| Field Trip Turned Trouble in Metropolis |
| Summary: | Helena Bertinelli visits Metropolis on a field trip with her class, and runs into trouble. Power Woman shows up, and then the Huntress reveals herself and lends a hand. |
| Date: | 2014-04-19 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | Unnamed villainous minions |
| Scene Runner: | Power Woman |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
 .. .. |
Metropolis - especially the heart of Metropolis - is often an especially interesting destination for East Coast school field trips for high school and even college age students. The technological transformation of the City offers a view that truly has functioned to inspire creative young minds with visions of what may be possible in the future and ideas of what to strive for to better the circumstances of mankind and the world. And besides, it's bright, beautiful, perpetually clean, and home to some truly world-famous landmarks and museums.
One of those museums - arguably the most impressive - is the Metropolis Museum of Science and Industry. And just emerging from that imposing edifice is a gathering of twenty or so teenagers, all within a year or so of fifteen, being herded out the doors towards one of the small open-air plazas nearby. Their herders include a teacher or two, and one or two parents or other volunteer assistants, all there to keep them under control. The City of Tomorrow bustles around them, with aircars whooshing by overhead, and aircraft crisscrossing the heavens with silence compared to the norm of other airport destinations around the world.
For her own part, Karen Starr is in the area taking her time to walk from a meeting uptown at one of the business towers, relating to her company's latest efforts, and make her way towards Metropolis University campus and her next classes. It seems the tall blonde is rarely anything other than stupendously busy, but she takes time out when she can, and a relaxing walk amongst the wonders of this city she now calls home, at least for a couple more years, is perfect for that. And she rather enjoys seeing young people oohing and aaahing at those wonders. It brings back fond memories of her own first visits here, back when she was a high school student on a field trip here. Of course, that was also when she ended up revealing Power Woman to the world. But hopefully there'll be no need for that today.
Helena Bertinelli walks with her students, dressed in a smart plumb skirt suit. It ends just above the knees, smokey stockings on her toned legs and three inch heels. She always wears heels. The jacket perfectly tailored and completely current with Italian fashion while not being inappropriate for being a teacher. If only just. The principal certainly never seems to mind her clothing at the least.
"Alright kids.. stay together. We're going to head to the Metropolis Founder's Park for lunch. Then it'll be time to wrap up and head home."
Of course, more than a few of the students awww at being told that their glorious day here in Metropolis is nearing its end. There may even be one or two who try to wheedle their lovely teacher into expanding their visit, if only with a chance for 'just one more exhibit' at the museum. C'mon! Have mercy!
Karen's plexi-covered gaze sweeps the group, picking out the minders for the herd of kids with a little twitch of a smile on her lips; she still remembers her adopted mother's efforts in keeping /her/ tour group together on a similar visit, made all the harder because they were a group of brilliant science students, spending multiple days all the way across the country away from their homes, all gawking over the wonders of this place as they prepared for a Science Olympiad competition - the National finals that year. These kinds are at least well behaved, and everyone seems to be safely in the Founder's Park plaza, as Karen turns the corner and makes for the airy walkway that will take her across the block's traffic and connect with the express walkway to campus.
Helena Bertinelli shakes her head, "We're going to be pushing it to get back to Gotham as it is. I'm sorry. We've stayed as long as we can. The busses will be here in an hour and a half. C'mon.. let's go enjoy the park. If you want to see one more exhibit, you'll enjoy it I think." The park and its tribute to the founding of the city offers amazing art and design work that resembles many of the city buildings in stylized ways. The brunette walks with them across to the park and a nice grassy space. Sadly it's open and exposed as well.
How could it be sadly at all that such a space would be open and exposed? After all, it is a bright and beautiful day, with nearly not a cloud in the sky. To cover up such a spot would be to break up its view of the amazing architecture here at the heart of the City of Tomorrow's business district, full of those stupendous and unique skyscrapers.
Helena's students acquiesce, if a tad begrudgingly, and accept that this is the best they can have today. They may not be thrilled about it, but by and large they love teacher and know that she is awesome, and would do for them what she could. They file in obediently, and settle in as lunch is distributed.
Up on the walkway, Karen moves easily between folks as she makes her way as intended. It's a good day.
But good days can, sometimes, get interrupted. Indeed, there are times when it might feel as if good days exist for the possibility of being interrupted. Today, it seems, may do more to prove that rule than disprove it.
The first sign of trouble comes as a large bus pulls up near the park. The bus looks just like one of those for the field trip, which would make it very early. Some of the kids protest this, afraid that their trip is being cut short. But then the bus opens up to disgorge not bus drivers, other students, or teachers and chaperones, but instead men geared up in grey fatigues and helmets, carrying what appears to be some advanced weaponry. The bus releases twenty of these men, and they rush out to confront and contain civilians in the area forcibly. For the most part, they do not fire their weapons, but rely on sheer intimidation and presence to get the job done. But one of them does decide to spray a few blasts of energy over the heads of the crowd, to make sure everyone knows they mean business.
Even as this transpires, a deep basso rumbling sound begins at street level. Something, it seems, is coming. And it may well be a Bad Thing (tm).
Helena Bertinelli frowns, "No.. the busses aren't supposed to be here till three thirty.. that's.. not a Gotham bus.. It's a private charter.." Then the frown depends as the armed men emerge. "Kids. Come here. Stay near me. This isn't right." Then the shots are fired and she grinds her teeth. SHe looks to the oldest two students. "Jeff. Kelly.. help me keep an eye on the others." There's no real chance to get away. No cover. No place for the Huntress to appear no matter how she waishes otherwise. Too open.
There may not be a plethora of cover, but there are certainly distractions aplenty, and if Helena wished to break away, she could likely to do so. Maybe head into the bus to change? Anything's possible, after all.
As much as everyone's focus is, immediately on each other and the men with guns, that soon changes. The rumbling that has been building resolves itself into an armored, track-drive vehicle. It's not quite a classic 'tank', but it does have a turret. It's more like a battlefield armored personnel carrier. The big, grey armored vehicle comes rumbling up the street, pushing aside some of the civilian vehicles, and makes its way towards the broad plaza steps leading up to the entrance to the museum. It seems that whatever these people are doing here, it has something to do with the museum. And literally every eye in the place is focused on that tank-like thing, whether in awe, fear, or anticipation, or some combination of the three.
On that skyborn walkway, Karen sees and hears all of this transpiring. The first thing she noticed as the blast of weapons fire, and that caused her to sweep the area quickly with her eyes, picking up the men with their guns - and the fact she can't see into their bus, which is annoyingly irksome - and then she picked up the rumbling sound and spotted the tank /through/ one of the business towers. By the time that vehicle is ambling up the stairs towards the museum, the blonde college student has disappeared, jogging with everyone else off the walkway and then zipping into a corner, re-emerging from a whole new angle with a new look, new attire, and a new focus: Power Woman is on the scene!
Everyone else becomes aware of Power Woman as she appears - just suddenly resolving out of a white, red and blue streak - out of the heavens and hovering in front of the tank. "Alright, guys! That's enough of that. Put this toy away before someone gets hurt." Yes, real heroes really do deliver lines like that. It would be better for all concerned, after all, if they would just surrender. Even if it is unlikely they would do so.
The armored vehicle does the kids in. They all hunker down. There's a stairway just behind them at the moment. Near the large fountain. Helena and her backpack are gone just before the assault squad rounds up the students. Some of them notice she's gone but no one dares say anything outload. Dropping down she forces open an access door for grounds keeping and maintenance. A quick glance around and her clothes are all peeling off. Shoes then stockings as she rolls them down her legs muttering, "Sure.. great day to wear stockings, Hel.." Off with them and then the rest. There better not be any cameras in here or this is going to be all across the interwebs in an hour.. stripping Gotham teacher is bolt skewering vigilante! (with a great ass!)
Tugging on her more than a little revealing outfit and doning her mask, Huntress emerges just as Power Woman addresses the tank. 'cause talking to a tank always makes it turn around and go home, right?
Dark eyes scan the area for her students and counting the guards positioned around them.
To be entirely honest, its' cripplingly unfair all of the advantages a fully powered Kryptonian brings to heroic matters. The least of these - but sometimes the most convenient - is that ability to change outfits completely in but a second or two, stash everything, and reappear from another direction while moving so fast no normal technology can manage to capture better than a blur. Kara is well aware of how lucky she is. Do not doubt that for a moment.
Power Woman hovers in place, confronting the armored vehicle. She doesn't seem concerned when the weapons on the turret turn to face and focus on her, but given her prior experiences who can blame her for that confidence? "You really should give it up, guys." she offers. They get a few more seconds' reprieve.
There are ten of those armed and armored gun-toting guys surrounding the civilians they have herded into the park plaza, including Helena's kids. They're keeping a reasonably close eye on things, but they are intermittently distracted. After all, the tank is here, the mission is in the offing, and Power Woman just showed up! It's hard not to look. Hell, it's hard not to stare!
When those inside the armored vehicle fire their weapons, as advanced as they may be, they do little more than momentarily obscure Power Woman. Then the blonde grimaces, and advances on the thing with alacrity, seizing it and lifting it off its tracks, then slamming it down, once, twice, three times, untile those inside are surely stunned and the overall structural integrity is compromised without having completely crumpled. Yet.
"I did tell you to surrender."
Helena Bertinelli would just call Power Woman lucky for having a pair of guns like that and not having crippling back pain. That, right there, is lucky. And she'll say as much if they ever speak face to face or face to chest or however their height matches up.
As Power Woman sets about making the armored vehicle into a punching bag Huntress slips in closer to her kids. Helena's kids. She can't afford to kill these men but oh how she wants to. Badly. It burns in her eyes, in her veins. Blood cries for Blood. And these men have attacked her family. They need to die. But there are too many innocents. Instead she fires off a bolt that whistles in an arch over the center of that group. Its feltchings made just to draw attention - turning heads to wonder what that odd whistle is. And just when it begins to drop toward the ground.
FLASH
A nice little tool she picked up. Timed flash bomb. It's followed immediately by the belly window sporting Huntress rising up and firing her crowsbows Old West style. No cover, just swagger. The bolts strike her targets in the shoulders and fire off their minitasers causing entertaning and violent collapse and twitching of the four nearest guards in a split second. She shifts position and proceeds to line up shots on the next four. She can't be so lucky as to down them all but if she can halve their numbers, it'll make it all easier.
It looks as if Power Woman has the armored vehicle threat every so nicely in hand. But appearances, they can be deceiving. Remember how she couldn't see into the interior of the bus? Well, while Kara is mangling that vehicle to prevent it from attacking anyone else, including the museum, trouble comes from the lead-lined interior.
It seems that these bastards knew they'd be going up against Power Woman, at least potentially, and they did their best to prepare for that.
Two more men come jogging at a fast trot out of the bus, each loaded down with a massive-looking backpack attached to an equally massive weapon strapped into their arms and across their chests. Each is the size of a serious crew-served weapon. But wielded by a single individual. And somehow they can actually /jog/ wearing those things.
Just as Kara turns from the now-crippled vehicle to - probably - go help dealing with the armored terrorists (or whatever they are) guarding the civilians, these two approach within about twenty yards, and fire. Each canon releases a crackling stream of what appears to be blue-white lightning. And when it hits Power Woman, she arches her back, grunting in pain as she is stunned and thrown backwards, actually smoking a bit.
As the Huntress expected, her keening, whistling bolt draws visual attention, and then detonates its flashbang charge. The bang itself doesn't have much effect in such an open space, but the flash is enough to startle and dazzle. Masks and visors may cut down on the effect, but they don't nullify it. And their body armor is not enough to dull the crossbow quarrels or their tazer loads. Four gunmen down quite rapidly, twitching and convulsing.
The others come to their senses quickly, twisting around to look for and then find the shooter. They turn towards her, guns coming up from covering the crowd to covering a legit threat. It is somewhat telling that none of them think, right off, to grab a hostage and threaten them to get Huntress to surrender. They clearly have not been taking lessons from Gotham criminals.
Huntress walks right at them. No. They haven't learned from Gotham criminals. It's almost adorable as the bare bellied vigilante stalks them. Four more bolts are unleashed. Three find their target, the fourth sails just wide. And the tazers fire off. Three guards left. Dropping down behind an ornamental tree she quickly reloads her crossbows. She can do that almost as fast as Power Woman can change clothes. Priorities and all. Just as rounds behin to kick up the ground around her she's done and she rolls out from behind the tree, using a concrete planter for low cover as she unleashes more bolts. Felling the last of the guards she looks over at the cowering students, "Everyone stay down!" Then.. Power Woman's getting hit with 1.21 gigawatts and it's a good thing she hasn't got a opening in her uniform like Huntress or there'd be some malfunctioning going on with all that arching and flailing. Looking to the guys doing the deed with the blonde heroine she frowns. Reaching back for her full crossbow she takes am through its scope, looking for a weak point to try and shut that chunk of trouble down for good. Maybe with a zap or two for the guys firing it.
The shots missing Huntress aren't slugs thrown by chemical reactions and explosions, but energy weapons firing bolts of charged plasma. They're nowhere near as powerful as the lightning-throwers, but they're more than sufficient to be a threat to normal humans, even those in body armor. Thankfully, none of them get a clean shot on Huntress, and soon enough they're down. That's a good thing.
The truth is that these weapons aren't doing a great deal of damage to Power Woman. They're not /that/ powerful. But they are powerful enough that they are causing her pain, and their electrical basis is causing her convulsions. In essence, she's being hit with amped-up stun guns sufficient to affect her. She struggles, and finally manages to lurch behind the armored vehicle she crippled, using it for cover. This forces her attackers to cease fire and reposition, which leaves them open for Huntress' attack.
The shot strikes one of the packs, crippling one of the housings that connects the power cables from the power packs on their back to the weapon in their hands. There's a spark, then another, and then a big arc of electricity that drops that gunner to the ground, twitching and smoking most unhealthfully.
About this time, Power Woman comes around the other side of the armored vehicle and swoops in to grab the other gunman and yank off his harness and weapon, crumpling it rather devastatingly, and then thwacking him just hard enough to put him down without permanent injury.
"Thank you very much for your help, Miss …" Power Woman offers, addressing Huntress as she eyes the men who have been subdued.
Huntress is closing in on the men she's wounded and tazed. She looks to the kids. "Everyone over toward those benches over there. You're safe." She looks to Power Woman and whoas a bit as the startled studens all hurry over to a place well away from the attacking guards as they are all cuffed and trussed up for the police. ".. they say you're more impressive in person.. they're right.." She regards the uniform. "More functional… 'cause.. yeah. if you had something like I do.. you'd have a major malfunction.." A smirk. "not.. that anyone would be all that upset.." A shrug. just saying, right? ".. Huntress. Just happened to be in the area. Looked like these kids could use a hand.."
Kara eyes Huntress for a moment, and then nods. "Well, I am glad that I could be of some assistance. I appreciate that you were able to help me, as well. It seems they came to this city even knowing they might face me. Planned for it, even." That bothers her, but only slightly. She smirks a bit at the other woman's confidence, appreciating it greatly. "The kinds didn't turn out to be the only ones. Thank you." Power Woman approaches, offering her hand to Huntress. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Huntress steps up to shake that hand. Her gaze.. isn't where it should be. Then finally it is and she smiles. "And you Power Woman. You took out that APC… my bolts don't penetrate that much armor. So.. guess this time you had my back and I had yours. We can call it.. professional courtesy."
-==[ Business East and Seaport — Metropolis ]==------
Several large conglomerates have their gleaming, sky-scraping homes here, including Soder Cola Inc., Eagle Oil, RAMCO, and Hawkes Industries, as well as a variety of advertising firms and fashion agencies. Landmark towers such as the venerable Newstime Building and the Art Deco splendor of the Emperor Building add a great deal of interest to the skyline. Smaller businesses also line the streets, as well as certain educational edifices, including the Metropolis Museum of Science and Industry.
<add seaport desc to the east>
As with all of New Troy (the island of Metropolis), this area is maintained by robotic drones that clean the streets, take out the trash, and keep everything looking nice. If damage is done to an area, robotic drones will automatically repair the areas to keep life undisturbed. Above, flying cars zoom through the cityscape.
Contents:
Obvious Exits:
- [00] - Subway East — Metropolis
- [01] - Metropolis Park — Business Ea
- [02] - Double R Diner — Business Eas
- [03] - The Horizon — Business Distri
- [04] - Warehouse 27 — Seaport
- [05] - Abandoned Warehouse — Seaport
- [06] - Back Alley — Seaport
- [NE] - St Martin Island — Metropolis
- [SE] - Hell's Gate Island — Metropol
- [W] - Metropolis Village and Financi