Summary:Arsenal gets a report of a new drug arriving in New York and sets out to stop it from hitting the streets - with some unexpected allies. Log Info:Storyteller: Roy-Harper |
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'Riding the Thunderbolt.'
That's what the reports from Afghanistan had called it. They'd seen Taliban members take a pill, and suddenly they were like freaking superheroes - or more like superheros. Crashing through barriers, flipping trucks barehanded, even shooting them at point-blank range seemed to have no affect on those under the influence as they chatted Arabic jibberish until the high burned out or they died.
The Air Force had raked the processing plant where the stuff was being made with A-10s, and Army units were sent in to clean up. It was from one of those units, New York's 77th Sustainment Brigade that the report had come from.
Some of the troops had pocketted the drug and were trying to ship it stateside to distribute. The soldiers in questions were members or ex-members of the Dogs of Hell biker gang. It had been one of those members that had turned state's evidence when he was busted with one of the bills and named the source.
The 77th had come home a few days ago from their latest tour. The freighters that were delivering their gear and vehicles, mostly trucks and support vehicles had been offloaded in the motorpool, with the Dogs of Hell waiting for nightfall to make their move. A small group of men are currently in the motorpool, having paid off the guard as they head to one of the vehciles, a small white 'T' on it's front bumper.
"This is the one." one of the men says to the others. "Let's get the goods and get outta here.'
Rose had connections. All over the place. Some were hospitable. Some owed her. Some were afraid of her. One of these sources had called her about the pending shipment. And one thing she hated? Was assholes like these Dogs of Hell. Still, it'd be a fun challenge. And, as Kate was the only Young Avenger around when she'd gotten the information, that's all the support she brings. But at least Rose is being - well, teammmatey. It's an improvement.
Rose - now Ravager, barrels down the docks on her motorcycle, in full costume, gear, and weapons, headlights on. She is not doing the stealth approach.
Shock, and Awe it is.
She continues to barrel down on them, actually increasing her speed as she moves one hand to pull out one of her Energy Katana's, lighting it up and making it look like a flaming orange-light sword, or lightaber that's about to slice everyone, and everything in two like a true warrior of Hel.
Red Hood follows along behind his old friend. They'd only very recently reconnected, and this was likely the first mission they'd gone on together. He's dressed in his usual style: tight, armored jeans with boots, his utility belt, brown jacket, armored chest with the 'murdered bat' symbol, and his red helmet. Oh, and a lot of weapons.
Jason sighs to himself as he checks the magazine in his gun to double-check the riot control rounds inside. "So, in, out, burn the drugs, leave the pieces of shit for the cops, and grab some beers?," he asks, his helmet distorting his voice. He hasn't quite come within sight of Rose and her motorcycle and everything else, letting Roy lead the way.
There's a second figure on the back of Rose's bike. The helmet Kate wears is a simple purple number with a mirrored faceshield that doesn't seem to obstruct her vision any. That, a lighter purple leather jacket trimmed in black, and jeans are worn with boots, which is about all she needs for her outfit. While Rose draws her katana she's already pressing her heels into the footrests to rise up half-standing to pull back on the string of her bow with a single arrow notched.
"Ready when you are," she informs Rose even though she was waiting for just the right moment. Just the right angle.
It doesn't take long.
When they come up alongside the truck she twists her bow to the side to alter the angle just past the front of the vehicle. The arrow snaps out, almost arching back as it cracks into the windshield with an explosive bang that sends up a plume of smoke as well as causing the glass to fracture into a messy spiderwebbing which was hard to see through.
No one was hurt, not yet, but their visibility was shot quite literally.
To be honest, Arsenal didn't expect Jason to go with him. But he was more than grateful for the assist. Especially since he knows the siren's call. All too well. He grits his teeth and gives them a small grind together as he considers. He's dressed in the reds and blacks of the Arsenal gear - but the addition to it all is the mesh trucker hat that's adorn with a SHIELD logo. He has to earn his pay after all.
"One-eye wants samples of it so they can come up with a counter-agent. Rest of it? Burning, pretend we're British and toss into the Bay. I don't care. Long as the shit's gone and kept off the streets." he replies as he looks down at his arm. The panel on it opens, and he brings up a map. "I count four." he says. "Walk in the park. And first round's on me." He holds out his fist for Jason to dap, before the headlight comes on. And when he sees the motorcycle with the women on it, he mutters. "Fuck."
So much for the walk in the park. They just stepped in dogshit.
The lead dog, a heavyset Sergeant that's clearly had too much desk duty watches the two others pull out a bag from within one of the door panels. The size of a quart-sized ziplock bag, it's taped up. The Sergeant takes the bag, and cuts it open with his combat knife, looking at the lightning shaped pills with. "How much did you say this was worth?"
A corporal speaks up, his frame wiry and thin - as if he didn't get enough to eat, or was heavy into the drugs. "They went for five hundred each on the streets of Kabul. Here? We can double that. We may have millions in that bag. That's when the rumbling of Hell's Own Angel makes her way towards the group.
As they hear the noise, and the light of the oncoming motorcycle, the Sergeant yells, "Get down!" He's pulling a pistol from his web-belt, preparing to fire it when an arrow - a /second/ one, outside of the flashbang that disorients them comes flying in and strikes the Sergeant in the hand. It's immediately encased in ice, and there's a call from one of the tops of a Deuce and a Half truck. "SHIELD! Throw down your weapons and put your hands up! This is a raid!"
"Man.. it sounds so weird on this side of it." Roy asides to Jason as he notches a second arrow.
The men panic, but the Sergeant, screaming in pain, grabs a handful of the pills. "Take 'em!" he yells, shoving one into each of their hands, while his meaty paw downs the less. There's chuckling suddenly, as the pills take effect. And the whites of their eyes turn blood red, almost glowing, as they rise from cover, and start racing. Two of them are jumping, leaping, and actually catching up to the motorcycle, as the Sergeant and one of the Privates turns towards Jason and Roy. The Sergeant rips the door off the Hum-Vee, flinging it at Roy as the Private rushes at Jason, brandishing a knife.
"As long as they don't pull the usual government garbage and just turn around and re-sell it. If that turns out to be the case we're gonna have words, bro." He reaches out and daps Arsenal before he notices the motorcycle. "Huh, that Ravager?," he mutters to himself. "Careful. Guess these guys aren't invited to the party," he adds, cryptically.
As soon as the chaos starts, Jason acts. He sees the man with the knife charging him, and he laughs under the helmet. He ducks low and moves to the side, bringing an arm up to deflect the knife in a skilled gesture before his own fists darts out to connect with the Private's throat. If that connects his hand slides up the man's face, tangles in his hair, and yanks it firmly down as his armored knee comes up. Assuming that does what it is supposed to do, Red Hood swings his shotgun off of his shoulder, sliding a rock salt shell into the chamber as he scans for a target.
"Nice," Ravager says, then she remarks, "Hold on," because she can feel Kate is standing up. She'll give her teammate a few precious moments to sit back down and secure herself before she's turning, sharply, on the motorcycle and remarks to Hawkeye, "Jump. And, start doing your thing," in a loud voice as the motorcycle is at it's slowest point.
Then tires are screeching, and Ravager is gunning the motorcycle, Hawkeye on or off it, directly towards their persuers in a mad game of 'chicken' as if she were going to run them over, the orange crackling of her katana still giving her away like a firey beacon of pointy sharpness. Still held out, and ready to slice and dice.
What she's /also/ doing is buying Hawkeye time to shoot a few arrows, while she plays tank for the squishy archer.
Hawkeye sinks back down using her thighs to squeeze tight around the motorcycle to help hang on. She leans with it though, as you're supposed to, to ensure that Rose doesn't have any trouble steering. When told to jump, though? There's not really any hesitation there. She pushes up and off the bike into a backflip that would not have ended well had the bike still been there when she comes down again. But it, and Rose, are gone by the time she does leaving her free to roll to the side, and back to her feet again.
On the move she notches another arrow to fire a shot at the wiry Corporal.
"Hey boys, just get in on the red eye? You might need a nap…"
The arrow explodes in the air before hitting the target leaving them enveloped in a cloud of sleeping gas. Gas that she really, really hopes works against this drug.
"Ravager?" It is, Roy notices. "What the hell is she doing here?" comes the grit between the teeth. Then he grins. "And she brought an archer." he points out to Jason. There's a smirk as he's notching another arrow. "See, we /are/ handy. But - dibs. Archers dating each other is a bad thing, it gets all competitive and shit. And then she'll be all sad when I'm the better shot."
That's when the door come flying in at him, and Roy's first to duck, and not able to get off his shot. "Do you mind?!" he calls out to the man. "My friend and I are making plans on asking out those ladies after this is over - you can afford it, right?" he asks Jason. "I'm a little tight til Friday."
The Sergeant lands on the hood of the truck, and it buckles beneath him, as Jason's man rushes at him. The knife is clumsy, and Jason is able to easily avoid it, scoring multiple strikes - for most normal men, they'd be dropped. But for the Private? There's a laugh - a laugh that could sound a lot like a laugh that's caused by a certain villain's gas - and he's getting back up, his nose bleeding, his arm broken - but he's getting back up again.
The Corporal is struck and engulfed in the cloud - it has some effect. He's slowed down and drowsy, but it seems that he's still coming as the other private reaches to /grab/ Rose's motorcycle as it screams by, intent on bringing it to a halt with his bare hands and throw the platinum blonde from it.
"Huh. Arrows," is about all the Red Hood offers to the situation when he sees the trick arrows flying with expert precision.
"What?!," Red Hood exclaims as he glances over at Arsenal, but is distracted by the drugged-up goon getting back up. "Sister told me she's a handful, so you have fun!," he replies with a bit of a laugh. "Saw me going after her as punishment. PLUS she said she's too good for me…which means she's -definatly- too good for you, Handy. Besides, the archer's cute."
All of this is said rather casually, and in clear hearing of the women, as he levels the shotgun at the chest of the attacker and unloads both barrels at almost point blank. They're filled with rock salt. This means it tears up skin and does some real damage, but it won't kill. It -will- be one of the most painful things he's ever felt, though, drugs or no. He lets out the shells and smoothly loads two more, scanning the area.
That's where the private makes his mistake, because as he grabs for the motorcyle, Ravager is pulling a wheelie right into the man's chest. She's certain, given what she was told about the drug, it won't kill him like an impact like that would with a regular person. Even as she does this, she's rolling off the motorcycle itself, while coming up, and charging at the Sergeant with the lit katana she's still holding. It dips down into the pavement, and begins to churn it up as it slices theough the asphalt like butter.
She runs straight for the Sergeant, and slashes a clean hit with her energy katana. The result is not what one might expect - the katana slices clean through his pants, leaving a knot of pants down around the man's ankles and slowing him down profusely.
Luckily for the boys Ravager hasn't heard them talking about her.
Kate Bishop on the other hand can hear quite well what's going on over there with the two men that had shown up to apparently also fight these soldiers turned drug runners. Or bikers turned soldiers turned drug runners to be more accurate.
"Eyes on the prize, boys, this isn't time for flirting," she calls out to the pair even as she tosses her hair back over her shoulder and out of her face. Better to just work on the problem at hand.
Sliding her hand back she grasps another arrow letting her thumb run over the shaft feeling for the tell-tale marks she'd cut into it. Not deep enough to damage it, but to identify what type of arrow it was by touch alone. Even as she does she's taking a run toward a parked car to leap onto the hood, then to the roof to get some higher ground. Enough to get out of the way of any motorcycles that might be flung around.
While Rose deals with that one she notches her arrow again taking a shot with another sleeping gas arrow at one of the still-surviving privates. "It almost worked last time," she mutters, even as she pulls another to let fire an actual arrow after. If this drug was as dangerous as it's supposed to be she has no qualms of taking out some kneecaps which was her target.
The Private that Rose nails is slammed back into one of the Hum-Vees. He's knocked down, pinned underneath the weight of the motorcycle as it keeps him from moving - at least for now. He struggles against the weight, trying to push the bike off of him.
The two rounds tear through the other Private, and he's thrown against the side of the truck. He pushes off of it, his ACU jacket and t-shirt shredded, but then suddenly his eyes go wide. He starts coughing and then chocking as foam bubbles up from his mouth. His eyes widen and from his tear ducts, nostrils and ears he bleeds.
After several seconds of a massive seizure that releases his bowels and bladder, he screams in what could almost be a monkey-like howl before he falls to the ground - dead before his head even collides with the concrete.
Someone should have told him that was one of the possible side-effects of 'Thunderbolt'.
Rose's katana slices through the Sergeant's pants, dropping them around his ankles and exposing the flab of his stomach. He roars in anger and lashes out with a massive ham-bone like fist to try to smack Rose and knock her backwards.
An arrow flies out to catch the Sergeant in the back, and suddenly his whole body is illuminated in electricity. Taser arrow. "Have time later!" he calls back out to Kate, before reaching to draw another arrow.
Corporal Wiry was just getting ready to leap at Kate when one of the arrows catches him in the knee and sends him tumbling end over end. He slams into one of the trucks and just lies there in the back of it, staring at the sky and lost in a euphoric haze.
Ravager ducks the incoming swing from the Sarge and slams a heel into his kneecap for his trouble, as the shock arrow hits. She takes a few steps back, smirking. Then she sets her eye on the private under the motorcycle gets a curbstomp to one of his hands, with the intent on literally crushing many fingerbones and rending the hand inoperable, before she slams a boot into the side of his head, to either stun him, or knock him out. She's not trying to kill him - but, if he dies on her watch? Well. The drugs did it, not her. She's being all - good and shit. Not even using bullets. It's a first.
Once the private is down, and showing no further signs of activity - either by death, or by unconsciousness, only then does she pull her motorcycle off his body and look around for any further activity, the expression on her features severe, intent, focused.
"Is that it?" She almost seems disappointed.
"Oh jesus," Hawkeye blurts out when she sees the fate of the newly dead man. She shouldn't have taken her eyes off the Corporal, but when you hear a scream like that, you didn't have much choice. Stomach lurching with an obvious shudder at the result of his imprompru high, she flips back off the car she was on before the corporal can regain his feet and charge at her again. If anything she looks a bit ill… She was on the younger side of those here. Maybe seeing something like that was a first for her.
Maybe.
Kate swallows hard a single time pushing down the urge to freak out. Now was NOT the time. Get yourself in gear!
"Eyes on the prize," she repeats beneath her breath to hreself as she starts to make her way back to her teammate keeping her eyes scanning for signs of further movement. An arrow is notched again, who knew what sort this time, but she's merely at the ready. Just in case.
"I feel like I ought to ask for a pay raise except I'm not getting paid for this shit."
It's not the first time that Roy Harper has seen a man die of a drug overdose. He's come close to it a few times. And while it gives him pause - eyes lock to provide support for the two women as he leaps back up on the hood of the truck. "The pay ain't that great anyway." Roy responds to Kate as he notches another arrow. The private and the corporal are both down and out for the count. It seems that they have the situation handled.
That is until the truck sways beneath Roy, and he's struggling to keep his feet. The truck lifts off the ground, the hamboned, pantless Sergeant lifting it high into the air. Over five tonnes of truck that causes Roy to have to leap away, landing on the ground in a staggering roll as he tries to push Jason back and out of the way. "Watch out, bro!" he calls at the other man as the Sergeant raises the truck, preparing to possibly smash the two men with it!
Ravager's eyes fall on the lifted truck, and smoothly she grabs one of her throwing knives off her bandolier, and chucks it at the pantsless Sergeant's leg, with deadly accuracy. "Down, boy," she snarls at him. "Before you pop a blood vessel."
The other leg gets a similar addition in the form of one of Kate's arrows. A real arrow this time, not one of her trick ones. Seeing that Ravager had hit the other knee she shrugs giving her teammate a sidelong glance. "You know I know this girl who does this spider themed deal and has this really tough webbing. I might see if she'll let me use some of that for an arrow at some point. You think it'd work?"
In spite of all of her banter earlier about focusing on work, it was now more than even odds. It didn't seem like she couldn't chat now.
Rose, as close as she is, can see the look in the man's face - he's already starting to get that same bleed that the private got. He's not gone long left, after all, he downed at least five of the Thunderbolt pills. Turning, he looks like about to slam the truck down on Roy and Jason when the two women attack - and the man's legs go out from under him.
He hits the ground when his knees buckle, and barely had time to howl before the truck collapses on him, crushing the man beneath it. That's gonna leave a mess.
Roy is so not gonna stick around to clean it up. Pushing himself to his feet, Roy dusts himself off, before helping Jason up. "Thanks for the assist." he offers to the two women, before he moves towards the bag of spilled drugs, and opens his comms. "Package and target secured - have some masks here. Send a bus and cleanup."
With that, he turns to the women. "I have to stay for a bit for SHIELD to collect this crap. But if you want to meet up for drinks after this - I'm Arsenal. That there is Red Hood. Don't let the bat fool you, he's estranged for having a sense of humor."
"Might. Won't know until you ask," Ravager turns back to Hawkeye, before asking Roy, simply, "Who the hell are you?" Though, she probably already knows, she's certainly putting on a great poker face. "And why the hell would we stick around for SHIELD to get here? Bunch of lame-asses."
A beat, before she adds, "You're welcome," to his appreciation for the assist. Then she looks back at Hawkeye, "Nice shooting, Tex."
Kate Bishop makes a small gasping noise as she jerks her head away from seeing the results of… Well, of *that*. One hand raised to press her knuckles to her mouth she takes several quick, deep breaths to calm herself. Okay. This was completely not making her look professional at all. Instead she focuses on slinging her bow over her shoulder and letting her now-free hands pat-check all her weapons. Count. How many arrows left? Throwing knives at her thigh? All accounted for with minimal loss.
Feeling a little more herself she puts on a brave face once again to turn back toward Roy, pointedly NOT LOOKING at certain fall out areas of this venture. It's Rose's compliment that earns a chuckle that helps to relax her further. "Of course it was. Thanks."
She turns toward Roy to offer out in response, "I'm Hawkeye."
Well THERE'S a name that's NEVER come up on SHIELD dossiers before. Right? Yeah. Right.
"And here the dossier said you were quick, Ravager." Arsenal responds, a smirk at her. He gave his name, not his fault if she missed it. "You don't have to stay around, but you know. Want to grab a couple of beers and laugh about this shitshow? I'm buying the first round. Hoodie there may have to buy the rest though." What good is having a battle buddy if he heads off to secure things in the middle of a fight? Though he was really probably awesome.
He polices up the drugs, securing the bag of them and then frowns at it as he looks over at the other. "Stupid idiots." he mutters to himself with a shake of his head. "Crap was thought to be lost in Afghanistan. Guess the military didn't hit them hard enough."
And then Kate introduces herself, and there's a lift of Roy's brow beneath the mirrored shades as he looks her over. "I didn't expect you to be so curvy, Agent Hawkeye." he says dryly to the young woman. "Or is this just some hero worship, because I mean, I can get you his autograph."
"Oh, I am quick," agrees Ravager, thoughtfully. "Otherwise, you'd have been a pancake." She begins walking over to her motorcycle, "What do you think, Hawkeye? Should we go get a few bottles with Arsenal, here, and his worst-costume-ever design buddy? Though, Red Hood is pretty good at fighting. Met him before," she admits.
"That's Special Agent Hawkeye to you," Kate responds without missing a beat. So she knew after all. An eyebrow raises imperiously high before she cracks a smile. "He's been off the grid for over a year. Either he's retired or dead. If he's not dead, he can come earn the name back himself if he wants it so bad." Kate, for one, was not budging on the name. She'd earned it in her own right.
Looking back to Ravager she gives a shrug at that. "Sure, why not. I've not got anything else on my plate tonight. I got my B&E out of my system last night. A drink couldn't hurt."
"Hey, ain't my place who you decide to name yourself after? You his niece or daughter? May not want to take you out drinking, if that's the case." Roy responds. He doesn't want to cause that kind of trouble, after all." As he notices the lights from the SHIELD bus, he shrugs. "Anyway. Unless you want to stand around here and awkwardly explain all that, I'll handle clean up here…"
Because Jason's already bailed.
He takes out a card and offers it to Rose. "Call me later, we'll meet up." he responds. Not that he expects her to, but hey, she's worth asking out.
Ravager at least takes the card, smirks, and then climbs on her motorcycle. "Sure. We'll do it again. Kick some ass. Have a few beers." She looks back to Hawkeye, "You coming back, or you going to play Special Agent some more with Arsenal?" She kickstarts the engine, but waits for Kate's answer, seeming indifferent on Kate's choice but at least considerate enough for her teammate's choice before tearing out.
Kate Bishop chuckles and waves in the best way possible to Roy; the one finger salute thrown over her shoulder. "No relation," she offers back as she steps toward Ravager to join her on the bike. "Let's beat it. I'm not fond of SHIELD right now."
Roy watches the two women ride off, and glances off where Jason retreated to. "Jerk. Wrong time to get shy." The motorcycle races by the bus as it enters, and Roy moves to start on all the paperwork this will need.