12121/Mayhem on the Gotham Express

Mayhem on the Gotham Express
Date of Scene:	30 July 2022
Location:	A train departing from Gotham
Synopsis:	When two rival groups of assassins both come after the same target the Outsiders have to save an innocent woman from danger! Unsurprisingly Laura Kinney proves to be bad at throwing parties.
Cast of Characters:	Laura Kinney, Rose Wilson, Conner Kent, Phoebe Beacon, Megan Gwynn

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Laura Kinney has posed:
Ahh the Gotham Express, a once a year train travel event, which harkens back to the days when dirigibles were the hot new thing and train travel was for the rich and famous. Lovingly refurbished thanks to the dedicated efforts of a Gotham charity the Express is a cross country trip at the height of period luxury.

With private sleeper carriages, chandeliers in the dining cart and passengers encouraged to dress in 1900s style. No expense has been spared and the ticket price is equally eye watering. The guest list is equally exclusive, mostly made up of the wealthy and stylish, with the proceeds going to various charity causes.

The biggest mystery though is why on Earth one X-23, better known to her friends as Laura Kinney, has sent cryptic messages to gather people here for her birthday....

Amidst the glitz and glamour our heroes find themselves. Thankfully ticket prices include drinks and meals. So for now at least there's naught to do but mingle!

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson is not fucking pleased, not because she doesn't want to celebrate Laura, but because she has to get dressed up to do it. Her Ravager costume is usually as close as she gets to formal wear. And it seems weird, cause she wouldn't have called the ties and tails and pretty dress thing as X-23's vib, but at least the booze will probably be good. Is Rose old enough to drink? Shut the fuck up.

She's also a little wary - traps do happen after all, so the cheap tuxedo she's converted to her own purposes is loaded up with hidden weapons. She has her white hair pulled back in a ponytail, her eyepatch in place, in a white tux with black tie. Someone from Madripoor might mistake her for a man named Patch. She stubs out her cigarette beneath the heel of her shoe and then goes in with a sigh. Time to suffer people again. God dammit.

Conner Kent has posed:
"It has to be a joke," and "I bet Gabby did this" have been Conner comments. He just can't believe the socially-impaired guilt-ridden Laura Kinney he met a couple years ago has organized a birthday party.

No 1900s outfit for him, but at least he found some slacks, jacket and a button-up shirt, instead of the usual t-shirt and jeans. If Laura organized this, maaaybe it is some kind of surprise mission thing.

Because she is developing a sense of humor but it is /weird/. "Hey Rose..." he greets the white-haired girl. In a tux?! "You came and... hmm, nice outfit, of course armed to the gills," he is not sure he can disapprove, though. It is Laura's party. "This is gonna be weird, yeah?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Yes, mingling, which is definitely the strength of the currently mute Phoebe Beacon.

    Fortunately: High collar shirts hide her injury pretty well. Unfortunately it's a little difficult to move around everyone improperly wearing corsets and not used to the costuming.

    Phoebe, thankfully, has been practicing, and moves around in tight fitted blouse with a fitted waistcoat and skirt, the latter two in matching brown check and her short, curling, floofy hair covered by a scally. She's adjusting a brown tie, and her boots whisper as she walks around, listening to the other Outsiders.

Laura Kinney has posed:
The Outsiders earbuds pick up an incoming signal. Encrypted team channel, using a security identification code keyed to laura.

"Good evening everyone," she says, presumably somewhere on the train from the background noise. "As you may know. It was my birthday recently. And rather than celebrate in the usual fashion I thought we could prevent... a murder.

She pauses for dramatic effect.

"And no, this isn't a murder mystery experience. My intel sources indicate two teams of professional killers have been hired to target someone on this train."

All around the rich and powerful guests seem to be enjoying themselves. Blissfully unaware of any potential danger.

"I've been able to establish that one of the assassins intends to poison the daughter of a Chinese diplomat. The trouble is the mastermind behind the poisoning has a reputation for using mass casualty 'accidents' to cover up his handywork. If we're not discreet he might try to derail the train or blow up a bridge."

There's a pause before she adds "Oh and it's a party. I believe it's traditional to have fun.."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson is torn between being irritated at being put into a mission without prior knowledge and being relieved that this isn't some attempt to get her to be sociable. She cocks her head at Conner when he comes her way, "Got a rug pull, but no prank. Got work to do. You just stand there and look pretty," she says, patting SB on the cheek as she starts to make her rounds.

She snags a martini from a passing tray and starts to assess the varoius participants and guests, looking for signs of assassinry - shut up, it is, too, a word. Scars, bulging packets, a face she's seen on a wanted poster or an Interpol list. Or her father, of course.

"Somebody get eyes on the intended victim and stick close, huh?" she says sotto voce.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner groans. It was a surprise mission. He remembers Tim doing this once or twice years ago. Except not when people could get killed. He idly reaches for a drink and glances around, looking for Chinese people. "Who is the target? We gotta get her out of here." He sub-vocalizes in the coms.

He grumps at Rose being Rose, "don't get into a fight. Well, not with the wrong people," he says to the girl. He is also typing in his starkphone. Maybe the Roost's computers have a list of the people that purchased tickets for the train.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives the wet cat expression to a mirror as she fixes her hat, looking up with an eyeroll as she begins to look around for the intended target. For those Outsiders who accept the mental knock-on-the-door, there may be a whisper of her voice -- since you can't subvocalize if you have no vocal chords.

    <Looking from my end. If there are two teams of professional killers, is there a chance we can turn them specifically against one another?>

Laura Kinney has posed:
As Conner looks around he can see people from all over the country. Probably a few from around the world too. No-one immediately jumps out as a diplomats daughter. Perhaps she's in one of the other carriages? Or maybe she's already been intercepted by Laura? Who can tell!

The train seems to be moving along at quite the pace now. Having had plenty of time to get going and for all the fun & games to be in swing.

The list of ticket sales isn't linked to any of the official computers the Roost is plugged into. Someone would need to hack into a charity and look up the records. Their bank seems to be located safely outside Gotham. Probably in a nice discrete tax haven!

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson swallows her distaste for being mind-linked, recognizing it as something of a necessity in the situation even if she deeply instinctively loathes the idea of someone pushing into her brain. Nothing personal, though, just garden variety Rose Wilson hatred.

"Two teams, but one man pulling the strings. Calls himself Hasard. I've heard of him on the mercenary circuit. He likes to hide subtle with splashy. In the buckets of blood sense," she says into the coms, not even moving her lips. Anybody who gets her a ventriloquist's dummy while get a knife in the ass for Christmas.

"Con, maybe you should check the engine real quick. Easiest way to make a mess is to crash the train."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner heads towards the engine right away. "Or a bomb in the tracks, I guess. But if the assassins are inside the train it is unlikely they will crash the train," he offers, "unless the guy is invulnerable or able to teleport or... yeah, I better check the engine."

No problem with Phoebe talking in his head, besides a moment of surprise. He doesn't dislike telepaths, but he dislikes magic. It makes him nauseous and he was looking forward to all the tasty food. "Where are you Laura? I hope you know this means I am not giving you a present until Christmas, sheesh." Some party!

He will give her the present tomorrow. Maybe.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Garden variety Rose Wilson hatred sometimes comes with stabbings, Phoeebs has no intention of getting stabbed in the ass... what a bum-mer. Phoebe does not want stabbings, but using sign language would give her away.

    <Well. Sounds like a cheery sort of person. I'm sure we'll come across some of their ilk.> she thinks to the team.

    Phoebe would have rather not use magic either; mental magic is not her forte and it's going to make her hellaciously sick later.

    <Do you have a family name for the diplomat? If they're here in Gotham, she may go to the Academy. I can take a look at their yearbook and get a visual.>

Laura Kinney has posed:
Moving down the train it quickly becomes apparent there are a lot more waiting staff on the train than one might expect. And only a perhaps a dozen of them have flowers buttoned into their waistcoats.

Rose will know that Conner missed out one key possibilty. That Hasard isn't on the train and doesn't really care what happens to his people...

"Her name is Han Xinyue," X-23 adds over comms. Almost everyone on the train seems too old for school. At least as a student. The typical younger passenger is between eighteen and twenty five and probably a trust fund kid or a trophy wife. Perhaps both.

At various points our heroes will notice those individuals with the flowers seem to pause, then turn, always at slightly unnatural points. Like they were being directed and aiming something around the train. Perhaps a miniature spy camera. It seems the villain hasn't located the target either.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose catches on to the floral arrangement and passes it on to the team, "Waiters with the flower. They're working in coordination with each other. Keep cool and keep an eye on them. I"m going to take one," she says.

She does her best to seem casual, moving along like she's heading towards the restroom area, passing by one fo the flowered men who's scanning the crowd. She takes him from behind, covering his mouth and dragging him back into the women's room, locking the door and pulling him down to the floor. Training says she slit his throat, but it's messy and...technically wrong, she guesses. She hooks his carotid against her forearm and chokes him down. When she's finished, she props him up on a toilet, locks the stall door and slides underneath before she pops his earpiece into her other ear.

Conner Kent has posed:
"There are twelve of them," mutters Conner. He notes at the Chinese-looking people along the way, too. But he is going to need a description of Han Xinyue, unless someone says the name. He is listening, but it is a lot of people, plus the noise of the train. Conner is not very good at filtering background sounds.

"Can you send me a picture of Xinyue to my cell, Laura?" He requests, "do you know how this Hasard person looks like, Rosie?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe wrinkles her nose. Twelve assassins. One down, she registers, and she slips forward. A little golden glow of her hand, conceleaed by crossing behind one of the assassins, and suddenly he slips downwards, as if he wasn't there.

    The plate-sized portal had opened up beneath his feet, and with the sudden 'whuuf' of air displacement, the assassin would find himself in a field in the middle of rural New Jersey, deposited as neatly as you please in a pile of cow-pies.

    There is a bull in the distance. Best of luck, boyo.

    <Took one out. Hunting for another.> she transmits, and begins to walk around the edges, slipping silently behind others.

Laura Kinney has posed:
The waiter with the flower is just a typical hired crook. Professional enough to blend in with a fancy crowd but not professional enough to withstand a sneak attack from a world class assassin. He does have his camera button though. Perhaps it's best Rose does something with it before Hasard gets suspicious!

Conner is probably going to be seriously rethinking that gift. The train doesn't have a bomb anywhere he might expect to find one. But there's something else he won't locate. Any kind of a driver. Well not alive anyway. What presumably was the driver is already cold and stuffed into a locker. While the train itself has been rigged up to a remote control computer system....

Everyone of the teams phones chime and a photo of a twenty-ish year old Chinese woman is uploaded.

Over the earpiece there is a stream of instructions in French. Go here. Check there. Focus on that. Followed by some very confused comments as a waiter vanishes. Appearing far enough away the communications gear can no longer broadcast. Perhaps the gear failed? Hasard may never know!

The bull on the other hand...

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson catches up with Conner quicklky and passes him the earpiece, "Find out what these French fucks are saying," she mutters, tracking another set of flower boys. "Hasard won't be here. He's a planner, not hands-on. Probably sitting in a hotel room on a satellite uplink. Might not even be in country."

Rose finds another pair talking to one another, having some sort of argument between themselves in a passageway just outside of the main party area. She strikes fast, punching one in the throat and taking his tray. His friend tries to run and Rose lets loose, flinging the tray and catching him at the base of the skull hard enough to concuss and knock him cold. "Suck on that, Captain America," she mutters.

Conner Kent has posed:
"They killed the driver," mentions Conner. "And I think hacked the onboard computer. Anyone has Oracle number?" Because he doesn't, but he is going to try to get manual control of the thing if it starts speed up. Which means figuring out the system. "Gonna need a few mins," he mutters.

He is no hacker, so it is going to take a little longer than a few minutes. Where is Time when he needs him?

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe brethes out in a huff, and she keeps moving after dropping one waiter-assassin into a field. Dark eyes sweep the occupants as she travels from car to car. She purses her lips a moment, walking behind another goon, and with a small wave behind him his jacket catches on fire, moving quickly up his back.

    There's a yell from a compatriot, and then Phoebe gasps, grabs a heavy water pitcher and swings it at the waiter, not only dumping the water and extinguishing the flames, but cracking him upside the head.

    She signs in ASL

    -Who decided it was a good idea to put candles out on a crowded train!?-

    There are no candles.

Laura Kinney has posed:
While there might not be a panic on the train just yet there's certainly some alarm over the stolen earpiece. And Conner will see the screen scrolling with text as instructions to accelerate get relayed to the train. Now seems like a /very/ good time to learn how to drive a train.

Rose is certainly fast enough to blitz attack down two goons. Although it seems like the remaining goons are on alert now. The cameras hidden in the flowers allowing Hasard to warn his goons they have company.

Balm leaves her foes slumped in a heap. Scorching fabric with powers beyond their comprehension. Both Balm and Rose also likely notices those remaining goons seem to be making a B-line for the sleeper cars. If the target isn't at the party it stands to reason she's still getting ready in her room!

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson heads towards the sleepers and extends her right arm, flicking out a spring loaded blade she had hidden up her sleeve. the tanto blade has a savage cutting edge. Rose got it as a birthday present from her psychotic father. She treasured it in the way you treasure a lethal weapon from someone you love/hate.

She enters first, "Find the girl," she says to Phoebe, "I'll clear the path," she says. One of the first goons starts to draw a silence weapon and Rose lashes out with a kick, breaking his two forearm bones and eliciting a scream before she dips and slashes his hamstrings, catching the silence pistol on the way down and using it to shoot the next goon in the gut.

Conner Kent has posed:
Speed up? Nooo. Restart the system. Switch to manual while it restarts. Pulling the brakes a little. The train lurches, and probably some drinks gets spilled. "I bet the goons weren't told the train was supposed to crash," mentions Conner idly.

"Maybe I can make it stop," he muses idly. He can lift about a hundred tons. How much does this train weight. He makes a brief mental calculation and frowns unhappily. "How far is the first stop? Asking for... reasons," he sends through the coms.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe was about to open the first door when the train lurches. She gives a gasp, a tumble, and a roll before she finds herself in a crouch, her eyes narrowed -- and she tilts her head. The hair on the back of her neck stands up, and she turns, and kicks in the door to the cabin she's right next to -- because, for goodness sake, if there's a magic using assassin on board that's going to make things complicated.

    The door snaps open, slamming hard enough to crack the glass, and phoebe stands up and extends her metal staff, eyes narrowed only to find...

Laura Kinney has posed:
With his super senses and view from the front Conner can likely tell it's a fair way until the next station or stop. Junctions and crossings on the other hand... Well there are probably several they'll have to pass before the scheduled stop. It's a sleeper car journey after all.

In the tight confines of the train the goons really don't stand a chance. None of them have worked together before. So they file in without any coordination. Only one really seems to present a threat. As he pulls out a gas mask and some sort of vial. Raising it high to throw at our heroes.

Inside the delightfully expensive sleeper cabin she's been staying in Megan gets a bit of a jolt. And then a bunch of the Outsiders are having a fight outside her room. Probably not a shock. Would Laura ever throw a nice party without something like this happening?

Balm doesn't just see someone she knows in the room. Hanging off the roof, looking in through the window behind her there's... Laura. Waving and pointing up. To the roof. Over comms she chimes in "We'll be getting company on the roof any moment now."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is in the cartilage with the person of interest, trying to keep her...Distracted. Dressed in a cute white frilly dress, red vest and beret, she gives off a slightly steampunk flare as she smiles at the passenger across from her. "Soooo where you headed? This train is Soo co,fly and pretty no? I just love trains!"

She chirps cheerfully, trying to ignore the noises coming from out side their car. or at least their room. "Oh don't worry about that. My friends are on it." she winks. "Trust me, you're safe." but yikes they seem to be going pretty fast...What was that jolt for? "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you..Promise!"

Rose Wilson has posed:
One of the thugs gets in a couple of shots, driving hard elbows into Rose's face, even bouncing her head off the wal. She drops to a knee for a second and shakes it off, blood spurting from her nose in twin streams. She grits her teeth as she rises again and drives her tanto knife low into the waistline of her assailant, dragging it raggedly to the side. It's not exactly a disembowelment, but it's just short and , as the goon crumbles against her, Rose leans in against his head and finds the earpiece to his boss.

"Hey, Hasard. Voulez vous ca suck my dick," she says, yanking her blade free.

Gasmask is lifting his hand to toss the vial, the gas spreading around as Rose lets her blade fly, flinging it across to try to stab through the vial filled wrist. The gas she can figure out. Hell, maybe she can use his mask if he isn't horribly coated in acid and/or bubonic plague.

Conner Kent has posed:
"There is a chopper out there," mentions Conner in the coms. "Also, don't break that vial. Even Hasard thinks it is a bad idea, and he is probably sipping champagne in some beach by the Bahamas."

Conner resets the computer again. It was speeding up the damn train. Again. "I think I can kill the Trojan process in the onboard computer in a minute. I can't guarantee the train will stop where it should stop with the driver dead, though. Maybe I should hit the brakes anyway. Let me know if you need a surprise stop."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There's gas. There's magic sense, and there's Laura in the window.

    Well, never a time like the present.

    Phoebe jumps forward, bouncing off one of the seats and going out the window, hooking one hand against the roof of the train and swinging herself up -- sliding back a little bit as the wind hits her.

    <Popped gas down in the carriage. We may need to emergency ventilate.> she recounts, and looks over to Laura.

    <That I should probably leave to you.> she gives a wry grin, and spinning her staff she goes on the defensive.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Up on the roof the second group don't seem to have anything to do with Hasard. Rivals of his perhaps? Nor do they seem especially interested in stealth or subtle tactics like accidents or poison. They're approaching fast. Helicopter fast. Lines already dropping to allow a half dozen mercenaries with full body armour and automatic weapons to make a rapid assault upon the train. Gas masks, professional combat training and no concerns about anyone knowing they arrived.

In short bad news.

Laura gives Balm a nod. She's dressed in a 1920s flapper dress, which seems to have many tassles that don't do well in the rooftop breeze, and no shoes. Clearly undercover and having enough notice to leave items her claws might damage behind. She leaps off the side of the train, catching the wall with her claws and swinging around, opening up a portion of the carriage to let any poison gas escape.

The diplomats daughter turns to Megan with surprise and then faints. It's not every day heroes burst through the door having a pitched battle. Thankfully there is at least a bed for her to lay on. Even if it is a little closer to poison gas than she might like.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn narrows her eyes, peering around as she hears crazy stuff going on all around there. "Oh darn, she fainted! Heeey are you okay?" she tries her best to fan the fainting girl, but not with her wings since that just might freak her out even more. She taps her comm with a slight frown, <<Heey what's going on out there? She just fainted. Should I port her to safety?>>

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson hears Conner's warning about the vial and might actually invent a couple of new swear words as her superhuman muscles and reflexes respond with startling rapidity. She springs, leaping through the air, up and over, then into a roll so that she comes up just in time to jet her hand out and snatch the falling vial out of the air.

"GOT IT!" she shouts, then takes a kick to the sternum from the gasmask man. She grunts, stumbling backwards as he keeps stomping, trying to get at her while nursing his injured hand. The gas is starting to rise up around her soon and Rose knows she needs to act fast.

So she does what any self-respecting young vigilante does and kicks the man right in the balls, doubling him over so she can snatch the mask off his face. "Choke on it, bitch," she says, again, pitching it towards the goon's earpiece as she dashes back towards the window where Phoebe, Laura and the girl had gone. She looks at the speeding ground going by and mutters, "This is gonna suck," she says and then leaps out to tumble to...safety?

Conner Kent has posed:
"Yeah, get that woman away from the train," sends Conner though the coms. "Okay, the good news is I am pretty sure I got the hack out of the way. The bad news is I still don't know where we are supposed to stop." Also, never found the damn manual about driving trains. Google failed him.

"Did I hear Rose jumping off the train? Crap," Conner makes sure the train is going slowly and kicks the door of the cabin open. There is a helicopter outside and possibly a Rose with a lot of broken bones too. A little heat vision to the blades should force the chopper to land somewhere. Preferably not on top of the train.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <Confirm, further she is from this the safer we all are!> Balm answers back over a mental connection, and she narrows her eyes at the oncoming helicopter lines.

    She focuses, and as Conner uses heat vision to the blades of the chopper, she herself goes to knock a couple of the decending enemies down.

    She throws a couple of softball-sized fireballs at them from her place on the train, her hat flying off her head.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Rose might have tumbled away. If not for the classic of moves. The last minute grab from a team-mate. In this case Laura hanging off the side of the train by her claws. Metal and wood making an awful shriek and sparking as adamantium cuts through it. The mutant heaves and rather than swinging herself back up to the roof like she planned she flings Rose upwards.

The poisoner is much less lucky. If only he could be menaced by a bull...

Conner has a great view of the helicopter. The pilot wasn't expecting to deal with bullets let alone Kryptonian heat vision. It's probably good he's taken it out sooner rather than later too. The helicopter isn't unarmed and could have begun firing any moment!

The descending mercenaries return fire even as they slide down the ropes. Seemingly uncaring about their losses. A few get scorched so badly by Balms magic that when they land they'll hopefully be unconcious rather than feeling the pain from the burns while another misses his landing when the helicopter veers off course in search of an emergency landing zone.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn narrows her eyes and nods, rolling on top of the girl protectively, <<Got it, porting her to the nearest hospital..Will update you soon as she is secure..>> "Sihalnovarumchinoth!" she exclaims, and both she and the diplomat's daughter vanish in a column of pink light. She'll be gone for a bit, making sure the girl is safe and no one knows where she is.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson rolls onto her back on the roof of the train, letting out a sharp yelp as Laura snatches her up by the cummerbund and flings her onto the train. Rose pushes up, shedding her tuxedo jacket and flinging it aside. She's quite a sight, with blood all over her mouth and chin from her own nose, her crisp white dress shirt soaked in the blood of multiple other thugs, with a silenced pistol in one hand and a vial of indeterminate bioweapon in the other. Her ponytail came out and her snow white hair is whipping in the wind at high velocity. "NO MORE FUCKING BIRTHDAYS!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, raising the pistol to fire at the mercs.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Aww... but they wanted to celebrate my non-birthday next month," protests Conner. The train keeps slowing down, and it will full stop in a couple minutes, but of course it is a bit too late for the passengers not to have noticed anything. There are knocked out waiters/thugs (or bleeding ones) all over the train and armed mercenaries on the roof.

"I am hearing quite a lot of VIPs using their cells," notes Conner. "I guess we can't stay for the snacks. But then again, I doubt anyone can."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <Oi. Language.> Phoebe gives a wry grin, where she had been crouched down after throwing fireballs, but with Rose's cover fire of EXTREME PREJUDICE gives her the moment she needs.

    She focuses, and mutely hissing words through her lack of vocal cords, a second wind kicks up. It elvates the helicopter enough so that it bounces a little, shaking everyone still on the lines before depositing it in an accompanying muddy field, her eyes glowing with her rose gold magic as she tries to steer the winds.

    Which then makes her collapse down to her knee. There was a lot of magic spent in one go tonight.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney disappears under the train. She's probably fine though. Even if the train runs her over she'll just get up a short while after hardly the best way to spend a birthday though. Still it's X-23 she's probably as close to enjoying herself as she can be.

Megan poofs into nothing. Little do the villains know their targets is well beyond their reaches now.

Conner indeed will get the train to crawl to a halt. Perhaps force a stop with sheer power isn't the most subtle or elegant solution. But more importantly it works. Sure they passengers are getting into a bit of a panic now. But the automatic gunfire up on the roof would have cause that anyway. And at least they slow down gradually enough no-one gets thrown around and injured.

As Rose fires her target staggers back. His body armour seemingly able to hold up against a silenced hand gun at range. It does at least put his aim off causing his return fire to go wide.

One of the remaining three Mercs still had his line close at hand. And when Balm drives the helicopter down the cable snags his foot and yanks him off the side. His ankle makes an unpleasant snap and lands with a thud. Thankfully the train isn't moving so fast now. And a few moments later he lets out a low groan of misery.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Body armor just means that she gets to take care of them in person. Rose lets out a primal yell and charges to close the ground between them, then diving low and sweeping out the remaining thugs legs. As he tumbles down next to her, she spits in his face and braces her feet against his chest to shove him over the side. Train may not be so fast but it's still a good solid fifteen or twenty feet to the ground.

And even if he does get up...well...Laura's down there. He'll stay down if he's smart.

Conner Kent has posed:
Now the train is stopping Conner has no qualm to use the emergency brakes. That will make sure it doesn't start again even if the virus program restarts. It also leaves stranded in the middle of nowhere a lot of rich and important passengers. But he would call hit a feature, not a problem.

"Do you need help?" He offers the women, flying over the train and looking a lot of unconscious or injured thugs. And Rose. "You look like hell... and I liked that tux," beat, "where is the birthday girl?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is pitched backwards, and gives a soft grunt as she slides along the train's roof and nearly falls between cars. She's stuck out her staff to stop herself, giving a slight grimmace.

    <I don't know, but when I see her next -- cake. Cake for days. Everything she eats will just taste like cake.>

Laura Kinney has posed:
Where /is/ the birthday girl? That for now at least is a mystery. One thing the Outsiders will discover if they seach is that she clearly went back to collect her shoes. And there's a sighting or two of her flitting through the bar. Cocktail in hand. But other than that... She's gone into the night as mysteriously as she appeared.

It's her party and she'll Batman vanish into the night if she wants to!

Train stopped and passengers frantically calling for medical assistance, for the police and in some cases for news crews and PR teams. It looks a lot like this years train journey won't be finishing on schedule anytime soon.

What few remaining goons and mercenaries are generally so badly hurt they won't be trying to assassinate anyone anytime soon.

One lone armed mercenary on the rooftop looks between Rose, Balm and then up at Superboy. He shakes his head and throws his rifle off the side of the train. Putting his arms up in a show of surrender.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson isn't really in the mood for shows of surrender, let's be honest. She rises back up and snaps at the man, shouting in his face, "Kneel before I fucking kneecap you," she snarls, barely restraining the urge to stick the gun down his pants and play shoot the peen on the mercenary.

"Yeah, well, kiss it goodbye," she says, tearing the buttons on her shirt and pulling it off, leaving her in bloodstained skin and a black sports bra above the waist.

Laura Kinney has posed:
From somewhere inside the train the band starts up again. It's clear the band must have come from Gotham. Because once the bullets have stopped flying they're back to business as usual. Just another day. Just another supervillain.

The Mercenary on the rooftops eyes flick between Rose and Superboy. Surely a Kryptonian wouldn't let her shoot him. Right? His eyes flick back. He kneels. Better not take any chances. Today has not been his lucky day.

Or perhaps in a way it has. He's still got his health and that's more than most of his colleagues can say...