(2014-10-31) Foiled by the Eel
Foiled by the Eel
Summary: Black Panther assists Blackout to route the Eel
Date: IC Date (2014-10-31)
Related: none
NPCs: Eel
Scene Runner: Blackout
Social/Plot: Plot
Players:
black-panther..blackout..

Two men are seen faced off against one another atop one of the many high rises of New York City. One wears all black, no eye or breathing slits. The other is wearing blue and magenta, a stylized uniform that seems to present with magenta lightning bolts. The one in blue/magenta seems to have an electrical spark around his gauntlets and he leaps toward the man in black. They engage in hand to hand grappling. The man in black seems slightly resistant to the electrical touch, his uniform is insulated. However, he isn't as skilled in the hand-to-hand that the man in blue/magenta is. He takes several punches and is thrown into an AC unit. When he hits, a bill-fold falls from his uniform, it hits the ground and opens. Within is a SHIELD badge.

The man in magenta/blue pauses for a moment, not in awe of the badge, but to charge up his gauntlets. He clasps his hands and fires directly into the chest of the man in black. The electricity penetrates the insulation and the man in black yells in agony.

[OOC] Blackout says, "http://www.writeups.org/img/fiche/1166.jpg"

T'Challa, resting on his haunches atop a nearby building, casts his gaze about Times Square - both the rooftops above and the streets below. The king of Wakanda perches on the very lip of a similar rooftop, having taken time away from his duties as a foreign diplomat to explore the city on his own terms. A yell of pain reaches his hypersensitive ears, and he turns his attention toward a neighbouring build, a frown causing his black face-mask to wrinkle.

"Goddess…" he murmurs under his breath, and he reaches for a device at his belt. Moments later, he vanishes from his 'perch' to appear on the same high rise as the two combatants, several yards away from them. The Panther peers as he replaces the teleportation device on his belt once more, and spots the fallen SHIELD badge…

He effectively growls.

Withdrawing an energy knife from its sheath, he sets the blade to stun, and throws it at the garishly-coloured, electricity-inducing opponent…

The Eel is struck in the right shoulder with a start. But just in time to see the hilt of the energy blade strike the ground. He then looks to the thrower and seems to smile underneath his mask.

"Seriously?" he asks. "You should know better than to try and use energy on me." His gauntlets spark to life again and he raises them as he begins stepping toward the Panther. The electricity is launched from the gauntlets and arcs toward the Panther's position.

Meanwhile, Blackout, Agent of SHIELD, is down for the count. Electricity sucks.

T'Challa says nothing.

Even as the blade leaves his fingers, he moves; gathering his feet underneath him, the Black Panther launches himself up and toward the Eel - leaving a patch of scorched ground where he had been crouching a moment ago. As his feet strike the ground, much closer to the criminal and the agent of SHIELD, he puts himself into a forward roll and sweeps a leg at the back of Eel's ankles. He gives Blackout the most fleeting of glances, looking for any signs of life.

"Pray," he tells the Eel, finally replying. "You have not harmed him permanently."

Blackout still seems to breathe and move slightly trying to recover his senses.

The Eel goes down with the leg sweep, but he is slippery and fast. He tumbles, rolls, and is back on his feet in a crouch a few yards away from the Panther. His gauntlets still spark with electricity.

It being the autumn in New York, there's plenty of rainwater around. This being the case, the Eel slams his fists onto the rooftop, they touch the water, and electricity goes out in all directions for approximately 30 yards. Sending the charge through what ever may be touching it at the time.

T'Challa's sweeping leg puts him into a spin on his back - scissoring his legs to come up on one knee and face off against the Eel.

He glares.

This one IS slippery. Alas, the moment he took to appreciate his enemy's litheness has cost him the chance to leap away from the water touching his hands, knee and feet. Half into his intended leap, the shock strikes him, eliciting a grunt of pain despite his suit's insulation, and causes him to stumble forward. "It would appear you have quite the sting," he tells Eel impassively - controlling his voice to hopefully not betray the pain just inflicted upon him.

He raises a gauntleted hand as if to shield himself from a follow-through attack, and fires a trio of tiny darts - solid projectiles of vibranium. "So do I," he adds half a second later, and he launches himself into a forward roll directly at the Eel.

The Eel is struck as he's trying to leap into a dodge. The tiny needles penetrate his battle suit. He snarls, "One might think you the villain, you talk too much!"

He lets the Panther close on him. He wants to engage in hand-to-hand. His fighting prowess is quite good, but not as good as the Panther's. However, he has a few advantages. He is slippery - his costume exudes a grease-like substance which makes it nigh impossible for opponents to grapple him. And, he also has an invisible current running within that grease-like substance. So when he is touched, those that touch him get a shock of 50K volts. Bzzzzzzzzzzt.

Above all, he intends to stand his ground and prepare for the grappling.

T'Challa 'hmphs'.

The moment his leap connects with slippery villain, he grunts in pain. With one arm attempting to lock Eel's hand behind his back, T'Challa reaches for the teleportation device on his belt, and activates it…

…For an instant, both he and Eel flicker out of view - only to reappear again in the same place. The device shorts out. Surprised at the failure of his technology, T'Challa's grip (tenuous as it was) on the Eel fails completely, leaving him momentarily vulnerable to counterattack.

The Eel's hands and feet are the only places that aren't slippery. Which allows him grip and friction to move. He in turn grabs the Panther and raises a knee to try and knee the cat in the ribs. His speed is faster than the average normal and he will follow through with an elbow down toward the back of Panther's neck if he is found doubled over by the knee. Otherwise, elbow up for the chin.

"You see, /cat/. I'm no ordinary criminal. I am the Eel… and by my namesake, I am quite endowed with skills."

A grunt.

T'Challa takes the knee-strike full in the ribs, partly doubling him over despite the protection of his armour. The second blow strikes the back of his neck and he half-sinks to his hands and knees, grunting a second time at the pain - from both the physical attacks and the electrical shock.

In that moment, there is a faint 'ching!' noise as five, gold-hued vibranium claws spring to life on the fingertips of his right hand - and he slashes them at the Eel's achilles-tendon on one foot. "Now…" he grates from between his teeth, "Who talks too much?" Claws on his left hand spring outward in the next instant, and he rolls onto his back, slashing upward at one of Eel's gauntlets.

The Eel's armor is sliced through at his heel. It bites into his skin without much resistance. The Eel yells out in pain as he tries to stumble back. The uppercut with the claws catches one of the gauntlets and cuts into the circuitry. Electricity arcs, there's several shorting sounds and the gauntlet loses its charge as well as capability.

The Eel knows that he's in trouble. He turns on his heel and begins to make his escape. He limps toward the edge of the building, trying to reach it before he is struck again.

Blood drips from the claw-tips of T'Challa's right hand, its metallic scent filling his nostrils. That is one smell he will remember. He struggles to stand up again and pursue the Eel - despite the residual electrical charge running through his body - but the sparks from Eel's ruined gauntlet catch the Panther full in the face, making him arch his back in pain.

He drops to his hands and knees again, panting.

In the end, he raises one gauntlet to fire another trio of darts at the fleeing criminal - although his aim is slightly off. Whether he hits the Eel again or not, T'Challa's head droops forward and he fights the urge to simply fall sideways and let the need for rest take over.

Electricity bites.

He'll have to upgrade his armour…

As the Eel leaps over the ledge, one of the few darts strikes him in the shoulder. He yelps again, but is gone a second later.

Moving to clasp his chest, Blackout groans. He looks over to the Panther and mutters, "Didja get him?" in a weakened voice.

The Panther growls.

Muttering a curse (in Wakandan) under his breath upon the Eel, he gradually pushes himself back and into a sitting position. He pauses for a moment, then reaches across to snag the other man's SHIELD badge. He glances at it, and finally hands it over.

"Agent Blackout," he remarks in acknowledgement. A head-shake follows. "The coward flees. I will hunt him, catch him…" He gives Blackout a long look. "Do you require medical attention?" he asks. A low breath escapes the Panther's lips, audible despite the mask he wears. It is the only indication of his frustration at the Eel's escape. His voice is utterly impassive.

Blackout also slides upward against an AC unit so that he has a place to lean as he sits. Still clutching his chest with one hand, he takes the badge from Panther with the other. Blackout denies, "No, I'm good." then he pauses a moment to follow the statement, "But I really think my heart stopped earlier. Ow. How about you, you good?"

T'Challa is several long moments in considering his reply.

"I will survive," he tells the agent. Reaching to his belt he pulls out a small, flat rectangular object and smears a droplet of the Eel's blood from his claws onto it. The blood-sample then goes back in a container on his belt, and all ten of his claws retract into his gloves.

"Do you know that one?" he enquires about the Eel.

"He calls himself the Eel. Works for the Maggia. I was…" Blackout gives pause as he realizes that something is amiss as he pats his thigh. "Oh hell. It's gone.". He seems to search for something in a hidden pocket. "That bastard got the drive. Well hell."

"The Eel…" T'Challa murmurs. "An appropriate designation." Lifting one hand to rub at his jaw, he then pulls out a PDA from his belt and inserts the tab with the blood sample on it. "I will find him," he states again - in the tone of voice one might use to say, 'the sun will rise in the morning'. Putting the device away again, he turns his head just enough to glance at Blackout sidelong.

"You're welcome," he states coolly, and slowly climbs to his feet.

As if realizing the truth of the matter, Blackout raises his head to look at the standing Panther, "Crap, yeah, thanks. I'd be a gonner if you'd not come along. Thanks for the save."

Blackout however remains seated, he's going to let himself recover a bit longer before trying to become mobile.

Already healing, T'Challa makes his way slowly to the edge of the rooftop, and peers downward.

No sign of the Eel - not that he had been expecting to find him there. He traces a finger along the surface of the roof's edge, and raises the finger to his face. A frown creases his brow, and he remains standing there for another minute or so. Eventually, T'Challa brushes the particles of dust off his fingertips, and turns around - shoulders squared, chin tucked in and arms at his sides. The Black Panther gives the agent of SHIELD a single, solemn nod of his head, and takes one step backward, off the edge of the building.

In the blink of an eye, he is gone.

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