Rough and Tumble (IC)

[Supercape]

NPC

 

Yes!

 

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at the back of the bodyguard. He had no doubt that he had been lucky to pull that off. Under normal circumstances it would have been a tall over, even for his experienced and honeyed tongue, but he smelled the faint aura of panic that had wafted around the building. In such circumstances, in his experience, rational thought atrophied. 

 

He scuttled along at a hectic pace, keen to catch up with Hector and the bodyguards. Last thing he needed was to be caught out in the open. The fear of catching a stray bullet was enough to propel his feet to what, if he had stopped to think about it, would be an even greater danger. 

 

"Hold up! Hold up! Wait for me!" he yelled at the door, running towards it with an adrenaline soaked pace. 

 

What the hell am I doing? Running into the unknown with a bunch of hardened fighters!

 

His feet, accostomed as they were to running, did not slow down on account of the logic seeping into his brain. 

[Tiffany Korta]

After the impromptu introduction she returned her attentions to the remaining thug’s, it was amazing that after all this time thug’s still fought the same way they had back in her day. Actually she was more surprised that they still did fight, then again some people never learned.

That said it did mean the they were just as easy to take down, with a lot less grace or skill than Crimson Tiger she went so a punch against the nearest thug to her, putting herself in the perfect position to follow up with another blow against the second thug.

 

Well that was the plan at least.

Edited May 13, 2013 by TiffanyKorta

[Thevshi]

Revenant quickly closed with the new pair of gun totting thugs.  Her first punch connected solidly under the chin of the lead thug, knocking him backward and into a couple of spectators who were also knocked to the ground.  She was able to follow up with an elbow to the second thug, knocking him to the side and unconscious as well.

 

Crimson Tiger was right behind Revenant, quickly knocking the two bookies into unconsciousness as well.  The appearance of the costumed heroine, as well as the quick work Revenant had made of the two armed thugs, served to cause the nearby panicked spectators to freeze in fear for a few moments, uncertain whether they should try to make a run for it or just surrender.

 

On the other raised areas, the spectators were not beginning to scatter in panic.  Some made their way towards the entrance they had used, while others rushed off in other directions, hoping to find some other exit.

 

Down below, Freddy found he was not simply going to be able to stick with the other fighters.  Some of those who had managed to quickly gather their stuff were heading up the stairs to where the crowd of spectators was to try to find an exit.  Still others were rushing off in all directions to look for other ways out.  A few others had started off in the direction Hector had gone.

 

Meanwhile, Harry had caught back up with Hector and his bodyguards, as they made their way along the dark lower level of the old factory.  The group made their way over to another door which lead to a set of stairs, with Hector and his men taking the ones that went down, into the basement of the building.

[Tiffany Korta]

Seeing the effect that there effective display had have on the nearby crowd gave Lucy a chance to try to both stop any trouble breaking out and buy the other two time to get away.

“Ladies and Gentleman if you’d like to drop to your knees and put your hand’s in your head I’m sure that we can get everything sorted out with any trouble.â€

 

She wasn’t trying to cajole them into surrendering, she’d never manage to get the hang of intimidation, instead she was trying to convince them it was the best way to solve the issue. Of cause a few would make a run for it, but enough would stay to keep the police busy mopping up.

[Thunder King]

"Look, guys. It's not a question of whether or not you'll end up arrested. You definitely will be. I'm a superhero, kicking bad guy ass is kind of what I do. You folks would just be a speed bump, not a challenge. The question you guys have to ask yourselves instead is whether or not you want to get arrested uninjured or in tremendous pain."

 

She crossed her arms and did her best to look intimidating. Of course, she wasn't all that tall, and her voice wasn't all that deep, but she really, really hoped they'd just give in quietly and pay attention to her warning.

[Thevshi]

Revenant and Crimson Tiger's statements, combined with the easy at which they had dealt with the thugs and bookies, was enough to get many of the nearby men to just drop down on their knees and put their hands on their heads as Revenant had suggested.  Several others just continued standing fixed in place, still uncertain what they should do.  A small few, mainly at the far edges of the crowd, turned to try and make a break for it in some other direction away from the two heroines.

 

At that moment, a large group of police officers appeared through the entrance that Revenant, Harry and Freddy had taken to enter the old factory.  They had their weapons ready, shinning flashlights into the faces of the spectators that had been foolishly heading for that exit.  There were a number of cries of "Freeze, Police!" that echoed through the old building.

 

Down below, Freddy stood for a few moments, unsure which direction he should go as the other fighters began scattering.  A number of spectators from upstairs were even making their way down, looking desperately for some path that would take them away from the police.

 

Harry continued to follow after Hector and his bodyguards as they reached the basement of the building.  The men broke out flashlights as they made their way through the dark basement.  The dark, moist air generally smelled of grease and mildew to Harry's sensitive nose.  But as the group progressed further, a smell of sewage began to get stronger and stronger. 

 

Reaching a back corner of the basement, the group came to a section of wall that had been damaged, creating an opening into a sewer tunnel beyond.

 

"It may not smell nice, but it is a nice little escape route."  Hector commented to Harry.

[Supercape]

Freddy looked left and right, having lost both his partners - old and new...

 

Damn this! I ain't going down without a fight...I'm not going to prison!

 

With a clenching off his fists, he pushed his mutant blood into overdrive, swelling and deforming his limbs until he looked like a steroid nightmare, pulsing veins and swollen muscles all over his body. 

 

Where could that Dog have gone too?

 

The Mess scanned the direction he had seen the hound run. He saw the door. 

 

Good a guess as any...he thought to himself. 

 

With a mighty leap and bound, he dashed off to follow his partner, his mighty limbs propelling him in an arc to land by the door, and then propel him at rocket speed towards the Hound and his new friends...

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger raised her arms, cooperating nice with the police. "Glad you got here, officers." She said, keeping her hands in the air. "I'm Crimson Tiger, and I was trying to figure out what was going on with the fight ring here."

 

She hoped that the cops wouldn't decide to arrest everyone. She felt proud of herself, having helped talk the crowd of people into accepting arrest rather than trying to run for it. A nonviolent solution, and all that. Beating on people who can't put up much of a fight wouldn't have been any fun anyway.

[Tiffany Korta]

Both in and out of her current day-job Lucy had had a lot of experience of dealing with the police, she wasn’t a famous as some of the superheroes running around but she recognized one of the office’s in the raid and she was sure that some must remember her.

“Hello Officer’s I’m Revenant and I’ve also been investigating the same thing as Crimson Tiger here, as I’m sure you’ve been doing. Maybe we could all compare notes?â€

 

She hoped all this would be enough time for her companions to get away and hopefully find some useful information.

Edited June 10, 2013 by TiffanyKorta

[Thevshi]

The officers that moved towards the group of spectators near Revenant and Crimson Tiger had their firearms out, but pointed downward instead of at anyone.  As the majority of the officers moved to start securing the spectators who had chosen to surrender, one of them made his way over to the pair of superheroines. 

 

"I'm Sergeant Fullerton, thanks for the assistance."  The man replied.  "I am afraid I don't know many specifics of the investigation of this operation.  We're mainly here to help net as many of those involved in this little underground ring as possible and secure the area so the team actually involved in the investigation can sort through everything." 

 

"If you like, I can get you in touch with one of them."

 

 

With a series of powerful leaps, Freddy had managed to leap over to the door he had seen Harry go through, and then down the stairs just beyond, passing in front of a couple of the fighters that had chosen to try to make their run for it in this direction.  As Freddy reached the bottom of the stairs, he found himself in the nearly pitch dark basement of the old building.

 

Stopping for a moment as he was unsure where to go next, Freddy heard the faint sound of voices somewhere ahead of him off to the left.

 

Meanwhile, Hector and his bodyguards had led Harry into the sewer tunnel.  Thankfully it was large enough that there was a dry area they could walk along.  The smell was overpowering to Harry’s sensitive nose, but he had to try to keep close to Hector and his men, as they had the flashlights, which were absolutely necessary in the pitch black tunnel.

[Supercape]

The Mess paused for a moment, catching the sound of voices. 

 

He strained his eyes, but it was no good. It was almost pitch black down here. He could just about make out vague sub-grades of blackness, but it only made his head hurt. If he ran down here, he would probably knock himself out at the speeds his pumped up legs would travel. 

 

It was a risk, but he really didn't want to leave his partner in trouble. 

 

He inhaled deeply, and then doubled over, blood streaming out of his mouth and nose in a vomiting motion. As he did so, his body shrivelled up until it resembled a dried up, dessicated corpse. The copious amount of blood he had expelled then stood up, a virtual, liquid simulacrum of the Mess himself, only made of liquid, red blood, a couple of feet high. 

 

The Mess, or rather the Homunculus stretched briefly and then leapt to the ceiling, slithering along by touch, at a startling speed...

[Tiffany Korta]

“Well it would rude of use not to help you deal with all these people.†she gave the police a genuine smile and hefted a couple of the unconscious goons without any effort. “So where do you want these put?â€

Throwing them over her shoulders and making sure there head’s  didn’t hit the ground, she was probably a good couple of feet shorter than either than them.

 

“Though once we're finished I wouldn’t mind speaking with whatever detective’s that have been investigating these fight rings.†she gestured towards Crimson Tiger “Are you interested in coming along? I wouldn’t mind the any help you could provide.â€

[Thunder King]

"Sure, that's not a problem!" She said with a nod. "I'd be glad to help out." She was a bit amused to see Revenant pick up the goons as effortlessly as she did. It seemed that Crimson Tiger wasn't the only female hero who was stronger than she looked. She hoped that Revenant could fight as well as her strength indicated. After all, she might actually get challenged by someone in a fight.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Thunder King

[Thevshi]

Sergeant Fullerton's eyes widened slightly for a brief moment as Revenant easily hoisted a couple of the thugs into the air.  "Thanks, there are a couple of paddy wagons just outside."  He stated as he jerked a thumb back over his shoulder towards the entrance Revenant had used.  "I'll get a call out to one of the detectives running this investigation and have them meet you there."

 

Starting off in that direction, Revenant and Crimson Tiger first passed through the area where the area where the spectators had had to pay their admission fees for the event.  Several other officers were still in the room, securing several of the men Revenant had seen when she had come through with Freddy and Harry.

 

Outside, the two heroines found more than a dozen squad cars, several police vans and prison transports, all pulled up next to the old factory.  More than a dozen officers were still outside, many armed with assault rifles trained on the building looking for any possible threats on the upper floors and roof.  A few officers came over to take the unconscious thugs from Revenant and get them handcuffed and put into one of the transports.

 

It was a moment later that a woman in her mid-thirties approached the pair.  She was in plain clothes, but had on a vest with the words POLICE on the front and back, her badge prominently displayed as well.  "Hi there, I am Detective Kimberly Stine.  Thanks for your help.  I understand you wanted to chat a bit about?"

 

 

Down in the darkness of the building's basement, Bloody Mess' Homunculus slithered along the ceiling at incredible speed towards the sound of the voices that were echoing through the darkness.  As he drew closer to the sounds, there was a faint bit of light that became evident through what appeared to be a hole in the wall.  There was also the sound of dripping water from beyond the hole.

 

Moving into the sewer tunnel, the Homunculus was able to spot the faint light from the flashlights reflecting off the walls further down one end of the tunnel, from where the voices were coming from.  It took only a few moments for him to catch up with the lights, which turned out to be Harry and his companions.

 

Hector and his men continued to lead Harry through the sewer tunnel, away from the old factory, with the Homunculus following close behind in their shadows.

[Tiffany Korta]

With one of her winning smile Lucy offered her hand to the detective.

“Hello there I’m Lucy Harker, some call me Revenant, and this is my new friend Crimson Tiger.â€

She allowed a minute or so for introduction between everyone before carrying on.

 

“We’ve been looking into this whole fight ring, it looks to me that they’ve been feeding people up into another higher fight ring. I’m just not sure where that ring is and who's running that the thing. If you’ve know anything that would help us that would be really good.â€

[Thevshi]

Detective Stine took Lucy's offered hand, before shaking hands with Crimson Tiger as well. "A pleasure to meet both of you."  She stated before focusing back on the issues at hand, listening to Revenant's explanation as to their presence.  "I am afraid we do not have much more information than that thus far."  The detective replied.  "We know that there are a number of small operations like this one active in a few parts of the city.  And we are certain that they are acting as feeders to another operation.  But at this point, we do not have any good leads on where that other operation might operate from."

 

 

Down in the sewers, Freddy's bloody homunculus continued crawling along the ceiling as it trailed after Harry, Hector and Hectors' bodyguards.  After a short while, the group had turned down a side tunnel, and came to dead end that had a ladder leading up to a manhole cover.

 

One of the bodyguards climbed up the ladder first, pushing the cover aside and crawling back up into the cool night air.  A few moments later he reappeared at the top of the latter, calling down in a low voice, "We're clear," and then vanished from view once more.  Hector started up the later next, followed by his other bodyguard.

 

When Harry came up the latter, Hector helped the rumpled private investigator out of the manhole.  "Well, here is where we go our separate ways."  Hector stated.

[Supercape]

Harry shook Hectors hand and took a good sniff of him. 

 

Yeah I got ya scent, bozo...

 

"Thanks for the help, partner. What the hell happened back there? Why the bust, and how the bust? You guys looked like you were running a tight ship, I tell ya. And I was aiming to make some real cash with my man back there...wherever he is. Man, I hope he didn't get busted. He had fists of gold, I tell ya..."

 

Harry pulled out a cigar and lit it, taking in the night air and fumes at once. 

 

"Still, at least we got out with our skin's intact and without breaking out in cuff's, eh? say...if I can find my man, and he isn't in jail, is there going to be a round 2? I got the chops and the cash!" he said, keenly. 

[Thevshi]

Hector shrugged slightly as Harry asked about the bust.  "We did our best to keep things low key, but with all the people coming to observe the fights, word is bound to get out."

When Harry mentioned Freddy, and wanting a second round, Hector gave him a smile.  "Well, we will get things up and running again, might take a little time though."  He then paused a moment, and then took a piece of paper out of his pocket along with a pen and began to write on it.  "But I tell you what, if your fighter managed to get himself out of there, go to this address and speak with Carl.  He can get your boy up to the next level.  Where you have a shot at earning some real money."

[Supercape]

"You bet" replied Harry, simply, taking the piece of paper and making sure he committed the address to memory, just in case. 

 

"Carl, eh? well you can count me in. I'll get your boy to the next level, even if I have to bust him out of Jail myself. Gonna be making some real cash then, you can bet on us!" he said, confidently. He felt a pang of sorrow for his partner, but he was full of confidence. When it came to a straight brawl, he knew Freddy could outpound even heavy hitting supervillains. That was what the lump was good at. 

 

"I'll see you around, partner!" he said, not wishing to push his luck. With a quick informal salute, he gathered his coat around him and strolled off into the night. Now, he thought, he needed to check that his partners, including Lucy, had not, in fact, been busted. 

 

He stopped short, out of site from Hector, and almost bumped into the Mess' Homunculus. 

 

"Sheesh, what are you doing like that? Pleased to see you got out anyway. Errr...you did get out, right?" he asked, nervously puffing on cigar. 

 

"What, oh sure" replied the Mess, scratching his bloody head with his bloody hand. "I left my body down the tunnel back there. I was following you, wanted to make sure you ain't in in kinda trouble, you know. Speaking of which, I guess I best going and collect my body..."

 

With that, the bloody mess oozed back the way he had come, speeding down the tunnel and back to his dessicated body. 

 

"Heh, well its nice to know you had my back" chuckled the Hound, to the night air. 

[Tiffany Korta]

The detective only confirmed what she had already learned from others, that others were involved but they didn’t know who. All she could hope was that Mess and Hound were having a little more luck after all that was more or less the plan.

 

“Thank you Detective Stine I have a few inquires of my own so if I hear anything I’ll let you know.†she turned to Crimson Tiger and gave the younger woman a friendly smile

 

“We could use the help if you're free I’m pretty sure whoevers running these thing won’t be happy to see us.â€

[Thunder King]

"I'm happy to help. There's dirty business going on at these things, and I think they should be shut down. I'm happy to do so, punching one bad guy in the face at a time." Crimson Tiger said with a chuckle. She glanced around. They'd done good work together. Having someone who was strong and smart would certainly help aim her skills on occasion.

[Thevshi]

"We would appreciate that."  Replied Detective Stine.  "Thanks again for your assistance.  Here is my card."  With that she handed Lucy a business card with her contact information before turning and heading into the main entrance of the old industrial building.  Officers were now leading out long lines of spectators who had surrendered, placing them in groups among the squad cars.  Lucy and Crimson saw a couple of fighters were among the people lead out, which were placed off in a separate group.

 

 

After the brief chat with Harry, Bloody Mess' homunculus turned and began to retrace its path back towards his body.  Of course, the sewer tunnels were pitch black now, but the homunculus could sense the general direction of the body, allowing it to find its way back without too much difficulty. 

 

Once Freddy was recovered, he pushed himself up off the cold cement floor.  As he was getting his bearings, he could hear the sound of police officers coming down the stairway into the basemen. 

[Supercape]

Freddy pushed himself up in the cold darkness, and shook his head. No matter how many times he did that trick, it always felt pretty strange. Added to that, his sense of smell was often a little screwy after running about in his homunculus form. 

 

Then again, it also smelled pretty bad down here. 

 

Damn, Police! Why me? I'm one of the good guys! he told himself. But his street smarts and experience got the better of him - this was a situation to run. 

 

yeah...in this light...

 

There was nothing for it, he would have to run and hope he didn't knock himself out by running into a concrete wall. Putting his hands in front of him, he staggered forward as fast as he could...

[Thevshi]

Freddy started off as quick as he dare in the pitch black of the basement, quickly moving away from the sound of the approaching police.  Though his sense of smell was not as sensitive as Harry’s, he was still able to pick up the smell of the sewer and soon found his way there. 

 

Travelling back towards Harry took a bit of time, and resulted in a few bumps and bruises, but eventually Freddy found his way back out, with a bit of help from Harry. 

 

The two private detectives soon met back up with Lucy and Crimson Tiger on a rooftop a short distance from the old industrial building.  The police were still busy wrapping up their raid, having caught a good number of the spectators, as well as many of the fighters.

[Supercape]

"Well, I think I got us into round 2..." said the Hound, approaching Crimson Tiger and Lucy, and clocking the martial artist who he missed in the fight. 

 

He held out his hand and offered introductions to Crimson Tiger, and for his partner, the Mess. He offered her, and Lucy, a cigar and lit up another one for himself. 

 

"Although my nerves are jangled to hell right now. Nearly got ourselves arrested for that little caper. I'd be tempted to go to the cops and explain our undercover operation, but, to be honest, a ship like this, I wouldn't be surprise if some of the dirtier cops are in on it. And that means if we go yelling, then we are busted. Can't say I like it much, gives me the jitters. But if we want to bust this, then going in deep is the only way..."