4771/Drug Cocktail

Drug Cocktail
Date of Scene:	30 June 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	A pair of special detectives battle a gang
Cast of Characters:	Lelantos, Witchblade

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Lelantos has posed:
Ron has been trying to learn more about the drug, they call it XLR and is is dangerous. It makes normal people super...for a short time. Then it leaves them exhausted. If you take it again within about a day, it kills you. And that is in the pure form. Rumor has it some dealers are cutting it with other things. THAT is what Ron is out to find out. Of course, no one is going to talk to Detective Ron Griffin of the NYPD. No, this is a job for Lelantos...

Witchblade has posed:
    Another that happened to be on this strange case was Sara Pezzini. However, she actually left her badge at home, and was walking around as a civilian tonight. She'd been trying to investigate this drug as well, but....flashing her badge wasn't getting her anywhere. So she was going to go undercover herself. She had no idea Lelantos was about....nor who he was.

Lelantos has posed:
Lelantos makes a point of not being seen, after all he takes his name from the Greek Titan of the unseen. Granted his invisibility helps, but only being able to use it for brief times means most of it is just common stealth tactics. He knows this area is one where the drug has made an appearance. He needs to get close enough to find out of the person is thinking about drugs first. Reading surface thoughts is useful in these situations, but having to be close to do it is limiting. He sees a woman who looks out of place and approaches stealthily.

Witchblade has posed:
    Sara's kinda been lurking on a street corner for a bit, and is mostly huddled into her jacket. She looks mostly nervous at her surroundings...still not realizing Lelantos is there.

If he manages to get close enough to detect surface thoughts, he'll find she IS here for the drugs, but not to use them....she doesn't need them. He only manages to pick that up before a mental barrier is suddenly erected and he's shoved out VERY forcefully with a very loud, angry and distinctly male voice yelling at Lelantos with an 'OUT!'

Lelantos has posed:
Lelantos rubs his head, now that was odd. He actually has little choice about reading surface thoughts...well he can "close" his mind, but it takes an effort, open is his natural state. He decides, however, to keep an eye on this one. Whatever she is after, it seems to coincide with his goal.

Who sees them first is questionable, but the thing about XLR iis it has, so far, primarily shown up in the hands of gang members. That means that there are gangs where it is found...and the gangs have spotted Sara. A number of male gang members are approaching her in a loose circle. One of them comments, "Lookee boys, a fine lookin lady out for a stroll. You think maybe she wnts some company?" Some of the others laugh.

Witchblade has posed:
    It'd be obvious to Lelantos that this woman has backup, but it's a matter of 'where'. He might've caught a glimpse of a 'gem' that shoved him out of the woman's mind. But, that's another matter to worry about later.

When the gangs approach, the woman looks up at them....and then around at the semi-circle they're starting to form. "Ah dunno what sort of 'company' you boys could offer someone lahke me to the city. Ah'm jus' waitin' fo' a rahde from a boyfriend of mahne...." The accent is there, and it sounds natural to all but someone with a trained ear. And Lelantos will likely realize the accent is fake. She crosses her arms under her chest, as if to act scared, but Lelantos may see something on her wrist......

Does that bracelet have the same sort of gem that he saw when.....he was forcibly shoved out of the woman's mind?

Lelantos has posed:
When to intervene is the question. No question that he could, and he is pretty sure how, but timing is important. He is not sure what the gem he thought about when he was pushed out of her mind is, but it does not matter much. What he needs to do is handle things in an expeditious manner. That means everyone has to be close together. He waits as the circle gets closer and the gang members are standing almost shoulder to shoulder around the girl (who probably is not from the south).

The speaker says, "Oh, we are going to have lots of fun before we give you back to your boyfriend. If you are nice we will not even hurt you in the process..."

Witchblade has posed:
    The circle closes up and the woman backs up....as predicted....until her back is against a building. She looks behind her and she looks very much like a damsel in distress as she looks the gang over. "Hurt me?" She says with a slightly shakey voice. "But....all you have is numbers. For all you know, I could know karate." Classic bluff.

Lelantos has posed:
Ron tosses a Flash/Bang grenade, it strikes the building directly over Sara's head, blinding everyone for several seconds and possibly deafening them as well. Ron is used to fighting blind, and he has his psychic senses to rely upon, In seconds he has knocked down four of the gang and tied their throats together with fishing line, any of them who tries to move will choke all of them. How long he has befotre the other recover their vision is unknown, though the girl will likely recover fastest as the flash was not directly in her eyes.

Witchblade has posed:
    *BAM* And Sara's slightly blinded, but the ringing in her ears is the scary part. However, when she's not attacked, and she recovers her vision in time to see the gang tied up by the neck, she lets out a sigh of relief. "Thankfully we didn't have to hurt them." She says in a soft voice before looking towards Ron, whom she likely doesn't recognize at first. "Thank you....whoever you are."

Lelantos has posed:
Ron is busy, knocking the next group of four down and trying them the same way. He does hear the statement (at least the second one). Given he is in a grey costume with a mask, and is moving quickly, it is easy to see how he might not be recognized immediately. He realizes he was not quick enough as one of the ones he has not ties yet pulls out an injecting ampule and sticks himself with it. The user's eyes dialate, his muscles buldge, his breath quickens...

Witchblade has posed:
    The woman sees the man inject himself and.....starts taking off most of her clothes. "....So you don't shred them dammit." She says until finally she seems to be ready....and there is stilla tearing sound as her remaining clothes are shredded and she's covered, at least partly, with a silver-grey substance, but it's most prominent on her right arm. "Well...this was a rather fortuitous lead." All trace of the accent are gone....and her clothes are laid off to the side. "Well...let's see what this guy injected himself with...."

Lelantos has posed:
Lelantos vanishes...becoming totally transparent to all electromagnetic radiation. When fighting someone stronger and faster than he ids, he needs all the advantages he can get. He will have to fight defensively, use the strength of his enemy against him until the grug wears off...and why is the girl undressing? Of course, he can not see her, but his radar sense can pick her out fine. There is something odd about her skin, it reflects like something smooth and hard in places. The radar is not really great at fine detail though.

The Drug user seems to forget any caution they might know and slams a fist at Sara...since he has no idea where Ron went.

Witchblade has posed:
    "that's not a good idea buddy." Sara says as the gang banger slams his fist at her....which she barely manages to avoid. "Well...this guy just wants to fight......no, we're not going to keep him warm for the rest of his life. Just have to keep him away from the rest of his friends and outlast the drug." She sounds like she's talking to herself....ot whatever entity she has that has given her the scantilly clad armor she's wearing. "Or we can disable him. That sounds better. At least the one trying to help is still around....I think."

She begins to lead the gang banger away from the tied up gang nearby........and giving Ron a bit longer to set up his advantage.....

Lelantos has posed:
Ron can not move as fast as someone on XLR, nor is he as strong. On the other hand, he does not have to be. Among other things, Ron is a trained professional Knife Thrower, and while it will not hold long, a knife pinning a pants leg to a wall will slow down and distract.

Witchblade has posed:
    Which is the advantage Sara needed. "Well...that's convinent..." She says as she turns around and....one of her fingers extends into a verysharp blade....and she stabs the gang banger in the foot. Right in the middle. Hopefully it'll slow him down enough to let Ron catch up.

Lelantos has posed:
Now, for strait XLR, the drug does not last long. The question is, what is it cut with...and will it help with what comes next? Apparently it does not, as the youth suddenly collapses, gasping for breath. Ron appears, and pulls an injecter out of a belt pouch, "He needs glucose fast, he has exhausted his reserves and did not take sugar before he lit up to cushion the crash." He injects the glucose mix into the gang member.

Witchblade has posed:
    "Didn't think it'd last long. thank you again." Sara says as she lets Ron handle the youth....and she walks over towards the other gang members. "Where'd he get the drug?"

Lelantos has posed:
The Gang member replies, "Same place as all of us, we did a job for a guy, who gave it to us as a reward." Ron, who was in on a sting, knows of that guy. Someone helped him get away though...

Witchblade has posed:
    Sara doesn't seem convinced that's all he knows. "Do you know where it's made?" She says as she starts to look for other injectors. "As another New yorker once said....'With great power, comes great responsibility.' You should keep that in mind, and not worry about being in a gang. You can do better for yourselves."

Lelantos has posed:
The Ganger replies, "No one knows, except the guy who deals it. This batch though...well we cut it with a mix of MGH and Venom in the hopes we would get something that lasts longer with the sam effect. The effect part seems to work, but the last longer does not."

Witchblade has posed:
    "I've seen venom in action. You don't want it. Not only is it highly addictive, it really messes up your mind and body. I've seen people degenerate because they didn't have it. Worse than normal drugs." Sara says as she continues to search. "Who's the guy that deals it?"

Lelantos has posed:
Sarah finds an injecter on most of the gang members, the gang member shrugs and almost chokes himself, "Nobody knows, the guy contacts a gang...a different gang each time...and offers them a job. Gives them some XLR to use during the job and another as a reward, then runs off with his half of the stolen goods."

Ron says, "Better call for an ambulance, they were right about it lasting longer, but that is a BAD thing because it keeps burning up the body's reserves, the guy is starving himself to death. I am going to run out of extra glucose soon..."

Witchblade has posed:
    "Right." Sara says as she puts her clothes back on.....over where the armor was, and it slowly disappears. She walks back up to them with a phone up to her ear. "yeah, this is Detective Pezzini from the NYPD. I need an amublance here, yesterday. There's a boy that's going to be in serious condition if they don't get here fast." She then looks towards the rest of the gang as she hangs up......and dials another numbers. "yeah, I need a few officers where I am. I've got a few gang bangers to pick up." She waits a few seconds. "Attempts assault and battery." She then looks at the gang members. "but I may drop the charges....depending upon how cooperative they are...."

Lelantos has posed:
The Ambulance arrives with the gang member still breathing, though Lelantos vanishes as soon as the lights draw close. The Police arrive about the same time, leaving Sarah to answer questions as best she can.