| Renaissance Fair Queens and Crying Canaries |
| Summary: | Mary Jane Watson runs afoul of a drug deal in progress while in Gotham. Red Sonja and Black Canary team up to deal with the problem. |
| Date: | 2014-06-01 |
| Related: | NA |
| NPCs: | Various goons |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
 .. .. |
It was just supposed to be a little half-day trip to Gotham for a photo shoot. Mary Jane Watson doesn't do a lot of out of down modeling, but a trip to Gotham is next to nothing. It's less than half an hour on the superfast LexStark trains. So she accepted the gig, and she came out to Gotham on a Sunday afternoon for the photo shoot, at Robinson Pier. Some sort of atmospheric thing, for the summer and fall clothing lines.
After the shoot was over, MJ headed towards the train station, ready to head home to Queens to see Aunt Anna. But then she walked by cars in the Pier parking lot, where men stood near their cars, posturing, talking, gesticulating at one another.
And then guns came out.
One gunshot was all it took, and MJ was diving for cover. She whipped her head around, red hair flying, looking this way and that to make sure she was clear. Then she shucked off her pink-trimmed grey backpack, and flipped up the flap hidden in the frame, grasping the sword's hilt as she completed the mantra.
A brilliant, curruscating corona of light later … Mary Jane Watson was gone. Red Sonja, complete with scale mail bikini, was on the scene.
Black Canary started getting involved with Gotham's organized crime scene sometime after she met Huntress. It's not that the fishnet-clad blonde shares her darker partner's passion for eliminating the mob. No, Canary just knows that every Mafia don she brings into custody is one less that Huntress shoots.
She'd been watching the deal from across the street, her bike stashed in an alley. Then the redhead walked by, the guns came out, and shots started. Leaving cover, the petite blonde in leather and fishnets sprints across the street. Gloved hands hit the hood of the nearest car and she vaults over it in a high summersault. Her momentum plants those heels squarely in the broad chest of one of the gangsters, who has the good manners to break her fall as she lands in the midst.
Well, it seems trouble abounds. The girl has summoned her again, and is pleading with her already to intervene and stop this battle. Sonja would not care, really, except that the girl seems to imply allowing this battle to continue may endanger innocent lives. As cold and professional as Sonja can be, that strikes a cord with her, and she will not ignore it. . o O (Very well, Mary Jane. I will battle your … 'goons' … for you.)
That much decided, the brilliantly red-haired, barely dressed figure leaps over the low wall where Mary Jane had taken cover. She's nearly half a foot taller than Mary Jane, and as pretty as the girl was, she can't hold a candle to the kind of megawatt presence Sonja puts out, as she sprints the length of the parking lot, and then aims a kick at the back of the knee of another of the gun-toting goons. As he starts to fall, her sword sweeps down, cleaving though his weapon, and she spins into their midst, angling herself to slide behind the blonde. "Finally, another warrior woman. Things are looking up." she offers. Yep, in English, though she's got quite the accent.
Canary's fighting style isn't typical of a warrior woman, however. She's not even using a weapon. Surrounded by 'goons', at least they won't be shooting at her for fear of hitting each other. A punch is easily dodged, the wrist grabbed as it passes. Spin, pivot, and *throw*… sends him crashing into two others, knocking all three down.
"I'd say they are. Renaissance Faire in town?" Canary pauses before the answer to deliver a snap-kick under the chin of a goon who's at least a foot taller. There's a *crack* as something breaks, likely his jaw.
"Ren-ay … " the redhead questions. She is only too happy to punch, kick, trip and elbow opponents. Mary Jane apparently objects to her killing folks unless there is no choice, so despite the fact that Sonja is carrying a large and very sharp, capable sword, she uses it only on weapons and car doors, so far. Otherwise, she's fighting in a manner not unlike the Canary. Difference being, she's not fighting with any noticeable 'style'. Just a whole lot of guts, strength and agility. Rough but effective.
Once Mary Jane explains what a Renaissance Faire is, Sonja responds, "No. Not exactly. Just coming when called, when danger arises."
The blonde nods, in between tumbles and dodges, punches and throws. For a woman her size, Canary has no problems with fighting in close against men over twice her weight. And she doesn't fight nicely, either. She mostly uses the goons' own weight against them, and even so soon the fight isn't going well for the Italians.
"I know what you mean." she offers. Taking advantage of the confusion of the brawl, a couple of mobsters break away from the others and dash for a car.
Does Canary really know what Sonja means? The redhead isn't worried about it. She helps cover the blonde's backside, cleaving through another drawn gun, then driving her elbow through the wielder's skull in spectacular fashion - hooray for follow-through. "Another summoned you, then, when trouble arose?" Sonja questions, honestly, between grunts as they dance to and fro, eliminating the goons.
Black Canary chuckles softly at that, shaking her head. "Um, not exactly. I was sort of already here." Back to back, now, the two women are making fairly short work of the mobsters. The car doors slam with two goons inside, then the engine starts. Tires squeal as it's slammed into gear, and the blonde offers. "Finish up here? Be back in a sec…" Kicking one in the solar plexus, she hook elbows with the goon as he doubles over. Canary swings her legs up high to roll over his back, using her momentum to toss him as well.
The car roars down the street as the little blonde draws a deep breath. What follows is a high-pitched sonic scream. Focused on the car, the back window shatters a couple moments before the tires begin to blow. The stunned driver loses control and crashes into a building.
"I see." Perhaps the blonde was summoned ahead of time? That could be, couldn't it? Sonja continues the fight, and might have tried for that car before it got away, but when she was ready, her lovely blonde battle partner asked her to cover and headed off.
Not one to pass up an opportunity, Sonja lays into the couple of remaining goons with a fierce abandon - she /enjoys/ this! When one of them scrambles to the other car, she doesn't have Canary's vocal trick to take it out. Instead, she rolls over the last opponent as he is falling, and leaps, swinging her blade up and over, driving the point of the blade down through where Mary Jane tells her the 'engine' is, that makes the horseless carriage move.
That brings an end to the flight of that car, too. It won't blow, but it won't run anymore, either, and it might start fire later if they aren't careful.
"Get out!" Sonja shouts at the guy inside, blade in hand and intent. She's rather amazed by Canary's cry, but she can ask about that in a moment. Right?
The car that Canary disabled is done. Nose-first in a brick wall, the airbags fired in the expensive sedan and both driver and his passenger are unconscious. Hearing the imposing redhead shout gets the blonde's attention, now, and she turns her head quickly around. Only to see the woman with her sword driven down *through* the hood of the car. Yeaaah, those guys aren't going anywhere.
As the goons struggle to quickly get out of the car, Canary saunters over casually. "Nice night to shoot at innocent bystanders, isn't it?" she asks as she approaches. One of them seems to remember he's holding a gun and starts to wave it in the redhead's direction before Canary intervenes again. "Um, I really wouldn't do that. Not if you wanna *keep* that hand." He does the math in his head. Fierce woman + sharp sword. The goon drops the gun.
Sonja extracts her sword from the car and eyes the goons that get out, until they surrender. She doesn't actually attack them if it isn't necessary, but she certainly looks like she would.
After they surrender, Sonja walks over to the shorter blonde and smiles, offering her hand - the one not holding the sword. "Well met, sister. You are very skilled. Interesting gift you carry, with the cry of the Bahn'shee." Internally, she's telling Mary Jane to shush, as the girl is babbling excitedly, something about 'newspaper reports' and 'Black Canary'. Clearly, this woman is not black, nor is she related to tiny golden singing birds. How silly!
The goons are bound and left for the Gotham PD. Canary has a stash of things called 'zip ties' and shows the redhead how to use them as impromptu handcuffs.
Once they're clear, the two women talk. Dinah grins, accepting the offered hand in her own, leather-wrapped grip. "Well met, sister. I'm called Black Canary. My 'gift' comes from a meta-gene." She looks the redhead over, running fingers of her free hand through the sweat-damp blonde locks. "Don't see many people in Gotham dressed like you. Men or women. And that's a -really- nice sword."
The towering redhead smiles at the blonde, accepting the lessons of these 'zip ties', and learning quickly to apply them with brutal efficiency. She seems to enjoy it.
"I am called Sonja. Some used to call me Red Sonja, for obvious reasons. But that was, as I understand it, a very, very long time ago." She's not sure, but that's what she's been told.
Sonja is polite enough to apologize to Mary Jane. . o O (Very well, girl. You were apparently right. She is the Canary of Black. Please do not … squeal like that. It is not dignified.)
"I have been told very few dress as I do." Sonja admits. It wasn't common, even back in her own time. "But yes, she is a very nice sword. She was crafted for me alone, after the end of the Third Karthan Campaign." Because that made a lot of sense, right?
Canary grins at the 'Red' moniker, chuckling softly. She has to look up to meet the taller woman's face while they talk, but she has to look up to most people. "Well very nice to meet you, Sonja. And I'm not knocking the look, either. It's a -good- look, actually. And not many women could pull that off either."
Then Sonja goes on about the sword, and she loses Dinah at the mention of the Karthan Campaign. But hey, that's alright. "Say, um, Sonja. The police are gonna be here soon and we should probably see about being somewhere else. Gotham's Finest really doesn't have a sense of humor when it comes to crashing cars into buildings or stabbing them with swords." Another once-over, then she asks. "You need a lift somewhere? My bike's just around the corner."
"A lift?" Sonja questions, curiously. It is an idiom she hasn't run into before. Mary Jane explains, which Dinah will witness as Sonja tilts her head curiously, as if listening to something that - obviously - no one else can hear. "Ah. To ride on your horseless carriage?" Sonja hasn't ridden on a bike, or in a car. "Perhaps that would be best? They seem to be faster than on foot, and I do not see any horses available." Yeah. Ren Faire escapee times a thousand, apparently. But she seems willing to depart rather than talk to the Guard, as she thinks of cops.
Black Canary chuckles softly and she nods. "Something like that, yeah. It's called a motorcycle, actually. It'll go faster than a horse, even with both of us." And while she talks the blonde starts walking towards the alley across the street. There, behind a dumpster is Canary's bike. Taking it by the handlebars, she maneuvers it out into the open and swings one fishnet-wrapped leg over the seat. "She started out with a Triumph Bonneville frame, but everything else is custom. I built her myself." Looking at the redhead, she reaches back to pat the seat behind her. "Go ahead and get on."
Sonja watches Canary mount up, and smiles. "So they built based on the idea of riding a horse, but shorter, so that one did not need the stirrups to mount. Wise." Of course, with those long, long legs, Sonja mounts easily and lowers down onto that 'bitch seat' on the back of Canary's bike.
"I assume this works like it does on a horse?" Sonja queries, as she swings her sword up and then sheaths it across her back, then slides her hands around Dinah's hips to clasp over her belly. "Like this?" Long blonde and crimson manes flowing in the wind. Quite a show, indeed.
Muscle tightens beneath the leather and the blonde nods. "Right like that, yeah. You'll wanna hold on. And this is going to be kinda loud." Thumbing the electric starter, there's a chirping sound and then the bike roars to life. A moment later come the sounds of sirens. Approaching fast. "Damn…" Canary mutters. "Stay close and lean with me. It's a lot like riding a horse." Having never ridden a horse before, at least she -hopes- a motorcycle isn't too different!
Dinah twists the throttle and accelerates away from the scene. Hunching down low, blonde hair flutters and she trusts Sonja to know enough how to stay on. She had intended on a leisurely ride, of course, not a race. Shifting quickly through the gears, the bike whines and revs hard. Dinah leans into the turns, taking the first few a little easier to give her passenger the chance to feel things out.
Dinah may be smaller, but Sonja knows how to fit herself to another. Usually this was the other way around on horseback, with smaller women riding behind Sonja, but she knows how to read another's movements and react quickly, gracefully. And she's strong. She holds on easily, and tucks her chin over the blonde's shoulder, so she's not getting the whipping hair right in her face. Off they go! Of course, Mary Jane is babbling inside Sonja's head about the lack of helmets, but she just blots her out. . o O (I don't wear armor like that, just to ride a horse. Even one of your fantastical mechanical horses. Now shush. Enjoy the ride!)
After a couple of turns Dinah feels the taller woman pressed against her back, strong arms around her waist. And she stops holding back. She guides the bike almost recklessly around tight corners and screaming down narrow alleys in an effort to put as much distance between them and the police as possible. Mary Jane probably isn't enjoying this at all. Feeling the chin upon her shoulder, Dinah grins and yells out into the wind. "I'd almost say you've done this before!" At last they slow down and the sounds of sirens are very distant. Turning her head without raising up, she's almost nose to nose with the redhead. "So. Did you have someplace you had to go?"
Said redhead smiles grimly. "It is much the same as riding a horse, though I confess I am rarely if ever the second rider." Yet more of those comments that speak of a woman out of her own time. "The only place I needed to go was away from the city guard. My experience says that they are less than pleased with those like us, and I have no wish to quarrel with them. I would say that your iron horse has done us a fine job of evading their attentions today." Yep. She talks like that. Just be glad it's in English.
For her part, Dinah is amused as hell by the conversation. Slowing the bike down, now that they're safely away from the police, she brings it to a stop and puts both booted feet out to hold it up. Half-turning on the seat to face Sonja more fully while they talk, Dinah takes the bike out of gear and lets it idle. "So where are you from, Sonja? Really. I mean you're -definitely- not a Gotham girl. And what was it you said earlier about being 'summoned out of need' or something?"
The redhead looks around as they stop, checking out the area, and clearly watching the details of what Dinah is doing with the bike. No, she probably couldn't do it all just from watching, but she is interested. This thing is fun!
Asked so boldly, Sonja cannot help but throw back her head and give full voice to a good laugh. "An interesting question indeed, Canary of the Black, and one I am not quite as qualified to answer as you might think. From what I understand, I come from a time so long ago that few even of your sages have heard of my lands. I was born in 'Hyrkania', but I know of none who have heard that name." Lost yet?
"The girl summons me, when there is danger, a need for my skills." Sonja explains at the last. "I had assumed you were similarly summoned, given your entrance into battle." Sonja was impressed, to say the least.
Black Canary tilts her head as the explanation begins, the two women sitting on the bike as it idles. "So let me get this right. When you said you were summoned, you meant REALLY summoned? As in you actually came here from this… Hear-kay-nee-ya, or wherever?" Brows raise beneath the double-diamond mask and she whistles low.
When Sonja makes a similar suggestion about Dinah's origins, the smaller blonde just shakes her head. "I'm not nearly so exotic, I'm afraid. Here, lemme show you." Killing the engine, she rocks the bike up onto it's stand. Reaching up, she pulls off the mask and tosses out her blonde locks. "My -real- name is Dinah Lance. I'm a florist with a shop right here in Gotham. I've trained with fighters all over the world to get to where I am today. As for my voice, it's a meta-human gene. Some would call me a 'mutant'."
Sonja nods affirmatively. "Indeed. I come from Hyrkania." she responds, not at all offended by any incredulity; she has already seen that many in this place and time doubt such power can exist.
When Black Canary dismounts, Sonja does as well, standing over half a foot taller than the blonde as she extends her hand. "I am pleased to know a warrior of your caliber, Dinah of the Lance, with your gifted voice." She grins impishly. "My gift is my warskill, handed down by Scathach." Then she reaches up, tapping the hilt of her sword. "This is my favorite sword. The king who gave it to me from his dying hand swore it had been forged of star steel, and steeped in the blood of demons. I've had no cause to doubt it." Apparently, she places no stigma at all on being metahuman, or a mutant.
Black Canary's gloved grip is firm when she accepts the taller woman's offered hand, shaking once. "Well you're quite good, I'll certainly give you that. And you know restraint as well. You could've very easily killed a lot of people back there." No, she doesn't go into the likelihood of star steel or blood of demons. Not anymore. Not since she met Zatanna, at least.
"So, um, Sonja. I don't usually tell people my real name, just so you know. And I'd appreciate if you kept that to yourself. When I'm wearing the mask I'm Black Canary." And with that, she puts it back on again. "This is gonna sound weird, but when do you need to get back? To Hyrkania, I mean." Yeah, she gets better at it with practice. "Did you have time for a cup of coffee or something?"
Sonja smiles broadly, as if something greatly amuses her, but when she speaks, though the amusement is there it is not directed at Dinah. "I do not have to 'get back' any time immediately. However, my young friend should probably call her mother's elder sister, if she is going to be late getting home." Maybe that's why she's amused. "I would very much like to try this 'coffee'. The girl has said it 'stunts growth', which is why she does not drink it. She prefers the milk of cows, adulterated with powder made from the beans of a cocoa plant. But I would very much like to try this 'coffee'. It smells wonderful." Sonja reaches out, lightly brushing a fingertip over Dinah's mask in curiosity. "I will remember that the lady of flowers is to be as much a secret protected as the girl, for the Canary of Black."
Black Canary can't help but twitch her mouth into a wry smile at the way the warrioress speaks. Head tilting a bit with the light brush over her mask, the blonde is still a bit confused when the 'young friend' is mentioned. "Your young friend is a girl who prefers hot cocoa over coffee, then. So she's the one who summoned you?" Okay, so maybe things are starting to jiggle into place. Nodding, she adds. "Your secret is safe with me, Sonja. But I'm thinking, given the way we're both dressed, that we might do better with firing up the coffee machine back at my apartment. That okay with you?"
The tall redhead smiles and nods. "Yes. She prefers this 'hot cocoa,' or sometimes the cold 'chocolate milk.' And she is the one who summons me." See? Canary is getting this, spot on. Who needs a sorceress? Right? "And so too, your secrets are safe with me. Let us be off to your home, then, where safety and coffee lie in wait for us." Woman even makes a coffee break sound adventurous. But can you blame her?
Black Canary chuckles softly and she nods, swinging a leg over to mount the bike again. Rocking it back off of the stand, she tilts her head towards the seat behind to invite the redhead to join her. Dinah may still be a bit fuzzy on the whole 'summoning' bit, but she really doesn't need to know the details. "Yeah, and your 'young friend' is more than welcome to use my phone to call whoever she needs to call." Thumbing the starter, the bike chirps and then roars back to life again.
"Very well, then." Sonja offers, as she swings her leg over and settles in behind Dinah again, those strong arms wrapping around the blonde's midsection. "Let us loose the beast of your horseless cart, and be on our way." And they're off.
Black Canary shakes her head a little at that, laughing at the way the warrior expresses herself. There's no need to tell Sonja to hold on, especially since she's already doing so. Letting things go a bit, Dinah pops the clutch and twists the throttle, spinning the bike into a brisk one-eighty bootleg turn. Controlling with the throttle, they dash away into the night.
Sonja gives a whooping war-cry of join as they spin-out and whip around to rush off on their way. One thing she does love about this is the speed and the open exhilaration. Quite a treat. She makes no effort at all to figure out which streets they follow, trusting in the girl's magical finding device to get her from the Canary's hideaway to wherever she'll need to go afterwards.
Black Canary laughs and -races- along Gotham's back streets and alleyways, just in case, before turning out onto a real road to open the bike up a bit. Blonde hair flutters along with red as city blocks, as well as speed limits, are put behind them. It isn't very long before she turns off to cut down another alleyway. And there, next to a couple dumpsters, is an unobtrusive shed. With a new-looking lock and well-oiled hinges on the door. Killing the engine, she turns to her companion and offers. "I'll need you off before I put the bike away."
"Of course. One must walk it in on lead, like a horse." Sonja comments, smiling as she swings that long, bare leg over the bike's seat and stands, stepping away to let Canary take care of the bike properly. She turns, then, sweeping the alleyway carefully, making sure they are not observed, not followed, and not come upon unawares. When Canary returns, Sonja nods, and follows her blonde friend up the fire escape. Ladders, she knows. Even this kind, as she has used them - with Mary Janes' insistence - a few times to escape the 'city guard' in New York City.
The sweep of that long, bare leg isn't lost on Dinah and she watches distractedly for a moment. Yeah, the tall, scantily-clad redhead is definitely an attention getter. "Um, I push with the handlebars, actually." she replies. Opening the shed, she does just that and rolls the bike inside. Facing outward, for a quick escape. Once the shed is locked again she pulls down the fire escape and climbs. "Follow me, now." Up, and up. To the roof.
It is something both women warriors have in common: they are both attention-getters, who dress as much to distract or entice others as anything else. The tall, well-muscled redhead climbs easily and gracefully up the ladder to the roof, following Dinah as requested. Once over the edge and onto the roof, Sonja pauses to look out over this area of the City. Though similar to views she has seen in New York City, there is a different air, here, and she notices it. Then she follows Dinah on the way to her door. "Your home, then?" she inquires, as they stand by the door.
"Certainly. It is your home, after all." Sonja answers, quite ready to give Canary the lead without question or hesitation. Which doesn't mean she isn't soon to follow. She makes a point of checking at points higher than Dinah's height for 'trouble'; many shorter warriors she has known have trapped their homes so that taller foes will find themselves at a clear disadvantage if they follow the shorter folks home unwanted and unwarned. But at least it means that she's spending more time checking out the ceiling and upper reaches of the door and doorway, than checking out Dinah's fishnets again.
Black Canary relaxes noticeably once inside the apartment, perhaps expecting someone else to already be here. Or to still be here. Or something. Switching on a light, she peels out of her leather jacket and draws attention to the fact that the bodysuit is sleeveless. And cut low in the back. Tossing it onto a chair, the mask follows and she tousles her blonde hair. "So, then. You said your young friend needs to make a call? How's, um, that work?"
If Sonja notices Canary's tension, or has any guesses as to its source, she makes no comment on it. It wouldn't be her place to say anything, anyway. But those attentive green eyes miss nothing, one can be sure. She smiles and nods as Dinah - the mask is off, so she can call her that, right? - asks about the phone call. "It works a bit like this, if you will."
Sonja takes a knee in the midst of Dinah's kitchen, and then reaches back over her shoulder, pulling the blade up and out of her scabbard and over her shoulder in one smooth, clearly well-practiced motion. Then she lays it in her lands, across her palms, and murmurs in a very alien-sounding tongue - it doesn't even bear a resemblance to any other modern tongue - as light erupts around her form. The light flares, and as it fades away, it reveals …
That shorter redhead teenager that Dinah spotted across the parking lot, taking cover when the shooting started. The girl's hand is inside the back of her backpack, gripping something that will be easily determined to be the handle of the same sword Sonja was holding. The teen redhead looks up, smiling as she closes the flap over the sword hilt and sets her backpack out of the way, then extends her hand, cheeks pinking slightly. She has never done this before. "Uhm. Hi. I'm Mary Jane Watson. Pleased to meet you, Miss Lance. Sorry. When Sonja's here, I'm … kinda in limbo. I can see and hear what she does, and comment. But my cell doesn't get service there." Which she pulls out, now, to call her Aunt Anna.
Dinah is messing around in the kitchen now, setting up the coffee pot. Then she turns when Sonja starts to explain, just in time to watch the warrior pull out the sword. Blinking at the light flare, she mutters. "So that's what that was…." And then there's the familiar teenager in her apartment.
Understanding lights her expression as Dinah chuckles, filing this one away under the category of 'magic'. Accepting the hand, she pauses to pull off the glove and shake. "Pleased to meet you as well, Mary Jane. And I think you've -both- earned the right to call me Dinah." Glancing back towards the kitchen, she considers for a moment before asking. "So… coffee or cocoa? Or should I make you a mocha?"
MJ grins impishly at Dinah's question. "Sure. And you can call me MJ, if you like. Lots of people do." The sparkle in those green eyes may be younger, a tad less jaded, but it definitely echoes that Dinah saw in Sonja's eyes. "I'll let her have her coffee. I just need to make the call, first. I don't want Aunt Anna to worry."
Mary Jane pulls out a smartphone, and quickly taps for a quickdial of a known number, then speaks to someone on the other end - clearly 'Aunt Anna' - letting them know that she has 'run into a friend at the photo shoot' and that she'll be a bit late getting home, but shouldn't be more than a few hours, still well in time to help get ready for dinner. Once that is settled, Mary Jane gets off the phone, and puts it away. "You two have fun." she offers to Dinah, and then murmurs something - different, but in the same alien language as Sonja used - which repeats the flare of light, and it recedes to reveal Sonja again.
"Mmm. That smell. That is coffee." Sonja murmurs, smiling at the blonde. "I am looking forward to this."
Black Canary gets the coffee going, turning her attention away to give MJ some semblance of privacy for her call. It's just starting to warm up and brew when the flash illuminates the apartment again. Dinah turns from where she was getting down a couple of mugs from the cupboard, chuckling as she sets them on the counter. "Welcome back, Sonja. MJ explained your… situation… to me."
Sonja smiles and nods. "Yes, she tells me so. Unlike Mary Jane, when I am not 'here', I am not observing or living in limbo. For me, no time passes between the moment when I return her to this world, and when she summons me back." Sonja just isn't the sort to worrywort over the metaphysics of what that would mean. Instead, she approaches the coffee and the counter, watching this whole process as if it were almost something arcane. "She often tries to advise me on things in this world. But some things she leaves me to experience for myself." She seems amused by this, just as Dinah clearly is.
Dinah props a hip against the counter while they talk, the gloves and jacket and mask all resting on a chair now. Just the bodysuit and fishnets and boots, which don't help hardly at all to bring her height close to the red haired warrioress. And Dinah is still wearing more. "Things like coffee?" she asks with a grin. "So when you go back, it's like you never left. That's… interesting." Considering for a moment, she offers as the percolating slows. "A word on coffee, first. It's hot, of course. Some people drink it with milk or sugar, but for a big, tough, warrior like yourself we'll start with it black."
Sonja stands easily relaxed, with her soft almost knee-high hide boots and her scale mail bikini, hands resting at her sides as she seems to need or want nothing for support as they chat. "Ah, yes. I shall try it 'black,' then." She grins impishly, a quite lively expression on her face. "Mary Jane hates that thought, and is very glad she will not be able to taste it on my tongue."
While they wait for the coffee to finish percolating, Sonja decides to perhaps learn a bit more about her hostess. "So, if I may ask: What would compel a lovely woman of flowers to become a warrioress of such prowess and determination as I have witnessed?"
Dinah continues to lean against the counter while they wait and talk, folding both arms over her chest. Looking amused at Sonja's expression when she mentions Mary Jane and coffee, she asks. "So when you… go back… Mary Jane won't taste or know anything you've done?" She shrugs at the question of her motivation, however. "Why? I suppose I do it because I can. I wasn't the first woman to take up the fishnets and call myself Black Canary, though. My mom was the first. I guess she was also my motivation."
"No. She will know what I have done, but she cannot taste what I do. She can see and hear, however, and she can speak to me, and sometimes does so with a great deal of energy." Sonja seems rather amused by it all, really, and in good humor. "Mmm. Well then, following a legacy is a very good motivation I would say. My own is less so, to be honest. I sought revenge, after my family was slaughtered and my own abuse. I should have died. But the Red Goddess heard by prayers, and she appeared before me. By her touch I was granted life, and the skill to seek my vengeance." In truth, she long ago achieved that vengeance, and it is no longer why she fights. But it is how and why she started. She doesn't consider it a great tale. But it is the truth, and she offers it without flinching.
Dinah chuckles softly at the explanation. "Yeah, I'll bet she does. Mary Jane seems like a girl with a lot of energy. Something the two of you have in common, I think." She nods at Sonja's own story, then, and immediately relates it to a certain Italian woman she's come to know of late. "So do you still fight for vengeance? I don't think so. You showed a great deal of restraint earlier tonight." The coffee finishes, then, and she pours two steaming mugs, offering one to Sonja."
Sonja accepts the coffee with a smile, bringing the cup close to inhale deeply, savoring the smell. Then she watches Dinah, noticing that the other blows on it a bit, and she does the same, before trying a sip of the hot beverage. She starts, 'cause it is quite hot - and all without a campfire! - but then she lolls it around her tongue, sampling the flavor. "Mmm. Yes. I do like this coffee." Then Sonja responds to the other question. "No. I no longer fight for vengeance. But I learned restraint early on. When there is no need to kill, I do not. But when there is reason to kill, I do not hesitate. But as you asked, I found my vengeance long ago. I eventually found both those who slaughtered my family, and those who ordered the attack. They have paid for their crimes."
Dinah watches as Sonja samples the coffee, smiling softly to herself as she sips. "Well coffee is pretty popular, especially first thing in the morning." she offers. The blonde doesn't ask about the nature of the 'payment', but she can guess pretty well. "I'll have to see about introducing Mary Jane to coffee sometime. You can get it flavored, now, so she can have coffee *and* cocoa." Another sip, this one slower, then Dinah offers. "The police, or the 'guards' as you call them, usually look the other way when vigilantes and superheroes help them with the criminals. But they really don't like when we kill people, even by accident. That's not something they can ignore."
Sonja nods. "Yes. Perhaps you should introduce Mary Jane to these flavored coffees." Mary Jane may decline, but the least she can do is let the nice lady offer. That's Sonja's opinion, anyway. "Mary Jane admonished me against killing, previously. And I have seen that other heroes in this time and place do the same, so I have tried to emulate them as best I am able. Though I was not so gentle with the robot." Sonja has been called into all manner of situations, apparently. "I do appreciate the warning. I will continue to do what I can to avoid killing. Even if I sometimes feel there are those villains who are best dealt with permanently." At least she's honest.
Dinah nods, sipping more freely as the coffee cools. "Sounds to me like you and Mary Jane have a good partnership going, Sonja. This world must be very different from yours." At least if the warrior's attire is anything to judge by. "I think you're on the right path, at least. Have you met any other warriors? Like me, for example."
"I have met one other." Sonja admits. "A young girl, or so she seemed. She called herself …" Sonja pauses. "Well. To be honest, she did not say what 'heroic name' to use for her, as Mary Jane reminds me. She and Mary Jane met, and then the situation developed. She helped, and I was brought onto the scene and she still helped. When we fled to avoid the guard, she spoke with me, asked questions about where Mary Jane had gone. The name she gave … was her civilian name. Mary Jane is asking me not to share it." And despite the girl being so young, Sonja is trusting her judgement. "Another time, we met several, but there were no introductions. A woman who moved like lightning. A warrior with many modern weapons, a soldier. A woman with glowing golden magic, that shielded others. Another who moved incredibly fast. And there was the creature we fought, emerging from the train in a rage. He was quite formidible."
MJ grins impishly at Dinah's question. "Sure. And you can call me MJ, if you like. Lots of people do." The sparkle in those green eyes may be younger, a tad less jaded, but it definitely echoes that Dinah saw in Sonja's eyes. "I'll let her have her coffee. I just need to make the call, first. I don't want Aunt Anna to worry."
Mary Jane pulls out a smartphone, and quickly taps for a quickdial of a known number, then speaks to someone on the other end - clearly 'Aunt Anna' - letting them know that she has 'run into a friend at the photo shoot' and that she'll be a bit late getting home, but shouldn't be more than a few hours, still well in time to help get ready for dinner. Once that is settled, Mary Jane gets off the phone, and puts it away. "You two have fun." she offers to Dinah, and then murmurs something - different, but in the same alien language as Sonja used - which repeats the flare of light, and it recedes to reveal Sonja again.
"Mmm. That smell. That is coffee." Sonja murmurs, smiling at the blonde. "I am looking forward to this."
Black Canary gets the coffee going, turning her attention away to give MJ some semblance of privacy for her call. It's just starting to warm up and brew when the flash illuminates the apartment again. Dinah turns from where she was getting down a couple of mugs from the cupboard, chuckling as she sets them on the counter. "Welcome back, Sonja. MJ explained your… situation… to me."
Sonja smiles and nods. "Yes, she tells me so. Unlike Mary Jane, when I am not 'here', I am not observing or living in limbo. For me, no time passes between the moment when I return her to this world, and when she summons me back." Sonja just isn't the sort to worrywort over the metaphysics of what that would mean. Instead, she approaches the coffee and the counter, watching this whole process as if it were almost something arcane. "She often tries to advise me on things in this world. But some things she leaves me to experience for myself." She seems amused by this, just as Dinah clearly is.
Dinah props a hip against the counter while they talk, the gloves and jacket and mask all resting on a chair now. Just the bodysuit and fishnets and boots, which don't help hardly at all to bring her height close to the red haired warrioress. And Dinah is still wearing more. "Things like coffee?" she asks with a grin. "So when you go back, it's like you never left. That's… interesting." Considering for a moment, she offers as the percolating slows. "A word on coffee, first. It's hot, of course. Some people drink it with milk or sugar, but for a big, tough, warrior like yourself we'll start with it black."
Sonja stands easily relaxed, with her soft almost knee-high hide boots and her scale mail bikini, hands resting at her sides as she seems to need or want nothing for support as they chat. "Ah, yes. I shall try it 'black,' then."@emit "I have met one other." Sonja admits. "A young girl, or so she seemed. She called herself …" Sonja pauses. "Well. To be honest, she did not say what 'heroic name' to use for her, as Mary Jane reminds me. She and Mary Jane met, and then the situation developed. She helped, and I was brought onto the scene and she still helped. When we fled to avoid the guard, she spoke with me, asked questions about where Mary Jane had gone. The name she gave … was her civilian name. Mary Jane is asking me not to share it." And despite the girl being so young, Sonja is trusting her judgement. "Another time, we met several, but there were no introductions. A woman who moved like lightning. A warrior with many modern weapons, a soldier. A woman with glowing golden magic, that shielded others. Another who moved incredibly fast. And there was the creature we fought, emerging from the train in a rage. He was quite formidible."%r
She grins impishly, a quite lively expression on her face. "Mary Jane hates that thought, and is very glad she will not be able to taste it on my tongue."
While they wait for the coffee to finish percolating, Sonja decides to perhaps learn a bit more about her hostess. "So, if I may ask: What would compel a lovely woman of flowers to become a warrioress of such prowess and determination as I have witnessed?"
Dinah continues to lean against the counter while they wait and talk, folding both arms over her chest. Looking amused at Sonja's expression when she mentions Mary Jane and coffee, she asks. "So when you… go back… Mary Jane won't taste or know anything you've done?" She shrugs at the question of her motivation, however. "Why? I suppose I do it because I can. I wasn't the first woman to take up the fishnets and call myself Black Canary, though. My mom was the first. I guess she was also my motivation."
"No. She will know what I have done, but she cannot taste what I do. She can see and hear, however, and she can speak to me, and sometimes does so with a great deal of energy." Sonja seems rather amused by it all, really, and in good humor. "Mmm. Well then, following a legacy is a very good motivation I would say. My own is less so, to be honest. I sought revenge, after my family was slaughtered and my own abuse. I should have died. But the Red Goddess heard by prayers, and she appeared before me. By her touch I was granted life, and the skill to seek my vengeance." In truth, she long ago achieved that vengeance, and it is no longer why she fights. But it is how and why she started. She doesn't consider it a great tale. But it is the truth, and she offers it without flinching.
Dinah chuckles softly at the explanation. "Yeah, I'll bet she does. Mary Jane seems like a girl with a lot of energy. Something the two of you have in common, I think." She nods at Sonja's own story, then, and immediately relates it to a certain Italian woman she's come to know of late. "So do you still fight for vengeance? I don't think so. You showed a great deal of restraint earlier tonight." The coffee finishes, then, and she pours two steaming mugs, offering one to Sonja."
Sonja accepts the coffee with a smile, bringing the cup close to inhale deeply, savoring the smell. Then she watches Dinah, noticing that the other blows on it a bit, and she does the same, before trying a sip of the hot beverage. She starts, 'cause it is quite hot - and all without a campfire! - but then she lolls it around her tongue, sampling the flavor. "Mmm. Yes. I do like this coffee." Then Sonja responds to the other question. "No. I no longer fight for vengeance. But I learned restraint early on. When there is no need to kill, I do not. But when there is reason to kill, I do not hesitate. But as you asked, I found my vengeance long ago. I eventually found both those who slaughtered my family, and those who ordered the attack. They have paid for their crimes."
Dinah watches as Sonja samples the coffee, smiling softly to herself as she sips. "Well coffee is pretty popular, especially first thing in the morning." she offers. The blonde doesn't ask about the nature of the 'payment', but she can guess pretty well. "I'll have to see about introducing Mary Jane to coffee sometime. You can get it flavored, now, so she can have coffee *and* cocoa." Another sip, this one slower, then Dinah offers. "The police, or the 'guards' as you call them, usually look the other way when vigilantes and superheroes help them with the criminals. But they really don't like when we kill people, even by accident. That's not something they can ignore."
Sonja nods. "Yes. Perhaps you should introduce Mary Jane to these flavored coffees." Mary Jane may decline, but the least she can do is let the nice lady offer. That's Sonja's opinion, anyway. "Mary Jane admonished me against killing, previously. And I have seen that other heroes in this time and place do the same, so I have tried to emulate them as best I am able. Though I was not so gentle with the robot." Sonja has been called into all manner of situations, apparently. "I do appreciate the warning. I will continue to do what I can to avoid killing. Even if I sometimes feel there are those villains who are best dealt with permanently." At least she's honest.
Dinah nods, sipping more freely as the coffee cools. "Sounds to me like you and Mary Jane have a good partnership going, Sonja. This world must be very different from yours." At least if the warrior's attire is anything to judge by. "I think you're on the right path, at least. Have you met any other warriors? Like me, for example."
"I have met one other." Sonja admits. "A young girl, or so she seemed. She called herself …" Sonja pauses. "Well. To be honest, she did not say what 'heroic name' to use for her, as Mary Jane reminds me. She and Mary Jane met, and then the situation developed. She helped, and I was brought onto the scene and she still helped. When we fled to avoid the guard, she spoke with me, asked questions about where Mary Jane had gone. The name she gave … was her civilian name. Mary Jane is asking me not to share it." And despite the girl being so young, Sonja is trusting her judgement. "Another time, we met several, but there were no introductions. A woman who moved like lightning. A warrior with many modern weapons, a soldier. A woman with glowing golden magic, that shielded others. Another who moved incredibly fast. And there was the creature we fought, emerging from the train in a rage. He was quite formidible."
"New …" Sonja starts, questioning, and then nods. "Yes. I thought it was the city of Manhattan, but Mary Jane informs me this Manhattan is a part of the much larger 'New York'." She seems happy to affirm, and makes a happy sound of pleasure as she sips her coffee. Definitely a worthy drink indeed! "I cannot imagine being on any other side, Dinah." She watches the other warrior woman, appreciating her comfort and relaxation in this place.
"I suppose," Sonja begins, "the truth is that while I have many questions, I tend not to ask them. This is not my time, after all. Not my world. I need not know this place as I do my own. Mary Jane tells me what I most need to know, if she can. But I do admit I find the women of this world both … more, and much less, free than they were in my time. I had hoped to see much greater improvement, given how greatly all else has changed."
Dinah Lance quirks a brow, smile becoming wry. "You find women both 'more and much less free' than in your time? I'm not sure I get what you mean. Free with what?" She gestures towards the sofa, then. "You wanna sit? I know we're both sweaty, but that sofa can take it." Sauntering past the tall redhead, Dinah's detour into Sonja's personal space is casual, even though she doesn't quite touch the other woman. On the way, she asks. "Wait a sec. Did you mean 'less free' as in the old movie stereotype? Like kneeling naked and wearing a collar?"
Sonja turns and stays very close with Dinah, apparently not minding intrusion into her personal space. As such, she takes a seat on the sofa with Dinah probably an inch or so away, instead of opposite corners. And she wasn't worried about sweat at all. "Well, in that way, I mean much more free. I have not seen women treated as true chattel in this age." So clearly, Mary Jane has not introduced her to the Gorean subculture, or other such things. The teenaged girl's reactions to the thought of it are left to the imagination, as Sonja is not clarifying.
"But it seems far fewer women in this time are free to change their station, or stand up to men's expectations for them." Sonja explains. "When I chose to armor myself as I do, many were titilated, even aroused. And the high-born often saw it as indicating my low class, that I was crass and improper. But now, it seems women often wear intentionally seductive attire at nearly all times and at all stations of life. And yet they are completely discounted as leaders, as warriors, as being in charge of their own world. One would think women in charge of their own bodies enough to wear what I have seen on the streets would be equally capable of breaking any man foolish enough to assume dominion over her."
Dinah Lance doesn't mind the closeness either, and as she half-turns towards Sonja her fishnet-wrapped thigh presses against the taller woman's bare leg. The strapless bodysuit shifts a little as the blonde props an elbow on the back of the sofa, fingers casually brushing the redhead's shoulder. She smiles slowly at the explanation, nodding as well. "You've gotta admit, Sonja, that outfit IS pretty hot. Although I'm not so sure I'd choose scale mail over my, um, personal areas." So says the woman in the leather bodysuit.
The other woman is tall enough that Dinah has to look up to meet Sonja's eyes, although her gaze does drop periodically to the scale mail cups. "But there -are- a few women in this world who command enough attention that they're taken seriously. I can *positively* assure you that the men we left in the alley are gonna take either one of us seriously again. But it's definitely still a man's world."
Sonja turns as well, sliding one softly booted leg under the knee of the other as she turns her hips to better face Dinah, her bare leg sliding along the fishnet-covered one easily enough. She leaves her cub resting on her boot heel, when she is not sipping from it.
The redhead chuckles wryly at Dinah's comment. "It is not quite so bad as you might imagine. But then again, all is not as it might appear, either." Sonja admits. She reaches down with one hand and peels away her top from one breast, to expose the lightly furred interior. "It is not quite so rough as it might seem. And there is a small covering within the bottoms, as well." She doesn't decide on a demonstration, but clearly she wouldn't have an issue clarifying if asked.
"I do understand that there are exceptional women in this time. There were exceptional women in my time, as well. Whether more, or less, I cannot say. We certainly did not have the means of spreading knowledge that you have." Which would make it hard to accurately compare, Sonja can admit. "But the /overall/ state of women does not seem to have been heightened in freedom as I would have expected. The world is no longer one of constant violence. Manual labor is largely a thing of the past. Strength of men is no longer a deciding factor. But this does not seem to have freed women to assume their rightful roles as co-rulers of their world."
Old Gotham — Gotham
Old Gotham is, as you probably guessed it, the old part of Gotham. It is where the city was born, in fact it's the starting point of many things. Very few of the early buildings (mid 1600) remain, many fires have swept through old Gotham in the early days, but there's still a lot of buildings from different eras. There's a large variety of buildings, of different styles and functions, from original public buildings (the old courts, city hall, etc) to more commercial buildings (the old stock exchange, board of trade, etc). Most of the buildings' are from the 17th century to early 20th century, although there are some modern buildings. Those different buildings in old Gotham really represent the evolution of the city.
There are many interesting things to do, mostly visiting museums and historical buildings, walking around and taking in the sights (and eating…). Many family activities take place in the old port : special exhibitions, biking, rollerblading, etc. Most of the activities are held at the Jackmont pier in the old port. The Robbinstown pier is mostly used for special events like the Just for Laugh festival or when the Cirque du Soleil is in town, there's also a place for lunch and an information desk.
Old Gotham can get very crowded and very touristy during the summer since this part of town is full of tourists, so if you are the type of visitor that want to stay away from the other tourists, better visit old Gotham in the off season or early in the day because it's worth it. But there isn't much going on outside the tourism season (between October and April) so you won't see many people walking in the streets. During the off season, the museums are still open as are the most restaurants and bars (but with limited hours) and there are activities that you can do just during the winter (like skating in the old port for instance).
Crime is pretty high in this area, though it's a classical Old Town area, it's still not without the criminal element. Along with the Bowery, it's best to travel this region in the day, and avoid it in the night.
- Obvious Exits:
- [00] - Subway South — Gotham
- [01] - Back Alley — Old Gotham
- [02] - Abandoned Warehouse — Old Go
- [03] - Warehouse 84 — Old Gotham
- [04] - Civic Complex — Old Gotham
- [05] - Robinstown Pier — Old Gotham
- [06] - The Italian — Old Gotham
- [07] - Anthony's Bar — Old Gotham
- [08] - Clock Tower — Old Gotham
- [E] - Financial District and Port Ad
- [N] - Diamond District — Gotham
- [W] - West End and Chinatown — Goth