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Post by aquarius on Apr 1, 2022 13:30:32 GMT -7
Travelling impossibly fast in a flaming, hell powered vehicle, driven by someone almost certainly a little bit more connected to the forces of evil than most people were comfortable with. This was far from the first time that Finesse's pragmatism had proven useful in a social situation, indeed she hardly even registered the unusual nature of the situation any more. This kind of thing was somewhat routine when it came to the Avengers, after all. Otherwise she'd not be wasting any time with them. So far tonight, she had witnessed more magically affiliated things than she had in her entire life beforehand. This kind of learning opportunity was incredibly rare, based on that.
Hopefully it wouldn't prove to be once in a lifetime, of course. Dying would really impede her study regimen.
It had taken only a split second after the car had started moving for her to deduce that they were not subject to the laws of momentum whilst inside it, though there was still some degree of feeling their motion relative to the outside world. Magic was... curious. The files indicated that Dr Strange was a medical doctor. If so, maybe he could explain magic in a way she'd be able to comprehend, though it seemed unlikely, based on the failures of minds such as Stark, Richards, and Pym in that respect. Though if Doom had managed mastery of both, it was clearly possible...
As the vehicle slowed up for the Ghost Rider to find a spot to come to a halt in, Finesse had already anticipated his question and answered in her usual controlled tone, as relaxed as a person detailing their plans for a quiet evening spent at home. "Even without your car, your fiery visage is lacking subtlety. As such, we might as well approach openly. If it is occupied, we enter by whatever means are required. If not? We locate the least public means of entry and I will get us inside."
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Post by numble on Apr 2, 2022 8:51:49 GMT -7
At her comment regarding his appearance, Robbie looked up at the fire billowing from his forehead and said “Fair enough. Subtlety is something I don’t really get to enjoy.” He walked off with her, towards the shop. “My guess is even if there is anyone there, they won’t be out in the open, in the storefront. It would be too suspicious for them to be working at this hour. So we might not even know if someone’s there or not until we actually go in.” His assumption could have very well been correct as they approached the front door and saw that the shop was indeed dark, the lights all off save for a small lamp in the front window display, showing an array of deli meats and breads that shined with shellac, preserved for display purposes possibly years prior. “Pretty unassuming place. Above the front window an unlit sign said ‘Sikorski Deli.’ But I suppose that’s what makes it a good cover.” He folded his arms and looked to Finesse. “Any of those documents you looked up mention if this place has a basement?” He looked at the dingy apartments above it and said “Seems more likely a secret drug stash would be down than up in one of those places. There’s probably at least a back entrance by the dumpsters that we can get in through.” Without really waiting for an answer, he set off around the side of the building to check for alternate entrances and his assumptions were proven correct. There was indeed a back door with a somewhat faded decal of the shop’s name for deliveries and taking the trash out. “I’ll leave this part to you.” He told Finesse. “Again, subtlety isn’t really my thing. And I don’t want to just break it.” He peered through the window, into the dark shop, looking for any trace of evidence that someone might be there. “There’s a jacket on that coat rack… Might just have been forgotten though.”
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Post by aquarius on Apr 2, 2022 11:54:12 GMT -7
It was a curious thing that heroes would apparently trust each other with their lives far more readily than their names. Even some of the 'big name' heroes seemed very reluctant to share their identities with others, no matter how trustworthy they were. "The Avengers files on the known Ghost Riders suggested that it was a temporary state which could be exited whenever desired. On an unrelated note, I am Jeanne Foucalt and am not requesting you 'flame off' or whatever term you'd prefer. I am merely trying to indicate that should that become more beneficial to us, that I am trustworthy."
His assessment of the likelihood of anyone visible was fairly accurate, though in a neighbourhood like this it might be the case that someone followed the work available rather than the hours. Still, even when that was the case they often preferred remaining out of sight if only to avoid someone disturbing them by thinking the shop was open. The issue of the basement was not one she had uncovered so far, other than merely looking at the building. Its architecture was all wrong for a solid ground, not unless there was a wildly implausible amount of expensive material used in its construction. Of course, by the time she had caught up to him around the back of the store, he had already seen the signs of it all for himself.
"Indeed, the floor beneath the jacket still has signs of moisture from the rain this morning, and there are similar signs in the corner where it is likely an umbrella was left, which is no longer there. Since it's a fairly warm day, it seems likely they went home without the jacket, but with the umbrella. Likely, but not guaranteed. Remain alert whilst I work..."
With this, she twisted the end of one of her billy clubs, removing a cap to uncover various tools, including some lockpicks. It was only a matter of seconds before a dull 'click' indicated her work was done. She straightened up, stepping backwards to look at the outside of the building again, taking a deep breath through her nose as she did so. "Several scents I would not expect from an ordinary deli, but until I can determine what they are, I would not care to speculate on their nature."
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Post by numble on Apr 4, 2022 11:38:28 GMT -7
The Ghost Rider looked slightly uncomfortable at Finesse’s statement and reveal of her own name- as much as he could anyway with what little emotion his skeletal face could portray. For Finesse though, his body language would be enough. He did trust her but he’d been tight about his identity since gaining his powers. She had proven more than trustworthy however and he valued her expertise and aid in the night’s proceedings. “Robbie.” he said, extending a hand to shake as he offered to meet her at least partway. “I’ll…. Keep that in mind. It’s true I can change back whenever I want but I don’t like people seeing my face.” “Aw but it’s such a pretty face.” Said Eli, intruding on his thoughts once more. “Little baby-faced Roberto.” Robbie ignored him. He listened as Jeanne assessed the situation, her note about the water under the jacket, the place an umbrella had likely been leaning. He was even more impressed whenafter popping the lock open, she mentioned the smells of the deli. “Good sense of smell. I wouldn’t have noticed. Unless it smelled wildly off, that is.” He stuck his head carefully in the door and looked around. “No signs of anyone upstairs at least. I can hear some sound from somewhere though…” He spoke quietly, ensuring that only she could hear. “We may not be alone after all.” He offered her the opportunity to go in first with a gesture before quietly stepping through the door himself. Walking a few steps forward, he found that there was a hallway leading backwards. At the end of it was the large door to a walk-in freezer- far from unusual in a deli. To the left and right of it there were two doors. He pointed to them, wordlessly. They could both be offices but he’d have bet money that one would open onto some stairs leading to a basement.
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Post by aquarius on Apr 6, 2022 13:25:20 GMT -7
He was clearly a cautious person regarding his identity, which given how the Ghost Riders got their powers was entirely understandable. Sensible, even. Though if he'd realised how her keen perception worked in conjunction with her enhanced deductive reasoning skills maybe he'd not have shared even his first name in the reduced form. She had no particular intent to uncover his identity, but if she ever had need to, it was quite possible she'd be able to in time.
Attempting to put him at ease would be easy enough given her understanding of psychology, and when he commented about his lack of sense of smell she saw the perfect opportunity. Finesse smiled briefly, gesturing to his face and referencing a joke she'd first heard before her third birthday. "My Ghost Rider's got no nose. How does he smell?..."
Not waiting for a reply, she stepped in the open door, looking around, listening and sniffing again. Being able to see more of what was present in the premises gave insight into what the scents were and were not. After only a second or two she spoke in a soft voice, barely more than a whisper. "Metallic tang, something acidic, and... at least five chemicals which would be plausibly used to manufacture illegal compounds. Expect any combatants to be at least as capable as the previous one."
If they did encounter any more hostile entities, their previous tactics would not be viable. The area being highly confined meant her favoured tactics of focusing on mobility and distractions whilst the heavy hitter on her side did their work was not viable. She'd have to remain up close, and with opponents of that sort of power level, that would be risky. Of course, Mutant Growth Hormone came in as many varieties as there were mutants. If they had access to more than one mutant, they couldn't be certain they'd face 'brick' combatants...
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Post by numble on Apr 6, 2022 16:02:35 GMT -7
4 The joint caught him off guard. Partially because he didn't understand it but he could tell she was making a joke from her tone and smile. The break in her serious demeanour was surprising but welcome. He followed her inside. She proved that her sense of smell was even better than he'd initially thought, identifying individual odours in the air. He walked quietly to the doors at the end of the hall and gently put his ear to the right one. "Nothing." He whispered, before carefully opening it to reveal an empty office. He looked to the other door and listening through that one he could hear some low murmuring and a distant sound of clinking glass. "Do we go in loud?" He whispered? "With just one entrance we can't exactly sneak up on them after a point." He reasoned that there was probably a corner before the staircase and quietly opened the door. Luckily he'd been right and the staircase went down to the left rather than straight ahead, meaning they were still hidden. The sounds from the basement were much clearer now. "-cases by tomorrow. Hurry it up." A voice could be heard clearly now, mid conversation. "There's a lot of money on this one." "You got it." Came a bored reply.
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Post by aquarius on Apr 9, 2022 12:12:15 GMT -7
Close quarters combat against an unknown number of foes with unknown powers in unknown surroundings, and her only ally was virtually unknown to her. To many this would be daunting, but to Finesse this was like any normal training exercise. Even just from listening she learned useful information. In a low whisper she communicated what she had learned to her ally. "One man, young and good physical condition but impaired consciousness, possibly drugs or alcohol. Woman likely powered, and at least one other person present. Multiple flammable chemicals I can smell. At least one other way out. Some steps rigged to make noise. Step where I do..."
There were many ways to ensure security in places such as this, but lower tech options were ironically more reliable. No unusual power demands, no complicated electronics needing advanced skills to install and maintain, nothing to show up on scans for all those tech using agencies and heroes. Few heroes relied on skill and observation, so few were likely to detect the telltale signs.
As she moved down the stairs, Finesse moved side to side apparently at random, missing out the occasional step entirely, reaching the point where the stairs turned the corner without incident. Based on the echoes of the noise from below there was nothing further that would prevent their detection. Pausing only briefly to hold up three fingers, then two then one, she surged forwards and round the corner, commanding in a loud voice "Freeze! Avengers! Surrender immediately!"
Her billy clubs were held ready to respond to the inevitable reaction from the criminals, who would almost certainly attempt to fight even at the sight of a Ghost Rider. If anyone sought to escape though, she would focus on halting their attempts.
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Post by numble on Apr 10, 2022 17:13:06 GMT -7
De4 Robbie took specific note of the words 'flammable chemicals'. He couldn't go in throwing flames as he sometimes did. He followed Finesse's deliberate stepping, carefully watching and mimicking her movements as he trailed her down the steps. He watched as she counted down on her fingers and readied himself. When she sprang around the corner, so did he, hoping the appearance of a sinister skeleton in their stairwell would throw off or frighten the criminals below. At the appearance of the two heroes, a man who was delicately measuring chemicals immediately fell to his knees, hands raised high above his head in fear. "Show a little spine, Paul!" Said the woman. Her hands morphed into large spiked balls as her arms appeared to grow longer. Meanwhile the owner of the other male voice they'd heard was charging at them with huge rippling muscles like they'd seen earlier. "Yeah." He said. "It's embarassing." Robbie hurled a chain at him, a blade trailing along its end as it whipped towards the man. He hoped Finesse would be able to dodge the man's oncoming punch. Even as the blade from his chain slashed across the man's torso, he knew it wasn't enough to stop him. Momentum alone would carry him forward. She'd proven more than capable though and Robbie figured he had little reason to worry.
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Post by aquarius on Apr 18, 2022 13:53:23 GMT -7
It seemed that her observations based on the sounds had been spot on. But a quick glance around as she had entered didn't reveal any other way out, which meant either it was very well concealed, one or more of them was a teleporter or able to pass through solid ground, or that she had overestimated their precautions and they really had trapped themselves in a basement with no means of escape in case of a raid. But many powered criminals were inexplicably overconfident. Still, staying alert would be paramount.
The highly muscled man seemed more used to his physique than the intermediary whose defeat had lead them to this location, perhaps his powers were natural and not artificial, in which case he would surely be the donor of the Mutant Growth Hormone that had been the source of that particular batch. Regardless, an experienced fighter meant easier to predict, and his muscles bunching warned of his punch well before any actual movement did so. Rather than dodge it, Finesse leaned backwards even as she kept moving forwards, both hands coming up to catch his blow, causing her to spin round in mid air, still moving forwards past him.
Twisting to kick off of his back, she was now sailing through the air at the woman with the weaponry growing from her arms. A billy club was thrown as well, not at the woman but at a chemical apparatus slightly behind her. Based on the various reactions clearly being carried out, the partially completed drugs in that particular one would have a short lived sedative effect upon anyone who inhaled them in the next second or two. That would hopefully be all she'd need to get the upper hand in the fight, then she could assist the Ghost Rider if he was still battling. Though she wasn't completely discounting the possibility that the third person was more than he seemed. Maybe he was just a lab assistant, maybe not. Either way, Finesse was not going to forget about him in the middle of a fight.
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Post by numble on Apr 19, 2022 15:50:02 GMT -7
De4 As Finesse impressively slid around the incoming punch and away from the assailant, Robbie wasn't worried. The man was already throwing a second haymaker with his off-hand and he felt sure he could withstand the impact. As it turned out, he could but the wooden stairs couldn't. He caught the large fist with both hands and dug his feet in, only for the stairs to give way beneath his feet, causing him to drop to his knees. The thug rained punches down onto his head, each landing with a vile crunch. After ten or more of these punches the large man finally let up, taking deep breaths as his arms hung at his side. He gasped when the ghost rider looked up at him, seemingly unfazed by the attack. "My turn." Said Robbie, rising from the floor to deliver a powerful uppercut directly to his opponent's chin. The man lifted from the ground, arcing backwards through the air to land hard on his back with a thump. Beyond him, Robbie could see the room beginning to fill up with a spray of gas from some leaking equipment, damaged by Finesse's billy club. The spike-handed woman had batted away the club thrown at her but as she took a swing at Finesse, it seemed the writing was already on the wall for her. She'd taken a deep breath of the chemicals in the air and her attack was sluggish. The other, smaller man covered his nose and slid back a wooden panel on the wall, revealing a hole in the bricks into the basement of the next building. He hurriedly scrambled through it, attempting to escape the gas and the two heroes. "HEY!" barked Robbie. "Get back here!" He darted across the room without waiting to see if Finesse would follow.
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Post by aquarius on Apr 25, 2022 9:44:33 GMT -7
It was surprisingly easy to deal with this chemist, they were presumably too used to one process, and not used to considering its various component stages, nor of the properties of the chemicals involved. Even so, seeing her breathe in the vapours confirmed the stupidity of this presumably average criminal. Finesse meanwhile, she held her breath as she arched her back and evaded the incoming strike and landed a solid blow of her own across the side of the woman's head, her other billy club being retrieved and then immediately thrown across the room at the closing secret door, colliding with the mechanism and jamming it open. Maybe they'd still have to catch the guy, but at least he wasn't getting too much of a lead over them.
One hand fell to her belt as she followed the Ghost Rider, tapping a series of buttons on her Avengers Comm-card. An automated message was already notifying both the Avengers and SHIELD of a downed criminal needing retrieval as she pursued others. This possibly meant a senior Avenger would locate her to ensure her safety before too long, but it was likely that they would have finished their business before anyone arrived.
As she fave chase right behind Robbie, she called out to him keeping him appraised of this development. "Authorities on their way here for these two. We can focus on the last one." And as she entered the jammed open secret passage Jeanne reached out one hand to reclaim her weapon, allowing the door to close behind them both. Hopefully this would greatly slow down any attempts to follow them all, since she was... well, she wasn't sure, but was moderately confident the term was 'having fun'.
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Post by numble on Apr 25, 2022 10:01:00 GMT -7
De4 Robbie managed to scrape through the door before it closed and looked back as he heard the "thunk" of Finesse's club jamming it open. She was more than on top of things and continued to impress. Back in the other room, the spike-handed woman was slowly falling to the floor. She made a last, futile effort to take a swing at Finesse but her strike went wide as she slumped over, succumbing to the blow and the gas. As Robbie emerged into the neighboring basement, he heard Finesse call out behind him about the authorities. "Sounds goo-Ah!" He was cut off mid response as a glass bottle smashed on him and began to sizzle and spurt gaseous fumes into the air. Some sort of corrosive chemical had been thrown at him. "Do I look like I have any flesh to burn?" He growled at the chemist. "It was worth a try!" The small man called back, throwing another bottle. This one reacted with the first chemical, causing a dense smoke to fill the air as they burned on Robbie's chest. His vision quickly became obscured as he stumbled forward. "Can you fight blind?" Robbie grunted to Finesse. "I don't want to risk damaging the building or burning any chemicals." He started to fall back to try and make room for the other hero. He could hear the chemist's footsteps on the stairs as he tried to make an escape.
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Post by aquarius on Apr 26, 2022 13:39:39 GMT -7
Finesse had trained for combat in all situations imaginable, and had seen videos of world class combatants in many of the more common ones, even seen a few for real. As such, when the Ghost Rider asked her capabilities, she simply replied with "I get by"
The issue of the chemicals was a more problematic one, however. With none others around to neutralise those on Robbie's clothes and nothing to smother the fumes before they became the clouds of smoke, there was only one real option - to carry on at full speed and see what could be found for a practical solution to the situation. Since it seemed he was not harmed by the reagents that was at least acceptable, if not ideal.
"Follow the sound of the footsteps. I will call out any obstacles." Echolocation was something many blind people learned on at least a basic level, many heroes with enhanced senses became highly proficient at, and based on observation Daredevil was an undisputed master of. Whilst Finesse had only human level perception, she did have extremely acute reasoning skills, so was at least on a par with many low level enhanced senses combatants in this sort of situation. And with their target making noise as he fled? There was more than enough noise to map out the mostly straight corridor between them.
"Keep straight. Low obstacle in three, two one..." The rhythm of her footsteps changed as she reached whatever it was, vaulted up onto the waist high object, making a point of landing noisily, the sounds revealing it to be wooden, presumably a crate or similar, and she carried onwards. As long as she kept ahead of The Ghost Rider she could see at least a little bit as the smoke hadn't formed quite so heavily yet. As she moved up the stairs she could see movement ahead, and readied herself for the attack that would surely come as she reached the top.
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Post by numble on May 1, 2022 9:03:07 GMT -7
De4 Robbie felt Finesse brush past him and into the smoke. When she started calling out directions for him, he charged forward. Worst case scenario, he tripped over something, it was unlikely he'd get hurt. He just had to focus on the sound of her footsteps and make sure he left enough distance that he wouldn't inadvertently collide with her. At the top of the steps the chemist stumbled, cursing under his breath. He'd clearly hoped that the smoke would delay his pursuers at least a little bit longer- he didn't realize who he was dealing with. When she called out the low obstacle, Robbie leapt over it, hearing a crunch as his foot grazed the edge, breaking some of the wood. A crate, presumably. Hopefully nothing expensive. He slowed down a little as he heard Finesse climbing the stairs, finding his own footing on them before speeding up again as he figured out their spacing. As he ran he batted at his chest, smothering some of the chemical burning, the smoke finally starting to die down a bit as they reached the top of the stairs. The smoke was blown away by the night breeze as the two of them exited onto the street through a back door. As The gas cleared, Robbie could see the fleeing man ahead of them. "He can't escape now. He had a better shot when he was still inside." With that he pulled a chain out of thin air and began spinning it rapidly as they advanced. He was anticipating a thrown billy club from the trainee Avenger and was ready to launch his follow up to try and restrain the criminal.
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Post by aquarius on May 2, 2022 13:28:45 GMT -7
The light ahead resolved into the glow of the lights of the city, and Finesse was glad. This meant a much lower chance of any real preparation of tricks and traps from this point onwards. With the Ghost Rider following on at least adequately quickly behind, she took a moment to analyse the situation. The man was still running rather than preparing to fight, so it seemed likely he was not in any way a combatant. But this was not relevant to the fact that he was a fleeing criminal.
She only slowed down enough to let Robbie keep up enough to hear her speaking - "No more killing" and with that, the expected billy club was indeed thrown. The head was usually the most effective target, but that was when the target was fighting back. When fleeing, the best target was the knees. As the blunt weapon sailed through the air she picked up speed again, her remaining weapon ready to the thrown should the first not have the desired effect of tripping the target, or indeed if a retaliation came her way.
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