Summary:The Panther follows some unsettled spirits in the Disaster Zone and finds a claw. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Panther is prowling through the Disaster Zone, as he often does. Tonight though, the spirits have been restless - something the Wakandan King of the Dead can likely sense. Why? That's a very good question.
It's not a direct disturbance, which doesn't warrant the King himself. Safer to go as the Panther anyway.
Whatever he's looking for, is coming from further into the Zone, in the tumbled down buildings a few streets away. He can hear people gathered. Unfortunately, there's no bright lights to follow like there had been with Gabrielle.
At least as the Panther he can wear some armor. And as a suit of armor the Panther habit is very good. Not unrivalled, he's seen some very clever things out here in the world beyond Wakanda, but very good. Especially for something which is as flexible and light weight as this is.
The Panther prowls quietly along the upper reaches, leaping from girder to ruined wall to building skeleton. He prefers it up here. It is safer in general. Most of the things that want to hurt him are down there. Plus he has a better view of things from up here.
The Panther might expect to see a rag tag bunch of people. That's normally what gathers here. The dregs and the forgotten, those that want to stay hidden. Instead, as he makes his way up and across, he spies well armed thugs.
Well armed and well outfitted. Even if they still aren't the cream of the crop.
They're gathering near the entrance to one of the subway tunnels. Tunnels that T'Challa knows someone has taken up residence in.
"Bring it in. We don't have much time …" One of them is saying, as two others carry a roll of … material … through the entry.
There's at least two more that The Panther can see, watching the area each holding weapons they look like they know how to use.
The Black Panther shifts himself, brining the claws out so he can hang off the wall he was perched on a moment ago. He stays there, still and quiet and listening. There's no direct evidence that this is related to Klaue. However there aren't really any good reasons for non-uniformed armed men to be in here and plenty of bad reasons for them to be so.
The next time someone passes under him, he drops down and lands right on them. Quietly. Though… being quiet probably won't keep him from being noticed.
It takes sometime for someone to pass beneath the Panther, they're not great a patrolling the area. There's no real need to be, they've probably cowed the residents around here and anyone else is likely to just launch themselves at the group.
"Hey Gustaf, will ya hurry up? We're hungry and I got me a date bit later .." says the rifle wielding man as he strolls under the T'Challa. "nggggghhhh…" Anything else he say is stopped as the Panther pounces.
"Robere?" Someone calls out. An action quickly followed by a spray of bullets. Bullets that pepper the wall behind the Panther and likely his habit as well. No, he hasn't gone unnoticed and he can see the two carrying the 'roll' or cylinder look around startled but start to move just a little bit quicker.
Panther acts quickly. Much more quickly than T'Challa is ever seen to act outside this suit. He picks up the dropped rifle and throws it at the other gunman. Hard. Then he sprints for the two carrying the burden. Hopefully they won't run but if they do he knows he's faster. He'd be faster if they were just racing. He's definitely faster when they have to carry something heavy enough to need two of them.
"You will make it much easier for yourself if you simply give up." He advises helpfully but honestly Panther doesn't expect them to. Mercenaries are used to fighting. The smart ones know when to give up but very few of them are REALLY that smart. Plus there's something to be said for people who try to get the job done.
The rifle hits the second gunman, sending his shots flying wide as he falls back - it doesn't help that his foot slides on some rubble.
From inside the tunnel mouth a third gunman appears and aims a sonic blast at Black Panthers chest. From this distance he can't miss unless the Panther is quick - which he is.
"We don't think so …" one of the fellows says and keeps moving. The cylinder looks heavy and cumbersome and the two have to wrangle it, it keeps them slower than should be.
"HEY!" The second man shouts at the guy with the sonic rifle "Don't aim thing over here. Remember what the boss said about this stuff…"
T'Challa could dodge it, but instead he allows himself to be caught by it. He noted where the weapon was aimed and he lets the blast carry him up in an arc over the bundle before he kicks off a wall and slams down into the ground in front of the two men with the bundle.
And releases all of that energy the suit had stored up too.
Boom. Odds are good if what ever they are carrying goes boom, he will be just fine.
Hopefully.
"Well. I do think so."
The action takes the third gunman by surprise, to say the least. He clearly hasn't been watching training videos of The Panther fighting. The move puts The Panther behind that one … but when his suit goes off, the bundle - cannister, cylinder - does too.
BOOM
The two carrying it are sent flying, hitting the remnants of walls. They're not in great shape …
The Panther himself will be hit by the force of the explosion as well. It's sonic not explosive, thankfully.
"Oh very good…." comes a heavily accented voice from the tunnel. A tall, heavy set man emerges. "We meet again and this time you don't have your pretty pet with you…"
The Black Panther knows who this.
"You should be glad I did not. She wants to wear your skin. I might be inclined to let her, though." Panther picks himself up and dusts himself off. The energy is absorbed though it still sends him tumbling. Fortunately he is good at controlling tumbles. He has had lots and lots of practice.
"Pity about your luggage. That was yours I presume? You should be more careful when you hire movers. But I can help you there. I can arrange it so you won't have to move for a long time."
"Oh I don't know, Black Panther." Ulysses Klaue comments casually, raising his arm and pointing a weapon at the catsuited man "I think she might be fun to let try and then to put on a pretty chain. I have many who would pay to have the Vixen as their pet."
A scowl crosses his face at the mention of the 'package'. A scowl that disappears quickly enough. "It was, yes. That's set me back, unfortunately and now I'm going to need to make amend to my … business partners. Your head will help with that I think."
He fires. Not at the Panther but at the wall behind hi- the one that is already structurally weaker because of the last explosion. Bricks and mortar fly forward at T'Challa' back.
The Black Panther has no time for a witty rejoinder about the Vixen. Instead he has to move, which he does, up along a wall to his left and running for a good seven or eight feet before he drops down, taking a chunk of concrete with him. He spins once like a discus thrower and hurls it right at Klau's chest. Then he follows up without waiting to see if it will hit or not, bounding right at the man.
That's probably a little reckless. He knows how clever and tricky the man can be. But he's right here and if they can just end this, a great many things will go smoother.
The chunk of concrete flies true and should hit Klau center chest. The man just laughs as the Panther moves though, swaying backwards a little. T'Challa can feel the disturbance in the air, see the concrete powder as it hits a wall.
"You have to do better than that, I'm afraid. I've learned a few tricks since we last met." Klau chortles.
There's a shuffling on the debris pile to the Panthers left. One, perhaps more, of the thugs are trying to move.
"You know I can, Klaue." Rather than go in with his claws the Panther simply tries to trap his arm and throw him at the moving bits of rubble. His whatever it was protected him from flying concrete. Let's see if it protects him when he is the one flying.
"It is good that you can learn new tricks, Klaue. You know what they say about old dogs…" And yes. The dog reference is deliberate. The Panther really does not think much of Klaue. The man is clever, and dangerous, but he is an AWFUL human being.
"I know you think you can …" Klaue lets T'Challa grab his arm, lets himself be thrown at the rubble, that strange shield shattering anything near him again. The arm fires again, and again as T'Challa moves.
Then another sonic blasts catches him in the crossfire. One of the guys has found a weapon and is using it. Klaue though isn't letting up.
Up on the rooftop, Black Panther gets a glimpse of something moving. Something black and yellow…
"If I could not you would still be in Wakanda. As you are not, I think we both know I can…" Then T'Challa is caught. Sonic blasts assail him from all sides and he crouches. He isn't hurt, not in this suit, not from those weapons. And it's charging up his kinetic battery… a lot.
"You're going to have to do better than that Klaue!" Panther yells above the noise. He can see… something. Is that who he thinks it is?
The sonic blasts kick up debris around the Panther, the bits hitting the suit and charging it more. They hit with force - that he's not hurt from the impact is testimony to Wakandan engineering. "Keep thinking that…" Klaue just smiles broadly and doesn't aim at the man at all. Instead, he aims for the ground in front of T'Challa. The others aim for the ground behind him. It starts to collapse, sucking the cat suited man down into it. That shouldn't be a problem - he's agile enough, right?
Behind him though, the sonic weapons fire cuts off abruptly, Klaue looking over in surprise. It will give T'Challa a slight advantage.
"You did bring your pet anyway …"
"Perhaps, but you should pay more attention to me!" T'Challa as it turns out does not need to use that agility because Mari breaks the encirclement and provides a distraction. This time the Panther leaps and goes for a body tackle… and as he gets close to the man he triggers his kinetic battery.
Boom. Mari will surely see that. It's going to make a mess probably.
The Panthers suit goes off, sending debris everywhere. Klaue is knocked flying as The Panther tackles him, the dutchman kicking out hard to keep the Wakandan away. For an older man, Klaue is incredibly athletic, not as much as T'Challa but … not bad.
Klaue tumbles away, rolling a few feet towards the tunnel …. "Maybe I should pay more attention to you… And maybe you should watch your back." he tosses over his shoulder as he disappears into the gloom, leaving the cannister behind.
"Did you think you would party without me?" Vixen asks behind the Black Panther, the sound of flesh hitting flesh as her words are punctuated with a grunt.
Panther is breathing hard. That had been a bit of a workout. He glances over his shoulder at Vixen. "Apparently you decided to come anyway. I was not particularly expecting this party. It was a surprise. A surprise party if you like."
Which is true though the Black Panther had known that Klaue was operating somewhere in this area.
"Careful with that cannister. The last one went boom."
Vixen gives the Panther a questioning look. "You sound miffed. I didn't deliberately come to *this party* but I'm glad I did. There are the *best* people at it." beat "Are you hurt?"
There are groans from behind them. The thugs didn't fair well. Not against The Black Panther with follow up from Mari.
"This … " Mari turns the cannister over carefully. There's a marking near the cap, a screw down cap, T'Challa can make it out. It's a stylised A.I.M. No guessing where it came from.
"Do you want to open it? Or …" She doesn't look impressed. Not at the cannister or the fact that Klaue had it.
"Not miffed no. Just sore…" The Panther stands up and rolls his shoulder. His suit absorbs most of the kinetic energy being thrown at him by a long shot but he can still feel it. Particularly if he gets thrown around. His body is still beholden to the laws of physics after all.
"Yes. And we should open it here, in the zone where there's no one to get hurt…" He doesn't move to pick it up though. He might be a little bit leery of just clawing it open after the last blast. He needs a moment to recover.
"So you are hurt. Do you need medical attention? I can get you to a medical facility." Vixen had seen some of the punishment that the Black Panther had taken but not all of it. "You think this might go off, if we open it?"
Vixen looks at the cannister and carefully cracks the screw lid, it's tight and she has to use a bit of muscle to do that. She holds her breath and lets it out shakily when the cannister doesn't explode.
Inside is a thin roll of metal like substance. A sheet that's been rolled up, like newspaper. The Panther might recognise the sheen of it - it looks Vibranium, but of course it isn't. And this cannister was destined for Klaue.
"I am not seriously hurt, but thank you." The Panther says. He looks down at the cannister considering it. "The last one blew up. But there was a very large blast next to it." Him. He was that very large blast. It seemed like a good idea at the time though in fairness his options had been limited.
The cat suited hero relaxes and reaches out to examine the metal substance. "Mmmmmmm. This must be reverbium. It is not actual vibranium. And I do not think it is anti-metal."
"Anti Metal?" Vixen looks curiously at the Panthers masked face. "You said a cannister exploded. Given the sonics I saw when I got here and from what we know about some of the stuff in the wild, it might well be Reverbium. T'Challa will know how to test it."
The Panther should be laughing internally at that. T'Challa and not 'you'.
"What do you think he would be using it for? Thin rolls like could be extruded, I suppose. But if it's unstable …" Mari's thinking and not liking anything she's coming up with.
"Anti-Metal? A version of vibranium from Antarctica. Ask your friend about it. He is an expert." The feline hero says, carefully replacing the sheet in the cannister.
"It may be a new formula or a new attempt at an armor material." The Panther theorizes. "On the other hand it could just as easily be a formed explosive. Place this against something and hit it with the right sonics and you would have a hole in that something more likely than not."
It's a rather expensive door knocker but it could be that they're trying to break down a rather expensive door.
Vixen considers that, watching as the cat suited hero replaces the sheet. "This stuff is a menace. For as much as I want to use it in my designs, the product that AIM produces is so unstable." She sighs. "Are you going to follow this up?"
Direct, Mari is direct.
"See what Klaue is doing with it, down in the tunnels." Of course, he might not be doing anything in the tunnels except using them as transit.
"Explosives, armour, or enhancements… those are things we've seen it used for so far." Mari is unaware of the other use, for which she would be grateful if she knew.
"If I can. We must first find out what Klaue wanted with it, then we must see if we can cut him off from his supply or at least make use of what we have captured." The Panther examines the cannister. It at least seems shock proof. It should be okay to move around with. Even drop, though that's a bit of a risk. Blasting it with his kinetic battery would probably be bad, though.
"And now, thank you for your assistance. What were you doing out here, by the way?"
"If you're going to go hunting next time, perhaps you should call me." Vixen gives the Panther a cheeky grin. "I'll speak with my friend about this anti-metal. Are you going to take the cannister, or shall I?"
It should be ok to move, if a little heavy and cumbersome.
"And you're welcome. I couldn't let you get hurt too much now, could I? I was looking around for signs of Gabrielle actually. She … hasn't been home in a while and although she said she'd be staying with friends …" Mari looks a sheepish. "… I worry."
"You take it. Give it to your friend. He is the expert here and he will be happy to see you." The Panther could take it himself but then he'd have to explain why it showed up in T'Challa's apartment. At least this way Vixen will bring it herself.
"Perhaps I will call you next time. Ah, Gabrielle. I've heard rumor but not seen her. If it helps I have not heard that anything ill has befallen her and I would think that she is safe." Safe if somewhat flighty. Appripriate for the girl perhaps. She literally has her head in the clouds a lot.
It's a tricky game the Panther is playing with Mari but she accepts the cannister with a nod. "And you know he'll be happy to see me, do you?" Another cheeky grin as the dark skinned woman raises her chin. "Shall we then. Or are you going to be a little more reckless and head further into the Zone on your own?"
He probably should tell her, T'Challa. He wants to tell her. But how to tell her? That's the tricky part. How to tell her in a way that doesn't go horribly wrong for one or both of them. He's not sure. He just doesn't know. And this is a man who often knows what he plans to do.
"I have good reason to believe he will. Well, that depends entirely on whether there is going to be company to my recklessness." Perhaps she'd like to patrol deeper in before departing, since she came all the way here.
"I'd be happy to give you company. It's always exciting and we find the most interesting of problems." Vixen smiles. She'll bring the cannister with them, as long as they're careful it will be alright.
It will all work out. T'Challa's secret that is. Interesting the ex-model has him … discombobulated.
"Come on then. There's trouble to find."