9262/City Fall: Half-Dead

City Fall: Half-Dead
Date of Scene:	19 September 2019
Location:	New York
Synopsis:	Punisher gets help from Shadowcat and Rogue getting out of a police manhunt. He's gonna need a /lot/ of downtime.
Cast of Characters:	Punisher, Shadowcat, Rogue
Tinyplot:	City Fall

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Punisher has posed:
The public manhunt has been going on for about three hours now. Anyone with police access would know that The Punisher was the target, and he had been spotted by police half dead coming in from the river. Since then, there's been a massive amount of resources pulled to find him.

It's unfortunate for the police then, that the Punisher is one of the best at what he does... and he's already managed to slip by the net they've laid for him.

Almost right on hour three, Kitty gets a call from an unknown number.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty and Lockheed are at the school. She's just on her way to Rogue's room when she gets the phone call. "Ok, who is this?" she asks herself as she checks the number. "Prince from Nigeria willing to share $32 million with me? Windows Support calling to tell me my computer has a virus and they want me to open up my firewall to let them connect? Oh! Rachel from Cardholder Services!" she says.

Rife with anticipation, Kitty answers the phone as she gets to Rogue's door. She gives the door jamb a little knock even as she does so. "Hello?" she says into the phone, holding it to her ear while she'll wave hello to Rogue and do one of those dorky, look I'm on the phone, sort of gestures whenever the other woman sees her.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is seated at her desk just inside of her room, she's got some music on and is just dinking around on her laptop, definitely not hiding whatever it is she was just looking at as someone knocks on her door. "Come in, motormouth!" She calls out, hearing Kitty's voice on the other side.

Once the other walks in, with Lockheed, Rogue grins at them both and reaches for the drawer on her desk to open it up.

Its only seconds there-after that the southern belle is throwing orange cheesey poofs at the dragonkin that is with the brunette striding into her room. "Who are you talkin' too?" She asks, not concerned with interrupting her friend. "Is it about me?"

Punisher has posed:
"Catch you at a bad *cough cough* time?" Kitty would recognize the voice of Frank Castle immediately, despite how weak and thready it is. "I got a bit of a situation here, Shadowcat. I was hopin' you could patch me through to Microchip." Punisher requests.

Shadowcat has posed:
Lockheed snatches the artificial cheese-flavored snacks out of the air and scarfs them down as Kitty walks into the room. When she hears the voice on the other end, her eyes widen just a bit and she quickly swings the door shut behind her.

"Frank," she says into the phone while looking at Rogue and making her finger into a shooting gun thing to indicate who it is. "You don't sound so good. Just a second." She pulls the phone away from her ear to see the screen as she manipulates it.

Kitty glances over to Rogue. Something is afoot it seems. She already had her phone as encrypted as it could be. Her own design, like she'd settled for the iPhone 27. She makes the connection via the secure protocols she and Microchip have exchanged. Once he is on line she says into the phone, "Ok, you're connected."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is standing up from her chair when Kitty says the man's name, she doesn't instantly jump to Frank Castle inside her mind, she knows other Frank's better after all. Like Frank the Skank who works at the Dollar General Store in Salem Center, he's a real... skank, that one. Fun to talk to though, aaaalways drunk.

But the gun motion does make Rogue catch up on who Kitty means, after about half a minute. She's walking across her room and glancing back over her shoulder. "Really? You're buddy buddy with that guy?" She asks before heading into her closet and disappearing inside.

"Isn't he kinda unstable?" She calls out from inside the walk-in closet.

Punisher has posed:
"So that asshole callin' himself Shredder got me. Turns out he has a lot more animal morphs than I gave him *a series of hacking coughs* credit for. I'm at the office building at 5th street, just outside the cordon, if you can bring the Battle Van around to get me out of here... and get the docs ready." Punisher groans over the phone.

If he's groaning out loud, you know it's bad.

"Pretty sure they're about six blocks out, so you got about twenty minutes before they come this way."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde looks over at Rogue at the comment. She mutes her end of the phone and says, "Ah... long story. I don't know about buddy buddy, but... negotiated the life of an FoH leader. And, tried to talk him out of, you know. His thing," she says to Rogue.

Kitty quiets as Frank and Microchip are communicating. She does frown a bit as she hears both the sounds of Frank's injuries carried in his voice, and also the tactical situation. She knows what New York traffic can be like. Especially now she has to drive back and forth to the city.

Still on mute, Kitty looks over to Rogue. "Sounds like he's in bad shape. Shredder? At least it's not fighting with anyone else," she says. Kitty doesn't know too much about Shredder. The little interaction she's had, she didn't know Shredder had anything to do with.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue steps back out of her closet with a new set of clothes on and a black hoodie that she's zipping up to mid chest level. She just stuffs her gloved hands into her pockets then and peers at Kitty as she is reacting to whatever is going on on her phone.

"You're gonna get yourself in legal trouble around that stuff." Rogue says in as hushed a voice as she can hoping it won't carry over to Castle on the other end. "Do we need t'go find'im and make sure whatevers goin' doesn't spill over into the... general public? Its amazin' that guy doesn't have a bigger body count than he does, based on what I've read on the internet." Everything on the internet is true, after all.

Punisher has posed:
"I can't get there in twenty minutes, Frank. Not without setting off every speed camera in the city. You're going to need to keep moving." Microchip replies, finally. "I have a lock on your signal. Keep it on and I'll be there as quick as I can."

There's a sigh from Franks side of the call, "I'm runnin' on fumes already, but I can make it a few blocks before I gotta collapse. Been pretty much hell the last three days."

There's some sounds from Punisher's phone as he gets up, "Gonna move *cough* north."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty tells Rogue, "We're on mute. And, yeah, it's... a tough situation. If I can forgive Erik enough to try to help him become who he once was again, regain what he lost... I sat there and thought, can I not do the same with Frank? But, I just don't know that he's got it in him to change anymore," she says.

Kitty frowns a bit as she listens. "Yeah. I think... if the police find him it's more likely to turn bad, much as I hate to say it." Kitty glances towards the city. "Come on, let's take the Blackbird, we can be there in what... 15?" she says.

Kitty hits a button which starts the stealth aircraft's engines warming up. "We're going to try to come there," she says after taking the phone off mute. "Just leave your phone on, I'll track it," she says. Kitty reaches a hand towards Rogue, back on mute again. "Express elevator, straight to the hanger," she says, ready to phase them both through the floor.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just stares and stands, she also does smirk at Kitty though. "Not sure the police will give two poops what you think Frank Castle can and can't do, when they're slappin' cuffs on your wrists and temptin' ya t'phase and run." She grins lightly then before she moves to get her leather jacket that had been recently refurbished back to brand new after it'd got torn up something fierce in Limbo where Rogue 'did battle' with a massive force of Demons.

At the talk of the Blackgird, the Belle just sighs softly. "If I gotta... but I swear, if this ends with police comin' after me again in life, I'm gonna be cross with you." She says this while moving with Kitty and reaching up to poke and tease Lockheed a bit, just to get his attention and play with him some as they go.

"Where is this walkin' gun safety hazard?" Rogue asks along the way.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty phases them straight down to the ride to the hangar. The plane's engines are warmed up and it is faced towards the exit tunnel when they arrive. "Looks like over on the East Side. Office building of some sort. Hopefully no one about. I'd imagine he'd be avoiding people as best he can," she says as they board the plane.

Soon the plane is flying down the underground tunnel, the throttle set for Ludicrous Speed. It blasts up into the air far from the school and noses over for the short flight to New York. "I don't want to get arrested either, so... you know, let's just... see what happens. I'm not going to fight the police, obviously," she says. "But I don't want some poor cop putting him in a situation it's him or the cop."

Soon the plane is flying high over the city. "Ok, plane on autopilot and I can remote control it," Shadowcat says. She slips on a domino mask and offers one to Rogue. "Fly us down all nice and quiet?" she asks.

Rogue has posed:
While the plane is enroute, Rogue is putting on a black special ops X-Men uniform that she'd snagged out of her spot inside of the hangar. Once it is on she's moving to stand near to Kitty while she puts a dark green headband on over her forehead and around beneath her brown and white hair. She eyes the domino mask offered and just shakes her head. "Not my style." She says. "My face is all over the internet, and with it so is my hair." She shows a grin to Kitty. "A mask like that ain't gonna do much t'hide me."

She turns then and strides to the aft of the jet, toward where the boarding ramp is. She keys the ramp open and looks back to her. "All right, well, lets go find him. See if he can't give ya some more detailed instructions on this." She states, standing at the mouth of the ship's exit with the wind rushing in around her black-suited body as she shifts her weight from one booted foot to the other, the suit and her leather jacket making those little leather creaky noises when moved within and her hair flowing around her shoulders.

She'll fly out as soon as Kitty is ready.

Punisher has posed:
It takes a solid minute of silence before Microchip continues, "Yeah, I'm not going to be able to get anywhere near that. The Condon has most of the traffic shut off. I'd need to go overt to break through, and it sounds like Shadowcat has this cover. I leave this to you." Microchip informs them.

"Ok. What do ya need me to do, Shadowcat." Frank asks over the phone. "I don't know what you're comin' with, or where."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty gets back on her phone, one hand holding to Rogue as she flies down. "Dropping in from above. Where exactly are you?" she asks, her ability to track him via his phone is pretty good, but it'll still involve wandering around rather than knowing right where to land otherwise.

Kitty looks down at the dark city below. A few police cars with lights going are parked a distance away. "Microchip, if we get him a few blocks away can you pick him up there?" she asks. She looks at the map as they descend, and suggests a meeting point.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue has a hold of Kitty and as they fly she simply lets her eyes roam around the city. She moves through the air with a silent grace, her body able to control the gravitational pull of where she wants to go, which grants her the ability to fly... though she doesn't usually use this ability when over the city, for a plethora of reasons.

All the same, the Belle keeps hold of her friend and continues to descend toward that indicated office building, but waits for specific instructions. "This guy..." She mutters, about Frank. "He's quite the piece'a work..."

Punisher has posed:
"I'm almost to the roof. The elevator is still on, thank fuck." Punisher grunts over the phone.

Soon enough, plain as day, a massive hulk of a man wearing what amounts to shredded and completely ruined clothing is standing on the rooftop just below them.

Even from here, both can tell Frank Castle is seriously hurt. It's practically a miracle he's still working. If it were anyone else...

Punisher looks up after a moment, "Fuck, this hurts."

As they get closer, they can both see a pistol holster at his waist, and a baton in his free hand. There's three slits in his torso around the gut, and he's bleeding from it and his arm. His face and knee are also swollen.

Frank Castle looks like hell.

Shadowcat has posed:
Shadowcat looks over to Rogue. "Comfortable with flying us to the rendezvous?" she asks. "I won't bother trying to phase him to lighten the load, I'd have to support his weight still and you can do that far better than me." She's kind of superfluous at the moment other than the having been able to guide them in towards him.

"We need to find out more about this Shredder, I think," she adds to Rogue as they descend towards the rooftop. "Find out what he knows on him?" Lockheed if following them down as well, flying on his own, circling around the building and keeping an eye out.

Rogue has posed:
"Yeah, no problem." Rogue says softly to Kitty as she spots the man coming out on the rooftop, he's hard to miss. "Jesus." She says softly as they descend the last bit and Rogue releases Kitty about a foot off of the rooftop, knowing she'll land just fine, because she's landing right beside her.

Now, Frank has two of the young X-Women here to help him, and Rogue's hands going to her hips as she shifts her weight from right to left while her green eyed stare goes up and down him. "You look like trash, Miste'ah Castle." She says in that thick southern flavored voice of hers.

A glance is given over to Kitty then. "You're gonna have t'get on my back, I can carry ya both best like that." She then looks back to Frank. "Ready t'go?" She asks the soldier.

Punisher has posed:
"I feel like trash. Sittin' in the Hudson for a day will do that to a man." Punisher grunts, before he drops the phone and offers his good arm to Rogue. "My other arm is busted, and I got a hole in my gut. Otherwise, I should be able to handle it."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty eyes Frank's condition. It'll have to wait until they get to his ride. "Yeah, you're going to want to like, bathe in antibiotics for about a week," she says after hearing of him being in the Hudson for that long in his state.

Shadowcat looks over to Rogue. "I'll have Lockheed bring me, easier for you to manage then," she says. Not that weight is an issue, but having two people clambering on your body can be a pain.

She reaches up a hand and the small purple dragon makes a turn that seems to almost defy physiques at how he banks without losing speed. He flies down and grabs her hands with his paws. He's strong enough of a flier to lift her, though Kitty phases all but her hands, leaving him with only a tiny bit of weight to heft.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue nods at Frank softly before she glances over at Kitty. "Up to you, sugah." She says to her friend. "Ya'll weigh as much t'me as an empty water bottle, though." And with that said she looks back to Frank and walks over to stand beside him. "Here. Put your arm around my shoulders." She tells him, helping him do just as so.

Once she's got him like that, he'll note that she's extremely stable, like leaning against a building. "Now there's two rules when ridin' on Air Rogue." She starts to instruct as she walks him toward the edge of the building. "Rule number one. Don't touch my sskin." Her green eyes glance over at him. "My mutation is in my skin. IF I touch ya, I'm gonna suck your soul outta your body, along with... whatever life ya got left in ya, big fella."

She steps up onto the edge of the building then, bringing him up with her without much effort at all needed from him, none really. As they teeter on the edge of the building, she continues...

"Rule number two... If you're a puker, then please shut your eyes." And with that they step off of the edge of the building and starts to shoot up into the sky, Rogue's right arm wrapped around his waist to hold him quite firmly up against her side. She's strong, very strong.

Punisher has posed:
There's a visible grimace as the sudden physical pull hits his torso, but Punisher says nothing. "Well, you're a pretty thing girl, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't touch you if I trieeddddd...." His words are lost in the wind as he tries not to vomit.

Shadowcat has posed:
Lockheed leads the way, the agile little flyer not seeming affected with Kitty's weight mostly out of phase with him. He scouts on ahead, until they spot the Battle Van there. Kitty says over her comms, <<There they are. Alley beneath the big dark billboard.>>

The dragon flies down, dropping off Kitty like she were a payload. She goes over to the window of the Van. "He's in bad shape, better get him some medical care quickly. Probably going to be pretty infected after being in the Hudson," the masked X-man tells Microchip. She'll help him get the vehicle open so Rogue can fly him right to it.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue smirks at the man's groaning as she flies him along. As they got she can't help but do some small talk, she'd be a talky driver if she were a cab driver/Uber driver. "So did the other guy end up worse off?" She has to ask Frank, while grinning no less. But she can tell he's not much of a chatty type so she tries to hush up as they go, following after Kitty and Lockheed.

She descends and moves down toward the creepy van as Kitty opens its doors up. "Better not be any candy in there, Mister." She softly quips as she guides Frank inside of his vehicle and helps to settle him down within it. She gives him a crisp salute and then turns to glide herself back outside where she joins Kitty and the dragonling.

Punisher has posed:
The man in the front cabin of the Battle Van was wearing a mask, but he does nod to Kitty, "I have his doctors lined up. Thanks for this. You may have just saved his life, from what I understand." The voice modulator is also in full force.

Microchip is hiding his identity it seems, unlike Punisher.

Punisher practically drops himself into the back of the Van, and he groans from the sudden intense pain, "I'll be in touch." Punisher grunts as he closes the doors himself... and the Battle Van starts to drive off.