Log:Capelli-Cangelosi War, Scene 3

Capelli-Cangelosi War 2016/10/12 	 Night Marsha|Detective Carpenter Nohrbor Yameen Grimm The Stranger

3

The smell of salty air and marsh is the most apparent here at the port of Colonial Bay. To the left, the sturdy automatic cargo cranes stand tall and await the container freight vessels that transport goods into and out of the city. Most of the work is done by the large, efficient machines.

Over to the right, there is the Marina, where various pleasure craft and fishing boats rock gently in their moorings, tied by secure lines. The private vessels range in size from 16-foot cruisers to 32-foot yachts. The marina also rents out various water sport equipment as well as modern speed boats and fishing vessels for the day. There is one old-fashioned riverboat with paddlewheel propulsion, which provides pleasure cruises and caters to weddings.

It's becoming a more common sound in recent weeks. The sound of weapons fire echoes among the cargo containers that are in the process of being loaded onto a freighter. Dock workers are scattering looking for cover while a lone detective is in the middle of a firefight with a half dozen men armed with plasma rifles.

One of the gunmen goes down with a bullet wound. He collapses, grabbing his right shoulder.

That fear has a certain note to it that Nohrbor, Psionic Godling can feel from miles away. Luckily, he isn't that far away. Since this violence has become so much more common in this area Nohrbor has begun making sure to center his patrols around the Port area.

Today he's masquerading as a dock worker, walking casually between storage containers as if he belonged here.

As actual dock-workers flee, Nohrbor turns and heads in the direction of whatever it is that spooked them. He takes 3-4 running strides before hurling himself into the air and taking off at top speed toward the sound of plasma rifle fire.

A few moments later, a lone dock-worker drops out of the sky, landing in a perfect 3-pt stance right between the good Detective & the riflemen.

He stands slowly and regards the men opposite him, then with narrowed eyes he commands, "Halt your cowardly fire, Mortals!"

Carpenter sighs. . o O (Of all the metas that could show up. I get this guy again.)

"Have it thine way then!" He shouts as the telekinetic field around him flares to life.

"Face The Breaker of Walls of Everdoom Fortress. Come from your hiding places and stand before Ymeyar, Godling Of Misfortune!" He says in a taunting voice that sounds absolutely stunning in the strange accustics of this location. His training the arena serves him well.

Within that field a smoky red energy accumulates rapidly until he is completely surrounded in an aura of translucent red energy that fluctuates and grows with each passing second. (If you've seen any DBZ you'll know what we're seeing here.) The aura shifts and bends in the still air- forged and tempered by Nohrbor's mighty mind.

Then he takes a step towards the men in their hiding places. Every step thereafter sees the field grow in height & width until Nohrbor is complete obscured by it. His silhouette still visible deep within the giant psionic construct.

His voice rattles. "COME LITTLE MORTALS!" He says as he reaches for the forklift and lifts it with ease.

Carpenter leans out, looking for a target. Not finding a easy shot, he keeps his head low and flanks around to the right, behind another container.

The gunman all hesitate...considering what their best option is.

Yameen is only passingly familiar the loud godling, especially in his current guise. However, he is anything but subtle, and that can be advantageous. She moves from her arrival point on the ground towards the line of now-hesitating gunmen while their attentions are focused elsewhere and making use of available cover.

The gunmen all decide on basically the same thing at once. They had best drop the meta that's in their faces, if they can. All five open fire on Nohrbor.

The Psionic Construct seems to move in anticipation of the gunmen's firing, but he can't move around all their fire- not at once.

One shot hits Nohrbor on the right-side of the construct's ribcage.

Nohrbor roars within causing a low rumbble to erupt from the construct.

Yameen slips up to the opposite side of a container separating her from the near edge of the firing line as they loose a volley upon the conspicuous meta. She continues her efforts to remain inconspicuous for the moment while moving around the interposing container and intending to outflank the firers.

The Stranger drops the forklift behind him and with a forward lunge he gives a backhanded swat towards the nearest of the gunmen. His form is a little sloppy but mostly because he's annoyed by these crooks using cowardly plasma rifles.

"Face me in Honorable Combat Curs!" He booms threateningly.

The gunman who was hit flies backward and through hte side of a freight container. He ends up on the far side in a heap on the ground. There a fair amount of blood and his arm is at an odd angle.

Grimm gets an alert from her phone just as she walks into Starboard with a box full of croissant sandwiches. She shifts the box to one hand, balancing it like a platter as she fishes out her phone. Striding over to the front desk, her eyes widen at the news.

"Crap, gotta run," she mutters as she sets the box down on the desk. "Hey, Meryl, can you make sure that gets to the motor pool? And tell Forge I'm going to be running late? K, thanks!"

"I'm not your secretary!" Meryl complains, but Gabrielle's already vanished from sight. "Not again..." Meryl groans, snapping up the box irritably.

After a few jumps later, Gabrielle materializes above the port grounds of where the firefight incident was reported, prepared to cloak her presence from the minds of those in the area. She takes a quick account of the scene, eyes widening at the giant Stranger, and then again at spotting Detective Carpenter caught in all of this.

Carpenter moves around the edge of the container and manages to get a line on one of the gunman. He takes the shot with his pistol.

The gunman is hit and spins around, planting face first into the pavement, out for the count.

All three remaining gunmen retreat, backing away from their cover. One turns and runs full out into the nearby warehouse. The other two open fire on Nohrbor.

The Stranger rumbles deeply as he struck directly in the chest by one of the gunmen.

The Psionic Construct's head snaps towards the pair shooting at him, but his attention is pulled towards the one running into the warehouse.

"YOU FACE BLOODLIT SCALAWAGS NO MERE MORTAL!" He booms, "I WILL FIND YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU RUN!"

Yameen adjusts as the gunmen begin to withdraw, moving more swiftly and directly. She approaches the nearest at a short sprint from the side, rather than rear, immediately reaching to remove the gun from the gunman.

Yameen may or may not have caught the firer completely by surprise, but a sharp upward snap on the forestock causes the weapon to pitch upwards only to be grabbed and pulled around and down towars her. The rotation continues a full 360 degrees until the weapon is pointed forward again, but not in Yameen's hands.

So with that, he leaves the Guardian to her work and takes to the sky- releasing the psionic construct from around him.

Then The Stranger streaks off for the third man who entered the building.

Grimm teleports down beside Detective Carpenter as she drops her mental cloak, becoming visible to all. "Didn't take you for the actiony sort, Detective. What'd you get yourself into this time?" she asks playfully, setting her eyes on one of the still standing gunman. Her smile twists just slightly as she seeks to besiege his mind.

The gunman drops to the ground, unconscious.

Carpenter blinks and looks back to Grimm. He smiles, "Hey there. I was just tracking down a lead. You know how these things go."

Yameen's keffiyeh moves as she directs the diarmed man before her to "Do not move." She wishes the same of the one attempting to flee, and so turns to make that clear. She takes several quick steps after the one in flight, bringing the weapon in hand up high behind her... only to snap it around quickly to launch the rifle at him as a low, horizontally tumbling projectile.

The man who was running away takes a tumble and remains on the ground, groaning. The last remaining gunman surrenders.

"Yeah. Murphy's law, right?" Gabrielle replies to Carpenter. Anything that can go wrong, will. Her eyes comb over the area and fall upon the unarmed runner. "So what lead were you chasing down this time? Related to any case I've helped on?" she asks.

She squints slightly at the runner, but her attitude overall is nonchalant. As he surrenders, her expression smooths over. No need to knock the guy out.

Carpenter moves out from cover to arrest the one man who's still up. "Following up on the mob shooting at the yacht club last week. These guys were connected to the weapons that were used. It's ACRO tech. They sold it."

With the one near surrendering, and the one running now down, Yameen can take a much more leisurely walk to secure the one in the warehouse and his weapon. When the authorities arrive to take custody, she looks to one in authority. "What was their motive for violence? Smuggling? Trafficking? Intolerable working conditions?"

Grimm nods thoughtfully. "Mob at the yacht club? I hadn't heard. Been...busy lately," she says vaguely.

Carpenter heads over to check on the seriously wounded folks. He calls for medical help, and a couple of ambulances are on the way. There are two gunmen down with gunshot wounds, and one needs immediate medical attention from getting knocked through a container by Nohrbor.

Carpenter manages to stop the bleeding on the one that Nohrbor hurt. "I think he'll live. Probably."

Grimm surveys the wounded, rubbing the back of her head. "Wow, this was a bloody fight. Wish I knew what to do in situations like this," she murmurs, not trained in triage or medical techniques. "Is there anything I can do to help that won't end up hurting them more?"

Carpenter says to Yameen, "The fight broke out when I called them on smuggling weapons. They didn't want to go to jail." He looks up at Grimm, "Just make sure the ambulance can get in here. I did what I could for this guy, but I need to look at the other two."

Grimm nods in the affirmative. "I'll be sure to flag them down or clear the way," she answers, feeling better that there's a way that she can help. She stays out of Carpenter's way, holding out her hand to her side, palm up. In the sky above her, a giant black arrow forms, bobbing up and down slowly as the illusion points out their location like a beacon.

Carpenter moves to help out the two with gunshot wounds, and by the time he's aiding the last one, the ambulance arrives. When the professional medics take over, the detective finally relaxes a little. Shortly thereafter, more police show up to take the remaining gunmen into custody.

The detective sighs, "Well, not how I expected that to go."

Grimm raises an eyebrow as she watches the EMTs do their work. "Were you expecting them to put their guns down and go quietly?" Even though she's being sarcastic, her expression is haunted by the condition the gunmen are in.

The detective shrugs, "I didn't expect a shootout. I didn't see the rifles initially. One of them had grabbed one from a crate and when I noticed, I ran for cover. The others then followed suit."

Grimm nods, smiling slightly. "Arms dealers with arms. Go fig." She drops the sarcastic act and looks over the detective. "You okay? You didn't get hit, did you?" she asks in genuine concern.

Carpenter shakes his head, "I'm okay. Coat's a little singed, but that's it." He holds up the side of his trenchcoat, and there's a two-inch-wide burn hole down about knee level. "I need to rethink my methods."

With all the Gunmen wrangled and the noisy ambulances on sight, Nohrbor "disguised' as the dockworker flies to meet up with the Grimm, yameen & the Detective.

He lands a few meters away all smiles. "These Mortals never learn! But like the wind & rain- I shall erode their ignorance... in time." He says just before offering his hand to the Detective. "You all fought most honorably." He notes.

Grimm lets out a low whistle. "That's really cutting it close," she murmurs. "What methods? Don't you have a partner to back you up?" she asks, glancing about.

Carpenter considers Nohrbor's offered hand, but then he shakes it. Afterward, he smiles slightly, "Why was my method of fighting honorable, but theirs wasn't?" He indicates the gunmen who are currently being carted away.

Carpenter also says as an aside to Grimm, "No partner." Again, he smiles, "Why? You offering?"

"Well Detective Carpenter, you are bound to your oath to protect and serve. While I find your weapony most distasteful I recognize the need for you to have it as you are also bound to the law of necessity." The Stranger shaped like a Dirty Dockworker says giving the Detective a firm and respectful handshake before turning to regard the two meta-humans who also assisted.

"Well Met, Guardians of Earth." He says with a slight bow, as he rises he puts his palms together then crosses his middle fingers in the Doj'on symbol for Peace & Compassion.

"U-uhh, um...I'm...still working on my criminal justice degree," Grimm stammers at the offer, uncharacteristically shy. "But, er...my goal is to be a detective or investigator someday."

The detective chuckles as Grimm ends up flustered. "Well...someday, then."

Grimm gets butterflies in her stomach at the thought of finally making it as a detective someday. She tries to find a diversion, and the Stranger serves that purpose perfectly. "Guardians of Earth...? Are you...not from around here?" she asks the dockworker. Her eyes focus on the hand gesture as she tries to figure out how one would replicate it.

"I am not. I am GodFlora from Beta Orionis- half a universe away and more I suspect." The Stranger says with a smile- then his illusion drops so Grimm might see not only their similar taste in color palettes but also the Divine GLORY that is Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx of the Doj'on Bloodtribe.

"I am told there are may groups who would dislike my very existance on this world." He explains as he renews the illusion again. "I do not wish to endanger any of you, or interrupt my ..." He looks to the Detective, "attunement with your ways."

The Stranger(#2744PenACcF?)

This Hu-man Male is handsome beyond words- almost beyond the limits of human-kind. He has a very tall & athletic build. His hair is long and jet-black. His skin a sun-kissed brown- but still he could be almost any race. His narrow & expressive eyes are crystal clear no matter what color they take on.

His wardrobe seems almost typical of the time but somehow strange and dignified, with a completely black and blood-red color scheme. He has various gold accents & accessories.

Somehow, he reminds you of a dignified raven.

Carpenter raises a brow, "Uh...if you haven't yet, you might want to check with the folks at Starguard. They might be able to help your 'attunement' proceed a little quicker."

"Fear not Carpenter, Detective of Colonial Bay, Virgina state. Earth-sphere. I have taken your SCARE training." The Stranger says assuringly.

"I am friend to StarGuard as much as I am friend & stalwart ally to the Law Enforcers of this fine Mortal City!" He says pumping his fist into the sky.

"Maybe you ought to study a bit more," Grimm murmurs to herself as the long introduction. As active and enthusiastic as Nohrbor is, Grimm seems lethargic by comparison.

Carpenter takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, with an expression on his face that would indicate 'Why me?' to those familiar with humans. "Umm...well, I'm glad to hear that you're a friend."