7735/Investigating The Cruel

Investigating The Cruel
Date of Scene:	04 June 2019
Location:	Clinton (Hell's Kitchen), Manhattan
Synopsis:	Kurt and Rahne stop a ring of thugs drugging the homeless for 'bum fights', Kurt calls it date night.
Cast of Characters:	Nightcrawler, Wolfsbane

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Nightcrawler has posed:
    Mid-day in the kitchen, and Kurt is operating on his other personal set of tasks - homeless and other down and outs have been dealing with a number of the local ne'er do wells that like to prey on the helpless. He's in the shadows of an alley, up on a fire escape, letting his own affinities with shadow cloak him further - keeping an eye out for Rahne while he watches the ground below.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane crouches just a couple feet away from Kurt, dressed as per usual for her with the animalistic features present in a minor, but visible fashion. Hell's Kitchen. The name of the area could be ironic for both of them, but it isn't something the wolfen mutant is dwelling on. Her thoughts are on other things, namely, as she looks to the elf, asking, "Is there anything we're looking for in particular?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt's tail moves to point at a quartet of figures moving down the alley, laughing with each other, one carrying a plastic bag and the others small fire arms. They stop short, mid-way down, muttering to one another about this evenings 'main event'.
    "Well that's why we lace the stuff, give 'em time to drink it, and then bam - man..."
    "Yeah why don't we do this down near mutie town man, that'd be a show?"
    "Because we don't want one of those freaks wigging out and shooting lasers out of their eyes, or spitting acid, or that other junk."

    Kurt frowns, looking to Rahne, brows knitting together, murmuring barely above a whisper to let her powerful ears pick up, "At least that's some of them... we could follow, see if we can find where they roost?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane looks down from where they are. She's heard them probably before Kurt did, thanks to her senses. There's the one with the bag, a few more with weapons.

"I hate guns," she tells him in a hushed whisper, even if the people below are being too loud to really hear. One can never be too careful. But, her brows scrunch together in a show of disapproval at what she's hearing, muttering, "It'd serve them right," after the one talks about a mutant going off on them.

His idea draws a short nod, adding, "Hopefully it's just them. I'm no' sure about a whole group."

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Leaping from the fire escape, silently, tucking into a ball and then splaying out to catch the opposite side with his hands, elbows bending until his back is to the wall and his feet are gripped on. Looking to Rahne, Kurt holds out his hands while his tail loops around a bit of an iron planter bolted into the all nearby, adding to his stability.
    Head canting to see if she wishes to travel his way, motioning with his head to indicate he'd get her lifted to the rooftop across the way. Below the thugs have their laugh and start to move again headed deeper into the alleyways, in the dark places of the Kitchen.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane shows no need for Kurt's help, capable enough to make it up with him in a leap or two that results in a soft landing after using her hands to help vault over the edge of the roof. She gives him a quick look of satisfaction as if the display of showing off is all the proof he needs to know she's got it covered, then she turns her head in the direction of the people below as they move where shadows linger. As she follows their path, she keeps a low profile even up here.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Giving a grin and a wink to her look of satisfaction, Kurt nods and twists around until he is scuttling silently along the wall, above and behind the quartet.
    The path led on stops at an old brownstone, the sounds of music from some windows, children crying, arguing in various languages and cooking seeming to emanates from the building as a whole. They stop, look behind themselves, but as ever they do not look up before they start to slip through the door.
    Kurt looks to her and inclines his head, pointing at himself with a thumb and miming scuttling along raising his eyebrows inquiringly before pointing at Rahne, and then his own nose, and once again a brow is up while he mouths, "Which will we try?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
The satisfaction passes as quickly as it came, indicating the wolfen woman is back in a more serious mindset, moving along with the older mutant. Crossing buildings is no problem for either of them. She can leap across, while he can either do that or simply teleport.

Once the location is reached and the targets head inside, she gives him a shrug at his ideas. "Which do ye think is th' safest way?" she asks. He's the more experienced one.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Frowning a little, looking at the building, "Hard to tell, in either means... we could have you on the roof, and see if you can smell what side of the building their on?" Kurt tucks himself a little more in the shadows as he watches. "Or we could both look human and walk in the door while you sniff them out, ja?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane makes a bit of a face. "I'm no' hiding whit I am just tae go in an' find them. It just depends on whether ye think we should surprise them or no'." Of course, a surprise might reduce the chances of either of them getting shot, and they don't have any body armor. At least, she doesn't. "If we listen a bit more, we might hear which room they're in."

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Ja we may, and it's not hiding who we are to hide, it's to protect others in case things get rough... people see us, me at least, and panic... Can you make the jump to the roof? We can try your way, eh?" Kurt frowns, brow knitting as he looks to the building again.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"These people are cowards, Kurt. An' o' course I can," Wolfsbane says, and even though it's a little higher up than normal from where they are, she takes a running leap and catches hold of the edge, flipping forward over it to land in a crouch with a hand against the rooftop. "Ye coming back there?" she asks him. Sometimes it's difficult not to show off. This is part of how she came to enjoy being what she is. "

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt is already on the roof when she is turning her head to look at him, brimstone smoke blowing away from him as he scuttles to one of the edges and looks down. "I know they're cowards, which means seeing us could mean shooting, and if there are innocents they could catch a stray bullet." he frowns, looking back at her. "It's one of the considerations we have to think on, ja?" a frown tucking the corners of his mouth down.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane squints with Kurt already there, waving a hand in front of her nose in mock-disgust, though some of that expression seems legit as she wears a similar frown. "Ye may be right. In tha' case, ye can go th' way ye like, an' I'll go like this. Dinna worry, I'll be able tae understand ye." From here, she shifts to her wolf form.

There is a door on the rooftop, allowing access.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    With a blink and a nod Kurt stands, heading for the rooftop access even as he presses the inducer in his belt, assuming a human form in casual street clothes. "Fair enough." is said at the door, smiling as he opens it and gives a bow, "Ladies first..." to let her in to catch the scent without him in front to cause any problems.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane won't have any trouble picking out scents and other senses like this, that's for certain. Whether or not any of them are too strong for her could be another story. Lower to the ground, she gives a snuffle at something and looks more attentive. Maybe the people in question have been around this door before, and recently? In she goes, navigating the steps without concern.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Stepping down the sounds and smells of cooking, television, yelling, laughing, and otherwise only increases. Kurt does his best to walk casually, paying no mind there is a wolf, and not a really red husky just ahead of him as people dip back into their homes, staring.
    The trail of scent goes down a flight of stairs and a hall that looks like it has been used for far more elicit acts than just walking. The hall is otherwise almost entirely empty, sounds come from behind doors smells, and a muffled conversation furthest down, a man on a cell, muttering about 'Just figure out where to set up the fights tonight' to whomever is listening on the other line.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane is just a large dog, really. Nothing to see here. There's much more that goes on around this city on a daily basis that would draw much more attention, right? The wolf glances toward Kurt, seeing him the way the image inducer allows him to appear, then she focuses back on the hallway and it's enough that she pauses, making as much of a disgusted face as an animal can.

Nothing so far, though. They must not live on this floor. Instead of stopping at any of the doors, she continues toward the stairwell leading down a floor, ears high and on alert.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    There's a rattle of plastic, and the acrid tang of pills as they must be getting crushed rising from the floor below, and Kurt stops where Rahne does, watching the man on the cellphone, and then looking to the wolf besides him, ready.
    He whispers again, barely above a breath, "We close, Rahne?" there is a swish in the air, his tail moving with nervous energy, hidden by the inducer.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane slows and certain things reach her nostrils that cause another look of distaste, disgust. Then she's on down the stairs leading the way, as good an answer as she's going to give Kurt for the moment. The ones they're looking for must be on the floor below, and upon reaching the hallway she pauses a moment to compose herself.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Waiting, patient, Kurt utilizes the dim lighting of the floor to turn off his inducer as he leaps to the ceiling, hands and feet keeping him stuck as he crawls crawls to a shadowy corner, watching and waiting.
    The scent grows stronger the closer to the windows overlooking the alley, there's gruff laughter and sounds of voices bickering, and the smell of chemicals growing more heady the closer one gets to one of the rooms squashed between the end of the hall and the the door of the likely dinky apartment that cuts off sight of any natural source outside.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Soon, a sign. Evidence. Proof. Wolfsbane has all she believes she needs to know about their location based mainly on voices and smells. Sensing Kurt having gone to a new position, she glances his way then aims a paw at the door in question. Over there, Timmy. They're on the other side, Timmy. Is it time to go in, Timmy?

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Slipping along the ceiling like a shadow to the door indicated, Kurt pauses, moving down slightly to gaze in, or at least try, through the spyhole and then back to her. "Go through, I will get ahead of you" he pauses, looks and listens before speaking below a soft breath, "We can surprise them?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane peers up toward the elf at his question. She lifts the paw again toward the door, as if to ask if she should just try to open it or knock or something. Does he want her to shift? She could, but perhaps there's some sort of surprise to be made from them seeing a wolf first over anything else?

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Giving a blink, Kurt tilts his head and snakes his tail down to the door, looking to her with a 'I'm a dope' face before checking the knob, and turning it slowly and pulling the door open enough for him to peer in and her to go right in should she please. There's a small living room that part of which can be seen down a short hall, and there are voices - but there is no one visible.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane chuffs once at the look she gets from Kurt, but lo and behold the fools haven't even locked their own door before doing their business. A last glance is had toward him before she's on her way in through the opening, giving her an opportunity to get a quick look around. If she's spotted...well, hopefully they're into dogs. Any guns left out in the open?

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt slinks in after, closing the door and even locking it, murmuring "In case they try to run" should her ears angle back. Slipping along the cieling keeping pace. Through one door, likely a bathroom - there is a sharper smell of the chemicals and a sniffing sound. The rest is coming from a side bedroom, where most of the bickering is coming from. The scent of gun oil faint from the bathroom and stronger in the bedroom.

Wolfsbane has posed:
An ear does flick that way, a very natural reaction from a wolf or animal in general. If Kurt hasn't watched Rahne at work this way much before, he's getting a first-hand look right now. Silently, she pads forward and pauses upon seeing nobody's left any guns out where she could move them. Up ahead, evidence of people in two different places, and the smell of whatever it is they're into.

Now the question is, how long to stay the way she is? Testing matters, she decides to try something: "Bark!" Will Kurt move in time?

Nightcrawler has posed:
    The BAMF of Kurt's teleporting to a dark corner of the living room sounds as an echo to Rahne's sound, which is the death knell of all others in the apartment. One voice saying aloud,
    "Was that a friggin' dog?" there is a shuffeling from the bedroom and the sound of a clip being dropped, slapped back in place and a round being chambered by a slide.
    Kurt watches her, and the doors, waiting. It's the bathroom that opens first, one of the thugs with a dusting over his lip calling out. "When the hell did we get a dog?!" as he bumbles into sight.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Apparently they're not dog people, if the sound of the gun being prepped is a sign. Who knows, maybe the one from the bathroom is tripping hard enough to think there's a dog in the apartment. After all, drugs can do weird things to people.

She says again: "BARK!" Can't quite bring herself to wag that tail, though.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Indeed, one would need to be dealing with an addled mind to not recognize a wolf. Wiping powder from his face and ambling towards Wolfsbane, the man from the bathroom smiles manicly, hunkering directly in front of the wolf, "Well hey there" he shifts slightly taking a look from the side before coming around, "girl! Whose puppers are you? Huh? Huh?" the man tries to reach out with both hands to scratch her ears and moosh moosh her face.
    This guy, right?

    Kurt watches, eyes wide, attention turning to the bedroom door as it slips open and three sets of eyes peer out, pistols pointed at the cieling, mouths tight O's of confused surprise as the one further back commenting - "Donnie that ain' no dog, man..."

Wolfsbane has posed:
The wolf backs away from the man who's obviously all coked out or whatever it is he was sniffing - she can tell he's not right - and, deeming him less a concern than the others, Wolfsbane keeps more of an eye on them. With the guns up, at least not facing forward, she takes things a step further, turning to more or less make a mess of things in the living room. That is, more of a mess than it already is, as she passes by plates, cups, magazines, and more, knocking them over with her head, a paw, whatever works. What a terror. At least their attention is more on the wolf with wanderlust.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Donnie laughs at the wolf bulling through the apartment as the other three start down the hall,
    "Hey! Hey hey!" Why do people do that? Wild animal. Yell at. Brilliant. Donnie gets, shakily to his feet, taking queue from the others as they stand, worried. The lead of the trio levels his pistol, sighting down it at the wolf. Kurt hisses at that, causing all of them to go completely still now, making the sound a hammer cocking like a thunderclap.

Wolfsbane has posed:
The ruckus comes to an abrupt end as soon as the gun is pointed in Wolfsbane's direction. She's aware of it, and the hiss interrupts whatever's about to happen. Instead, once she's closer to Donnie and able to get to where he's in between her and the man with the gun out, she brings forth the true surprise: a shift back to her midform, quickly grabbing at Donnie's to get an arm twisted bhind him. "Ye can put th' gun doon noo. Naebody's getting shot today," she just about growls.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "JESUS CHRIST!!!" possibly a good expletive at the moment, as a werewolf suddenly grabs their coke-friend. The pistol goes off a split second after Kurt appears in a cloud of smoke, fist slamming into the man's han, sending off his aim - the action mimiced three more times as Kurt's foot, fist, and tail snap out of different clouds around the man, hitting the man's face from different angles before he falls and Kurt clings to the cieling, hissing at the other two.
    Donnie? He's in a chickenwing, eyes wide, and he's urinating.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Ye should no' take th' Lord's name in vain," the 'werewolf' growls, but just as she finishes saying it there's a flinch from the bullet that flies off target, passing through a window and shattering it as it embeds in the brick wall of an adjacent building outside. Kurt's rapid attack leaves the man reeling, then Wolfsbane quickly backs away from the man who pissed himself. "Och, gross..." she laments, nose wrinkling. Her appearance is a bit more wolfen, in fact, down to a short muzzle and a tail includes, a more menacing-looking guise.

"Nightcrawler, th' guns," she adds, a touch of urgency in her voice. One shot is already sure to draw attention. They don't need more going off, with the risk of injury increasing. Once the guns are no longer a concern, they can get to the point.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Never fear, Vulfsbane!" Accent thickening as Kurt leaps, giving a few yips as the other two turn their guns on him, firing wildly as he leaps from the wall, across the hallway and then into the bedroom, bullet holes tearing into the walls, and one clips him in the ballistic plating of his shoulder, spinning him like a top before he slams into the floor, bouncing before he rolls for cover, "ACH!" you be eloquent when you're shot.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Grimacing, Wolfsbane's hope for no more gunfire falls by the wayside quickly as Kurt jumps into the fray, leaving her to duck at first as the bullets spray this way and that, one in fact hitting her partner. "Nae!" she shouts, and whether he's truly injured or not she rushes in to go on the attack herself, lashing out at the weapon just used, knocking it loose one way or another, whether she draws blood with claws or not.

She hasn't forgotten about Donnie, either. Pointing back at him, she snarls: "STAY." Ironic.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Donnie sits down, falling into his own puddle with a wet splat when he is shouted at, one of the others crying out in pain as the gun is torn out of his hand, breaking a finger.
    Kurt appears again, hugging his left arm close to his body as his foot connects to the back of the other's head, driving his face down to the ground with a crunch of a nose popping before he hops back, teeth bared at the last man, the gun that was going to swing towards Rahne now coming back around on him.

Wolfsbane has posed:
This went in a direction Wolfsbane was hoping it wouldn't, but now that they're in the thick of it there are shouts from adjacent apartments as well as outside, and they're going to have to be fast. Good thing they locked the door. As both fight in a more feral manner, she pounces at the back of the man beginning to aim for Kurt, knocking him to the floor much like the other one went down. "Nae guns!" she hisses at him, pinning him in place. Giving Kurt a quick look of concern, seeing he seems to be all right, she leaves questioning them to him.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Giving a grunt, Kurt sighs as he slowly rolls his shoulder, "Just hit the plate..." he sighs, this happens, gunplay, it's hard to avoid after all. Donnie faints, falling backward on the floor and Kurt nods to Rahne to let the man's head up after removing the gun, then gathering the others, dropping their clips, pulling the slide to eject rounds and then remove it.
    "I need you to tell me if there are any more of you, first and foremost..." he looks to Rahne again, briefly, as if asking her to play a little bad-cop "Otherwise she might decide to try if your head is properly crunchable?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane is really not very good when it comes to the threats. She levels one of those looks at Kurt that seems to say 'Oh, come on.' Still, she hoists the one up once the guns are no longer an issue, and he's quick to say "Just us! Just us! What do you want with us??"

The shouting from the other side continues, and the wolfen looks at Kurt with a sense of urgency. "We canna stay here long," she tells him.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Nodding to Rahne, Kurt gives a grin as he ports from person to person, zip-tieing their hands behind their back. "Nein, we cannot." he pulls out a burner phone and dials 911. The moment the answer comes in he simply says, "Shots fired, shots fired" and rattles off the address. "You ok with a short jump? Or the window?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Looking around, poking her head into the bathroom and bedroom just to make sure there's nobody in need of help, Wolfsbane spots the drugs and whatever other contraband the people have. Whatever's illegal, the cops are sure to identify and deal with appropriately. Even if they didn't get into the details of this with the ones they trailed, hopefully it will lead to less of their stuff out on the streets, less of it potentially ruining someone's life.

"Let's just go. I dinna care which way," she says. She can hold her breath. The others aren't getting up, but before they go she eyes the door. "Leave it locked. It'll keep others oot a bit longer an' th' police will bust it doon if they have tae."

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Putting an arm around her waist, Kurt grins, giving a wink. "I wonder if we should call something like this Date Night, ja?" bracing himself before BAMF the pair are teleported to the rooftop, Kurt moving to keep Rahne steady as even short hops can be tiring to people as robust as Logun.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane doesn't look amused at the joke, and when he has his arm around her Kurt might catch that there's a hint of a shiver or tremble she tried to hide prior to that. "Let's just go," she repeats. "Back home, before any Sentinels show up." She knows they're still out there and they could have just exposed themselves to bigger problems, literally. She handles a teleport or two well enough, given what it is, indeed making sure she has a full breath before it happens.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Once clear and several rooftops away, Kurt stops to let himself and Wolfsbane recover some, turning to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. Eyes brows and trying to meet her gaze if possibe before asking "It'll be ok, Rahne." hunkering down a little to put her eyes over him, giving her the 'higher ground'. "Guns happen, and I've seen a fair share... They got a lucky shot, ja." attempting to give her shoulders a squeeze. "But it got me in the plate. I'm ok, and you're ok."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Whether it was just a moment or something else, Wolfsbane seems to be doing better by the time they've moved away from the place. They can already hear sirens approaching, but the only ones who will try to identify them are the ones who are going to be arrested. Chances are their stories won't be all that credible. Once they're in a safer spot, she slips free so she can pace a few steps and just calm her breathing a little more. "I know, Kurt. I know. I just..have a thing about guns. I know they're everywhere oot here, but I dinna think I'll ever get used tae them."

A huff, then she murmurs, "Back in there, I just did whit I thought might make sense. It almost went all wrong. We could talk more about it later, but right noo I just want tae get back home an' have some time by muhself." She accepts the squeeze and the support, at least.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "I'll get us back, don't worry." stepping over to rest a hand on her shoulder, "Hey. You distracted them, they didn't come out shooting, they started shooting when I appeared out of nowhere and started punching. That was a good trick, and it may have been far worse if you hadn't done it." Just keep that in mind when you're recovering." he dares to lean in and pres his forehead to hers, "If you need me, call and I'll come running." and with that he wraps her up in a hug before the two disappear again in a cloud of indigo smoke and a BAMF of air rushing to take up displaced space.