Bulk Up in Brooklyn (Closed)

[numble]

It was nearing 1 AM and Robbie was restless. He'd been parked in a dark alley in Brooklyn, watching the garage across the road for 3 hours now. In the shadows, his car was barely noticeable, a black machine shrouded in darkness. Behind his eyes a quiet fire burned.

"They should be here by now." He grunted.

"Patience, kid. They'll show. You know they'll show." A dark voice clawed at the back of his senses. "You'll get your prize."

"I'm here because of you. It's hardly a prize." He shot back internally, brow furrowed.

He and Eli were waiting on a gang to roll up. He'd been roughing up low level drug dealers for a couple of weeks, digging his way closer. Most of them he'd held back and let them off but Eli was becoming hungry and he knew he needed to slake his bloodlust before something bad happened. The dealers had told him there were rumors about a drug being manufactured to grant temporary super strength. A big deal was supposed to happen here, tonight. The leader would be here and the Ghost Rider was going to rip him apart.

After a few minutes longer, something finally happened. The garage door opened a crack. Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed but after staring at it for hours, Robbie could tell something had changed. A few moments later three cars showed up and the door opened up to let them in, quickly closing behind them.

Eli spoke in Robbie's head with glee "Go time!"

Robbie winced. "Yeah." Then his head and car burst into flames fire bellowed from his mouth as he roared, a matching jet of fire erupting from his forehead. The Hell Charger's engine came to life and it roared back. In a few seconds, they were going to get the fright of a life time.

[aquarius]

Basic surveillance was a simple enough task. For someone with extensive talents in stealth and the deductive reasoning to make the most out of what was seen, plus the obvious advantages that a perfect memory could offer. These criminals were low level, but the best known link to a network of Mutant Growth Hormone dealers. All it would need was a good look at their employer, and she would be able to trace the next step up the chain of their network. And then back down to every other cell of such minions as these.

As Finesse watched and waited, it seemed her patience was finally being rewarded. The faintest of changes indicated an encyclopaedia of information to one such as her, but when a car burst into flames and roared towards the unfolding scene, it threw all plans into worthlessness. Typical of a Ghost Rider to just charge in, though at least whichever one this was was using a more normal mode of transportation than they usually did. Regardless though, she knew that salvaging whatever she could from the situation would be the directives from her instructors were they on hand, and that staying back to merely observe was their unnecessary but legally required overly cautious nature.

As such, whilst the flaming car kept the attention of the various criminals, Finesse moved in far closer than she would have been able to without risking detection. By the time that the noises from the ground indicated that hostilities had commenced, she had already begun picking off a few of their less alert guards on the roof.

[numble]

Robbie might have noticed the men being picked off on the roof but he was too zoned in, his focus set solely on the garage door ahead of him as his car rocketed forward.

Inside the garage, the gang members were milling about, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. One had a briefcase, another a large box. They were approaching each other, about to make an exchange when the shit hit the fan.

The garage door crumpled like paper as the Hell Charger tore through it, slamming into one of their parked cars and sending it skidding across the floor. An enforcer screamed as he struck and knocked aside like a rag doll.

"What the @#$& is going on?!" One shouted, drawing his gun. The men with the briefcase and box dove for cover as the rest opened fire on the car. The room was suddenly filled with the explosions of gunfire and metallic clangsbas the bullets ricocheted off the car. Just as the firing began to die down, the Ghost Rider exited the vehicle, prompting another frenzy of bullets.

Robbie grunted as his body jerked with the impact of each bullet, some sticking in but most blowing straight through him. Fire spat from each bullet hole as though voicing their displeasure at being fed a lead slug.

"If you're about finished, I think it's my turn." He snarled, sparks flying from his teeth like spittle. A chain with a blade dangling from the end manifested in his hands, burning Bright red as the blade swung back and forth over the floor like a hellish pendulum.

"Who's in charge?!" He roared, whipping the chain forward to wrap around the leg of a thug. The man barely had time to help before he was dragged bodily over to the Rider who planted a foot on his chest. "I want the boss, not small fries like you."

[aquarius]

It was amusing how the more invulnerable heroes tended to get tunnel vision, in that their situational awareness seemed to be dreadful. More than once, Finesse took down a mook who would likely have gotten a clear shot on the Ghost Rider, without the skull headed vigilante ever noticing as far as she could tell. The fact that he might well have not noticed if she'd left them to take their shots on him... well, that lead back to the invulnerable heroes with poor situational awareness thing.

Based on the bellowing confrontation of the fire skulled practitioner of percussive behaviour therapy, it sounded like he was running low on people either capable, or willing, to fight back. The timing in that respect was ideal, as she had mostly cleared the upper areas as well, still unnoticed insofar as she could tell. In the three seconds it took to reach and incapacitate the final hoodlum, she had considered all methods by which to introduce herself to this... person (for it was difficult to determine their gender with any degree of certainty - even their voice was distorted by the aura of the spirit of vengeance) and with the most likely means by which to forge a positive first impression on him, Finesse finally made herself known.

Not by anything like what she had been doing so far, instead this one last crook was sent flying over the railing on the upper level and falling onto a stack of crates below, crushing them all and cushioning his fall to painful but non fatal degrees. And most importantly, making a very dramatic and attention getting announcement of her presence as she moved out of the shadows to where the Ghost Rider would be able to see her clearly.

"These guys are low level. The ones you saw arriving are higher up the chain, certainly. But if they were anyone important, they wouldn't have been here. Or they'd have had a better bodyguard. The best we can hope for is a name of someone else to track down. I am Finesse, trainee Avenger, I've been watching these guys for a few days now. I have not heard of a Ghost Rider who favours a car before tonight, however..."

[numble]

The Rider barely looked up as the thug came sailing over the rail to land with a crash. He watched warily as the young woman appeared from the shadows, leaving his foot planted on the chest or the man at his feet.

"You're good." He remarked, staring at the groaning man in the remains of the pile of crates. He listened to her explanation of the parties here and couldn't help but agree. It made no sense that a gang leader would roll up for a hand off. He'd been lied to. He ground his teeth in irritation, sending a shower of sparks to the ground.

"I'm…. Not beholden to the ways of the other ghost riders." He spoke diplomatically, wanting to keep some cards close to his chest. "My car suits me fine."

Turning his attention back to the man beneath his foot he applied some pressure, causing him to squirm in pain. "Your boss. Who and where are they?"

The guy shook his head and stammered "I-I don't know! I don't know the boss, I was just hired for the hand-off by Garvey!"

Robbie's burning eyes glared down at him. "Who's Garvey?"

"I'M GARVEY!!" A voice bellowed from behind a car before it was tossed aside like a plaything. The man who'd been holding the box came charging at him, his veins bulging, flesh rippling with newly grown muscle, courtesy of the syringe in his arm.

With a loud crack, Harvey's fist collided with the Ghost Rider's jaw, sending him flying out into the street with an echoing crack.

[aquarius]

This Ghost Rider seemed fairly ordinary for the type so far, which was to say not outwardly showing much emotion, even the first thing he said to her laden with an element of judgement. Jeanne suspected she would be able to work well with him if this continued...

The interrogation of the thug took little enough time, though Finesse had already analysed the numbers of disabled individuals, compared against the people she'd observed in the warehouse, and reached the conclusion that there was one unaccounted for who would be hiding nearby, based on the limited opportunities for concealed getaways (no doubt a consequence of making sure an unobserved approach was not easy either). His dramatic entrance was very much unexpected, however. Higher ups in criminal organisations tended to favour pragmatism, so he was either suffering from cognitive side effects from his products, or he genuinely thought he could defeat a Ghost Rider and an Avenger of unknown powers. If it was the latter, Finesse really hoped this was because he had no idea what he was dealing with, since she had not much more information to go on herself.

As the Ghost Rider was sent flying, tactical options raced through her mind. His use of Mutant Growth Hormone - MGH - was obvious, apparently granting him the usual 'brick' powerset. That was good at least, they were fairly simple to deal with. Whilst she wouldn't be able to inflict much harm on him herself without significant risk, keeping him busy until the Ghost Rider could get himself back in the fight seemed the best option.

And so as she leapt from the upper walkway towards Garvey, she threw one of her billy clubs up into the rafters of the warehouse, ricocheting it off one of the support beams so that it would return at her foe from an unexpected angle. Calling out as she sailed through the air towards him to get his attention, this resulted in her club impacting the side of his head - right where the skull was thinnest - just a split second before her jump kick connected with his jaw. Catching her club with one hand without even looking, she kept her eyes on this monster who could finish her with a single blow if it connected properly...

[numble]

Out on the street Robbie grunted and sat up. It seemed those injections worked pretty fast, he'd been hit harder than he expected to be. His neck twisted back into place, his head setting itself back in the proper position with a grotesque crunch. The thug would be annoying- but shouldn't pose a real threat.

Meanwhile, back inside, Harvey was reeling. The billy club had struck his temple, sending a flash of pain through his skull and setting his ears ringing. The kick to the jaw immediately after toppled him, his balance thrown by the unexpectedly quick follow-up.

"Guuhhhh damn you!" He groaned, climbing back to his feet. Squaring up, he looked between his meaty fists at the young heroine. Then he began his attack. The large man threw one, two, three broadly telegraphed haymakers. It was obvious that he wasn't a trained fighter, even more so now that he had to adjust to his new size and strength.

As the last of Garvey's trio of punches was thrown, the Ghost Rider re-entered the garage, chain in hand. The thug looked at him, a look of slight surprise on his face.

"Did you seriously think you'd finished me off?" The Rider scoffed. "You saw how effective the bullets were, right?" With that he whipped the chain forward, the blade at its end piercing Garvey's shoulder. He screamed in pain at the burning wound as the Rider looped more of the chain over him, rushing in to yank it taught, pinning his arms to his sides.

"If you tell us who your supplier is I won't make this slow." The chain creaked as he pulled it tighter.

[aquarius]

With her attacks connecting perfectly, Finesse was already anticipating the possible follow-ups. So far she had little information to go on, but it seemed steadily more probably that this man was a completely untrained fighter. This was a mixed blessing as it meant he was generally an ineffective combatant, but it also meant that he was going to be making it up as he goes along, which was sometimes difficult to predict.

His first few punches were easy enough to avoid, however. Finesse stayed on the defensive, his attention being off the real threat to him for now, and letting her observe his distorted physiology, slowly but steadily determining where some pressure points would be, in case she had to fight him seriously. But with the return of the Ghost Rider, it seemed likely the difficult part was already over. Within moments he had been restrained more efficiently than her instructors would approve of, which only meant she enjoyed getting to watch the technique all the more.

As the monstrous foe Garvey turned his focus back to the Ghost Rider, Finesse was able to return to the offense briefly. She kept this simple though, in the form of a swift kick to the back of the knee. It wouldn't do much actual damage, but it would surely take away the use of that limb for a second or two, leaving him even more at the mercy of the Ghost Rider. It was almost certain that she wasn't going to make much difference to the actual interrogation, and she knew enough about the Spirit of Vengeance to know that avoiding eye contact with him was probably wise. As such, she moved backwards and to the side a little, ostensibly keeping watch for any other threats to the two of them.

[numble]

Robbie had been wrestling with the chains as Garvey pulled away from him but when Finesse struck him behind his knee, the leg gave out and he was pulled to the floor, kneeling before the Ghost Rider.

"I ain't telling you $"!*!" He shouted, panic in his voice as another loop of chain was tossed over him, tightening the restraints holding him in place. "I-im not scared of you!"

"Yeah, I'm real convinced." Robbie would have rolled his eyes if he had any. "But if you wanna do this the hard way, that's just fine by me." With a yank of the chains, Garvey lurched forward, face to face with Robbie who had crouched to meet his gaze. "I bet you've hurt a lot of people… caused more pain than you've even realized. I think it's time you FELT IT." His eyes burned, lighting up the garage as streams of flame erupted from them, connecting Garvey's eyes to his.

The thug screamed in anguish as the sum of all the pain he had caused innocent people washed over him like a wave, manifesting as a white hot burning sensation through his entire body. The connection only lasted a few moments and when it was over, the light vanishing as flames snaked back into Robbie's skull, Harvey half collapsed, barely holding himself up as he wept.

"You'll tell us what we wanna know unless you want to take another spin." Robbie told him, the tone of his voice suggesting this was no idle threat.

"Okay! Okay!" Garvey gasped. 'Anything but that… her name is Dana Sikorski. She has a shop here in Brooklyn, I don't know exactly where. I've never been. I sweet that's all I know." He spoke quickly, barely stopping for a breath.

"Good. You get all that?" Robbie said to Finesse over the thug's shoulder. Robbie was about to loosen the chains but he stopped, hands clenching harder on the metal. The familiar voice crept back into his brain.

"You and I both know you can't just let him go. You know what I'll do if you don't end him now. And if he gets back on the streets he'll just cause more harm. It's a win-win, kid."

Robbie clenched his teeth, tilting his head in discomfort. He shot back mentally at Eli. "Dana Sikorski. We'll get her. We'll get her whole operation. That should be good enough for you."

Eli echoed through his thoughts again, weighing heavily on his mind. "No. I need this NOW. There's always someone higher up the chain, enough climbing it. We're doing this NOW."

Robbie's arms flexed suddenly and he roared as he pulled the chains tight, Garvey barely having time to let out a hackingz gagging noise as the chains crushed through his bones, snapping them like twigs. It wasn't enough though. For an ordinary human sure but Garvey's increased muscle mass was holding them back. He looked pleasingly at Robbie for a second.

"FINISH IT!" Roared Eli, blocking out all other sounds from Robbie's head.

Robbie delivered a savage knee to Garvey's chin, snapping his neck. He let the chains fall from his hands and the body slumped to the floor. The Rider breathed heavily, sparks crackling from the corners of his mouth. He couldn't bring himself to look at the other hero there with him. "We have to find that shop. Can't be that many Dana Sikorskis."

[aquarius]

A criminal who was not scared of a Ghost Rider? Either he was a dreadful liar, or he was monumentally stupid. Either way it seemed likely this would serve their interests in interrogating him. And just as she'd expected, the Penance Stare proved a truly effective tool for loosening his tongue. As soon as they had a name, Finesse reached for her phone. The internet provided near limitless access to information - even more so if you were a programming and hacking genius. Indeed, by the time that her apparent partner in this newly complicated mission had asked her if she'd heard the name, she'd already found an address. Replying with a simple "yes", she noticed his change in stance, a few things that seemed to be the pyrrhic skeletal equivalent of bunching muscles and she turned her back hastily before the deed was done.

Once the body had been heard hitting the floor, she turned back again. If the Ghost Rider thought it an issue of squeamishness, she soon dispelled any such thoughts. "I didn't see what happened there, but I am certain that you were left no choice in defending yourself with lethal force after he broke free of your chains. I am sure you are not foolish enough to murder a prisoner in front of an Avenger, so this must be the only logical reason. Anyway, the list of companies in the city shows one business owner with that name operating nearby. I can find a home address as well, if you don't mind waiting a few more minutes. Or we can see what we find at her work first. Criminal associations means a higher probability of her being there after normal business hours, naturally..."

The man was dead, and she was inclined to agree with the pragmatism of the Spirit of Vengeance, but he was clearly used to working alone. Finesse had access to the resources of the Avengers, SHIELD, and by extension had contacts in multiple government agencies. Hopefully she'd be able to impress this upon her hot-headed partner. Bluffing her way through more than one witnessing of a murder would likely not be easy, even for her.

[numble]

Robbie listened to her , his shoulders slumped as she did the mental gymnastics required to ignore what he'd just done. When she'd finished, he sighed and said "I can assure you I had no choice…and I'm not happy or proud of it."

Eli popped into his head once more, intruding upon his thoughts to say "Not even a little? Not glad you removed a dangerous criminal from the equation permanently? Not the slightest bit relieved to have fulfilled our bargain? You've been playing real fast and loose lately. We have a deal. If you know what's good for you and your brother, you'd be wise to remember that."

Robbie's teeth ground together angrily. "Leave Gabe out of this. You got your kill, so shut up." He said, internally.

Putting it behind him for now, he considered the options she had laid out. "It probably makes the most sense to go to her shop. As you say, she might very well be there. If she isn't, we can locate and destroy her product and stake it out. And if it turns into a fight… less collateral damage than if it happened in a residential area." He folded his arms, thinking his reasoning was sound. "Wouldn't hurt to have the home address or any other info though, just in case." He shrugged, turning back to her.

"I appreciate the help. Sorry it got… messy."

[aquarius]

It remained a challenge to read emotional cues from a Ghost Rider - many of the microexpressions visible in a normal person were simply not possible for a flaming skeleton. But there were at least a few signs that could be picked up on, even if they were less reliable. As such, she believed he was genuinely remorseful, though for once belief was different from a confident conclusion.

His reasoning for checking out the shop first seemed rational enough, leaving only the issue of how to get there. "It would be approximately twenty minutes on foot, or if your car is safe for mortal passengers, I cannot even speculate at how long it would take. My assignment is to observe this gang and acquire as much information as possible without putting myself at undue risk.

Since the line between those is blurred, I interpret the risk from unknown criminal elements to be lessened by partnering with yourself in the investigation, and more than offset by the likely uncovering significant further information by continuing. This is so you understand my goals, but remember that I will have to report all I learn, including events I witness, to the Avengers. And I am... perceptive."

She waited for a response from the fiery driver, and was ready to follow his lead whichever way he indicated he preferred to get to their next avenue of investigation.

[numble]

The Rider nodded at the time estimate. It was a short enough walk but there was no reason not to drive. "The car's only dangerous when I want it to be, you'll be safe." He assured her. It was true after all, though not often, he had driven with passengers before.

As for her roundabout warning he nodded, in agreement. "This is mutually beneficial. If you're just supposed to observe them… maybe you'll get extra credit if we take them out. At the very least, you'll be done observing them if there's no more activity to observe, right?" He walked around to the driver's side of the car and paused before opening the door.

"I don't plan on anymore incidents. So hopefully you won't have any other… incidents to report back about." His jaw tilted a bit and one glowing eye dimmed slightly. It almost looked as close as a flaming skull could come to wincing.

He got in the car and shut the door, leaning over to open the passenger side before starting up the car. Fire belched from the car's protruding engine as it roared to life again. "We can at least get closer and then take the last block on foot. You seem to prefer going in stealthy and that'll probably be for the best this time."

[aquarius]

When it came to magic, the Avengers' teaching resources were relatively limited. Unless they could persuade someone like Dr Strange to teach a few lessons, the only knowledge Finesse would gain on the subject was second hand, speculation by various more scientific minds than would have been ideal, and therefore far from entirely reliable. As such, being able to observe a magical being such as the Ghost Rider and his vehicle first hand was an opportunity she wasn't going to pass up.

Sliding into the passenger seat when the door was opened, Finesse placed her billy clubs on her lap, holding her phone in one hand, and buckling her seat belt with the other. Were seat belts necessary in a car such as this? There was no way she could possibly be sure. But if the car had seat belts, she was going to use them. It was simply common sense, after all.

A few taps on her phone, and she turned the screen round to show the screen to her new associate. "Here, you can see our location, our destination, and various routes which you may well be better off ignoring, depending on your vehicle's capabilities."

[numble]

Robbie watched as she got in and buckled up and then studied her phone screen when it was shown to him. The route looked familiar. "I think I recognize the intersection." He said aloud. He looked at the estimated arrival time and said "We can get there quicker than that."

With one hand he threw the car into gear as he slammed on the accelerator and it took off with a roar, flames spitting from the engine and wheels as it surged out of the garage. He turned into the street and shot in the direction of the shop, the car steadily accelerating.

As they approached what should have been a right turn according to the map however, he didn't slow down. Instead he let the car keep speeding up, hurtling down the street before turning left and then quickly right again, racing across a parking lot and onto the next street over. Their short trip was laced with shortcuts like this, down alleys, through lots, across a small park.

When he finally parked the car, three minutes had passed and they were a block away from the shop. "All right…" he said cracking his knuckles as the car shut off and the fire fizzled out. "How do you wanna do this? Go in the back? Kick down the front door? Try and shadowport in?"