18111/A hard read

A hard read
Date of Scene:	30 May 2024
Location:	Rubin Museum of Art
Synopsis:	Shredder hires Felicia for a heist, but Tekkai and Danny Rand intervene.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Danny Rand, Shun Cruz, Felicia Hardy

---

Shredder has posed:
    The Shredder knows a great deal about his clan's history. He was there for most of it. He was there for the formation even. But that was, literally, another life. Some things are lost even to him. Recently, though, a researcher named Patrick Miller generated a research that seemed to indicate a great deal of knowledge on the book. Sometimes knowledge comes at awkard times, because this particular knowledge comes just as the book is getting ready to leave the city, and Dr. Miller's next engagement has not been announced. The window is short.

    As a result, The Shredder himself has arrived, though not in armor. He wears a casual suit as Oroku Saki. There has been a thief he wanted to test, which he had planned to do with a less critical target. As it is, she was available, and his teams that would normally be trusted with this are otherwise engaged.

    The Ashi No Himitsu is the target. Currently located in the museum, though not on display. It's locked in a vault in one of the offices for the benefit of Dr. Miller, who understood that once the Foot was aware of his research, they would likely come looking for it. All the more reason to use an outside agent.

    The day is sunny. Beautiful, even. The gentle green leaves contrast against the white wall of the museum, wedged between so many other businesses on 17th Street. Unlike some locations, the fire escape is on the front of the building, due to a lack of other places to put it. Inside it opens up, feeling far larger than it would make you think from the outside, a staircased that spirals up through the center of four floors, each branching off into their various displays. The offices are on the third floor.

Danny Rand has posed:
Shredder wasn't the only one incognito.

The Immortal Iron Fist - Daniel Rand-Kai - has heard of this Ashi No Himitsu. Any relic of the Hand *or* the Foot for that matter must be carefully observed to ensure no forces of either may yet retrieve it. A Defender tried and true, Daniel appears not as his costumed version of his martial arts vigilantism, but rather in a fine three-piece suit colored in black with a yellow tie. His hair is done up nicely and his beard is shaved to reveal a pleasant, clean-shaven look to the hero.

Yet...in the crowd, he spots certain notable figures. Oroku Saki, true to his training, goes largely unnoticed by the Iron Fist. Then again, he's not looking for him, his eyes carefully observing his surroundings. *He has to get to the vault*. Not because he wants the book for himself, but If his intuition is correct?

Many who are in the know of such things will try to seek it.

But the Chaste has champions still.

Shun Cruz has posed:
Tekkai, in his real identity of Shun Cruz, had made his way to the museum because he was interested in doing something besides training.

He had heard there was some mystical items as well from his mom that were just kept there usually. So he had also decided to check on that. That being said he was just a normal Asian-American teenager in the museum. Browsing the sites, taking the tour, looking at some of the displays here and there.

He was dressed in typical New Yorker street wear mostly, cargo pants and a good green shirt with a tribal looking design on the side of it in red.

As it was, Shun was a bit oblivious to what was going on at the moment. He hadn't heard of any strange books, just strange powers that be. And he was at least avoiding getting too close to some of those while on the tour.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"The Rubin?"

Lazily loitering in her safe-house, Felicia's feet were kicked up on the table in front of her, crossed at the ankles, and she was absentmindedly filing her nails. The phone was tucked between her ear and her shoulder.

"Never heard of it."

These things go through middlemen, you see, and Felicia loved playing cat and mouse with hers.

"Oh, _that_ Rubin Museum." Her smile curled wickedly. "Sure. No big deal. When's the job?"

Her laughter follows, light and delighted.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. I need three weeks. Surveillance, building plans, list of employees and shifts, known security systems, location of the item..." Pause. "Who?" Pause. "You're kidding?"

Dropping her feet to the floor and her nail fail to the table, she took in a deep breath and blew it out.

"Fine. Tell him I'll do it."

Another pause.

"DURING THE DAY?!"

...

Which is how the Black Cat found herself slinking across rooftops in the middle of Manhattan in the middle of the day. It's not ideal, but it would have to work. She already had two men on the inside.

Having already orchestrated an IT 'glitch' from the outside that prompted a call to the company's IT department (intercepted, of course, and directed to Black Cat's phone), Dr. Boris Korpse (a slender, balding, dark-skinned man) was dressed as one of the museum's IT techs, ruggedized tablet in hand, name badge plucked from some unsuspecting soul that Felicia had 'bumped into' on the street only minutes before. With any luck, it would take him hours to get home (and search for his badge for a while) before he reported it missing. No one likes to report their security badge missing.

Then there's Bruno Grainger, quite the refrigerator of a man who looks like he belongs just about anywhere except an art museum. Big, dumb, but loyal beyond anything Felicia has ever known. After Boris got successfully through security and found a place to tap in to the building's local systems, Bruno found a conspicuous place in the middle of things to point at one of the pieces of art.

"HEY! This one's FAKE! YOU GUYS ARE FAKE!"

Sigh.

She should probably have given Bruno more direction than just 'create a distraction.'

Nevertheless, Black Cat had already carved her entry point through the glass on top of the building when the radio crackled in her ear.

<< "We're in. Top floor surveillance is on a loop." >>

And then, like a shadow, Black Cat dropped in.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki is walking to the third floor of the building when he hears the declaration of fake art. His eyes shift momentarily toward it, but then away, making his way to an art display no far from the suite of offices. He doesn't approach them himself, though. He just wants to be close to make sure everything goes according to plan. After all, he has given Black Cat a more challenging job than he had intended.

    He himself doesn't know Danny, so there's little for him to notice to identify the man himself. Centuries of training have caused the Shredder to know someone who can handle himself in a fight by their movements. The man in the three piece suit fits such a description, and so a quiet mental note of him is made.

    Shun gets little note, though more as a person who is a potential obstacle more than a threat, he has little way to know that the youth has alternative powers.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny *was* enjoying a nice wine he had just grabbed off of a wandering tray. But when a big brute decides to scream out and cause quite the ruckus amongst the musuem goers, Danny's eyes immediately go to him. But the sight is not for long. Eyes quickly shift to see who else reacts somewhat unnaturally....cue the presence of Saki as he begins moving away from the scene with naught but a casual, determined stride. Danny takes a long sip of his drink and sets it aside, carefully stepping after him.

What happens when a ninja follows a ninja?

So, so many things. Danny keeps his distance, he doesn't distract himself with anything else. He knows when a move is being made for a prize. He knows when a predator is cut loose from the leash.

Where's the Defenders when you need them? Busy, probably.

Shun Cruz has posed:
Being a curious teenager, the "fake art" yell has Shun's attention at first. But he shrugs and turns away from it. Not his porblem after all.

A few pieces are catching his attention as he just wanders. Old piece there, some old stick there, an old tablet over there... and he pauses near where that particular vault is. His head tilted to the side, as if a curious individual. It's an off limits area, but he is certainly cautious and looking that way for a far too long time.

"Huh..." He says to himself, looking at the signs that say 'office' among other things before he pulls out his phone and types out something.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
You know what are great inventions?

Freight elevators.

All of these kinds of places have them, because you have to be able to move priceless artifacts (some of them very large) from one floor to another without having to carry the freaking things up the spiral staircase or cram them into the visitor elevators.

Felicia landed in a soundless crouch after dropping through the skylight, the position putting her conveniently tucked between a column and a large display case.

As it so happens, the only person who saw her drop in was a little girl who had wondered a bit off from her mother. Her little eyes went wide at first with fear, but Felicia's finger came to her lips and she make a show of pretending to lick the back of her hand, then use it to groom her white fur collar and mane of platinum white hair.

A little giggle bubbled up from the girl. "KITTY!"

Which, of course, prompted her mother's voice. "Caroline, don't wonder off."

The girl looked back towards her mother pensively, obviously weighing whether it was worth obeying, but when she looked back, Black Cat was nowhere to be seen.

<< "Almost there. It's a slow one." >>

Boris's voice crackled through her earpiece as Felicia picked her way through to the hallway with the elevator in it and disappeared inside.

"Any day."

*Ding*

The door slide open, and Felicia slips inside, casually hitting the '3' button and leaning back against the wall, ankles crossed, inspecting her nails.

...

Meanwhile, other radios are going off quietly in people's ears. << "Security, report to the shrine room. Disturbance. 1-4-7." >>

And people in suits with their own earpieces -- actually, a lot of people in suits -- were moving towards the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.

Because the one guard who'd been standing next to Bruno had been politely asking him to lower his voice, but he was only about one-third Bruno's size. It was going to take more than just one of them if they were going to intimidate Bruno enough to leave.

"NO! IT'S FAKE! WHY DO YOU SHOW FAKES?!"

Bruno was still pointing at one of the Buddhas.

And drawing most of the building's security directly to him... away from the vault.

...

*Ding*

The elevator doors slide open on the third floor maintenance hallway.

It's almost too easy, really.

The art exhibits are to the right. The office with the vault is to the left.

Felicia steps out of the elevator, only to be greeted by a startled woman in a business suit with a cup of coffee.

"Hey! You can't -- "

But that's all she manages before Black Cat has wrapped herself around the woman, holding her mouth from behind. She snatches a small patch out her belt and slaps it onto the woman's neck -- a narcopatch.

"Shhhhh, beautiful. Sleep."

The coffee cup drops from her hand and shatters on the floor, ceramic splintering and hot liquid splashing everywhere. And if the woman's exclamation hadn't been audible in the exhibit hall, the cup almost certainly was. Especially to anyone who had been listening for signs of trouble.

<< "Sorry, Cat. Didn't see her." >>

"Yeah, tell it to the judge," she hisses as she sets the woman on the floor and jogs down the hall. "Is the vault unlocked or not?"

<< "Almost there." >>

"You're killing me."

Shredder has posed:
    As security starts to respond to Bruno, Saki takes in a controlled breath. He takes more note of the boy as he seems to take an interest in the door to the offices and vault. So he makes his way in the boy's direction, eyes glancing toward the tablet to see what the teen may be examining that might have a relationship to his attention on the door. As for Danny, he goes mostly unnoticed, or at least unresponded to.

    For the Shredder, the highest priority at the moment is to have a successful job. If that means he has to make it less clean than he would prefer, he will intervene to make sure that Felicia is successful. But since from his side of things, there's no direct implication that she's been detected, he just continues to observe for the moment.

Danny Rand has posed:
Danny followed.

Silently.

Carefully.

And yet, Danny's brow raises when he sees Tekkai in front of the vault, as though he were studying something. But to know that Saki was approaching the vault *already* gave him every reason to believe that Saki was more than involved in whatever shenanigans was here. Then? He hears a mug completely shatter against the ground. His eyes slowly turn behind him. An attack? The intended thief?

With a frown, Daniel decides to focus on what was in front of him first, the closest danger. His hand reaches out, as though to firmly grip Saki's shoulder as he tries to look over Tekkai to view his tablet.

"Hey. Mind a word *away* from the vault? I know a good distraction when I see one."

Course, the problem with this situation is that now he has to find a way to deal with this strange man and what certainly is on their way, if that crashing mug is anything to go by.

Shun Cruz has posed:
Shun's interest is mainly in an old piece of work, Tibetan from the looks. It's an old knife, probably rusted so bad it can't even be pulled out. The sign says it's from ancient history.

To Shun it has that sort of mystic aura that he is watching. Old, faded, just waiting for someone to do something with it or figure out what it is. His mystic senses are not that refined to determine everything about it. He can tell he's looking at something, but for someone young like him it takes a moment before the words reach him.

He turns to look at the two men, then turns as he heard something. A hallway? He tilts his head. "Huh?" He looks to the two, then moves to the hallway. Security's busy, and he thought he heard someone needing hep. That's where he heads. The two grown men saying something about a distraction and the vault clicks a bit and he isn't about to let someone possibly be hurt because he did nothing. Nope.

Shredder has posed:
    As the hand hits his shoulder, There is a certain solidness to it. One that doesn't move easily with such a sudden clap. He doesn't move suddenly. "Excuse you?" He asks.

    Only half way through the statement, their is a snap of movement, like the release of a taught rubberband comes the reaction. There's a spin with a crossing hand to shove Danny's hand away and across his own body while delivering a bolt of a forward kick, aimed surprisingly high for the close proximity. It's aimed all the way up to just below his sternum. A clearing move, but one that could also be rather painful to the diaphram.

    As for Shun, he is no longer the focus of attention, clearly.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
The hallway is lined with plain, numbered doors, all RFID locked, on both sides. Some of them have additional placards like, 'Dr. Dewitt' and 'Janitorial.'

At the end of the hall, there's a set of double-doors labeled 'VAULT.'

Because you want to be sure to label the place where you keep all of your valuables.

Still, it was one more line of sight barrier, even if it was _directly_ down the hallway from the exhibit hall.

Even if one of those double-doors was still swinging closed when Tekkai poked his head in the other side. Weird. Of course, so was the woman lying unconscious on the floor next to the broken coffee cup.

...

"We're out of time."

<< "Ten seconds." >>

"We don't _have_ ten seconds."

<< "Two seconds." >>

"Better."

Felicia's standing in front of the large vault door, dipping into her belt and pulling out a little, spherical electronic device.

"Drone, sentry mode."

And it whirrs to life, floating up into the air in the middle of the room, a little light blinking innocently underneath it.

Finally, there's a pleasant chime from the vault access panel, and the light turns green. A satisfying hiss signals the opening of the reinforced steel bars, and a moment later, the door cracks open at one seam.

Grabbing it with both hands, Black Cat _pulls_ it open, swinging it out to the wall of the room.

And then all of the alarms started going off.

"What the hell?!"

<< "I don't know. The systems are offline. They must have had a backup." >>

"This is why we don't do jobs without proper recon!" Felicia growls, disappearing into the vault. "Get my exit ready!"

<< "Already on it." >>

...

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Bruno yells, but there were too many of the guards at this point. If he pushed it any further, the NYPD was going to get called, and _that_ was big no-no.

Begrudgingly, he allowed them to drag him towards the exit, still looking back over his shoulder. "YOU'RE ALL FAKES!"

Much to the horror or amusement of some of the other museum visitors.

And then all of the alarms start going off, and everyone starts to panic.

Danny Rand has posed:
"Isn't that literally what I was about to tell-"

Danny doesn't have enough time to finish his sentence. Like a rubberband, Shredder's body is in full motion. His hand pushes Danny's away, who would rather release him than be involved in an awkward test of strength contest with the other man. That quick kick is coming right for his diaphragm, but Danny is quick on his feet, not just some random passerby. His hands catch Shredder's foot at the ankle and at the sole of the foot, stopping the attack dead in it's tracks as he tries to suddenly *twist* Shredder's ankle to spin the man towards the ground.

Then...of course, he sees Black Cat moving towards the vault.

"Don't-!"

aaaand there goes the alarm. "Do that. Also, SERIOUSLY?! First Rand Tower, now this? You really get around." That is...pretty much angry Danny. And so, he thrusts an outward hand towards Felicity's path, trying to let out a surge of chi that - if he's fast enough - could hopefully knock Felicia off balance, at least a little.

Shun Cruz has posed:
With someone down, and now someone before the vault, Shun is careful with his next move. Really.

"What in the--?" He asks, then he lunges for the nearest fire alarm to pull that. It's a maintenance hallway.

"THIEF!" He calls out, "THIEF IN THE BACK!"

That there's some sort of fight back the way he came, too.

His hands come up, looking towards the vault and trying to be ready for as much as he can be.

But seriously, it's just some kid, right?

Felicia Hardy has posed:
From the Cat, there's a squeal that sounds almost... well... inappropriate, as Danny's wave of chi catches her and sends her tumbling, catching herself with a graceful hand and a little backwards flip out of sight.

And since she was already in front of the vault door?

Well, she tumbles _inside_ the vault. Which is fortuitous.

What is _not_ fortuitous is the fact that IRON FIST is playing vault guardian at all. Her bad luck was supposed to work on _other people_, not herself.

"Dragon Boy?" comes Felicia's disembodied voice, dripping with desire and ringing out as an echo from within the chamber of the vault itself. "I must have made quite an impression! You don't have to stalk me, you know? I would have given you my number. After all, you've still got something I want!"

There are so many things in the vault, but everything is kept well labeled and crated (in various sizes and states of being opened). It only takes her a few seconds to find the label she's looking for -- the Ashi No Himitsu, wrapped in cloth, the crate's lid already set aside. She drops it into a drawstring bag and slings it over her shoulders like a backpack.

Mission accomplished. Now to get out... preferably sans handcuffs.

"I've got it," she murmurs for her earpiece. "I could really use that lift."

<< "Ready on your signal." >>

Once more, the white-haired burglar peeks her head out, aquamarine eyes glinting from behind her mask as a slow smile curls her lips. She's looking right at Tekkai -- a kid who was too close to being in the middle of a fight between her and Iron Fist for comfort.

"Hey, handsome." It's not _nearly_ as lewd a tone as when she's taunting Danny. It's more affectionate, like the fun aunt who helps you sneak out with your friends. "I'm gonna need you to just..."

She's literally shoo'ing him down the hallway with a flick of her clawed fingers, and her drone is still floating in the air near the vault, blinking (in whatever 'sentry mode' is).

Shredder has posed:
    Saki doesn't waste any time with further words. He isn't one known for his combat banter. He's precise and controlled. As his foot is caught, he uses the momentum rather than fighting it. There is the spin of his foot, which in turn produces a momentum with his body, which in turn brings his knee around, pointed to deliver directly at Danny's ribs, using the Iron Fist's own maneuver as his personal knee strike beneath the arm of the outstretched hand, engaged in...a mystical maneuver? Curious. No matter, there are other priorities to attend to at the moment. Namely, securing Felicia's escape, and he intends to punish Danny's split of attention. He finishes the spin with step turn to put him facing his opponent once more.

Danny Rand has posed:
That chi wave that leaves Danny's hand is completely concussive. Was he planning on launching Felicia right where she wanted to go? No, not really. But, he managed to get her into a position that she might not be able to leave unless she goes out the same way she came (unless there's an emergency hatch in the vault or something). Though hearing one of his monikers on a sultry voice makes Danny blush no small amount! "You made an impression on my chest, that's for sure. You kick *really* hard. Your form is pretty good, but could use some improvement." Skill over power, every time. Though, Danny seems immediately distracted from reacting further thanks to Shredder continuing to put pressure on him!

That knee finds a terrible home in...Danny's palm. He managed to catch the knee right before he got hit in the ribs, but the sheer power behind it is enough to send him stumbling backwards, only for Danny to put his foot against the wall and launch himself right for Shredder, attempting a sudden leaping snap kick right for the other man's jaw!

Fast and adapatable.

At least...until he's starting to get shoo'd by Felicia. "Hey beautiful. I can't really do that, you know...thieves and such." But that momentary distraction can cost Danny if Saki is quick enough!

Shun Cruz has posed:
Shun tilts his head, looking at Felicia, "Um, sorry, but uh... that sounds like a bad idea as an upstanding citizen and all? Are you really trying to rob something, 'cause I've seriously just pulled the alarm and I'm sure I can get past the two guys fighting and yell for help, too, before you get over here?"

The kid's rambling, and he's slowly backing up after hitting the fire alarm. And he's glancing back to the two men fighting behind him and then towards the thief lady in front. And back and forth.

"Like unless you're some sort of super speed person, which doesn't make sense 'cause you're still over there, so... yeah." He says. He's tense, and he has his hands up as if to ward off danger. Even if he's just flat out unarmed. "I mean, you could just leave, too, and not rob the place?"

The kid definitely knows he's in the worst possible place right now and it's showing. Even if he is sweating a little and looking ready to make good on what he said first.

Shredder has posed:
    It's rare for Shredder to be impressed by a foe. There are only a handful of people who can last more than two moves against him. The efficiency with which Danny responds is unexpected. As a result, it very nearly connects, brushing ever so slightly against his cheek.

    Instead of stepping out of the path, though, he steps forward into it so that the ankle will come down to be propped on his shoulder. Saki's hand comes up to grip that landing foot with a clench. "Impressive," he concedes, while his other hand comes across to punch downward in an attempt to hyperflex his knee. His purpose, though, has run its course as recognizes Felicia is making her exit. He should do likewise shortly.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Black Cat groans audibly at Tekkai's protest. She _is_ fast -- much faster than any 'normal' person and closer to the Spiders or those with similar abilities. She's not a speedster like the Flash, but that really was something that was better as 'show' not 'tell.'

"Have it your way..."

And then several things happen at once.

Felicia grabs the drone out of the air and throws it down the hallway -- directly towards Tekkai (and those beyond).

"Now," she hisses.

And all the lights go out. The only mechanical sound is that of the elevator door opening, but aside from having thermal vision (like her contacts give her) or something similar, there's no way to tell what those doors are opening up to. The elevator car one would assume. But if not? It's a three story fall to the bottom.

"FLASHBULB!" she shouts.

And then, wherever that little spherical drone has made its way to -- however fall down the hallway its flown -- it explodes in a blinding light brighter than a flashbang.

There's the sound of skittering, of little *pop* *pop* *pop*s and if darkness wasn't enough, the whole area is suddenly blanketed in thick black smoke.

Danny Rand has posed:
Fire alarms going off, a fight (potentially to the death) with a *highly* skilled combatant, and a thief making her best efforts to get out of there.

What a crazy-ass day.

He probably should've called Matt before he tried to take this on alone. But...that's the price of trying to live to help people, one might suppose. There's always going to be too much going on. There's always going to be one more guy to fight, one more thing happening all at the same time. One more fight to be had.

"Hold on, kid!" He calls to Tekkai, as though asking him to just *hold on* for as long as possible until he could come and give him the assist. Danny's eyes turn to look at Saki then, impressed by the man's incredible reflexes. Danny's foot grazes the man's cheek, though his foot finds itself on the man's shoulder, with Danny's hands still raised and ready to strike, as though a crane who had simply rested one of it's legs.

"Not too bad yourself."

Though suddenly, that fist is coming hard against the knee and with a sudden leap and twist, Danny forces the man to punch the back of the knee (which still hurts like hell) but allows Danny to put some acrobatic expertise to a natural bend as opposed to an unnatural one. As that fist forces that knee to bend, Danny gets a foot under him as well as his arms, trying to literally crunch himself in a roll so he can put all the strenght in his legs into *THROWING* Shredder off and away from him.

Whether it works or not, any possibility of a short or long-lived victory is short lived as that little lightshow from Felicia suddenly goes off despite Danny trying to cover his eyes with his arm. It helps a little bit, but the explosion is still a deafening sound.

"Dammit, Cat!" Danny calls after her. "That was a low blow!"

Shun Cruz has posed:
For Shun, he brings up a hand and makes a quick motion. What happens is there's an additional fiery sparks that intercept the drone. A wide shield, mystical symbols flashing across it as the teen angles it to try to have the thing roll off it.

The shout of flashbulb has Shun shutting his eyes tight and looking away. Someone's had at least a bit of training.

It's the smoke that gets him, coughing and dropping to his knees to try to avoid anything as the fiery orange-red mystical symbol shield disappears under the barrage.

Shun hits the deck in the aftermath, hoping to be under the smoke and still having to blink some spots from his eyes thanks to that flash bomb surprise.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki's victory costs him as he's shoved backward, slamming into the wall next to a display. It rattles, and a mask topples off its stand and to the floor of the display. The curator is going to be glad that he didn't hit it a foot to the left.

    It's right then that the flashbulb goes off. He himself is caught by the flash due to the recent impact, blinded and deafened. It stops his assault, but his physical readiness doesn't change. He's fought blind before. He stands still, sensing Shun's landing on the deck, and he hears Danny's exclamation toward Felicia. The person he really wants to track, though, is Felicia, and whether she has cleared the area with the package.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
The lights are off.

The room is clouded in smoke.

The shards of what's left of the drone have scattered.

"Cool trick," her haunting voice carries through the smoke -- obviously directed at Tekkai.

Amidst the chaos, Danny Rand can feel the soft caress of warm breath against his skin just an instant before lips brush his cheek. Yet as quickly as she came, that presence is gone like a phantom -- like a whisper in the wind.

"Maybe you'll get your hands on me next time... Iron Fist," the Cat purrs, her voice a haunting echo in the dark, though a playful lilt curls his name on her lips.

A second later, there's the *pzzzzt* of a grappling hook as it fires.

And then she's gone.

Danny Rand has posed:
"Hnnh....my eyes..."

Danny is still working his way back up to his full height. But before he can much realize where he is? Felicia's voice is in the smoke. "Gotta stop her." He mumbles to himself, trying tos quare himself back up as the splotches of black and white begin to clear from his vision...but not nearly fast enough to see her coming. He feels the warmth of her breath on his cheek and the warmth of sweet lips of a kiss in the exact same spot. Though before Danny can so much as react?

She's gone. He can *hear* the grapple hook launching and her feet leaving the ground.

"Crap."

He rubs at his eyes a little bit more, turning his eyes towards Tekkai. "You alright?"

But....there's still Saki.

"Where did she go?" He asks of the other man, perhaps hoping the respect earned might earn him similarly an answer.

Shredder has posed:
    Once Shredder can sense the Black Cat is leaving the area, he listens, hearing Danny change his attention toward the boy. That's his cue. He doesn't need to continue a battle with the Iron Fist. His priority is on the book that she attained. Moving backward a step, his hands make the kuji kiri retsu, and he fades away like wind blowing leaves, and disappears.

Shun Cruz has posed:
Shun is still on the floor when it clears. His eyes are a bit wide at what he had to do. He assumed it was an explosive, but that? That was something.

Realizing he was exposed, he gets up, looking at Danny. "Y-yeah... who was that?" He looks around to make sure there was no security cameras pointing his way, raising a hand to cover his mouth as he does.

"... uh..." He blinks a few times when eh sees Saki disappear into thin air.

That has him staring a bit and nearly lowering his hand, "The hell?" He coughs a few times from the smoke.

He looks to Danny, "Um... you got a card or something, 'cause I think we need to get out of here."