340/Moderate trouble in little China

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Moderate trouble in little China
Date of Scene: 09 May 2017
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: 273, Harley Quinn, 187




Casper (273) has posed:
Crime is a way of life in Gotham. On the mean streets there are often terf wars between gangs, especially the smaller ones trying to gain power and prestige. A small family grocery store is the setting for a fight between two such gangs. Four young men and one girl wearing leather with a bandanas that resemble a skull over the bottom half of their face are having a bit of a argument with the Silver Dragons. One of the silver Dragon's mother owns the grocery store.

It's hard to tell who started it but the Silver Dragons plan on finishing it especially since one of the Reapers through a brick into the front window of Ms. Lin's shop. The two gangs face off in the street as the elderly lady who owns the shop yells at them in her native tongue and people scatter. Ms. Lin yells at her son who yells back at her to get back inside then his mother's mother starts yelling at him from the upstairs apartment above the shop and he starts yelling back at her. One of the Reapers looks at one of the other Dragons and then motions to the family squabble as if asking, 'Seriously?' but the Dragon shrugs. Parents, what can you do, you know? Finally, a few minutes later the old lady is ushered back into the store and the leader of the Dragons walks back to his crew swearing something about old people.

Knives are drawn, baseball bats are twirled, one of the Reapers pulls out a knife but the girl of the group, she lives up to the name, she pulls out a freaking machine gun ready to reap some souls!! This prompts the Dragons to take cover and take out guns of their own. Soon both sides are armed and behind cover, cars, brick walls, a trash dumpster.

The streets clear outside Ms Lin's little shop as the two sides get ready to throw down. Each gang calling out insults and threats to the other but no one actually shooting because neither side wants to be part of the bloodbath that would happen if they did... it's a tense situation that could be set off like an explosive if anything was to shatter the fragile status quo and push one side to start firing first.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley still hasn't changed since her bout of the Ultraviolent last night. Black and red checked converse hightops, a pair of red overalls that are decorated with black diamonds and a t-shirt that bears the Joker's signature smile. She could be just a groupie or a cosplayer, except for the medium velocity spatter effect on her clothes and up one side of her face.

While most people clear out of the way of the oncoming firefight, not Harley. Nope. She is walking down the middle of the street, right between the two warring factions.

She stops to look at them, ping-ponging her head from one group to the other and back again. "Does anyone know where I can get a good bagel around her? I'm starvin'!"

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford had been spending a lot of time in Gotham as of late. Not because he planned on it, but because, when you're on the run from the law, Gotham seems to be a good place to go to keep low. Everyone is more concerned with the big crimes happening right in front of little shops like this. Amusing as they may be. Until someone whips out a machine gun. It's always fun and games until they draw guns.

    Under normal circumstances, Ford should have no reason to get involved. Not with a name, an MO, and a duplicate of himself to catch. But... even though he played the hero on TV, a part of him really wanted to try being a proper hero a bit more. He had the powers... it was really just a matter of using them. And disguising himself. Hiding an alleyway nearby, Ford knelt down and took off his backpack, unzipping it and looking inside at his costume that he'd managed to bring with him. You know... just in case. Seems now would be a good time for a hero to step in and stop all of this. His pace in changing hurried when he saw the lone female standing in the street asking about food. She was gonna get herself killed!

Casper (273) has posed:
Both the Dragons and the Reapers look confused as to who this crazy woman is and why she is in the line of fire. One of the dragons yells, "Get out of way, laydee! You in line of fire!" and one of the more Americanized Dragons also yells out, "Move!! Get out of the way!!" waving a hand at Harley as if he can swipe left her out of the road. One of the Reapers on the other hand, he's not an idiot. He recognizes the smile on her clothing and her unique fashion style. "Holy shit, I think that's.." then his voice goes more quiet. The girl on the Reapers team can be heard by Harley and Ford saying, "No shit? You fucking kidding me?" then she yells loud enough for the Dragons to hear, "Well, since you pussies are too soft to shoot a woman I guess we win! Better throw down your guns and go buy some fresh panties for those great big floppy vaginas you just grew when your balls dropped off!"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley is enjoying this, watching the two groups try to shoo her away. She looks from to the other, seeing who is going to give her the better incentive to leave. Apparently, neither.

When one group starts to recognize her, she gushes with happiness, waving a hand in dismissal. "Oh yous! I ain't here ta ruin yer good time. I just really need a bagel. So just point the way and you can go back ta shootin' yerselves to yer hearts delight."

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    "Nobody will be shooting anyone tonight!"

    A defiant declaration calls out from the corner of a nearby fire escape. Arms folded, cape billowing in the tense breeze, one could almost mistake it for the Dark Knight at first glance. But closer inspection proves otherwise. This one is more gray, wearing a matching hat, and just an eye mask. No cowl, no pointy ears. It might come as a relief to some... but perhaps that relief is replaced by worry of who this new caped crusader could be.

    "Drop your weapons and nobody has to get hurt!" he orders, before eyeing Harley. Damn... take off the blood and he wouldn't mind giving that Harley a revving... focus! "And you, ma'am! If you're looking for food, there is a corner mart down the street that sells sandwiches... and I'm sure a clothing store to change out of those bloody clothes. Now, I'm giving you all a chance to end this peacefully, or else you face Mr. Amazing!"

Casper (273) has posed:
Lets face it, the Gotham education system isn't really what it should be and the members of these gangs aren't really swimming in the deep end of the gene pool. If they were they would have jobs and lives outside of trying to push drugs and extort the business owners in their own neighborhoods. The dragons are easily goaded by the taunting, "We shoot anyone! You the one with big floppy vagina! Floppy like elephant!"

The lady Reaper is behind cover snickering to herself. She yells out, "Prove it! Shoot that one!" trying to get the idiots to shoot the Joker's girl friend and bring his wrath down on them but her plan is interrupted by Mr. Amazing!!

One of the Dragons says to their leader, "Where did Juin go?" and he looks back then looks around for their missing friend, "He must have run off. No big. We got this." then both sides peek out of cover to look at Mr. Amazing. Lady Reaper looks over at the man in the cape and does the only sensible thing she yells, "Oh no! It's Mr. Amazing! We give up! Here I'll throw you my gun! Just don't hurt us!" then she reaches behind her back and pulls out a grenade throwing it towards the feet of Mr. Amazing!!

Something truely horrible happens to Harley while all this is going on... she's being... ignored.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn looks over in the direction of the woman who is trying to get her shot. "Hey! I ain't bullet proof! And ta think I was startin' ta like yer smart ass mouth!" She is about to say more when out comes Mr. Amazing.

Like the others, she is stunned to silence for a moment. Is this real? She starts looking around for the cameras. This is a joke, right? Maybe her Puddin' put some poor schmuck up to this. She realizes everyone's eyes are on this Captian Incredible guy and huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her vision.

"Buddy, I wasn't actually hungry. Was just playin' with my food. You know? Cat? Mouse?"

Then there is the familiar clatter of a grenade on cement. She knows tht sound. It's almost religious how well she knows that sound. "Shit," is all she manages to say before she starts to dive for cover.

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford continued to stand tall in spite of the grenade being lobbed his way, eyeing Harley to make sure she got clear before smirking back at the female Reaper member. "So, wanting to start off with a bang, hrm?" he asked, before crouching... and taking an impressive flying leap into the air! As the grenade explodes far below him, the concussive force may very well send him even higher! After all, what is a mere kilogram of weight to a grenade blast. Slowing his decent impressively with his parachuting cape, "Mr. Amazing" laughed as he looked at the Reapers huddled down below him. "Time for you all to grasp the gravity of the situation!"

    As if on cue, Ford fell like a rock towards the group, plummeting hard and landing with the force of 10 tons into the cement below, probably developing a shockwave that would hopefully knock them all off their guards... and the guns out of their hands. Then again, when you're dense enough to weigh 10 tons, bullets pose little danger to you.

Casper (273) has posed:
Harley dives for cover as the grenade is thrown only something strange happens as she dives to the ground a blue, semi-transparent figure rises up through it and hugs her tightly, when she hits the ground she goes right through the pavement and ends up laying on the side of a sewer tunnel, face down in the muck. "Sorry." a glowing blue, ghostly, teenage boy says, "Didn't have time to do that gracefully." then he steps right through the wall of the tunnel and disappears leaving her to ponder what the hell just happened.

The Strange part is that she feels.. Just amazing afterwards, Pumped and more alive than she has any right to feel. She is filled with hope and positivity like she could single handedly take down the Batman herself. Hope is a hell of a drug and she'll have it in her system for a good hour or two after being phased through that street. The earth shakes as she staggers her way through the tunnel under the street finding herself so happy she just has to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Above ground the Reapers are tossed into the air by the impact of the hero. A watermain busts, a street lamp topples over, windows shatter, brick walls crack, the pavement crumbles inward in an impact radius around where he lands and birds take to the sky for a mile in all directions. "Fuck this!" one of the Dragons says and they start running. They aren't going to mess with this guy. He's insane!

Lady reaper lands on her pert ass and blinks in confusion at all the destruction. She's lost her machine gun. It fell to the side when she was launched into the air. The other reapers quickly come to the conclusion this fight isn't worth it and start to scatter but she's not giving up so easily. Once more living up to her name, Lady Reaper pulls out a flip-razor and leaps forward slashing at the caped hero trying to back him up enough so she'll have time to get to her gun!

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford doesn't seem too fazed by the knife the Lady Reaper draws on him. Not because he can shrug it off with his density, but as he goes into a readied martial arts stance, it's clear that even if she could cut him, he was prepared for it. Her moves were clumsy and untrained, the sort of thing they teach you in martial arts training. So for Ford, it's barely even a challenge to see through her swings.

    Ducking and weaving, he spied a practiced opening and seized on it, aiming to get the woman gang member's blade arm in a grapple, before trying to spin her around and lock her arm behind her back. "Normally, I take a lady out to dinner before getting to such rough play. But if you want to skip the pleasantries and get to the action, I won't argue~"

Casper (273) has posed:
A young man wearing anachronistic clothing that most people wouldn't recognize is suddenly there as Ford goes all Jackie Chan on her. By the time she's in the armlock and all helpless the boy is just there as if from nowhere a few feet away from the struggling couple, "Her name" he says panting as if he's out of breath, "Is Areala, she has a younger sister named Mayla who lives with her and her grandmother." the young winded man says. She seems surprised that he knows who she is, "You! You're the one who's been stalking me! I seen you outside the church!" it's hard to believe this lunatic goes to church but under the mask and the heavy eyeliner there is a real girl. Casper leans over putting one hand on his knee and holding the other one up like he's asking for a moment, "Can you.. " he says catching his breath, "Just hold on one second." he asks them both.

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford blinked as a young man just... appeared and started to list off details about the girl he had in his grip. He looks exhausted, though... question was, from what? But he seemed to have a plan in place... and had one for a long time. "Hey, you seem to know what you're doing. I won't stop you... now, whether I can hold on depends entirely on Miss... Areala, was it? Now, I have no issue being so close to a lady, but if you can promise no more weapons, I'll let ya go... for now~"

Casper (273) has posed:
The oddly dressed man needs a minute to recover, the Lady Reaper being held tight in Ford's arms giggles and wiggles against him teasingly as if she's having a great time. "I usually like being the one doing the arm lock. Let me go and we'll see how you like it." she says teasing Ford like the crazy punk she is.

After a few moments the boy straightens up and says, "Stop it, Areala. This isn't who you are." and is it just Ford being hyped up on the excitement of it all or can he actually see the flashing lights of the car alarm going off behind the boy through his shoulder and arm? That can't be.. But.. yeah the light seems to be going through him with each flash. She doesn't seem to notice.

"It wasn't fair that the incident took your mother from you. I know you feel like nothing matters, that life is just a string of cruel events and you have to be hard to protect yourself but it's only that way if you let it be. Your mother wouldn't want this! She would want you taking care of your sister, making a real future for yourself! You can be better than this!" he says as he looks at the girl. She looks confused at Casper, "What do you care?! Who the hell are you?" she demands.

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford smirked back at the young lady. "Sorry. I like to be in the driver's seat, because I know the road best~" he replied, before looking up more seriously at the young man... and blinking a couple times. Was he... looking THROUGH him? Last Ford checked, he didn't have X-Ray vision powers... he checked the woman to make sure, and... no, he couldn't see through her. So, it must be this kid in particular who was so... odd. But he seemed to be following this girl for a while... and he had some good advice.

    Ford let go as he stepped back, hands on his hips as the boy spoke. "I have to echo the sentiment on who he is... but regardless, he's right. Believe me, I know that very well. It is a difficult line to walk, being strong without being heartless... but it is a line worth walking. There will be fighting, yes... of all sorts. Of all kinds. The true question is: what is worth fighting for?"

    Ford paused a bit, tilting his head to one side before reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a small card. Looks to be a number for a producer. "Here... try this. Call the man on that card. Tell him you're a young lady in need of work. I'm sure he knows someone who can get you a hand."

Casper (273) has posed:
The young man in the strange clothing smiles as the hero learns to resolve issues without having to punch her into unconsciousness. "He's right. You can still stop. You can still live a good life. You had faith once. You knew the light inside yourself. You can find it again. She still watches over you and she believes in you. You can do better. If you don't believe me, go to Orchard and Park, stand under the big shade tree in on the corner and look at the building across the street. You'll find what you've been missing there." he says which sounds like cryptic gibberish.

The woman looks at them both like they've grown two heads as crazy as the Joker. She mutters, "I don't have to listen to this crap!" she snatches the card angrily and walks over to pick up her gun. "You're /both/ crazy." she says but she's walking away without shooting them and she did take the card. Who knows what her future might hold.

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford watched the young woman walk off towards wherever Orchard and Park was. He was hesitant to let her keep the gun... but in this city, perhaps it was better to let her keep a way to defend herself. He just hoped it was the wise choice. "...you never did answer her question." he replied, turning back to the see-through young man. "Who are you? Why such an interest in a gang member?"

Casper (273) has posed:
The man in the world war 2 outfit smiles and says cheerfully, "Me? I'm just friendly." then he turns and starts to walk off to. Just a friend? Seriously? Just friendly? He's expects that to be enough? What kind of jerk gives an answer like that then leaves? Can he get away with that? Isn't that against the rules? Isn't there a minimal amount of exposition required on his backstory? This is not how that question is suppose to work!

Ford might notice that it's not just his shoulder that goes see through when you put a bright light behind it. The blaring light of the headlights show through his torso as he starts to walk away. W.T.F.?

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford blinked as the young man simply told him he was 'friendly' and started to saunter off. Oh no, you don't get away from a movie star wanted for murder that easy. "So, is that a first or last name?" he asked, quickly jogging to keep pace with him. "And, forgive me, but I suspect there is more to you than just 'friendly'. Considering I can see right through you. And I'm fairly sure I can't do that with other things, so the logical answer is, it's you. So, I ask again: who are you? Name, at least? So I can thank you for de-escalating a tense standoff properly?"

Casper (273) has posed:
Seeing that he's not going to get away with simple answers and knowing how stubborn heroes in capes can be, Casper stops and says, "Private, Casper McFadden, U.S. Army. C.C. " then he looks over at the place where the fighting happened and sees a gun on the ground left by one of the gang members, "You can thank me by picking up the guns for me? We wouldn't want some kid finding it." he says in not at all in an attempt to get the hero distracted. He puts his hands inside his black leather jacket oversized pockets as he stops and waits for the man in the cape to pick up the guns.

Ford Benett (187) has posed:
    Ford tilted his head a bit, blinking as the young man identified himself. Military? ...him? He seemed a bit... young for service. But, at least he had a name. Something he could work with, at least. "Well, thank you, Casper, for your help. Always nice to put things at ease without a fight. Just hope you're right about the young lady."

    Looking around at the dispersed weapons, Ford grimaced, before shrugging. "I suppose you are right. Best to hand them into the police. Perhaps they could make better use of them." Why the young man didn't go to pick them up immediately if it was such a concern was obvious, but... he clearly wanted to be left alone. "Very well. Have a good evening, Casper."

Casper (273) has posed:
"Cubes think that war, and death, or money and greed are the strongest things in the world. " Casper says as the hero-actor turns away to pick up the weapons, "But it's hope and friendship. As long as you have those, you can can any problem. Keep that in mind. " but by the time Ford looks back he's gone. He didn't walk away, there was no sound of him teleporting, no woosh of air, footsteps or gateways, he's just gone. Thinking back, Ford might realize, even when he was walking, Capser didn't have any footsteps. How odd is that?