ic Grus' Hunt (IC)

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

November, 2024

 

Claremont Academy Gates

 

Carmen and Mizuki had been volunteered to help with cleanup from the Claremont Halloween party. It was mostly separating recycling, cardboard to cans to plastic, while leftover candy was being donated and handed out to charities.

It was a bit boring for work, but it was also a nice way to get some extra credit on a few classes; either if they needed it or if they just wanted to juice a grade.

 

The pair were currently sorting the boxes out near the entrance to the school into various bins, so that when the trucks came by the pick up, they'd know which box to grab without having to go searching.

 

It was a bit of a dreary, overcast day, with rain constantly threatening to break through the clouds but never for more than a few seconds.

 

A dreary day that had left two Super-heroines who had done some superheroing together a bit of time to be alone and talk, without the presence of evil villains or their other friends dominating the conversation.

[The Sailor]

Mizuki - a.k.a. Torpedo Lass II

 

Mizuki didn't need the credits for her own academics... but she was buying time. She had been hearing of several internship opportunities opening up after the winter semester, and she wanted to take advantage. Opening her school schedule up for these opportunities to connect with different agencies in Freedom City was a smart strategy if she planned on expanding her horizons as a full-time hero. That and potential employment possibilities. Although a few business cards were secure in her posession from recruiters for UNIQUE, not to mention everyone from oceanic research to product testing nautical safety equipment... I mean if you can't drown you're perfect for the job, right?

 

She shook her head for a moment, adjusting the form-fitting hood to her new costume. She decided to bring out the new Torpedo Lass costume she'd been setting up as a project to test it doing some hard work. Knowing it was about to rain to help keep it out of her eyes she had a pair of goggles at the ready as well. If anything her outfit was super easy to clean, and would keep any grime off of her for the duration.

 

After heaving a more awkward several bags full of aluminum cans into position she sat down on a coach's chair mercifully provided by the staff of the school.

 

"Phew... Got any more heavy stuff over there, Carmen? Maybe we should catch a breath before getting back on this. The trucks aren't due for a few more hours and we're making progress."

 

This wasn't a bad job, but getting to know Carmen was more important. Mizuki doesn't get to socialize a lot with the other students outside of certain occasions, and after the Fiji crisis she realized she had to make some improvements and countering her wall-flower ways.

Edited November 2 by The Sailor

[MoonSimply]

Carmen Arrache- La Puma Negra

 

Carmen needed the credits for her own academic needs even as the school year was only just really starting. Being not the most academically inclined meant that the young superheroine werecat had to fight for every advantage she had, already on the down foot from her own odd appearance. If only being a superhero itself could be a job in its own right as her physical ability wasn't questioned at the school, getting good grades in the all the practical courses when it came to it and with some skill in more plain writing courses. Math subjects were a completely different story and if she wanted to work with her mentor Patriot, she was going to have to get every advantage she could get.

 

Puma's senior costume was much the same as the years prior, a grayish black leotard that let her agile and stealthy. The newest addition was a belt that hid a special project that she was working on, but the time wasn't right yet for the time as she continued to work. It was strange that they were in them but supposed that Claremont Halloweens tended to be like this for Seniors and upperclassmen such as herself in retrospect. That was why Mizuki was in it along with her, or at the least why she thought she was in her costume at the time.

 

"No, I got it," Carmen says in response, barely breaking a sweat due to her enhanced biology, enduring rather the workout. What didn't endure was the act of cleaning up was boring to her feline nature though restrained herself enough to continue her work onward. Mizuki was nice enough and didn't bother her, and from what Michael told her was a real good lifesaver after having had to deal with some sort of shark villain from what she was told, and any friend of Michael's could be said to be a friend of her, "Don't think there is any left for us to get done."

[The Sailor]

Mizuki Iwasaki

 

She was shocked... looking at the left over recycling and garbage, all that was left was stuff either going into storage (which the adults were coming by to do) and their stuff.

 

"Well... made quick work of it, the two of us..." She said, smiling. Her back throbbed a bit, but only for a moment... she still from time to time felt the effects of one of those said shark villains trying to turn her into a chew toy. Was probably more the weather. Or psychosomatic. She winced for a moment before stretching out, which seemed to get the kink out. "So... any plans for today?"

[MoonSimply]

Carmen Arrache- La Puma Negra

 

Carmen had no issue throwing over the last large black trash bag into the bin outside the awaiting open door. A quick stretch of her limber body and she was feeling fine, although a little bit bored. There weren't any plans tonight and from her understanding Michael was busy as well with some sort of school project that he needed a lot of concentration on or something like that. He just said he was busy tonight, and Carmen wasn't trying to get him to do something he didn't want to do. Of course, that meant that on a day with no school she was essentially bored out of her mind, a literal death sentence for an active mind like her own.

 

"No, not really. I didn't plan really to do anything much," she speaks stretching out once more. One part to relax and the other out of a form of keeping her body moving as it was to fight off the sheer amount of boredom that was entering her mind. Carmen didn't want to go back to her room either as Cerebral.... or what she thought was the hero's name for her roommate was no fun at all in her mind. 

 

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"I have something you can do." 

It was a quiet call, from around the corner. Not made threateningly, but cautiously; like someone who didn't really trust the individuals they were talking to.

 

The person who rounded the corner was familiar, mostly to Carmen because she had beaten her into the dirt in an aquarium last year. Short, with extra piercings, Jennifer Kwan was also Sentry Scorpio, a 'magical girl' so to speak, one of a group who'd lost their way last year and become closer to thugs than heroes. Her clothing was primarily green other than her ripped jeans, including a green jacket with a scorpion on the right breast, but a wrapping around her waist cut through the green with a shock of pink. She was smoking, with a curl of tobacco leaving the cigarette as she pulled it out of her mouth.

 

"...I kinda need your help. You're heroes, right, so that's something for you to do." She was cagey, but she did really seem to be here to ask for help.

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra"

 

Carmen would sniff the air as the smell of someone smoking came to be to felt with her senses. A familiar scent, one that hadn't been felt in almost a year as she looked to the rather familiar stranger. As it was revealed to be Scorpio, one of those magical girls that she had made to look like chumps when they had faced. The only magic was how they even managed to even land a hit on her, smirking as she spoke.

 

"Know those things are bad for you, right," she spoke. A hand was on her hip, thinking about how they had to deal with some crazy cosmic stuff after all that mess. It was a big group effort and it sure wasn't easy, "Want round 2 or something, or is it round 3 now."

 

"Wait... what you want our help?"

 

 

 

 

[The Sailor]

Mizuki "Torpedo Lass" Iwasaki

"This almost sounds familiar... like that situation with Eclipse I think it was?" She said, turning to Puma. "Is she associated with all that? Still remembering that Dragon we had to give a thrashing to..."

 

This isn't what I wanted to get into... another tangle with that crystal? That was getting on the level the adult capes would have to handle. And we're diving back into the fireworks?

 

She was struck incredulous... particularly with that academy they were rolling out from. If they wanted to go 0-3 against the Seaworthy Sentinel though she was ready to dance. She survived a shark attack, after all.

Edited November 16 by The Sailor

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"...Yeah, they probably will. But I'm hoping they won't for awhile." she admitted. "Look...I know everyone has their hardships and struggles, but we're trying to get through our own, you know. These help me. Zoe and the others help me." she offered as a little bandage; an excuse for bad decisions.

 

"I haven't seen Ashley 2 since then, or Felix. And I definitely don't want to fight you. I don't know what she's doing, but it's not for me, not for us. We're staying away from them, and we're gonna keep doing that."

 

"But no, the thing I need help with is nothing like Eclipse. I think this is...well this is probably worse. Maybe just different? But also probably worse in it's own ways." she continued to be a little conflicted. It didn't seem like it was her idea to come here and ask for help, and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to do it. Whatever they were up against had their backs against the wall it seemed.

 

"...So you know the vague idea of the story right? We were given powers by Enoch, a court magician from another dimension who escaped that dimension with the source of all magic in that dimension, the Umbra Star, when their evil monarch, Empress Sola, became corrupted by darkness and was turning the entire dimension into a Netherworld, a place of dark energy. So all her inhabitants and the like were turned into shadow monsters by her hand, seeking out magic to survive. We're trying to protect the Star while also figuring out a way to save the dimension. Or we were before Epoch got murdered and we were left with nothing." she paused to note.

 

"So Sola has her regular soldiers, her lieutenants, and then her Commanders. The soldiers are cannon fodder. The Lieutenants we can usually handle as a group. But the Commanders...those ones are troublesome even for us. We can't ever 'beat them', we can just make them leave." she paused to take another drag of cigarette. "Well...after the Umbra Star started spitting out Sentry powers left and right, the Lieutenants and Commanders have come to realize that, or maybe Sola figured out something was up with the Star. And now they're hunting down whoever gets one of those powers. It's like they can track them or something; every time one pops up, we have to race to get them out of the way before the Lieutenant or one of the Commanders finds them...when they find them, they steal that power from the Umbra Star and add it to their own. If it keeps up, they're going to have most of the Star's power before too long."

 

"...We've tried to stop them, but it's mostly ended up in us getting beat down. There's more of them then there are us, and, well..now they're hunting around my house. Looking for Sentries and taking their powers. And last night I met the bad end of one of them; a woman named Grus. And she...well." she lifted her shirt a little and pulled down the wrap around her side; a nasty wound covered with bandages was clear on her hip, like she'd been run through. "...Suffice to say, I'm not much good for anything right now. So I'm...asking you to help drive her off, protect our little slice of Freedom...that sort of stuff."

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra"

 

The older teen raised a brow as she listened to Jennifer, trying to get an idea if she was being lied to be but cut herself off after seeing the wound. It seemed as though she was telling the truth about what was going on, some sort of unseen battle still raging with these delinquent magical girls, and one that appeared to be a losing one at this time. As much as the puma part of her didn't seem to trust her, rebuffing it as not their problem, one for the senior heroes to deal with, the Carmen part of her wanted to help. That Human side of her won out in the end as she crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

 

"Alright, you want us to beat this new one and send him packing, sounds like a good time. If we can deal with some crazy dragon thing there ain't much below that we couldn't send packing back to where it came from," she says with a bit of a grin. Now this was something to get around being bored today. Extra credits for chump work and she got to beat some weirdo from sort of other dimension. A great combination if there was one.

 

"Anything else we need to know?"

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"Yeah, I mean...if you can handle that big dragon that turned me into a monster, you can probably handle this person." If she believed it or not was a little unclear, but she was saying it. At the very least, that meant she was putting faith in them to handle it. "We're all hoping, at least." She paused to flick her cigarette away and catch her breath with the wound in her side.

 

"Okay, so what you need to know is that the person in question is named Grus. She's in charge of the current efforts in Lincoln near my home. She's an expert hunter and tracker and is great at ferreting out all your weaknesses and blowing them wide open. She has two people under her; Highstrike and Falldown; Highstrike seems to have some lightning based powers, Falldown....they're good at making people stop moving. Maybe gravity or paralysis or something?" she seemed unsure. "They pin people down, then Grus takes the shot. It's simple but effective."

"When they find a Sentry, or a piece of the power from the Umbra Star, they appear and corral them to take them out. Then they steal the powers and add it to their own. They've gotten ahold of a few...and almost got mine." She pulled out a green gem with the constellation of Scorpio in it. It wasn't difficult to see the spiderweb crack that split it, and the dried drops of blood. "...If you take this, they'll definitely be able to track onto it as soon as you enter their hunting grounds, and they'll come running to try and take you out."

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra"

 

Carmen knew exactly what she was wanting them to do, to act as a sort of proxy, a distraction to grab the attention of this Grus person for a sneak attack. A perfect excuse to commit an ambush and take all three down without any issue. Of course, that meant one of them had to be the one to hold on to the piece of power of the Umbra Star. To be the actual distraction, the bait in their plan was up in the air as Puma grimaced at the wound that Scopria showed them. Whatever these folk where they meant trouble, and assumably if what they were planning to do with said power once collected was any indication, there was reason to suspect that another shadow being was in their future.

 

Balling her hands in a fist, Puma would strike her palm with the other, "Well Sailor, you think if you take it, you'll be like a girl Utsukushii Senshi Sera Luna?" she asked with a smile, referencing a show she used to watch back in Puerto Rico as a child on one of her televisions. This thought arose especially as Sailor of course was in fact a sailor style looking heroine compared to her that looked like some sort of alley cat that had gotten into a fight when she wakes up in the morning.

 

"Surprise them when they are facing a trained hero and all that. I'll swoop in to attack right behind them."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

"More than likely they alpha-strike." She said turning to Puma. "They use their aerial option to hit a target unawares while holding the target down with gravity. Once softened Grus moves in and completes the hunt. If they know the target is wide open, they will use that sort of strategy to make an opening. It's what I'd do if I was targeting a villain. Unrelenting force."

 

She looked at the crystal. "Thing is Grus also sounds mighty intelligent. More than likely she has a face to go with the power. If Grus sees some random blue-haired girl walking in her hunting grounds putting off Sentry vibes that don't match the wanted poster, they're going to hesitate. They don't want to blow their cover, and more than likely if they know Scorpio escaped their grasp, they're going to make a safe assumption that whoever is in their grounds is on their own hunt."

 

"It's a 3 on two fight, and if they can sense this power... they can probably detect who is in their reach. crystal holder or not."

 

"Scorpio... know where their current hunting ground is? Perhaps if we dictate the terms of the engagement it'll throw them off. Particularly if we set the terrain."

Edited November 19 by The Sailor

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"They stick to the Lincoln area. With rising crime in the area, and all the kids, it makes them more likely to get Sentry powers, which they can then take out quickly. They'll venture out if they get a lead, but they're very cautious. Grus has always been the most wary of all of her Commanders; I don't know why, but she's definitely paranoid, hard to handle because of it, she'll flee at the first whiff of trouble." Jennifer explained, moving to lean against the wall and rub her hurt side. "They stick close to the blocks between Kimona, Fremont, South River, and M street. If I had to guess, they're holding onto a lair somewhere in that set of blocks; there's a few abandoned buildings and churches that they may be hiding out on, and I've heard people suggesting they've seen 'weird' things, but it could have been other superheroes just as easily as it could have been Grus or her underlings."

 

That was a fairly large section of Lincoln; comprising an area 7 blocks North to South in length and 5 Blocks East to West in width. A 35 block area, roughly in the heart of Lincoln.

 

"I'm willing to do whatever I can to help, but I'm not gonna be much good in a fight. Especially if I can't transform, so that's something to be aware of." She said. She was resolute at least, willing to do what she needed to do, even if she was hurt or risking herself; a delinquent she may be, a troublemaker she definitely was, but it was also easy to tell why she was chosen for her powers, because she still had a strong resolve despite being outclassed and hurt.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

"Nothing would happen to whoever holds the crystal, other than get the attention of these hunters, right? I'm not suddenly going to turn into a Sentry by having it?"

 

Although the thought of being a magical girl in a sailor suit amused her. "Just figuring out the rules we're operating under."

 

She starts pulling up a map of the area on her smart phone.

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra"

 

"Surprised, thought you'd chicken out Jennifer. Guess you are tougher than I thought, I can respect that," spoke Puma folding her arms again idly. Carmen always shifted her arms, motioning her body, never idle unless utterly resting due to her nature and age. They had their distraction, the bait to bring them out of hiding and on the hunt, now to take the initiative and go after them. The hunter's becoming the hunted and all, "So with you as the bait, we can get them in a bad spot to, one that won't work with whatever they have planned and take them out from there. Then, when we got em, you get out of there as quick as you can, alright. No need getting you hurt more."

"So where to first to stakeout socia," Carmen would chide Sailor. It was time for them to go after these villains and bring the fight to them.

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

"No. You have to be worthy and chosen by the power in question. I'm sure there's some kind of requirement, your soul, your behavior has to match up to what the power has, in it's own way; Mine picked me because I'm graceful, I guess. Zoe's picked her because she's strong, Estelle's because she's skillful, Kitty because she's caring, stuff like that. You'd need to use dark magic, evil powers, force the Sentry power out of the crystal to steal it. It's not something you can do easy, and it's bound to me right now, so you wouldn't get that one." she explained.

 

"If you wanted to try and get a power, well...you'd have to hope it picks you; so when you're at the edge of your wits and have nothing left, maybe if you call out to the Umbra Star and ask for the power to do something good for the world, you could get your own power. Or maybe not. Who knows how this thing works." she admitted. "Well, Enoch did, but he got killed, so now we're all just fumbling around blind." her correction was quick but clearly stinging for her to admit.

 

"But yeah. If you want to play it that way, I can draw them out and you can bounce on them afterwards." she nodded at them. "And no. I'm not a coward." she said to Carmen, glaring a little. "If you want to go another round I'll step up to you right now, hole in my side or not."

Edited November 21 by Poncho

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

"Focus, you two..." Mizuki said, showing a park inside the radius described by Scorpio. "This park has a wooded area we can use to conceal what we got... there's a walkway that goes by it as well. If we move by night, that'll add to our advantage." She said, pointing to her glowing eyes. "Once we know they're inbound and make their move, we strike."

 

She crossed her arms. "All I know, is we can't let Jenny here take any more licks... she looks half dead as is. So when we jump 'em, it has to be like lightning."

 

"I'm ready when you are, Puma."

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra" 

 

Puma was standing right in front of the magical girl looking down to her. Sometimes it appeared like her curse was a strange mixed blessing as personality flare ups like this could cause such a scene. A stare down between the two as Torpedo played mediator, focusing them back on the task at hand. Carmen may not like any of these Guardian girls, but they were in need of help, real genuine help, and if other people were in danger, then she had an obligation to help out. Besides, they needed to be in their best shape if whatever they were going to be dealing with was that bad. The feline part was restrained for now as she smiled towards Jennifer, relaxing a bit.

 

"Fine. I'd rather save my strength for the cretinos than you. Another time," she says before turning away and back towards Torpedo. Puma was thinking.

 

"Good places to hide, I like that. Let's do this."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

Mizuki nodded with Puma in agreement... "You know... I got an idea..."

 

She grinned, looking over Jennifer. "I got a spare, older costume, different design, no vest, but your hunters haven't seen that outfit yet... I could let you wear it, it doesn't look tore up and doesn't have blood soaking through. Might have a sailor collar, but we're going nautical in thought here, not magical girl."

 

"At the very least we wouldn't be telegraphing any injuries. Up to you... you just look like you need some threads if we're going into the thick of it."

 

 

Edited November 22 by The Sailor

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Jenny adjusted her coat and tucked her shirt back in, covering the bloody part of the pink bandage and shook her head.

 

"This is the better idea, I think. They know who I am, they've seen me before. If they see the wounded gazelle they'll come running. Maybe one of them will even get over excited and run out before the others; if you can take them down, you'll have an advantage. I'll get out of the way as soon as it seems like you're throwing hands, just to keep safe." She explained.

 

And thus, the group made a trek into Lincoln.

 

Abandoned houses, somewhat low rent apartment buildings, and corner stores dotted the area. A few churches and other historical buildings jutted out here and there, leaving an undeniable note of legacy in these buildings, in this city area that was once patroled by The Black Avenger. 

 

But knowing that someone could be watching, that it had been getting turned into a hunting cage by beings outside this world, changed the feeling. The tall apartments felt like they were closing in now, the churches and historic buildings had long shadows hiding unknown terrors.

 

Jennifer Kwan, Sentry Scorpio, a well liked but quiet girl between Southside and Lincoln, made her way to a park. She paid a man running a hotdog stand there for a dog, took it to a bench, and sat down to eat. 

 

Where were Torpedo Lass and Puma, while Jennifer was acting as bait?

[MoonSimply]

Carmen "La Puma Negra"

 

Stood atop the roof of a building not a few yards away from where Jennifer was getting her hot dog, salivating at the thought of getting one herself. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible as it would break their cover if she were to expose herself so easily just for a bite to eat. Such was the life of a carnivore powered superhero, a cursed feline heroine that could devour a steak in zero to sixty without even breaking a sweat. Yet, there she was, having to watch that Sentry girl get what she wanted at that moment but couldn't have as she used her keen senses and vision to watch for any trouble. Sure, there was a bit of a rivalry between the two of them, but she didn't want to see whatever did her first wound do it again. It wasn't like Carmen to allow it, especially one in need like her.

 

"Well then, how long you think these idiotas will give us before they go after her? We could be up here awhile Mizuki before they decided to go after the wounded deer down there."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

She was a student of tactics... she could see what most heroes in a slight derogatory term called "cowl work" was actually very important... particularly if there is an imminent threat. Specifically if some extra-dimensional enemy was trying to strengthen their forces.

 

She kept low, trying not to skyline herself. Some of her first person shooter habits were showing. "Probably long enough. They're probably scoping the area first for her, then for any potential interlopers I wager." She said, kneeling down for a second, pulling out a juice pack, one picked for taste and some nutritional value. "Use the straw and pop it into the pack and you can at least not get thirsty." She said, adjusting the black nylon rain poncho she got from IKEA she was wearing to attempt to lower her visibility... but even that with the lighting wasn't really providing camouflage.

 

"Just keep low, hopefully away from those darned spotlights on that billboard over there." She said, cursing it's existence with nastier words under her breath.

Edited November 28 by The Sailor

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Jennifer ate her hot dog. She portrayed nothing out of the ordinary, a regular existence of a high school girl.

 

The lights on the billboard started to darken, throwing off sparks of angry blue light. Jennifer noted it, but didn't move. Carmen and Mizuki both noted it. The lightning spewed out like the breath of a dragon before a bolt escaped it, zipping through the sky with a thunder crack following behind it. 

 

The hotdog cart exploded as the bolt hit it straight on, Jennifer's bench went flying, but she had hit the deck. 

 

Highstrike was a slender, red skinned man, almost cartoonishly elongated. His arms ended in two large, sharp claws that crackled between them with lightning. 

 

"Scorpio! So good to see you! I'm so happy to see you out and about, looking better from when Grus gave yiu a blister huh?" He smiled. "But right now, it's just you and me, so how about we have some fun, and in the end I'll take your crystal." 

 

He couldn't have been dumb enough to take the bait so easily, could he?

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

It started with a flinch of Carmen's ears as the sound crackling and sparking energy by a nearby billboard. No doubt now that it was them, the thugs that had been after the Sentry's and had wounded Jen just recently, looking to finish of the delinquent magical girl once and for all. Of course, Puma couldn't stand for someone essentially defenselessly being attacked by such a menace and more than likely killed if what was happening was allowed to any further. So, the young heroine leapt into action without a word at full speed. Such speed and agility, nigh unmatched likely by other current students, for it wasn't just the speed itself but the way in her movement, as if not even making a sound as she bounded down the building with a single bound and yet silent like a big cat on the prowl, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting deer or other sort of animal. That was what she was good at as she came up from behind with an effortless movement before striking hard with a clawed tornado kick. Puma's body whipping around as she struck.

 

"Raahhhrr!!! Get away from her!" she'd shout as she'd recovered from her strike, backing off a foot or two as Sailor came in with her own strong strike, a literal one-two combination if there was one between the two young heroes.