8777/Red and Black

Red and Black
Date of Scene:	13 August 2019
Location:	Flatbush, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	The Flash and Black Widow help someone in need
Cast of Characters:	Flash, Black Widow (Romanoff)

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Flash has posed:
Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, been down, isn't it a pity, doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city. Summer in New York could be unbearable, but this was a whole different level. There was a guy wearing a cardboard sign that said 'ice for rent', and another street vendor was making a killing selling umbrellas, all overpriced, naturally. And they were queuing up for the privilege.

Most people weren't doing much, a few sat on stairs leading up to a brownstone, hugging the left side, as it provided a little bit of shade. Somebody had burst a fire hydrant and kids were playing around it, as well as a couple of kids at heart. And Barry Allen was sipping on some ice tea, he might have been on Long Island, but it was of the regular variety.

And then a man, looking dishevelled, wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt, called out, "Anna! Pumpkin! ANNA!" He looked distraught, with his shirt a little lopsided, as if someone had tugged at it. "Don't scare me like this? Anna?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
A motorcycle was prowling through the neighborhood. It was a sleek machine with no markings to indicate what company manufactured it. The color was black on black, not even a hint of chrome to catch the light and reflect it. The rider atop was similarly attired, in solid black. Not the best of choices in the heat of summer. A helmet with a full face finished the outfit.

The motorcycle slowed as it came to the point where the hydrant was spraying water all over the roadway. The rider sat up, making it apparent that the rider was a woman in that moment. Her feet touched ground as the bike stopped completely, as though considering whether to turn around or chance going through the spray.

Behind the faceplate, Natasha smiled to herself as she watched the children playing in the water. Until she heard the sound of a voice raised and glanced toward the man in the Hawaiian shirt. The bike was moved to the curb, kickstand pushed down as she reached up to pull off her helmet. Her red hair had been cut short a few months ago but was already growing out again, about shoulder length.

Flash has posed:
Rising from his seated position, Barry quickly drowned the last of his ice tea. It wasn't that he dismissed the emergency, but in this heat, keeping yourself hydrated was just a sound decision. He momentarily spied the woman on the motorcycle, as the noise instinctively drew his attention, but instead he walked over, not wanting to further alarm the man, so he walked rather than ran.

"Sir, you have to calm yourself. Remember to breathe. Now, who's Anna, and how can I help?" The man looked him up and down, "she's my daughter. I had a nap because of the heat, and she left. I need to find her! Anna!" He called out her name again, looking around.

"What does she look like? What was she wearing? Do you have a picture on you?" Barry asked, keeping calm in the situation, but before the man could answer, he pushed past Barry, not seeing to be too fond of the assistance being offered, and called out, "Anna, come back, Anna!"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Eavesdropping was sort of an occupational hazard. So Natasha was hearing every word of the conversation. She swung her leg over, dismounting from the bike and setting the helmet atop the seat. Then she walked toward the two men: Good Samaritan and panicked father.

"Perhaps we can help. I'm Agent Romanoff, of SHIELD." She unfolded a flap on the arm of her suit, revealing the patch beneath that had been hidden a moment before. "Give us some information about her so we know what we are looking for and I can get officers here as well as assist with the search."

Not that she was saying anything Barry wasn't but sometimes that little patch made the difference. It made her an authority figure instead of a concerned citizen. "Just a description, what she was last wearing. A picture would be great, as this gentleman had suggested."

Flash has posed:
When a woman like Natasha Romanova approaches most men, there is certain reaction. They aren't terribly overt, well, sometimes they are, but there are certain cues, subtle ones. The thing is, the man in the Hawaiian shirt wasn't giving them off. And when she identified herself as some kind of government agent, the man turned white. He immediately clammed up, "uh, no, it's all right, she's probably just playing with a neighbour. I uh, forgot, yeah, she was going to hang out with Rachel."

The dramatic change in tone was not lost on Barry Allen, but his initial reaction was confusion. He furrowed his brow, now taking more of an interest in the man, rather than this Anna he had been calling for. The shirt had been tugged to the side; it was also torn in another area. There was some kind of mark on his short leg, and as he looked, he was pretty sure there was a welt there, the kind you'd receive from a firm kick to it.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"It would be best if we find out for sure though," Natasha said in a reassuring tone, outwardly ignoring all the warning signs. In truth, she was hyper aware of him and his movements. Tense, uncomfortable. Something wasn't right here. A glance at the welt on his leg, the size of a smaller foot.

She moved past the man, on her way back to her bike. Once there, she pulled the wallet out that she had pulled from his pocket. "How old is Anna?" she asked, even as she took a mental picture of the ID in the wallet. A quick brush of the hand to her earpiece and she murmured the name in hushed tones to get a check of data on him. She moved back to the man and his wallet was returned as quickly as it had disappeared. He would never feel a thing.

"Where does Rachel live? At least we can go over and eliminate that possibility."

Flash has posed:
"No, no, Agent Romanoff, it's okay, don't worry about it. I, I, had a nap, bad dream, just, forget it." Yeah, he wasn't a good liar, not by a long shot, but the man was trying to diffuse the situation and end it as quickly as he possibly could.

"Eighteen," he kind of blurted out abruptly, "she's eighteen." She wasn't, but he was saying that in the hopes that it wouldn't be worth police, or SHIELD notice, to find an eighteen year old girl. "I don't actually know where Rachel lives. Some apartment. Never been." He was lying again. As nervous as he was, Natasha had an easy time removing his wallet, and returning it.

Barry was an authority too, but he wasn't really a field agent, and was letting Natasha take point on this. He was hoping she was seeing what he was. "Uh, well," Barry began, looking for an excuse to depart so he could change and conduct a search, "I need to use the bathroom. Too much iced tea. Back in a giffy." And he turned, heading towards the restaurant bathroom.

He'd been there earlier and knew it backed out onto an alley. He could take up a stall, vibrate through the wall, and no one would be the wiser.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Whereas Natasha was opting to take the direct approach. "There are a lot of things I have learned during my time with SHIELD," she said in that same conversational tone as she moved to stand in front of Mr. Hawaiian shirt. "I've learned how to tell when someone is lying to me. So many tells, so many giveaways. You might as well be screaming it from the rooftops that you are not being honest with me."

She gave a slight shrug as she looked him directly in the face. "I don't like people who try to deceive me. So we are going to try to start over here. But I am going to ask a different question this time. I expect the truth." She looked pointedly at his leg them back to his face. "Who kicked you and why?"

Flash has posed:
As Natasha and Mr. Hawaiian shirt spoke, Barry used his costume ring, decompressing and changing into it. He then vibrated through the wall into the back alley, and began running up buildings to get a better view. He wanted to conduct a search without actually creating too obvious a pattern, as his streak was pretty blatant when moving around people.

Mr. Hawaiian shirt on the other hand, regards Natasha. He looks positively terrified. But as bad as he was at lying, he did have a level head now that he was confronted with a situation he did not like. He opened his mouth, not speaking, but trying a few times, and then he said, "thank you Agent Romanoff. H-have a n-nice day." He was hoping he could just leave her and go back to his apartment.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Thank you, Mr. Donaldson." She remained standing where she was, waiting for him to walk away into the building. She already had his address. Obviously she already had his name as well, something that he had never given to them.

Extra points for intimidation there.

She simply waited. Then once he was out of sight, she fired her Widow's Line to the rooftop above and hit the retract button. She was drawn skyward, elicting some excited cries from the children playing in the street. Upon reaching the roof far above, she took a moment to get her bearings.

Flash has posed:
When she knew his name, the man tripped, not actually falling flat on his face, but he nearly did. The way his palms hit the pavement, he probably scrapped a fair bit of skin in the process. He was in a mess of trouble, but at least for his sake, he'd managed to somewhat keep his cool. Still, he'd probably have to move, or emigrate. It would not be a pleasant night for the man.

As Natasha reached the rooftop the Flash came to an abrupt stop near her, holding what looked to be an 8 year old girl in his arms. She was a mixture of being frightened, and smiling. She looked up at the costumed hero, "thanks Flash, can we do that again?" Anyone trained to look for such things, would note she had been in a bit of a fight.

Speaking as you would to a child, "Anna Donaldson, this nice lady is Agent Romanoff of S.H.I.E.L.D.. That stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. They really, really wanted it to spell shield. She's be glad to take you home to your mom, but if you're willing, I think she might have a few questions for you." Between saying 'for' and 'you', the Flash disappeared, practically blinking out of existence, and when he re-appeared, he had some cotton candy on a stick, which he offered to her. "Here, it's full of sugar, and has no nutritional value whatsoever."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Load her up on sugar then leave her with me. I see how this works," Natasha murmured to the crimson hero. But she was already squatting down in front of the little girl, taking in all the bits of her appearance. Her final focus was that little foot, the same size as the welt on the leg of Mr. Donaldson. She tapped the earpiece. "Bring him into SHIELD for questioning. I will handle it myself."

Then her focus was all on Anna. "I promise not to take too long with my questions. In fact, we'll get you home before we do that. You ever ridden on a motorcycle? Or would you like the Flash to take you home and I'll meet you there?"

Flash has posed:
Anna Donaldson looked at the offered cotton candy. She had seen the Flash use his super powers, and knew him. He was a member of the Justice League. She even had a Wonder Woman action figure at home. So, even if a stranger, she felt confident enough to trust him. "Um, okay," and she happily took the cotton candy, eating away at it. Yes, she was going to be loaded up on sugar and left with Natasha. But she was a lot happier than the way the Flash had found her.

She looked to Natasha, then up at Flash, who gave a nod. He might not have known Black Widow personally, but he knew the name and had a description, not that the description was terribly helpful. "Can I steer the motorcycle?" She asked, hopefully.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Well, not alone. You don't have a driver's license yet and I can't have you breaking the law by driving. You can help me though," Natasha promises. She glanced at the Flash, giving him a brief nod. "Thank you for your help. I'll take care of this situation but I may need to follow up with you again in the future. Pretty sure I know where to find out," she added with a faint smirk.

She rose to a standing position, glancing down to Anna again then moving toward the edge of the roof. "You want to go down the long way or the express elevator?" She wiggled her wrist, indicating where her Widow's Line rested in her wristbands.