Summary:The Black Panther and Vixen go looking for Klaue Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Panther is certainly prompt, Mari will have to give him that. He said he'd meet her at moonrise near where they were to be investigating and there he is. She only sees him because she has practice looking for him. A deep inky black shadow within a shadow not far from the abandoned subway tunnels they mean to explore.
"Hello Vixen. Interesting prey you are hunting tonight."
His accent really IS like T'Challa's.
Vixen does know what to look for and right now there's no tell tale purple 'sparkles' on the mans suit. "Black Panther." the woman greets him as she lands on the ground next to him. "T'Challa tells me it's an old friend of both of yours. It's an old 'friend' of mine as well."
"We're looking for what was the Western Terminal. According to the records I could find this afternoon, it's in this way and was closed down when the battle happened here. We've a slight complication though - the spirit who was 'Gabrielle' is part of all of this and she's nasty piece of work. She … won't feel favourably disposed to me - so suspect this is a trap."
She's explained most of this across the afternoon. But you know.
"I have torches and can use my spirits for hunting. Though I suspect any sense of smell will be compromised in there." She looks at the opening and then back at the Panther. Soooo much like T'Challa even with that modulator.
"Ulysses Klaue, yes. I have had a number of dealings with him. I do not know if he had it when you knew him but he is in possession of a highly advanced sonic weapon. Be careful."
The black suited man rises from his crouch and flicks the claws out. "I know a little bit of where we are heading but none of the maps I was able to find show a complete picture. Do you have better or are we going in blind?"
Blind is okay it just means they need to be a LOT more careful.
"Spirits. I am surprised you did not ask for the prince. I will rely on you for dealing with them. My own options are limited. Shall we?"
When Vixen moves, Panther follows. The passage is as one might expect for abandoned and partly collapsed subway tunnels. Once they're down into the tunnels they really only have one way to go though every once in a while side passages branch out. Still, the terminal would have to be off the main line, so that's what they follow.
Eventually they see a light source up ahead and Panther holds out a hand to slow them.
"Someone like Klaue would not have left the entrance to his lair uncovered. Do you smell anything? Explosives? Machine oil?" Anything that might indicate booby traps.
"I don't believe he did. I was very, very young when my mother was killed. I do not know if he killed her or was just part of the band that did." Vixen answers quietly. "Mostly blind. I found this online … a map someone did not long before the battle here. It's not official and I don't know how accurate it is." That arrives on the Panthers phone for reference.
"I would not risk the Prince on such a mission, Panther. He dealt with the spirit this afternoon but I would not take him to face Klaue or his henchmen."
When the Panther flicks his claws, Vixen channels. The Wolf and the Rhino silhouetting her. As they traverse the subway, moving closer to where they think the Terminal is, Vixen stops occassionally, sniffing and canting her head as she listens. So much like the Wolf she channels.
When it's The Panthers turn to pause, she stops in his shadow, repeating the process. "Petroleum. Kerosene. Stryofoam I think." Home made napalm, perhaps? "And I … there's something moving ahead. Very faint."
"Hrmmmmm." The Panther leans down and picks up a large sized rock. He throws it and trips something. Several gouts of flaming liquid spew into the passage ahead of them and Mari can hear someone start and then start to scramble. Yeah. Panther just rang the doorbell.
After about seven seconds the jets stop though there's flaming liquid ALL over the floor in front of them now.
"He'll have noticed that. Go! I'll be right behind you!"
She can see someone emerge from the ticket office. That may or may not be him but there can't be that many people down here right?
"Oh… good idea! Knock loudly on the door. Did you bring a bag of droppings that we could light and leave on the porch?" Vixen grins. This is the type of action she likes. She's going to have edit this a little when they talk.
"Don't slip in the petroleum." She calls as she makes a headlong dash towards the ticket office.
Sharp claws have formed on her fingers and there's sharp fangs in her mouth. As she runs, the ground shudders under her as she channels the Rhino's bulk.
"Klaue … we've come for you …" That has to be him, doesn't it? He *might* actually have a number of people down here.
"No but I can ring the doorbell before we run away." The Panther calls out. He has to get up and over this and he can but he can't just run THROUGH it. So he'll be a minute or so behind Vixen.
That must be Klaue but he isn't alone. There's several people here and he turns to fire a sonic blast at her before disappearing behind another door. The people with him - all mercenaries with standard guns - kneel in a loose line and start to fire at her. Automatic, of course. She's seen the type.
Vixen tumbles, throwing herself to the side as the sonic blast hits. She doesn't quite miss it and her tumble is ruined - thank goodness for the Rhino hide that cushions the blow.
"Don't keep me waiting!" She calls to the Black Panther, rolling to her feet and being … reckless.
Flat out into the line of men firing at her, bullets bouncing from the hide of the Rhino. This is … dangerous.
Finally, she throws herself - claws first - at the shooter in front of her. His buddies can't fire on them now - they'll all be caught in the cross fire.
They can't shoot at her so they start to move instead. One goes in on Mari with a cattle prod and the others set up a cross fire. They're just about in position when the Panther does indeed arrive. He leaps in from above and claws one man deeply enough to have him out of the fight in a single swipe. Then he picks another up and hurls him bodily off the terminal. Bullets strike the suit, making it start to glow purple.
Mari herself has Mister Cattle Prod to deal with. Where'd Klaue go?
Mari grunts as she lands, watching the assailants move out, knowing she can't deal with the all and that cattle prod. When the Panther arrives, it gives her the break she's looking for …
Barely missing the cattle prod as it comes at her, the dark skinned woman growls low before simply rushing the man as the staff goes wide. Vixen doesn't hesitate dragging those weapons down the assailants face, as one hand closes over his and she squeezes … at the same the silhouette of silver backed ape appears with the other two. "You. Have made a mistake. My friend."
"Find Klaue … he's got that weapon." That's to Panther.
Panther doesn't say anything. He just nods and slams through the door that Klau had disappeared through. With Vixen having taken out the cattle prod wielder she comes under fire again. A pair of men with automatic rifles pour bullets into her from close range. That is dangerous. The Rhino makes her tough but how much of that can she really take?
The answer to that question is made even more pressing when one of the mercenaries pulls an axe from behind him. This doesn't look… normal. It's made of a dull grey metal that looks a GREAT deal like the reverbium that she's seen before. With his counterpart still providing covering fire, he goes in.
Mari really can't. The rhino is resistant, not bullet proof, and Vixen has taken a lot of hits already. This close …. she takes a bullet in her leg as she moves. The Panther will hear her curse creatively.
Crushing the cattle prod wielders hand, Mari picks him and throws him - right into the pair that firing on them. That will buy her some time as the reverbium axe is swung at her.
The silhouette of the ape fades, to be replaced by a small silhouette of a beetle on her shoulder. With the speed of the wolf, Mari rushes the guy grabbing him bodily and just tossing him.
Dangerous? Yes. She might get hit by that axe. Reckless? Absolutely.
She does not, fortunately, get hit by the axe. Instead she sends the axeman tumbling and the axe flying. It bites into the concrete and lodges there, immovable. With the gunman also down there's no one left for her to fight here. Thankfully. She DID take a shot though.
From further down the hallway she can hear that sonic weapon discharge. Panther must have caught up to Klaue.
Mari did take a shot and it shows in the way she moves though. "And stay down …" Her voice is rough as the feral nature of the wolf spirit continues to affect her.
At a limping run, the spirit caller lurches through the door, following the Panthers trail, into the hallway… carefully. "Panther!!"
There's more sounds of fighting and weapon discharge as Mari moves toward where the Panther is. When she finally breaks into the next room over - another abandoned tunnel, Klaue is on some kind of moving platform headed down the tracks. "Nice to see you again Panther. But I'm afraid I don't have time for our usual extended chat. Oh! But I see you brought a friend."
He levels the weapon at Mari as she arrives and shoots above her, aiming to collapse the roof on her.
Mari's not as fast as she should be and she's leaving a trail of blood behind her. "Klaue…" It's a growl as the woman casts around looking for the cat-suited man, even as she tries to throw herself towards the moving platform.
It doesn't save her as the roof collapses… well, it does a bit. Vixen is hit by falling debris and she stumbles, still trying to reach Klaue and work out where the Panther actually is.
For a moment she can't tell where the Panther is. And then he's there. Leaping. Knocking her out of the way of the collapsing ceiling. He shoves the both of them into a slide along the tiled floor. When they finally stop moving, Klaue is gone.
"Damn it." The Panther breathes before looking down at Vixen.
"You're bleeding. You've been shot." It's almost accusatory.
It's a good thing Mari was already moving when the Panther hits her, she cushions his a blow a little with Rhino. "Ooooffff…. he got away, didn't he. I let him get away because I got distracted." She's growling still. He might imagine her hackles standing on end.
"I am. I zagged instead of zigged. It's not bad, we just need to dig the bullet out, the hide of a rhino is quite thick." She doesn't miss the accusation in his voice and meets his masked eyes. "Not all of us has a sexy suit that turns purple when it gets hit."
"He was prepared. He is always prepared to flee like a rat." The Black Panther says as he comes to his feet and then offers his hand.
"Proof positive that it is possible to be fashionable and functional. You should look into that." She relies a lot on her powers but surely she can manage to stitch some kevlar into that suit. It will help with being shot at close range if nothing else and that at the moment seems like it is a significant risk.
Mari curses under her breath as the Black Panther pulls her to her feet. "I will. I've just never found anything that lets me move right." He's right though and maybe she can use some of this reverbium herself. "Let's look around. There's a reverbium laced axe out there, I'm sure…"
"He was ready. Which means Violet told him, doesn't it?"
"It might be vibranium. Klau has been able to get his hands on some over the years. I can take a look at it and tell you." Interesting that the Panther should know the difference between the two by sight.
"She may have. But he wasn't ready with an ambush so it is possible that was just good preparation on his part. Regardless, he is gone but he must have left behind what he set up here. We can go through it and figure out what he is doing in town."
And where he might go next.
"It might be … Vib… You know the difference by sight? How?" Vixen looks at the Black Panther. "Where in Africa did you say you were from again?"
Leading them back to the ticket office, Vixen nods "That's why I wanted to do this tonight. Assuming she told him, it wouldn't give him time to organise and if she didn't, we had the element of surprise. Either way it worked out."
"There's the axe. Embedded in the floor." Mari goes to check the others. Ensuring they're restrained and rifling through their pockets.
"I have been around." The Panther says with a laugh. He picks up the axe, easily dislodging it with one hand despite how far it was stuck in. "Vibranium, yes."
There's no ID in the pockets of the mercenaries. Just cash and food. In the ticketing office though there are is a satphone, a laptop and a map of New York marked in several places. Nothing that is immediately intelligable but something they might be able to puzzle out later.
"Not Reverbium?" Vixen frowns in The Panthers direction as he makes that assessment. "Around, hmmm?" She knows they're not telling her something, but she's not sure what.
"Let's take this stuff and head back. I need to get my leg seen to and your friend will be waiting to hear from me."
T'Challa is likely to … not kill her … but give her a very stern look.
"Did you want to go somewhere and go through this tonight?"
"Not tonight. It sounds like you have a date." Oh well does Panther know that. "But I will be in contact." He'll take the axe to examine it. It will be easier to do that without her around.
"For now, let us leave. Klaue may well have left more traps and I do not want to blunder into them while we are looking around." They have if not what they came for then something nearly as good. For now, it will do.