6030/The Birds meet a Popstar

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The Birds meet a Popstar
Date of Scene: 20 December 2018
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: Andrea had a concert and was attacked by the FoH
Cast of Characters: Rage, Shadow, June Connor




Rage has posed:
The 'Invincible' tour is chugging away across the country with rampant success. The mutant popstar and current princess of pop music has been dominating the air waves with her new album that is filled with power heavy EDM tracks such as: I'm Okay, Invincible, Fire At Will, and Level Up My Love. Gotham was the next city with an open stadium, followed by a meet and greet outside with security both local and paid for by her studio. Several smaller bands opened up for the main act before she came on stage.

As usual, Andrea brought a show filled with intense choreagraphy, live singing, flashing lights, smoke bombs and explosions on stage. As usual at the end of each show, a large screen is shown behind her, showing the faces of young mutants who have taken their lives to the track of her song: 'Don't go, you're not alone.' At the end is her charity: The StarLight House with a suicide prevention phone number and outreach address is listed. The crowd is a loud, racous one filled with young tweens and teens cheering loudly at the last song and encore in which she gives a wave and her traditional 'selfie' with the crowd as she holds her phone upwards so she can get a wide view with the fans.

Thirty minutes later and a quick wardrobe change, Andrea is being escorted to the meet and greet outside, flanked by three large men with suits, radios and dark shades. They look very government trained. The popstar is wearing a pair of snug skinny jeans, a sparkly silver haltertop with the words: 'Mutie Cutie' scrawled along the front in cursive. The crowd that meets her reacts loudly as she waves to them, sliding behind a booth to sign autographs and take pictures. As usual, she is welcoming, high energy and warm as she welcomes each one with a hug.

Shadow has posed:
    The Friends of Humanity can not let such a blatant perversion of the proper order of things go unchallenged. After the disastrous outcome of their last direct action attempt, however, leadership decided on a more subtle plan this time. The abomination's habit of ... ugh... mingling with her fans after a concert is well documented; a few men in place at the right time, swift action while the element of surprise favours them, and they can pluck the mutant filth out of the crowd like an errant weed and abscond with her to a more suitable location for her (perfunctory) trial and televised extermination.

    The plan has been developed with care. Precautions have been taken; all of the point men and women are relatively young, which helps them blend into the crowd of mutie-lovers, and do not yet have extensive arrest records, so chances of someone recognizing them ahead of time are minimal.

    It's not a bad plan, all told, and the Friends' security certainly held up against the attentions of Gotham PD. Unfortunately for the Friends of Humanity one of their own, they do not know that a man named Carl Hesterton has suffered a change of heart some few weeks ago. They do not know this because when he objected to what his companions were about to do to a young boy whose only fault had been to be born with fox ears, someone was at hand to make sure both Carl /and/ the boy made it out alive -- and the rest of that particular gang has not yet been in any kind of shape to talk about what happened.

    The Shadow looked into Carl's heart, and saw both the evil and the desire for redemption there, and offered him a chance for the latter: Go back, play along -- and the next time they plan something major, contact this number.

    Carl agreed. He was present when the current "mission" was described, and he passed the information on -- and so The Shadow Knows...

     Unfortunately, there wasn't much time, and the Shadow's ability to affect entire crowds at once is limited. But what's the point of having allies if you're not going to call on them?

    June has received a quick phone call with a precis of the situation as well as instructions as to where to pick up a ticket to the concert. Her mission: Identify the Friends of Humanity agents in the crowd, preferably before they move, and when they do, ensure Andrea's freedom and safety, in that order...

June Connor has posed:
    "Oh hell no." June's response was probably predictable. "You want me to go to some tweeny pop shit? I think I might not survive to the end. I swear. If I get one speck of glitter on me, I will kill someone."

    All the same, she arrived. The crowd of people did not help for identifying possible targets, but then again, assessing a scenario is one of the reasons that she is part of the group. She has no powers, she's only passable as a fighter, but she can design an assassination operation. She is dressed in black. Black jeans, purple eyeshadow, and a black long sleeved tee that reads 'Don't feel bad, I'm judging you, too.' Her piercings and gauges are properly in place, and she wore spiked bracelets today.

    "Ow! That hurts!" comes the complaint from one of the young girls that bumps into her with the close quarters as they are herded to the meet and greet. It earns a sneering smile of satisfaction. That's why she wore them.

    But now to business. She glances across the smaller crowd, looking for people who might decide to locate themselves at places of higher mobility than the rest, rather than try to get as close to the pop star.

Rage has posed:
A few minutes pass by and the meet and greet appears to be going well for Andrea. The conversations with her fans range from all types of topics. From depression, to boys, to her being a mutant. Not once though, does she tell anyone what her power 'is', even when asked. They are always given a cheeky response to shift the topic about. It seems it's not a piece that she wishes to share too publicly to her fans.

As the crowds move on and forward through security, there is one security guard who is patting people down, but not very well as he lets about five young adults through without so much of a glance. They are each dark red jackets with a white cross on the back. They could be a 'gang', they could be a 'clique'. It's two women and three men. They start to break of into their own orbits as they move through the crowd, quietly talking to each other in radios that are tucked away into their ears.

As the crowd moves on and Andrea takes more pictures, those with an eagle eye may notice a flash of light in the distance upon the roof of a tall building, followed by a red dot suddenly appearing on Andrea's chest, held and steady. She doesn't see it at the moment, too busy engaged in a conversation with a young girl with purple skin. At one point they even trade numbers quietly as the popstar passes a business card to her.

Suddenly, there is a loud 'bang', and Andrea goes down with a thump as she is struck in the chest, flying backwards over her chair and tumbling to the ground with a loud cry of pain. The three security guards pull hand guns out and quickly converge upon the popstar, yelling into their radios as the crowd begins to panic.

Shadow has posed:
    Navigating a tight crowd like this isn't easy, but hardly impossible for a Foot ninja trainee. Remaining unnoticed is almost trivial since almost everyone's attention is entirely focused on the pop star. In fact, it's that exact focus that clues June in her targets - body language is something she's learned to read, and while most of the teenagers present are just excited and exuberant, there's a girl and a boy over there in matching (and slightly too-nice) clothes who aren't happy so much as... Anticipatory. So while the gunshot comes as a surprise, the fact that both of them immediately start moving /toward/ the fallen pop star instead of away doesn't...

June Connor has posed:
    June spots the lack of proper pat down, and takes note of the guard's face. When the group of five passes through, she starts moving, sliding between a few of the fans and maneuvering to intercept. She isn't fast enough, though, and as the gunshot rings out, she snaps her attention back to Andrea just in time to see her disappear from view toward the ground. "Fuck."

    Any stealth she was practicing vanishes as June shoves with all of her strength to throw teeny boppers off to the side. She supposes there are benefits to this job after all. Of course, it's clear to see who is involved quickly when June is another person who is moving toward the conflict rather than away. Spotting the two who are moving toward Andrea, she charges forward, passing the turbulent sea of bystanders which recede like a wave at low tide.
    June leaps, and feet first she flies at those rushing the scene, giving a kick with both feet that she hopes will send them overshooting their target destination. Of course, the move also lands her on her back.

Rage has posed:
As the crowd begins to blindly panic and scramble about like scared ants, those with the red jackets and white crosses continue to converge upon the table where the three guards pull hand guns out, shouting into the radio for backup. One of them drops to the ground as a flash from the roof is seen, followed by the loud 'bang'. Blood splatters from the wound in his shoulder as he hits the ground, screaming.

Something happens behind the table which causes one of the armed men to back off quickly with a shout. "Charlie Niner. Phoenix has risen!" He yells into the radio, moments before a large, black form leaps out with wild yellow eyes. The eight foot wolf of pure muscle and fur, bleeding heavily from a chest wound lets out a loud howl as it leaps on the table, eyes of bright yellow focusing as she spies the familiar images of the red jackets that are approaching. << DIE! >

As two of the others that are not being accosted by June draw their weapons, one of them finds himself tackled to the ground, followed by a loud cry for help as powerful jaws latch on to his arm and begins to thrash back and forth with her head.

Sirens can be heard in the distance as the fans and crowd goers spy the werewolf start to scream and race for the exit, trambling those who may get in their way. If they only knew that their pop idol was a fairy tale come to life, complete with a feral, beserker mind. Fight or flight. SURVIVE.

Shadow has posed:
    The two handlers that June tackles go down hard, caught by surprise - but they weren't the only ones. Another man kindly helps up one of the fallen bodyguards -- and then promptly tazes him with the shock prod he he'd been concealing. Others like him, men and women both, converge in a rough circle surrounding Andrea's wolf form as the last of her guardians goes down.

    "... Of course," the Shadow's voice comes through June's ear comm, almost infuriatingly calm despite the current mess. "That was their plan all along. Force her to 'reveal her true nature' on live broadcast, then paint themselves as 'heroically subduing the inhuman monster' and 'saving' the audience. Don't let them capture her... But do /not/ permit her to kill any of them, or they'll win regardless of the outcome."

June Connor has posed:
    As June sits up, she spots Andrea as she tears into the arm of the attacker. "Yeah, Shadow. I'll get right on that. Consider the whole crowd, armed attackers, and giant fucking werewolf completely under control. You just sit back and relax," she responds in her sarcastic tone. "Why didn't someone tell us she turns into a horror movie!? She doesn't know who I am, for all she knows I'm one of them."

    She winces at the sight, and kips back to her feet. A kunai is pulled from the pouch inside her belt with her left hand, and her right pulls three smoke pellets. She throws the pellets to the ground, assessing the locations of the attackers as it explodes into a burst of light and smoke, obscuring the area. In the haze, she makes for the man who tazed the guard, looking to armbar and break his right arm before he has time to realize she is approaching. Having a tazer could be handy.

Rage has posed:
Throwing the poor man to the side once she releases his arm, Andrea whirls back upon the other who is scooting backwards quickly in fear. The scent of fear and urine ins in the air and 'Rage', her alter-ego is breathing it in deep, hungrily. << Cowards! You come to kill the Alpha, and now you run like bitches with tail tucked. >> The wolfish snarls and growls are not understood by the human ears, but they sound dangerous none the less. As she takes another step forward, it seems that she jolts to a halt, clutching at her head, followed by a hard slap to the side with her palm.

~Aw, shit.~ That is more like the Andrea we know now having finally yanked control back. The smoke bombs that go off about her causes a bit of confusion as she whips her head about. She spies June, dressed like some type of Goth-Emo-Punk rocker and figures she is definitely not one of her fans, but she also seems to be taking on the recognizable bad guys. ~Hey!~ She calls out with a deep growl, waving a hand franctically, then bolts forward across the yard, snagging a man from behind as he was creeping up on the woman tangled with his companion with a knife. His head is slammed hard into the ground and lobbed to the side next to June with a heavy thump.

She stares at the woman for a moment, then points to her, then points to herself, then uses her paws to make 'heart' symbol. Same side?

Shadow has posed:
    Four down. At least a dozen more to go - and now that the majority of the fans have fled, they have a lot more room to maneuver and keep the ex-Foot ninja and the not-a-werewolf surrounded. The way the tips of those prods are crackling suggests the charge is likely sufficient to severely inconvenience even Andrea in her rage form. This doesn't seem like a very good place to stick around...

June Connor has posed:
    June leaps back as she hears the thud of the man behind her. She takes the tazer, and spins around to find herself far closer to the giant wolf than she'd like. "Whoa, nice doggie," she says, hands up. Her thumb on the left hand dangles athe kunai from it's ring, and wedged between her thumb and palm in the right is the tazer. "Me? You. Heart. I'm flattered, but not the time for that kinda conversation, y'know?" she responds. "Oh! Yeah, not gonna eat me, okay, got it." She sees the blue crackle of electric prod, through the smoke, and retreats into it. "Okay bitch, you got like some exit plan, right?" she asks, voice low so it is harder to pinpoint her location for those without super hearing.

Rage has posed:
An amused chuff echos from Rage's throat at the woman, ears perking and trained on her as she speaks. She most likely can hear the voice in her ear with her heightened senses. She reaches out and nudges her shoulder roughly, then points to the men who are in suits. One of them has taken point as medics have pulled into the scene and the sound of sirens can be heard, lights flashing down the street. She starts off quickly, expecting June to follow as she starts to blur down with a loud cracking and snapping of bones that can only be painful. In mid-stride, Andrea is in her human form, wearing a snug, body suit of black and gold with a black X on the belt.

"Derek, we need to initiate Alpha Blue. Now." She says to the large man who is shouting into his radio. He digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a pair of keys as he starts to move. "Phoenix is on fire. I repeat. She is on fire." He calls into his radio, listening to the instructions being given in return.

"We're getting a bullet proof car out back in the side alley. You coming with me?" She calls over to June.

Shadow has posed:
    When the reinforcements to Andrea's security detail start showing up, the remaining Friends of Humanity thugs wisely decide that they've lost this round and choose the better part of valor, turning to run away in various directions before the police cordon closes in.

    "Good work," comes the Shadow's voice over the comm in June's ear. "You may want to make yourself scarce - Oracle will ensure that your face doesn't show up in any recordings from this situation, but the less work she has to do the less likely it is that Karai spots something she missed..."

June Connor has posed:
    "Beats stayin' here," June answers, following along. "That's one hell of a trick you got there." She follows Andrea through the course to get out of dodge. She has no intention on continuing this fight if she can leave it. That's how you get hurt, you know.

Rage has posed:
"Yeah. It sure is. I can turn into a wolf too. Tell your friend in your ear that I said thank you for the back up." Andrea says as she glances over to June with a curious look. "Who're you guys anyways?" She asks as they are met with a flash of lights and a rev of an engine. An all black BMW awaits them with fully tinted windows, the engine rumbling as Derek slides into the driver's seat once their exit is blocked off by another pair of guards. She climbs into the back seat, buckling up. "Those were the Friends of Humanity. Not my first rodeo with them. Guess we didn't clear the blocks as we were told they were."

Shadow has posed:
    June's comm crackles with a hissing noise that was probably a huff of laughter before the Shadow's voice mask mangled it. "Call us concerned citizens, miss Jackson - At least as far as the press release is going to be considered," comes the reply. "We received word that the Friends were going to make another attempt on you here, so we took it upon ourselves to intervene."

June Connor has posed:
    "We're a bunch of dumb ass bitches that don't know when to keep our nose outta stuff," June translates as they exit the smoke with it trailing their presence. She gets in the car, but she doesn't buckle up. "So, you're a little less of a prissy bitch than I thought you'd be." It's kinda like a compliment. "Most people would piss themselves in somethin' like that."

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, well -- I'm also trained by the X-Men." Andrea says with an amused smirk on her face. "I spend most of my day training with them in high stressful and combat situations. It's also not my first time getting attacked by these idiots, or by worse." She leans back against the leather seats, relaxing. "Concerned citizens, huh?" She gives a glance over to the punk girl, then tilts her head slightly towards the squeaky voice in the ear. "With street level intel and technology. I'm in Gotham, but you're not wearing bat suits. So.."

Shadow has posed:
    Another chuckle. "As I said. Concerned citizens. I apologize for not showing up in person myself, but I had another lead to chase down. My associate will let you know where you can drop her off; enjoy the rest of your stay in Gotham."

    With that, the comm falls silent.