22Likes
12Posts
You're an idiot and a pin cushion.
Kory / Star
|
Post by Mia Dearden on Mar 10, 2019 4:03:47 GMT -5
Participants: The Outsiders - Jason Todd , Raven Open/Closed: Closed Location(s): Bludhaven's docks Time of Day: The midnight hours Weather: Chill Summary: The newly formed Outsiders deal with some dock-side issues, attempting to bring down a trafficking ring currently operating between Gotham, Bludhaven and Star City. She watched the movement of heavy crates through the range-finder on her bow, tracking the paces of the broad-shouldered, lightly-armed thugs carefully. An arrow – blunt-tipped and weighted with a small cannister of thick gas – was already nocked to her longbow, and the bowstring was already pulled taut. Gloved fingers gripping the arrow's tip rested against her cheek, and her breaths were deep, slow and deliberate: those of an experienced archer. Mia held that position, ready to loose the prepared projectile at a moment's notice. She just needed word from her teammates, and the entire warehouse she presided over would be filled with a thick, choking smog. Lack of vision, smoke-filled lungs and the utter confusion that resulted would serve to give her fellow vigilantes a distinct advantage in the ensuing skirmish, despite boasting far fewer personnel. Then, while other members of the squad dealt with the disoriented criminal element inside the fog-filled structure, she would take responsibility for picking off those attempting an escape. Barring unexpected interference or catastrophic disaster, the trafficking ring stood to be shut down within the hour, leaving ample time for pizza and an early night. However, as a somewhat experienced vigilante, Mia Dearden should have known that things rarely, if ever, went according to plan. In this case, it was the rumble of a distant engine that signalled things going awry – a rumble that only intensified over a 30 second period. Frowning beneath her eye mask, Mia relaxed the pull on her bowstring and tilted her head, leaning out from her vantage point – nestled among a number of shipping crates – trying to catch a glipse of the sound's source. Almost instantly, her brown eyes were drawn to a motorcade of vans and muscle cars, driving one behind the other down the dock-front, straight toward the warehouse she was camped outside. Ducking quickly back into cover, she reached under her hood and tapped the communicator affixed about her ear, opening a channel of communication to the other vigilantes gathered around the site. “Uh...hey team? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but someone called in back-up. Hint – it wasn't us.”
|
|
252Likes
168Posts
I'm no one's son.
Jay
|
Post by Jason Todd on Mar 11, 2019 17:55:46 GMT -5
It was surreal, almost, this whole “team” thing. It hadn’t been his plan, not at all, when he’d first put together this ragtag crew to hunt down a splinter cell of the League of Assassins. He hadn’t been stupid enough to take them on by himself, so he’d swallowed his pride and called in some backup. Raven, of course, had been his first option and there’d been no hesitation on his part to ask for her help. Mia, on the other hand, had been a bit more complicated. He’d known she’d taken on a bit more of an “outsider” status and that she was at least slightly less likely to just haul his ass off to Arkham, but they didn’t exactly have a pleasant history. The only time they’d ever actually interacted, he’d been deeply unstable and a total dick and too desperate for validation. So, yeah, it’d taken him a bit to figure out a way to say “hey, remember that time I kidnapped you? Can I do that again, but with your permission?”
It’d worked out, though, maybe even a little too well, because they were still teaming up. He was pretty sure he was even the sorta leader, which was something that both made him want to high tail it out of there but also rub it in Bruce’s stuck up face. Now, instead of just running into missions solo, he was sharing information with them and making strategic plans that involved them and sometimes it still surprised him, remembering that he actually had an option that wasn’t “alone.” Hell, just earlier in the day he was contemplating giving Mia the locations and codes to some of his safehouses.
Raven, of course, already had them. Which was another weird thing: being in a relationship. He’d never actually been in one before. Crushes and a few quick, schoolyard kisses were the closest he’d gotten before his death. After? Well, he didn’t really feel like unpacking that quite yet. Still, despite his clear lack of expertise, things had actually been going pretty well. Natural, even. And he was both ecstatic and terrified of messing it up.
Now, hearing Mia’s words, he paused halfway through a window that lead into the warehouse. “How many?” he asked, then cursed at the answer. He leaned away from the window, held up by the single leg hooked over it, and craned his neck, catching sight of movement that indicated the motorcade Mia warned about. s**t. Alright. This was fine. He’d never met a plan that didn’t end up taking at least a bit of a detour.
“Rae, how are our unexpected guests feeling?” Because they were either here to help the team’s target, or this was about to become yet another bloody turf war in Blüdhaven’s ridiculously long history of them.
Raven
|
|
85Likes
84Posts
The daughter of a demon, living like a saint.
Di
|
Post by Raven on Apr 23, 2019 12:40:39 GMT -5
The bitter chill in the air played against the warmer waters of the harbor, setting loose a fine mist that eddied and rolled against the coast. The fog banks that clung primarily over the water, combined with the darkness of the late hour and the sparse streetlamps of the docks made her work easy. Even the most intent lookout wouldn't be able to see the dark shadow that rushed over empty surf, right against the mossy timbers of the docks, up them to coalesce in between two stacks of shipping containers. Raven solidified at the heart of that silent darkness. Her hood was up, concealing most of her appearance, but even then it was clearly different. The change in costume had been her own idea, actually, but she carried it out with Jason's support and forced opinions. ("Forced," because he was aggravatingly partial to anything she came up with.) Raven's uniform had stayed relatively similar over its incarnations, and the newest was not radically different. Still, the form-fitting, black, blue-accented one-piece, layered cloak and ruby-studded broach/belt were unique enough. Symbolic, Raven thought, of the changes in her life. Not only in Jason (she was aware, fondly, that her new uniform rhymed with his very much), but in this fledgling team they were now on. The sorceress's point of entry had been intentional. During her covert approach, she'd quested out with her paranormal sense to make sure that no unexpected surprises were waiting for their small team from the harbor. There weren't, that she could tell. But it wasn't the water's side that they had to worry about, apparently. Raven's progress toward the central warehouse was stopped by Mia's murmured intel over their communicators. She rolled her eyes. Typical. The rumble of the cars came through the faint mist, and Raven felt a spike of displeasure come from Jason. Followed by a question directed at her. She smiled faintly in spite of herself. For all of Jason's feet-dragging and reluctance at forming a team, let alone leading it, he was a natural field commander. The woman closed her eyes, centered herself, and cast a lance of her empathic awareness at the line of vehicles. She quickly opened her eyes again and scowled. "Too comfortable. Reinforcements." While that made things less complicated than if the newcomers were hostile third parties... It did make her, Jason and Mia's jobs less pleasant. And meant any carefully laid plans by the three of them in advance were either useless now, or in need of major, on-the-fly restructuring to work. Mia Dearden
|
|
22Likes
12Posts
You're an idiot and a pin cushion.
Kory / Star
|
Post by Mia Dearden on Jul 30, 2019 7:01:58 GMT -5
'How many?'Jason's clipped response to Mia's intel was, as always, to the point. Squinting a little and wrinkling her nose in concentration, Speedy murmured into her communicator. “Uh...5 cars...could be 4 in each...20 plus vans with 7 or 8 passengers, not counting drivers...” Then, she paused pointedly. “I know 'a lot' isn't a number, but I think it's a pretty fair estimate.” Todd cursed audibly. “Couldn't agree more,” she responded, as drily as she had counted their amassing foes. There was a little more conversation over their joined line – Raven suggesting they were to act as reinforcements for those within the warehouse, a conclusion based on their emotional signatures. Then, a momentary silence. “This is where we change the plan right?” Because, in their line of work, they didn't seem capable of 'aborting' a mission. No matter how difficult things seemed, vigilantes had a knack for 'muddling' through impossible odds. It wasn't always pretty, but results tended to speak for themselves. “Or is this where we ditch the plan entirely and just start shooting at people?” Mia hadn't served long under the Red Hood – nor had she been a long standing member of the team he'd somehow pulled together – if they could infact call themselves a team; it often seemed to the blonde archer she was a perpetual third wheel on the other two's crime fighting dates. However, from what she knew of him, his 'go to' back up plan was create wanton chaos; or at least, thats how he made it seem. She was sure there was some of the Bat family's tactical acumen in there somewhere, but when things didn't go his way, he was quick to resort to gunfire. Which, honestly, seemed more effective than Mia would have first thought. “If you're taking suggestions, I can probably come up with some sort of distraction, maybe keep the motorcade outside while you...do whatever you do...inside?” She had enough arrows – so long as they didn't take too long. Jason Todd
|
|
252Likes
168Posts
I'm no one's son.
Jay
|
Post by Jason Todd on Dec 1, 2019 18:46:24 GMT -5
Their plan, and every part of it that now needed to be reworked, rolled around in his brain as he hauled himself through the window. Mia brought up just giving up on the plan and shooting people—he knew he liked that kid for a reason—and while that was his usual plan B, it wasn’t the best option when the other guys had a s**t load of backup arriving. He was occasionally reckless, not suicidal.
He stood on a grated walkway, suspended above the lousy light of the warehouse, giving him perfect cover. He peered over the edge, scanning the group of seven armed men in the room until he found his target- there: Ronald Black, second in command of the gang running this operation. In his hand, and securely cuffed to his wrist, was a briefcase. A briefcase that Jason didn’t know s**t about other than the gang really didn’t want it getting into anyone’s else’s hands. So, naturally, Jason thought it a perfect “congrats on the (accidental) team up” gift for his team. The fact that this gang was now the top human traffickers in the city definitely sweetened the deal.
The basics of the original plan had been pretty simple: Mia provides cover, Jason gets the briefcase, Raven gets the victims out, and they all dispatch whoever’s stupid enough to get in their way. He was pretty sure that would still work. They’d just have to be a lot faster about it than anticipated.
Mia’s suggestion was the obvious next course of action and he grunted in affirmation, before speaking. “That stack of crates at your three o’ clock? It’s full of illegal fireworks.” His voice picked up in false cheer as much as whispering would allow. “We should greet them with a nice show.” He glanced to the far back of the warehouse, where a sturdy steel door with a surprisingly impressive palm reader for a lock stood out from the rest of the warehouse. “Rae, victims are in the back, can’t be sure how many. You’ll know the door. It’s not subtle.”
|
|
85Likes
84Posts
The daughter of a demon, living like a saint.
Di
|
Post by Raven on Jan 28, 2020 15:19:26 GMT -5
Time was against them. Each second that ticked by was another that the line of vehicles were getting closer to joining those in the warehouse. Rather than flounder under the pressure, Raven felt Jason's mind clear and focus. These covert operations weren't part of her wheelhouse - with the Teen Titans, confrontation was ordinarily very straightforward and spectacular. Mia and Jason, on the other hand, excelled in this setting, so she was definitely waiting for their lead. She furrowed her brow at Jason's instruction. "Yes," she said distractedly, frowning, "I can feel them." The kind of sticky, acrid fear that emanated from the poor souls locked in the warehouse was impossible to miss, and made a chill run down her spine and her stomach turn. Raven tethered herself to that knot of hopeless hysteria and opened a steady channel to pull the nightmarish emotions into herself, shouldering them to calm and soothe the victims. Teleporting directly into the holding cell may've been quickest, but there was risk involved. Magic was a solution for many problems, but porting blind wasn't one of them, and the haze of emotions was too thick for Raven to confidently pick individuals apart enough to get a sense of the terrain. She had a second option that was almost as fast, though. Again, the shadows etched in the folds of her cloak spread, consuming her, then the collective shade soaked into the timbers of the docks. Inside the warehouse, it moved to the densely shadowed rafters, skirted by Jason to the other end, then slipped like a ghost down to the described door... and inside. Mia Dearden
|
|
22Likes
12Posts
You're an idiot and a pin cushion.
Kory / Star
|
Post by Mia Dearden on Jul 31, 2020 4:45:50 GMT -5
Mia opened her mouth to question how Jason knew the contents of the shipping crates at her three o'clock, but instead just let out a short, clipped sigh – Batfamily, tactical acumen, so on, so forth. Saluting to no-one in particular, Speedy turned back to the approaching motorcade and reached over her shoulder, replacing the gas arrow she'd previously intended on using in her quiver. Then, flicking her fingers over the tips of a dozen other feathered projectiles, she felt for the notches and markings that denoted an arrow with a mildly explosive tip. Pulling one free, she nocked it to her bow and drew the recurve weapon's string taut. Then, she waited, watching the approaching reinforcements through her range finder. She tracked their movements carefully, her breathing deep and slow – arrow ready to be loosed. Her gaze followed the vehicles until they came to a halt, and then flicked between the new arrivals as armed thugs began to disembark, car doors opening and closing loudly, shouted orders barked between tattooed individuals. Another whole minute passed before the varied transports had disgorged their passengers, some of whom had begun making their way toward the warehouse. It was only then that Mia acted: standing, altering her aim to focus on the crate of illegal fireworks, she let fly her arrow, which exploded amidst the large pile of imported firecrackers. The result was impressive and terrifying in equal measure. Out in the open, without car windshields and steel doors to muffle the sound of exploding fireworks, the reinforcements were treated to a deafening roar – interspersed with high pitched shrieks and whines as some rockets didn't instantly combust, but were lit and shot off in random and unpredictable directions. Blinding colours streaked the sky, and glittering, phosphorescent embers fell like rain. Mia could only stare at the radiant chaos wide-eyed and slack-jawed. It took a good moment or two to gather her thoughts, the explosion far more forceful than she'd initially expected , and upon regaining the use of her brain, she dropped back into cover and readied another arrow: blunt-tipped without any extra gimmick. Tapping her communicator, she updated her comrades on the rapidly evolving situation outside the warehouse. “You probably heard that but...” she trailed off. “Consider half of Bludhaven distracted.” Dazed too, most likely. “I doubt anyone will be joining you any time soon.” Those that tried would find themselves picked off – Mia Dearden had always been a good shot, shooting at stunned half-wits wasn't exactly a challenge. Jason Todd
|
|
252Likes
168Posts
I'm no one's son.
Jay
|
Post by Jason Todd on Aug 24, 2020 13:49:18 GMT -5
He watched as Raven’s shadow form slipped past him and continued on to the door. Not a moment later, chaos erupted. He felt the vibrations through the building and the resulting booms and piercing whistles from the fireworks were so loud it was difficult to hear his own thoughts. The inside of the warehouse was now illuminated, flashing various colors as the fireworks went off outside. One rocket narrowly missed the window Jason had crawled through and he withheld a wince. Ok, not the most covert of tactics, he admitted, but he liked to consider this his anonymous tip the police. They’d probably get here in fifteen to twenty minutes—optimistically.
Jason was moving, then, dropping down from the walkway—a particularly large thug broke his fall, Jason’s kneecaps colliding with all the force of gravity into the back of the man’s skull and between his shoulder blades. The man was out as soon as he crashed face first into the hard floor of the building. The explosions covered the sound of his grunt, which gave Jason an extra second or two before he’d be noticed. He took advantage of that, shooting out the crappy lights hanging above the room. The only illumination now came from the colorful flashes of the fireworks outside.
Green: He darted to the side, dodging gunfire and charged forward. White: A fist to the gut and helmeted headbutt had the gunman out cold. Yellow: He was shooting a rubber bullet into the shoulder of a thug in the corner and grabbing another who had charged him by the throat and slamming him down into the ground. Pink: He swirled, taking out the kneecap of a thug charging him from behind and pistol whipping him in the temple. Orange: He took a shot at the thug in the corner of his eye aiming his gun from across the room, rubber bullet grazing the man’s head with enough force to knock him out cold. Red: He turned his sights on Ronald Black.
He was a fairly large man, mostly muscle, and he’d always had that swagger a lot of criminal head honchos had that never failed to annoy the hell out of Jason. Still, he was somewhat surprised to see the suited man just standing calmly in the middle of the room, holding the briefcase and just… watching Jason.
Crazy alert. This wasn’t exactly new s**t for Jason, though, so he raised his gun and fired at the man’s shoulder. Ronald flinched, shoulder moving back at the force, but then… righted himself. What the shi-? Ronald was suddenly in front of Jason, faster than he should’ve been able to, and the briefcase was slamming into the side of his head. He heard the distinct sound of his helmet cracking but didn’t have much time to process that before a large fist was slamming into his gut and his breath was leaving him.
Ok, minor complication. Totally minor.
Raven
|
|
85Likes
84Posts
The daughter of a demon, living like a saint.
Di
|
Post by Raven on Oct 19, 2020 13:18:34 GMT -5
For all her remote soothing, to the captives, it was impossible to keep them from starting at a hooded figure emerging from living shadows. Raven held up a hand in a calming gesture, and with the other pulled down her hood, revealing the young, feminine face and earnest, violet eyes underneath. She grabbed the terror in the prisoners in both fists now, pulling it inward, despite how much it hurt.
"It's all right," she murmured in her unique, rolling rasp. "I'm here to help." Things were complicated further by the muted explosions that started to go off. The women in front of her flinched and clung closer to one another, and Raven had to drain the edge of their terror even more. By some grace, though, recognition bloomed on a few faces. She wasn't Justice League-level, but as a long-standing Teen Titan, the hooded Raven was vaguely known.
She gave instructions and more reassurances, then a warning and a promise. With a detonation of dark purple smoke, the cluster of panting captives, along with Raven, vanished. They reappeared at a predetermined location not terribly far away, but definitely out of danger. Raven reached up and accessed her communicator. "They're safe-" she started to say.
The surprise that lashed through Jason knocked the wind from her. The pain that followed sent her stumbling. One of the nearby women reached out to steady her. Raven nodded in thanks, but the determination that'd settled in her eyes made the woman step back instinctively...
The briefcase Ronald Black had been holding suddenly had a mind of its own, smashing into his own face forcefully, rimed in shadows. He glared over his shoulder at Raven, whose scowling lips and burning eyes were the only thing visible beneath the dense shadow her hood cast. She was poised to thoroughly punish the man until specks of emotion pinged on her empathic radar.
Raven turned to look over her own shoulder and just barely erected a translucent lavender barrier to absorb a hail of bullets coming her way from the remaining thugs.
Mia Dearden
|
|
22Likes
12Posts
You're an idiot and a pin cushion.
Kory / Star
|
Post by Mia Dearden on Dec 27, 2020 6:18:44 GMT -5
Mia loosed an arrow at one of the dazed criminals stumbling toward the warehouse - adjusting her aim slightly to counteract the weight of its blunted tip. It flew in a neat arc, clipping the thug in the side of his head with a loud, satisfying ‘thunk’ and he instantly dropped to the ground, sprawled out with his arms and legs akimbo. Two more left her bow in rapid succession, one connecting with a skinny woman dashing toward Speedy’s position, and the other a burly ogre dragging himself back toward the parked motorcade.
Then, like any good sniper, she moved – changing her position so that her targets struggled to draw a bead on her – not that many of the criminals had noted the arrows peppering those in their midst. The firework distraction, thus far, had proved incredibly effective: they were far too stunned to note the whispered hum of her feathered projectiles. Using a grappling hook – fired from her bow as many of her gadgets were – Mia hauled herself up onto a taller tower of containers a few feet away, ensuring she maintained sight upon her targets, but could re-engage an altogether different angle.
As she dragged herself onto the crate’s cold, metallic surface, a voice sounded in her ear – Raven speaking over their communicators. ‘They’re safe…’ It was followed with a sharp gasp, a slight crackle of white noise, and then silence. By ‘they’, Mia assumed the former Teen Titan referred to the hostages that were being held in the warehouse – but Raven didn’t sound all that safe. In fact, the sudden end to her message made Speedy’s mouth feel suddenly very dry, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach.
Activating her own communicator, the archer tried to rouse a response. “Everything ok? I’ve got things locked down out here…”
Or, at least, she thought she had. Some affected by the fireworks were more bull-headed than others, and the toughest and most brick-brained of the criminals crowded about the warehouse were finding their senses – confusion was rapidly being replaced with anger. A few barked orders had corralled a handful of thugs, and a group of heavily armed individuals had gone in search of the explosion's cause.
Jason Todd
|
|
o
c
i
a
l
h
u
b