4054/Small Matter: A Second Fitting

Small Matter: A Second Fitting
Date of Scene:	13 March 2018
Location:	JVD Offices
Synopsis:	A second attempt is taken on Janet van Dyne's life. This time, an assailant is taken in.
Cast of Characters:	Black Knight, Wasp (van Dyne)
Tinyplot:	Small Matter

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Black Knight has posed:
    Getting to work late has started to become something that a few of the employees snicker about. They snicker, but it is behind a smile. The fact of the matter is, more than a few are thrilled for Janet. She works them hard, but she has always been fair and people are getting rich working for her. It is hard to hate a boss like that. Add to it her well-deserved reputation as a hero, and it is one of the happier design houses.

    Her companion is maybe the one causing the snickering though. Dane looks a little rough this morning. He's a bit scruffy, and he keeps yawning. He sure is happy looking other than the tired, though. It is an odd look on his face, this faint smile. Normally he only smiles when he's about to get into a fight.

    Heather Williams is not built like Janet. Heather, once upon a time, was a plus size model. While she has slimmed down, she has always leaned towards the more generous curves. Now in her early thirties, Heather is a capable corporate executive. She is waiting for Janet in Janet's office as she breezes in. She looks at her watch and clucks her tongue, then sees Dane come in, carrying Janet's belongings and bags. "You might just kill him, Janet." She says breezily. She hops up from her perch near the desk to walk over to teasingly pop Dane's cheek. "Poor boy needs some coffee?" She asks. "If so, could you get some for Janet and I too?" She has no idea she is bossing around an Avenger. Dane mutely nods, flicking his gaze over to Janet. "Coffee or that chai tea you enjoy, Miss van Dyne." Oh so proper in his guise as Janet's new 'assistant'.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    Janet may -feel- a bit rough, but she never LOOKS it. At least not around the office. Dressed impeccably as ever, her command of the situation remains firm. "I'll have the chai this morning, Dane. Thank you." The tongue-clucking is ignored, of course, although Heather does get a brief 'look' for the boldness.

    It's still Jan's company, after all.

    Waiting for Dane to step out for the morning drinks, she asks. "What brings you by this morning, Heather? My calendar was clear until eleven."

Black Knight has posed:
    Dane exits with a little nod. Heather smiles at Janet. "Oh., I know I should be nicer. He's just so big, Janet! Where is he from, Nebraska? Those arms! Not at all what anyone expected. What exercise routine have you got him on? Is he a decathlete? He's like made of iron! Are there anymore like him where you found him?" Heather very much thinks of Dane as Janet's latest boy toy.
    "I am here because I had an idea." She says it as if expecting applause. "What if we were to use your little helpers.' She means the Pym particles, "--to make the woman fit the dress. Impregnate the dress with them. I know, they would be incredibly prohibitive, but think of it? I could wear your dress some evening. A pushup bra? Nope. Enjoy a little size boost?" She almost dances about the office. "Oh, I know you want women to feel beautiful no matter what, but not all of us are perfect things with a wasp-ish waist like you." Heather teases the woman with the warmth borne from years of association. She must really be in love with this idea, she is laying it on thick. "Before you get too upset at the idea. Think of the girls with body images. All that binging, purging, the crash diets. I bet this sort of thing would be good for health. Come on, let's at least try it, if only for a gimmick at an investor conference?" Her eyes almost sparkle at the idea. "Imagine the buzz we could cause?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    If there's one thing that Jan learned from Hank, it's that there will ALWAYS be people trying to learn or steal his technology. So while she's not exactly paranoid, Jan has always dilligently foiled any such attempts. She hops up onto the edge of the desk, letting her feet swing a bit while Heather makes her case.

    "I've heard these arguments before, Heather, but there are a few problems with the idea. The first is intellectual property: it's not my tech to sell." Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration. "The second is cost. The modifications you're suggesting are prohibitively expensive, even for a van Dyne original. And the third is principle. We don't need gimicks to sell our designs."

Black Knight has posed:
    She gives an exaggerated little pout of her lips. "You are right, and I know it. I'm just fascinated with the possibilities." She admits it. "The freedom of design, the potential!" She shakes her head. "You went viral during the invasion, with you smashing a tank with your giant backside. Women are paying attention, another little splash would be good." She notes. "Imagine if you could make feet fit the shoe." She sounds wistful as she stands. Her phone gives a text alert.

    As she turns to get it, there is a shriek in the hallway, and then five gunshots in rapid succession. One bullet wedges in the door. Heather's eyes go immense, and she starts to crawl over your desk in the most undignified manner. "Holy cats!" She squeals. She seems confused and scared. The gunshots were close, somewhere in the hallway outside the office.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    Shit. One moment Jan is there, and the next her expensive pants suit is fluttering to the floor. She's wearing a Wasp costume beneath it, after all the fuss with the drones. Wasp doesn't bother opening the door, but instead she zooms down towards the gap at the floor level.

    And that's where she stops, curiously enough. Jan knows that Dane is outside, however tired-looking he may be. She's also strategic enough to know that whoever is after her must KNOW she is Wasp. A hero. An Avenger. They'll be expecting her to act like one.

    She has to trust that Dane can take care of himself. She knows that he can, of course, but it goes against her instincts to just wait. No matter how much this -smells- like a trap. Taking a moment, she looks out from beneath the door into the hallway.

Black Knight has posed:
    That is a lot of blood in a very short amount of time. On the ground is one of the office girls. A pretty little thing with more than a passing resemblance to Janet. She is screaming, and appears to have been struck in the left arm, it's a graze. It isn't her blood that is flowing though. He was tired, and his guard was down. Given the shots, he didn't have a lot of time. So, like the idiot he can be, he threw himself over the girl. Typical stupid Whitman. The knight with a deathwish. It happened too fast for him to call his armor, and rather than watch the girl die, he must have flung himself over her. Coffee and tea cover the floor, and blood is mixing into it. The office girl is shrieking in abject terror and pain.

    A gun hits the ground, and heeled shoes race off. There is a mountain in Janet's way, but she catches sight of the fleeing attacker after a moment. Another one of the office help, maybe? Smartly dressed, blond, tall, and running down the hallway in a panic. Janet has seen her before, but not often. She is new. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know this was a botched attempt. The heels clicking is rapid as she flees down the hallway, having completely lost her composure.

    The gun smokes a little as it lies there.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    Damn damn damn. Wasp buzzes up for a clearer shot, zapping a couple of bioelectric jolts at the fleeing girl. Trying to stun, against her better judgement. Then she flits over to where Dane is protecting the fallen girl with his own, bleeding body. Back to full size again, the wings shrink away and she points to one of the other, stunned staffers. "Call Security and seal the building! Now! No one leaves. And call 911."

    A man's life is more important than capturing an assailant, after all. Shrinking down about a foot, her strength increases and the petite woman somehow hefts Dane off of the girl. That's when she sees the dangling amulet slip out of his shirt. "Actually, forget calling 911..." Flying with the big, bleeding man upon one shoulder she touches the amulet and tries to call for Strider. She's heading towards the stairway, and then up to the roof.

Black Knight has posed:
    The blond crumples with a gasp and a shriek as Wasp pops her with her bio-electric bolts. The shooter's neatly coiffed hair poofs from static, and with an ungraceful sort of motion, falls to the ground, sliding on the tile floor as she goes limp as a fish. It is an undignified pose that she ends up in.

    Janet sees Aaron Marvin, a big salesman come rushing out of his office, to sit on the girl, to pin her. "I already called Miss van Dyne!" he announces. He was bright enough to stay out of the way when there was shooting, but he steps up when the gun seems to be out of play. As Janet whispers 'Avalon', there is this pregnant pause. Magic is a fickle thing. There is this twisting sensation, as if it accepts the woman. It is not an entirely pleasant sort of sensation, and there is this feeling as if there will be a cost for it. As she starts to lift the man, the horse appears right there in the hallway, his wings spread wide in alarm and surprise as he appears. Dane's armour and weapons do not appear on him, as she only wanted the horse, but right there, on the horse's saddle, strapped there securely, is the vaguely malevolent golden hilt of the Ebony blade.

    Just touching it, and there is this elusive menace in her mind. A bloodlust. She should kill the girl who shot him. Drive the darkly blazing blade right into her belly and let the girl's blood bathe the sword. It calls to her. No need for this pathetic knight, seeking to do 'Righteous work'. She could be a queen, a dark ruler with her heavy sword. She just needs to bury the sword in the knight's chest. End his accursed line. It will be hers.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    Wow. Horse. She carefully hefts the big man over the saddle, with strength that's surprising for a woman her size. Then she touches the hilt, and blinks at the malevolence that seems to ooze from it like a presence. Kill. Glory. Queen. Kill. End Him. Hers.

    After a moment, the office staff stunned with the white, winged stallion right there in the building, she takes Dane's hand and wraps his fingers around the hilt of the Ebony Blade. "No." she murmurs, to no one in particular. She holds his hand there, turning towards Aaron now. "Make sure the girl who was in such a hurry to leave gets properly bound. We should have strapping tape in the mail room."

    Turning towards the girl with the grazed shoulder who was screaming, she offers. "Jenny, just put some pressure on that shoulder until the EMT's get here. Cloth rather than paper. Keeps the wound clean."

Black Knight has posed:
    It's like fingers in her mind. They peel back from her psyche. It is a slow thing. There is a lingering malevolence for a moment after the sword is gone. This sensation of emptiness. In her mind. There were no real words. Just a sense of immense power, and a noble thing, drowned in the blood of evildoers, until maybe some of the evil started to stick. A fallen sword, if such a thing is possible.

    The blood flow slows but does not stop as the sword finds its way into Dane's hand.

    Then, it's gone. Her mind is clear. People spring to do as they are told. "Holy crap. Is Dan the Black Knight?" Fay, a young sales rep who comes to help Jenny with her wound asks. Dan.

    'Dan' is breathing, shallowly. The horse is still and just looks at the Wasp. There is no way he can fly and keep the man and the sword on his back unassisted. The horse shakes out his mane with worry. His left front hoof stamps at the ground.

    The shooter is still down. In the distance, sirens blare.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
    For a moment Jan leans a bit onto Strider while the dark presence seeps back from her mind. The emptiness is almost palpable. The power, once tremendous, is gone. Jan shakes her head, perhaps Strider's worried mane-toss breaking the reverie.

    She laughs softly, then. "Dan? The Black Knight? Oh don't be silly. Strider, here, is on loan to me for that publicity shoot." Oh, but she's a glib liar. Even as her free hand strokes the animal's mane. One hand on Dane's back, Jan swings up lightly into the saddle as best she can to hold the man on.

    Strider knows her, but he tosses his head and stamps again. "Easy, boy." she offers softly. "Aaron, when the police arrive tell them exactly what happened. Strider, here, came when I called. He's on loan from one of my colleagues with the Avengers. I'm taking Dan to get medical treatment. Believe me when I tell you it's faster this way."

    Jan points towards the shooter, then. "I want THAT woman arrested, and I intend to see her prosecuted fully on all charges. And someone check to see that Heather is alright. She was in my office when the shooting started."