Summary:Backdated to 6/4 Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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This has not been a very good day for Laynia Petrovna, Agent of Shield. It started off normally enough, she was not on any duty rosters and had no missions scheduled, so, it being Sunday, she did a bit of physical training in the early morning, and then after getting cleaned up did some shopping for her loft apartment, she's still living in the place in Little Odessa that Spider-Man found for her. Laynia rather likes it, even though she could afford better now. The community is a good one for a Russian expat, feels homey.
That done she loaded up her beloved 2007 Mini-Cooper with supplies for a run to Mutant Town and it was en route that things went pear shaped in a big way. Sure, she checked the car, she always does thanks to hard experience with a tracking device in the past. Lesson learned. What she /didn't/ check was that there was a drone overhead, tracing her route and progress.
It is just outside of Mutant Town that the attack comes - a shaped charge in the pavement - triggered by remote detonator under her engine block that blows the front end off the car and sends the reminder, including one very stunned, battered and surprised Minsk girl spinning end over end.
No question that Diya would hear such a thing so close to mutant town.
For the moment, there's silence.
Explosions are not unheard-of, especially for one with Hunter's hearing. But an explosion at the edge of her territory must be investigated, and swiftly lest it herald a threat to her people. This is aided both by the fact that Hunter's territory is not terribly large - only a few dozen blocks at most - and by the fact that Hunter is frighteningly fast.
No, she is no Flash; she is not already there. But there is no traffic at rooftop level, and Diya can run at car speeds and leap over intervening spaces and barriers.
All of this means that within less than a minute of the explosion the rooftop-bounding form of a homeless woman in threadbare military fatiques comes into the area, prodigious senses sweeping until she finds the drone and other threats in the area. The drone is triple-checked to assure it is not yet another variation of the maddening RESCUE-themed units she has encountered lately; in the next moment, the drone will be taking high-velocity rifle fire with scary accuracy.
So many people forget: always look UP! And down. Not just all around.
The drone is shot to pieces in short order, though it /does/ take more than a single round, there was an energy field protecting it! The second shot wrecks the thing. From inside the remnants of her car, the Darkstar stirs but — it is not a normal wake up, not in the least. Even from the rooftop vantage point she fired from, Hunter can feel the chill and madness of the Darkforce dimension as a /pulse/ of energy shreds what's left of the car. The shockwave of that pulse shattering windows for a hundred yards about the now ex-car, and when the darkness bleeds away, in the middle is the Darkstar, only she looks very very wrong at the moment.
Her eyes glow red, her short hair has been augmented with strands of black woven tightly with the Darkforce. And her costume? Almost spiky looking.
Red eyes sweep the area just as the Hunter hears the click of a trigger press, and the crack of a high velocity rifle round from not too far away. The shot punches through the Darkstar's shoulder, and the woman cries out in pain, her voice sepulchral, she doesn't bleed much however, Darkforce plugging the wounds and cauterizing it with extreme cold, she does go to one knee, however. A hand braced on the pavement as a dome of force forms around her. That voice speaks, in Russian. <Whoever you are, you are dead, comrade.> The tones are /very/ atypical, not Laynia's normal, in fact - the cadence, the speech patterns? Very different.
Hunter reacts swiftly and sharply; she notes everything that is transpiring, but at the sound of the 'click' of the trigger pull, even as that other rifle's explosion leads to the launch of that projectile, Hunter is already snapping around to aim in that direction, unleashing a quick succession of shots at the target.
Hunter does not understand what has changed with Laynia; is this emotion and anger? Pain? Or is this something else? All she can do is act to protect one who is an ally.
Half expecting the return the fire, the other sniper in the area is still taken aback by the speed at which it comes. Fortunately for him, he too has an energy shield, and a stronger one than the drone had. Diya can see the head turn, barely, some sort of stealth systems offering a chameleonic effect. A moment of hesitation only, but then it ducks back under cover and she can hear a voice in Russian. <I am dead? YOU are the one who is wounded, traitor. I do not know who your friend is, but she is well advised to fuck the hell off, this is not her concern.>
The Darkstar tracks where the shots went to, and then she stands, raising a hand overhead to form a massive hammer of darkforce which /pulverizes/ the section of roof top that the sniper was in.
WAS being the operative word.
What the hell? Laynia is /not/ one for random destruction like that! This is a far more brutal, harder version of the woman—it might be /rage/, but it feels like something more, something other.
'Who[mever] your friend is?' OK. So this poor pathetic moron does not even know what a crapstorm he has managed to dump himself into. Not that Hunter is feeling terribly charitable about it. But when even three tightly-grouped shots from her standard rifle are insufficient to penetrate that field, Diya stopped wasting ammunition and started scanning her surroundings. It was time now to assess if this idiot is alone.
And then his rooftop is gone. And that is not normal for Laynia. The only time Hunter has seen her be that decisive, it was in the midst of the battle with the Razors. So multiple things are not making sense. Not having seen Laynia in some time means she is operating on potentially outdated intelligence.
There are times when not talking can be a detriment, rare as that may be.
The Hunter will have a brief moment when she sees a flicker of motion at ground level - apparently he moves pretty quickly too, this guy. He makes a flinging motion and a handful of small spheres fan out and then /streak/ at Darkstar's shielding before bursting with the brilliant light of a magnesium flare, each of them eating into the shields, and again drawing a shriek of pain.
The man did not stay put, nope, he immediately rolled behind a dumpster, expecting to be shot at again. Sadly for him the cover he picked is well within Diya's leaping distance.
Of course she might not be doing too well in the wake of just how bright those flare-spheres were. Whoever this guy is, he knows his target!
Laynia's field has several gaping holes in it, and she is crouched once more an arm before her eyes as she layers another field under the first, dissolving the older once the newer formed, but it is plain that those spheres did a number on the woman. She's breathing hard. <So…you call me traitor, who might you be, comrade hero of the collective?>
Okay, what the foxtrot is going on here? Darkstar is talking like a woman from the Cold War! That…is distinctly bizarre. <My friend? She is the Hunter, the protector of Mutant Town, you imbecile. Between us you are well and truly screwed, no matter what toys you bring to the table.>
Unfortunately for Lyania's attacker, Diya uses far more than but one sense, and is already in mid-air. It is unlikely the target will miss her incoming, but if he dares to move, he will draw her fire, and she really can fire just on sound alone as already proven!
Hunter lands as silently as one can when moving with such force, knees and whole body bending to absorb that energy, and then pivotes swiftly towards her target. No shouts. No words. Her only sound beyond that of her rifle is a subsonic rumbling that seems to heighten the tension in the air.
<Me? I am the Revenant, murderer. Well, now you will face /justice/…> He's about to blather on in true villain exposition when he notes the leap from the Hunter. <Well. Shit.> He states, and then draws a pair of carborundum 'Jagdkommando' knives - these things are truly vile - the blade twisting and having three edges that will leave egregious wounds that bleed and bleed. As if is is not enough, a murmured. <Ignis> and they burst into if not flames, at least into extreme heat. <Hunter is it? This woman is a murderer, she killed my father, my mother, my brother…it is justice I seek, not a fight with you.>
At his story, the Darkstar laughs. <Little Yuri Pavchenko, is that you? I have not seen you since you were what…two? That was forty years ago, comrade and your parents were terrorists, I do regret the brother, he was not a target, but your parents were terrorists and reaped what they had sown.>
The man's gaze shifts to Laynia as the Darkstar stands once more and advances towards the sound of his voice. As she approaches, Diya can smell the man's anticipation…
Hunter knows nothing of this man, or his rage against Laynia. Perhaps it is justified; she cannot know. But if he wants a murderer, he has found one in her. Let there be no doubt in that. And yet she approaches not with knives in hand, but snaps up the rifle and aims it with lethal intent, unmoved and unmoving.
And then a growling, lilting, mush-mouthed voice. "Drop. … Die. … Choose."
The next move is his. But if he moves for Laynia, it will be his end. There can be no doubt of that.
Shifting to English, since that is what Hunter spoke, the Revenant looks back to her. "Sure, sure…I don't want a fight with you, as I said." He seems fairly calm, his body language is relaxed - his scent tells a different story and by now Hunter's sight has likely cleared well enough to get a good look at the man, no WAY is he more than in his mid to late twenties, at least in appearance.
His scent is currently tinged with pain, possibly feedback from her shots? His anticipation rising as Darkstar approaches. And though he /looks/ calm, the large bore rifle so close to his face -is- concerning. Revenant lets the daggers fall, some design feature cutting off the heat field once he releases them, and then stick in the tarmac. Quietly, he murmurs. "Fiat Lux." just as Laynia takes one more step. As he says this another detonation of light as the equivalent of a claymore mine goes off, right in Darkstar's face. The 'balls' of light absolutely shred her defensive shields, and leave her in a smoking heap on the ground. Diya's senses can tell she's not dead yet, but he doesn't have those senses - as far as Revenant can tell, she's dead.
His move made - a mix of compliance and treachery, he waits to get shot in the face eyes closed, peaceful.
Having already witnessed this man speak to activate these light- and fire-related powers or technologies, Hunter is prepared for this threat. She is well aware that he has not really surrendered, but is biding time with intent to finish his mission. The moment he speaks with that dark, lethal intent tainting his scent, the rifle fires. Not once. Not twice. Three times in rapid succession at point-blank range and with frightening precision.
The first shot pancakes against the sputtering remnants of his shielding, the second hammers through with a guttering spark and strikes his cheek explosively, while the third rams through and quite literally discorporates his entire skull unimpeded by anything else.
There was not even time to fathom that his attack might have succeeded, or failed.
The rifle is slung way quickly, and Hunter bounds over towards Laynia heedless of the danger of those magnesium charges to scoop her up and get her away to some measure of safety.
She's, to say the least, a mess. Laynia has reverted to her normal self - short white hair in a pixie cut, she's wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt of amber, and sturdy and very sensible shoes. This sort of thing is her usual attire for a visit where she intends to work. It looks like her nose is broken, and she's covered with burns, and yes - alive - but barely. Her clothing is a right mess too, burnt, and then there's what little is left of her car, sort of feebly burning in a vacant lot, the fragments spread about. Yeah, that car is /toast/. Some of the supplies are salvageable though - she brought a bunch of canned goods, the sacks of rice however are toast as well.
As Diya scoops the pale and battered (possibly dying) Laynia up, her eyes flutter open, and they look normal. Cinnamon once more, she is in obvious agony, and confused. "Wha' 'appen?" She slurs.
"Later. Rest." That's it. That's all the discussion Diya is having right now, as she bounds down the street at ludicrous speeds, aiming straight for the Tolliver clinic.
Yep. She just left the scene of a terrorist attack on US soil, not to mention a murder. Don't like it, NYPD? SHIELD? Come and get 'er. 'Cause Diya gives no cruds.
Diya storms into the clinic, and does not even slow down as she bounds through, past the charge nurse on duty, and lays Laynia on a bed. Whip, out comes that survival knife of hers, and she starts slicing away what is left of the smoking, blood-stained clothing. "D! D extinguisher!" she shouts - yep, Diya can shout, just never does - as she keeps peeling. No water is applied, until one of the Pride volunteers returns from the storage space below the clinic - which happens to also be a secret expansion to the clinic - with what she asked for.
By that point, Diya has put an oxygen mask on Laynia's face, and then grabs the extinguisher and pulls the pin, firing sodium chloride powder all over her, putting out the magnesium. Only then does Diya step back, putting down the extinguisher and letting the medical professionals get to work.
Answers for Laynia? No. Those are not coming. Those would require conversation. Not the slightest bit Hunter's strong suit.
Diya's rapid action would no doubt create a stir, fortunately she's focused enough on saving Laynia's life that hopefully her predator aura is ramped down a few notches. Once the mask is put in place and the extinguisher applied, poor Laynia mercifully blacks out. Magnesium is /nasty/ stuff.
Laynia's list of injuries is rather lengthy - broken nose, two fractured ribs, cracked radius and ulna left arm, numerous contusions and scrapes, and of course - body wide magnesium burns just extinguished by the application of the D-Extinguisher.
She is a fairly tough lady indeed to have woken up for even a moment during all that, and it is frankly fairly miraculous she's even still alive in the first place!
Not having been in the clinic when this started, Martin arrives seconds after Diya and stops inside the door to take in all the shouting and scrambling. The sound of a extinguisher… There's fear and pain and a distinctive aura he remembers well. Oy. Yet for all that, Martin moves further inside, towards where Laynia lays. "Can I fit in?" Not that he could sneak up on Diya, but he wants to be polite anyway. Not trying to touch her, since she doesn't seem to like that from unknowns, the red-head smiles and emanates his normal calm.
Her part done, Diya has already stepped back as Martin enters. Her only words for the rest of the medical staff? "Save." And then Diya turns and walks out of the clinic, literally going outside and sitting down with her back against the wall in the alleyway.
Just like that, she takes her predator aura and intensity, and absents it from the problem. Just a homeless woman sitting on guard … with a rifle on her back.
Oh, and there's also the minor matter of the GSW to the left shoulder, a through and through but it seems to have been /frozen/ to stop the blood loss, leaving the wound essentially advanced frost bite in addition to the trauma. Laynia is barely breathing when Martin gets to the table, but she /is/. Man, this woman is stubborn. And she feels kind of oddball, almost chill…and a little scary, but nothing compared to Diya.
Margaret is there, and she is already coming over with gloves and such for Martin, along with a number of energy bars. "Get scrubbed, doctor Almer." She's expecting he'll do something to buy them time, and then do as requested, because you don't work on open wounds, especially burns, without being careful of infection. Not if you want the patient to survive.
Martin grimaces at what he finds and nods absently to Margaret. The things people do to one another! He clips on his ID for the clinic, just in case, already wearing scrubs, and heads off to clean up. That won't take long, and soon he's back, finding a spot on Laynia that doesn't look absolutely hideous. There's a lot to be done here, so the first order of business is to make sure she lives. The rest can wait.