, or at least the Embassy. We're sure to draw attention if we go to a bakery as we are."

She fights to hold back a wider grin, "And it has been /too/ long since I've enjoyed shuffling around things on your desk. Just to keep you sharp, dearest sister."

And then Donna's practically /zooming/ into the air and towards the Embassy... she's /sure/ she can outrun Diana's reaction.

But that may be a tale for another day!