Your Day In Court [IC]

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy might still be slightly behind he time, despite years trying to catch up with 90 years of popular culture, but even she knew the concept of good cop, bad cop. Not that she was playing the part exactly, genuinely she was just a nice friendly person.

“Look someone is doing very bad things to people and we think you know who. I’m not concerned about why you're doing this we’re not after you we want to know where to find who doing this.†she gave a friendly look and a encouraging smile

 

“Tell us what you know and we’ll leave you alone.â€

[trollthumper]

"Bad people doing bad things?" said Freddy. He let out a nervous laugh. "Sounds like another day in Freedom."

 

Cannonade didn't even have to say anything. He leaned in, his eyes fixed on Freddy the whole time. With all the others looming around him, it was enough to send him over the edge. "Okay, okay!" he said. "If it's the guy I think you're talking about, I'm telling you, I don't know 'im. My clients and I aren't exactly on first name basises. He showed up about a month ago, came knocking on my door. Requested two dozen buzzard bombs, ready within three days. Hell of a rush job, let me tell ya."

 

"Guessing you're not the guy to work for free." 

 

"We negotiated. He enjoys a... 'not dropping you from a ledge' system of currency."

 

"Great. Don't suppose you got anything useful when you were trying not to wet 'em." 

 

"He said Jack Miller had talked me up," Freddy said. "Jack Miller was a wannabe who got one of my smoke bombs and still couldn't make a quick getaway from a bank robbery. Only people he's got a rep with would be the cops, the DA's office, and the inside men."

[Supercape]

"Damn Cops" said Harry, twirling his cigarrette in his hand. "Damn stupid, lazy, ignorant, deceitful cops!"

 

He looked at the others. 

 

"Hey, don't look at me, I used to be one!" he explained. 

 

Despite his bitterness about the men in blue, he still found time to process the rest of the informants story. "But enough of that sour story, down to business. Namely, this man Jack Miller. He must know the hangmans identity - or at least help point us there. Dunno how, of course" he conceded. "But if Jack bigged up our man here to the Hangman, they must have at least met..."

 

Harry flicked away his unlit cigarrette to stop his fixation on smoking, and stuffed his hands in his mac pockets instead. Where he found a cigarette packet that demanded he repeat the process. 

 

"So, time to play snoop on Mr. Miller, I guess!"

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow pulled out a burner phone and began dialing out.  Revenant did say they would let him go after they had their information.  Foreshadow didn't make any promises about the police not being informed of his dealings.  "Calling those very same cops to round up old Fred here.  Unless there are any objections from someone other than our new pal.  I think I have an idea of where Miller's holding up before his next big flop.  Can't comment on the accuracy of my sources.  Sometimes the roaches like to scuttle away when the lights come on.  He might have found a different hidey hole by now."

 

There was a benefit to calling out as far as he saw it.  If there was someone wearing a badge behind all this.  They would be keeping tabs on what happens to Jack Miller.  And if that meant trying to get the drop on this group, they could plan accordingly.  Using a potential ambush to their advantage.  This was all theoretical, for all they know Jack Miller could have already bit the bullet.  This self motivated executioner taking it upon himself to tie up loose ends ahead of time.

 

'Course that could just be the cynicism talking.

[trollthumper]

Dupont Drive

Having been sufficiently persuaded that he had been wholly forthcoming - though still seeking the possibility of financial compensation even as they left - the group took off to Jack Miller's apartment building. Cannonade looked over the street; this was definitely the kind of place someone might crash between jobs. Run down enough that there was a good chance most landlords might take cash, where someone who looked desperate wouldn't exactly look out of place. The wild graffiti, the rundown cars, the broken windows...

Wait.

Cannonade checked - the third floor. Where Miller's apartment would be. He took off towards the building. "Think we've got company..."

[Supercape]

"This place is the pits" moaned the Hound, his nostrils alight with the smells. Drugs, urine, trash. For his canine nose, this place was literally the pits. The refuse and sewage of the city insidiously crept here. He was pretty sure this was a street for drug addicts to shoot up and sleep away. 

 

Harry had pulled up with the Agencies Chevvy. It burped petrol and fumes, to the tune of his curses. He had had to give it a good kick before it started. His partner, Freddy could have bounded his own way there, but elected to ride in the car. And to get some hot dogs on the way. 

 

"Gotta keep my iron up, ya know?" he laughed, and burped. Harry could smell the state of digestion of the hot dog from his partners breath. 

 

"Yeah yeah. You just really put me off my dinner, ya know?" he complained, turning off the engine. 

 

"I'll just stay in the car with the windows up whilst you go knocking, ok? This place looks like it is home to the thug party of the century. I dont want to get stabbed or shot today, even with you around!" he complained. 

 

"Sure thing" said the uncomplaining Mess, getting out of the car and following Cannonade. 

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow listened to varying discourse around him.  His nose scrunched up ever so slightly not needing a canine sense of smell to get the whole public urinal scent in his nostrils.  The place was not the four seasons that much was for sure.  It was the sort of stereotypical hangout that just screamed down on your luck.  'The pits' was right.  That didn't make their job any easier.

 

The one advantage the potential crime den had over somewhere built with resources.  The potential for complete and total disarray.  A lack of finances in the right criminal element went hand in hand with a lack of organization.  And that just made everything potentially a major pain.  Coupled with how much work went into getting the intel that left him on guard.

 

"Company just means more flapping mouths."

[Tiffany Korta]

Whilst Lucy could move at some speed she couldn’t keep up with a car, even one as old as the Agencies. So she had chosen to ride along with the two boys, there was something about there benign conversation that was relaxing. As soon as they stopped she was ready for action, but took a moment to say something to Harry.

“Best to circle round the back in case anyone tries to make a run for it, I know you can look after yourself if trouble starts.â€

WIth her speed she was out of the car and moving towards the apartment keeping pace with Fred.

 

“I guess we’re not going for the element of surprise?â€

[Supercape]

"Er yeah, I can handle myself real well..." gulped Harry in response to Lucy. For an instance, he felt a swell of uncomfortable macho pride kick in, responding to a beautiful woman. Even if her not-alive status made him a bit uncomfortable, he found Lucy Ravishing. 

 

Not for long however. As beautiful and ravishing as Lucy was, it was no match for his fear and sweat. 

 

"Why do you think I keep the lug around?" he asked, jabbing his finger at the Mess. "My chest is smaller than his arms, thats why!" he spluttered before stepping back into the Chevvy. 

 

"Yeah, yeah, circling around, got it..." he sighed, kicking the argumentative Chevvy into gear again, to the tune of a small explosion and chug of black gas from its exhaust. With that, he drove off, circling the building. 

 

"Hey, I dunno about stealth, lady. I can do that if ya want. Its just I ain't got the brains like you and Harry!" smiled the Mess, clonking the side of his head with his fist. 

[trollthumper]

Cannonade charged forward with the others, moving towards the rundown building. He calculated his trajectory, looking up towards the window. "Well, it's already broken..." he muttered to himself, before leaping up into the air. He held one leg high, driving forward with the rest of him. The window, shoddy product to begin with, cracked easily under the impact, and he tumbled into the room as gracefully as he could. Which, he admitted, wasn't much.

The door to the apartment was still open, and he could hear footfalls in the hall outside. But between him and there was Jack Miller, hanging from the ceiling. Unlike Alvarez, he wasn't struggling... but the goose egg on his head said that might not mean he was dead.

He rushed to the window. "Round the back!" he called. And then, he set to work trying to get Miller down.

[Supercape]

"I'm circling I'm circling already!" shouted the Hound back to Cannonade, who was indeed ambling the Chevvy around the corner. "What's the hurry? It's not like somebody's dying or nuthin!" he snarked back, irritated. 

 

Wait...what am I saying! They probably are dying!...and...and...I could be next!

 

His well tuned craven reflex kicked in. He felt his heart explode in his chest, ripe with palpitations, and he slammed a palm onto his sternum to keep it from pumping its way out of his chest wall. The sweat was already alive on his hands and forehead. He could feel the hangman's noose around his neck, getting tighter...tighter....he yelped in some air, finding it hard to breathe. Panic overtook his body. 

 

The Mess took a more practical approach. 

 

"If somebody's looking for trouble, they come to da right place!" he said, slamming fist into palm, and pumping his supercharged blood through his body. Once again, his muscles swelled like a sack of balloons, ready for action!

[Tiffany Korta]

It was a split second decision that had to be made either she could chase down this Hangman of try to help his victim. She was sure that with her speed she could catch up with him, but with good conscious she couldn’t risk letting the man die whatever he had done. SHe wasn’t tall enough to reach the rope but she could at least hold up the man so he would choke from his own weight, whilst someone else would have to deal with the rope magical choking effect.

 

“Go get the Hangman, we’ll try and get this guy down. An you better hurry Mess, Hound alone with him...â€

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow knew that Revenant was addressing Mess when she suggested they take chase.  While Cannonade and her had already started on trying to free the latest noosed victim.  But, he knew he would be better served trying to aid Mess in catching the perpetrator of the crime.  The Hangman escaped once, and perhaps if they worked together to corner him it wouldn't happen again.  At least that was the hope.

 

Without saying a word.  The blonde haired hero took off into a full sprint.  Pursuing after the Hangman.  His hands occasionally lingering on either side of his utility belt.  One ready to reach for his bolas the other for his grapnel gun.  He was ready for whichever direction the commotion went.  Be it roofside or alleyway.

[Supercape]

"Harry!" said the Mess in a kind of splutter. He thwacked his head with one swollen arm, trying to berate himself for forgetting about his partner who was the brains of the pair. Unfortunately, that also meant he was not the brawn. 

 

"He ain't gonna last a minute in the round with that guy! I'm gonna bust the Hangman's ass!" he swore, his muscles popping with his super powered blood, and his clothes torn. 

 

With a leap he propelled himself out of the window landing in the street below. For all the knocks he had on his head, and he had had plenty, he wasn't slow in action. 

 

He paused the briefest of moments, and grabbed, almost effortlessly, a dumpster from the street. Handling it like he would a football, he once again launched into the air, propelled by his muscles. 

[trollthumper]

The dumpster hurled towards the hooded terror, who didn't seem to move an inch as half a ton of steel and garbage came soaring towards him at ballistic speeds. There was a crack of his wrist, and a thick, corded noose ran down his arm like a whip. He raised his arm, and the noose rose with it - and, as if it had a will of its own, it lashed out, wrapping itself around the dumpster and catching tight. He flicked the noose with some effort - though not as much as one might expect - and the dumpster went flying into a nearby wall, sending bricks and debris up into the air. The Hangman turned back towards Bloody Mess, with eyes that invited the next move.

Inside, meanwhile, Cannonade struggled with the noose that held Miller aloft. Like with Alvarez, this one was like steel cable more than hemp - but whatever mojo held it together wasn't quite as strong as the other one, and he'd pulled steel apart more than once. The noose began to fray, holding together by ardent strands but still weakening. "C'mon, while you're still breathing..."

[Supercape]

Meanwhile...

 

"Where are ya, ya damn lug! I'm no hero, I'm just a damn dog!" muttered the Hound, face full of cold sweat. He jammed another unlit cigarette into his mouth, forgetting the first one. He undid his tie nervously, then tightened it again. 

 

Then he thought of the Handman. 

 

Angrily, he pulled his tie right off his crumpled shirt. 

 

"Ain't wearing you today, yer piece of...hola!" he blurted, seeing a Dumpster whizz across the street. He cast his eyes in the direction it had came, and saw the Hound and Mess bounding a long. 

 

More by instinct than judgement, he turned the wheel, mounted the curb, and accelerated after his partner and his quarry. He clipped a hot dog sausage vendor on the way, and ended up with mustard smeared over part of his windscreen. 

 

"For the love of Holy..." he spluttered, spitting out his cigarrettes and ducking down so he could still see past the smear. The wheels spun, and he pressed on. 

 

Just not too close. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Well here we go again! She held onto the man as she tried to give him a few more minutes whilst they figure out what to do. They’d seen all this before and they should be able to deal with this much easier than before.

 

She looked up at Cannonade and gave her most confident smile, together they should have no problems at all... right?

 

“If I lift him up we should get some slack, maybe you can use that to get a hold on the rope. If we work together we should be able to outsmart a piece or rope, animated or not.â€

[trollthumper]

Cannonade took position as Revenant placed pressure on the man's heels. The rope seemed to be fighting the effort, like frozen steel cable on a winter's day, but it could only hold out so much against her efforts. Soon, he could hear the deep, ragged breaths of the man, who was now that much further from death. Cannonade gripped the cable tight, holding it in place as it struggled against his efforts, and began to pull.

In the alley out back, Hangman stared down Bloody Mess. "You again," he said. "Somehow --" He flicked his wrist, withdrawing the noose from the now crumpled dumpster. "-- I doubt you've seen the wisdom of my efforts. So I will make this quick." The lash swung out at lightning speed, aiming to catch Bloody Mess around a limb... but the effort of deflecting the dumpster may have messed up the slack, as it went wide past the hero.

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow took off in a dead heat towards the Hangman.  A little surprised at how quickly a dumpster had just finished flying by.  Rather than engage in a direct power struggle, Foreshadow sought to take advantage of his own strength in such an environment, his mobility.  He jumped towards the walls on the side of the alleyway.  Kicking off the wall he would perform a mid air front aerial walkover.  Using the rotation to flip past the Hangman.

 

On his descent Foreshadow would actually kick off the Hangman's back.  Performing a reverse tuck, and providing ample opportunity for Bloody Mess to take advantage of the opening left behind as the Hangman tried to keep up with the acrobatic hero's movements.  The azure cape fluttering past the villains face in the midst of the motion likely helped further.

[Supercape]

"Hey man, thats neat! Did you look at that?" asked the Mess to the Hangman. 

 

The Mess was about to put his hands together to clap. But, he had other uses for them. 

 

This was gonna hurt. 

 

In a streetfight, there sometimes came a moment of pivot. When you just went flat out, to finish the guy or be finished. Bloody Mess knew those moments. This was one of them. The Hangman had evaded them once. Not again. Not if he could help it. 

 

Like a bolt of lightning, he struck. Swinging his fists full arc, like sledgehammers.

 

"Take a look at lefty..."

 

BAM!

 

"And right..."

 

BAM!

 

Everything he had went into the flurry of fists. 

[trollthumper]

Hangman was still off his footing from Foreshadow's distracting display of acrobatics. The first blow caught him right in the chin, sending him staggering back into the far wall with a sickening thud. As the second blow bore down on him, he managed to weave out of the way, causing Bloody Mess's fist to bounce off of brick - but it was clear that had taken up most of the masked vigilante's faculties.

There were no portentous words this time. Just an icy glare.

---

Meanwhile, Cannonade was fighting against the rope, which seemed to be fighting back. But whatever mojo went into this noose, it wasn't as strong as the one that had held up Alvarez. With one last burst of strength, it ripped apart. Before Miller could hit the floor, Cannonade grabbed him. All that came out of him were ragged breaths.

"Yeah, you're gonna wanna stay here." He set the man down and ran out the door, surging towards the alley.

[Tiffany Korta]

With the latest victim safe Lucy priorities changed to actually trying to capture the person responsible for causing all this.

 

“We'll be back just stay there and you’ll be fine.â€

 

Without waiting for a reply Lucy barrelled out the room and into the alleyway  with barely a glance she rushed towards the Hangman catching him a blow as she went past. It wasn't the most beautiful of blows but it was a least a solid blow.

[Brown Dynamite]

Foreshadow jumped forward and wrapped his legs around the Hangman's neck.  Twisting in midair he began to use momentum to bring the Hangman forward.   Calling upon the acrobatic grappling techniques of the Vietnamese martial art of Vovinam that would be better served in a demonstration than a real fight.  Which was essentially right up Foreshadow's alley.  As both men began to descend forward Foreshadow let go of the hold, and what would have been and otherwise pitch perfect headscissors takedown.  

 

The motion left the Hangman buckling forward, lurched almost ready to fall.  Foreshadow for his part recovered in midair, landing on his feet.  Not that he would spend much time in that position immediately back flipping.  Swinging his escrima sticks on the upward tick to try and smash the instruments against the bottom of the man's chin.  Unfortunately, whether through honed training or pure instinct the Hangman pulled back.  Snapping his neck and thereby his head out of the way at the last second avoiding the attack.

 

Foreshadow's blow may have missed.  But in that moment stood an opening as he floated back through the air.

[Supercape]

"Ya don't stay down, do ya, punk!" gritted the Mess as he cracked his knuckles. 

 

"I gotta hand it to ya, most guys have the sense to stay down when they beat. Some guys, though, they got the guts or the stupid to keep on going. Guys like me, in fact!"

 

There was some admiration for the Hangman, standing up when he should be lying down. But still, admiration wasn't going to stop him doing what he had to do. The Mess might have been a boxer, but he was also a street fighter. You didn't give a chance to a guy in a street fight. 

 

Bam Bam

 

His fist's cracked into the Hangman, powered by muscles flowing with his supercharged blood...

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy had dealt with Fred before and knew sometime he let his instincts get the better of him, he wasn’t necessary cruel or unkind he just got carried away. She gently put a hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly but in a strong confident tone to Bloody Mess.

 

“I think that quite enough Fred, he’s down and out now. Let’s just restrain him and try to find out why he was doing all this.â€

 

It shouldn't come to it but she was ready to stop him if he didn't see sense right now.