4585/The Ghosts and the Darkness

The Ghosts and the Darkness
Date of Scene:	05 June 2018
Location:	Metropolis
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Superboy, Ravager

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Superboy has posed:
"So those aliens almost razed Metro last year but somehow this neighborhood made it out without serious damage," mutters Conner. If there is an area of Metropolis that needed renewal it was New Troy.

It is still pretty early. Conner took Rose to her apartment for the weapons and armor, and then flew them both to Metropolis, to the worst area of Metropolis, the Suicide Slum. Here the streets are narrow and dirty, and small business of honest traders mix with Intergang-controlled dive bars, brothels and gambling dens. But most of those are closed at this time.

Rose's informants point out a huge redheaded man that must be Baran Finders is indeed hiding in one of the gambling dens after bribing the local lowlife that owns it. Said lowlife promptly sold him out without realizing his place was in danger to get thrashed badly if someone came for the super-strong metahuman. So Ravager is in a bit of a race to catch the super-criminal, other bounty hunters and maybe the police will be here soon. It could get pretty messy. There is not much time to scout the area and take the usual precautions.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager is armed and armored up as Ravager, completely with swords, an automatic, and a couple of throwing knives. This isn't the way she likes to work, but sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt. Ideally she would've had time to gather intel, right down to the comings and goings of everyone in the neighborhood.

It's something she learned from her father; if you know who *belongs* in a neighborhood, then it's easy to spot your adversaries.

But inelegant as this is, at least she's got some proper muscle to back her. And to carry her as well. "We need intel, dammit." she grumbles. "Or at least where the back door is. I -hate- just busting in."

Superboy has posed:
She hates busting in? "Liar," states Conner, looking at the white-haired young lady with a smirk in his lips. "But I can take a look and find you the back door. If there is any. Chances are we need to go into some commons area or something. Spook some neighbors." No, no x-ray vision for this half-Kryptonian. He does not like it much either. There are just too many people in the street for a super-powered brawl. But the gambling den is closed, so maybe mostly empty.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager snorts, drawing both swords. "Hey, you don't want me to go back on the inhalers again. So let's try to keep things at least reasonably predictable, 'kay?" She starts for the front door, intending an entry that will promote speed over subtlety. "I'll give you thirty seconds to plug the back door, then I'm going in."

Superboy has posed:
Inhalers? No, Conner knows nothing of Rose's addictions besides some drinking, which does little to her super-metabolism anyway. He might ask later but now. "Splitting the party?" Always a bad idea! According to Gar Logan at least. But he has to assume Rose knows what she is doing. "Alright, I'll hurry up. And try to hear you if you say something." He flies to the back of the building, trying to be quick so no one can see him. Sure, there are back doors. Well, doors. He picks one at random and... sneaks in. Or rather, moves in boldly clad in red, blue and a leather jacket.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager closes her eyes just outside the front door, trying to focus on her precognition. Nothing. Maybe something will come to her when the adrenaline kicks in. Of course by then she'll be fighting for her life. Ah well. Just for laughs she'll try the door first. Yep, locked. Then she throws her weight against the door. Rose weighs about a buck fifteen without the body armor, but she has the Wilson genes. Using the strength of her legs as well as her arm and shoulder, she bashes the door down quite nicely.

Superboy has posed:
And that door was a good door forty years ago. Now it is thrash, just like most of the neighborhood, so the Wilson genes win the day and the bolt bends and then yields, along with a chunk of old wood from a side of the door.

No alarms sound either. But there is a scuffled just ahead. There is a small cubicle in the hallway, where in better times a doorman must have lurked. Now there is a scruffy man in an old, dirty suit trying to wake up and see what is going on. He smells to alcohol and was obviously sleeping a second ago.

Ravager has posed:
Once inside, Rose moves quickly into the building. It's a jog for her, which means it's blitzkrieg speed for most anyone else. The old man gets hit by a sword pommel before he's even completely awake, then it's Good Night Gracie all over again. Rose does a quick search for a key ring, checking out the room and looking around for options.

Superboy has posed:
The scruffy man is knocked out quickly enough, and he does have some keys. Hard to say if they are from the den or from his home. Regardless there is a bar ahead, a few tables and upturned chairs. It is poorly lit, but Rose has keen eyesight, so no big dead. There are some voices up ahead, deeper into the building. Offices at one side, and a larger room at another, with more tables. Lights at the end.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager scoops up the keys for later, tucking them into a belt pouch where they won't jingle. She makes her way into the poorly-lit bar, focusing on the sights and sounds. Following the sounds of the voices, the petite blonde checks the other rooms that she passes. Con wouldn't let her hear the end of it if she allowed them to get ambushed from behind.

Superboy has posed:
Fortunately Conner has become lost in the labyrinthic mess of not fully legal reconstructed tenements that is the city block. Not that he has much to complain about getting ambushed after the incident with the aquatic dinosaur last year.

On the other hand Suicide Slum thugs are dumber than aquatic dinosaurs. What Rose finds is a trio of middle-aged hoodlums playing poker in a corner table. They are armed, the shoulder holsters obvious with their jackets off. There is no AC in the gambling den. Unless Rose is careless, they fail to spot her.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager catches sight of the game, and crashes into the room as quickly and quietly as a cloud slipping in front of the moon. Sword in each hand, two thugs are dead before they even fall out of their chairs. And as she steps out of the shadows to the third, the crossed blades at his throat are wet with blood. "Where is he?" she murmurs, from behind her mask. "And use your quiet-voice."

Superboy has posed:
Too quickly for the thugs to see, Ravager's swords are driving through the hearts of two of them, causing the third to jump back startled. The chair falls back and he ends up on the floor with a loud thud. Before he can even reach for his gun he has bloodied swords on his throat. Wild eyed, he freezes, blinking quickly. "W-who?" Is all he manages to answer, voice quiet. Too scared to even think.

Behind Rose one of the other thugs slides to the floor with a clatter, dead. The third has slumped on the table more quietly, his blood painting red a pair of deuces.

Ravager has posed:
"Idiot." she mutters. The sword is reversed and the pommel crashes into his temple. Nighty-night. Blood is wiped off on the nearest thug's trousers, then she moves swiftly on. Pausing, she listens for voices or any signs that her little disruption might have been noticed.

Superboy has posed:
Nothing for a few seconds, then heavy footsteps coming down for what must be a wooden staircase somewhere behind the bar. A pause then. Rose can hear the breathing of large person.

Then he lumbers in. Over a foot taller than Rose, 300 pounds of solid muscle, the redheaded (and bearded) Baran Flinders. He peers at the table and frowns. "They guys are dead," he declares loudly. The turns around, looking for the cause.

Ravager has posed:
Footsteps. Stairs. Rose moves quickly and quietly, ducking down in front of the bar where she's out of sight. In her Ravager costume with swords drawn, Rose looks a lot bigger than she actually is. Part of the mystique, and all that. It also means that she can get into and out of small, close places when she needs to.

Like now.

She's read the file on Baran Flinders, and it's not very good. The guy is definitely meta, and one tough customer. That's why Conner's along, after all. And while she does the mental run-down, she frowns. Where the hell IS Conner, anyway?

Superboy has posed:
Where is Conner indeed?

MEANWHILE...
In a not very nearby place, at the other side of the building.
"Yes, ma'am, he is a very nice guy... what? No, I can't get you his phone number," long-suffering sight. "Look, I just want to know how to get to the other side."
The octogenarian lady that stumbled into Connor shakes her head slowly. Only hoodlums there, why would a nice kid like Superboy want to go there? "Why, back then..." she starts.
Well, since he has heard no gunshots or screams of walls falling down he figures out Rose is just sneaking around. Nothing to worry about. Nope.

BACK IN THE GAMBLING DEN
Baran Flinders, aka Mammoth, is not the sharpest crayon in the box, but he recognizes stab wounds and recently deceased. He has seen it plenty of times. Many times he has caused the recently deceasing. Not by stabbing, but by smashing.
The killer, he reckons, must still be around. "Okay. Come here or I will bring the whole building down!" He bellows. Don't think I won't!" He kicks at the bar, ripping the large wooden table from the old iron bolts to the floor and sending splinters flying.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager has to tuck and roll to be clear of the debris field when Mammoth starts the large-scale redecorating. She moves -towards- the recently-disrupted poker game. Rising smoothly to her feet, one sword slides into its scabbard and she scoops up one of the pistols. "Oh. Yeah. Really bad shaving accident over hear. Might want to stand clear." Safety off, she fires rapidly and empties the clip into Baran's chest.

What the hell, it's worth a try. Right?

Superboy has posed:
Mammoth charges the second Ravager shows herself, barreling through tables, chairs, corpses and anything on the way. The bullets hit him on chest and head, but bounce back flattened against invulnerable flesh. "I don't know who ye are! But you are dead!" He bellows.

Meanwhile, and more quietly, a curvy redheaded woman with heavy goth makeup slinks down the stairs. She peers at the armored girl and smirks when the bullets do nothing.

Ravager has posed:
Yeah, just like she expected. The gunshots were more or less a distraction, anyway. Something to put the big guy off his guard and make him think this is something OTHER than a targeted bounty. The other sword is sheathed and she paces slowly to one side, circling.

"Mm hmmm, I'm sure you'll take care of that in good time." she replies, while fingers find something on her belt that she brought along just for this occasion. With a fling of her hand, Ravager throws something at him. And she looks away at the last second.

The whole room goes white as the flash-bang erupts, intended to blind and disorient. Ravager's earplugs dampen the sound, but the explosive is designed to make a bull elephant go blind and deaf.

Superboy has posed:
The loud flash-bang hits Mammoth right on the face. A normal grenade would have barely phased him, but the blinding light does work, making him scream in rage and surprise. Like a bull elephant, indeed, he thrashes at the place where Rose was, shattering a table and punching through a wall.

Then the room shakes, as Conner comes in from the wall at the other side of the room. "What is going on? Are you okay?" He heard the gunshots, at least.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager vaults easily out of the blinded Mammoth's way, landing lightly on her feet. Perched upon the remains of the bar, and now -behind- the quite angry Mammoth, Rose puts a finger to her lips when Conner bursts in. Silently shushing him.

The plan was to blind him, then use industrial-strength tasers and choke holds to bring him down. Plan B involved fire.

Rose reaches to her belt again and rolls up behind Mammoth as she pulls out a couple of tasers. Crouching behind him, she jams the electrodes into his kidneys and flips both switches.

Superboy has posed:
"Lets not do that," says a voice behind Rose. And the tasers become a cloud of smock in the young assassin's hands. Acidic smoke, eating through her gloves at alarming speed. "Baran, behind you," adds the woman.

A large chunk of the ceiling falls down on Conner, burying him, concrete and wood turned to dust by the redheaded woman. Codename Shimmer. She has the ability to transmute elements.

Mammoth turns quickly, blindly flailing with a massive arm to try to hit Rose.

Ravager has posed:
There are times when it's advantageous to be barely over five feet tall. Like right now. Rose shakes her hands as the tasers evaporate, ducking just in time for Baran to flail around behind her. Right hand, then left. She times it, then jumps up to hook one arm around the big guy's neck. Her other forearm presses against the back of his neck, and Rose tightens both arms with her full strength.

Most big guys can't reach the center of their own back, and Rose is counting on this as she tightens the choke-hold. She's also counting on his 'girlfriend' not wanting to hurt him, as she clings to his back like a tick.

Superboy has posed:
Baran can't reach his own back, no, although he claws and whirls in rage, half dead and definitely blind for several minutes. Rose is lucky he is not smart enough to just smash her against a wall.

But Shimmer is smart enough. She maneuvers among the debris towards the fighting pair. Mammoth's muscles are like steel, even in the neck. Cutting his breathing might be impossible, but cutting the flow of blood into the brain is easier, just press the right points and he will faint in a couple minutes. Maybe too long.

"Baran, just fall back and smash her against the wall, you idiot!" She yells. But Conner burst free under the rubble of the ceiling and charges Mammoth, delivering a side punch that makes him fall to one knee.

Ravager has posed:
Rose grunts and struggles as she clings to Baran's back, her own arms beginning to ache. She feels the big man's neck muscles bulging and realizes this might not have been the best approach after all. Keeping her elbow tightly around his neck, her other fingers dance along the muscles... there. The carotid artery!

Conner drops the big man to one knee, and then Rose mashes her thumb into the artery. "Would you shut her up already!" the little platinum blonde calls out to her partner-in-crime.

Superboy has posed:
Baran grunts, and backpedals against the wall with the intention to flatten Rose against it, but Conner sees it coming and trips him.

THUD. Unfortunately the huge man falls on his back. Fortunately Rose can take being buried under 300 lbs. of Australian brute. Also, a worried Conner grabs him by the scruff of his neck to pull him up.

Which is terrible idea, as the redheaded bruiser reaches up and grabs Conner by the head, jumps to his feet and smashes him against the floor with all his strength.

The whole building trembles, windows shatter, debris falls from the ceiling, even Shimmer loses her feet with a yelp. Conner vanishes on a hole to the cellar.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager grunts as Baran falls back onto her, but she keeps her grip and keeps her thumb mashed into his neck. Surely he should be weakening by now, unless he's some sort of weird mollusk who keeps his brain somewhere else. Then Conner gets put through the floor.

Rose knows that Conner can handle a lot of abuse, but it still annoys her. On the other hand...

"I'll bet he survived that, Baran. Better go down and check, just to make sure." Rose taunts softly into his ear.

Superboy has posed:
"I am going to kill you..." grunts Baran, already feeling a little dizzy. But why? He can breathe normal. "Y-you poisoned me, bitch!" He decides, sounding panicky. But Shimmer stands up, gesturing in his way and again dropping chunks of the ceiling.

On Mammoth, which means some are going to hit Rose. She has her armor, but they are still heavy pieces of plaster and concrete. They are going to leave bruises at the least. She gets a warning from her precognition a few seconds ahead.

Ravager has posed:
Rose doesn't disagree with Baran on the subject of poisoning him, especially since he's getting a bit panicked about it. She clings to his neck as long as she can, keeping the pressure on that artery. Shimmer is concentrating on bringing down the ceiling, which means...

A moment before the ceiling crashes down, Rose flips up and kicks back. Shimmer needs to be -close- for her power to work, which means Rose's Size 5 boot is close enough to kick her in the face. And Rose is faster, as well.

Superboy has posed:
Rose is faster and Shimmer is not particularly though, so the kick on the head sends her sprawling down and very much unconscious. She might have a concussion too.

Only problem is she almost lost grip on Mammoth. Almost! The big man is stumbling forward, vaguely heading for a wall. If he goes through Rose is going to get hurt. But no... a step, two, he falls flat on his face, the lack of blood flow to the brain finally got him. Just a Conner manages to return, with a busted lip and looking pretty dazed. "Damn, you got him. Guy was pretty strong," he comments with a grin.

In the distance Rose can hear police sirens. They are not going to be happy about the damage to the building and the dead gangsters. But that was all Mammoth, and the contract through the darknet is going to be valid anyway.

Ravager has posed:
Ravager clings to the big guy's neck for a few more seconds once he goes down. It's not that she thinks he's clever enough to put up a ruse, she's more concerned about adrenaline in a charging dinosaur. Releasing him at last, she groans and rolls off of his back.

Annnnd, Conner returns. Outstanding.

"Yeah, no shit." she grumbles, from her position where she can make snow-angels in the debris. "Okay, then. Let's get the hell outta here." No, she's not going to mention the guys in the other room who had the tragic 'shaving accidents'. It happens.

Superboy has posed:
Conner helps Rose stand, giving her a once over to make sure she has nothing broken. "I have to stay. Gotta make sure no one got hurt and that these guys don't wake up before the SCU comes in with special gear. They are often late in the Suicide Slum."

Besides, he is Superboy, why would he want to hide? "But... Are you going to be in your place in New York later? I will drop by."

Ravager has posed:
Ravager nods to that, brushing off some debris. Yeah, there are a couple of corpses in the next room, each with a neat blade thrust through the heart. Oops. "Yeah, I'll be there. I'll leave the window unlatched."

She flashes him a smile, then, and it draws attention to her dark red lipstick. "I'll just use the back entrance, then." And with that, the little blonde scampers out.