12828/The Kotta Kaze

The Kotta Kaze
Date of Scene:	25 September 2022
Location:	New York Harbor Docks
Synopsis:	The Defenders attempt the sneaky sneak on to a Hand yacht only to stumble in to a full on head of the Hand nest. A battle breaks out and secret abilities are revealed. So is the face of the man in charge. That won't blow back on them at all, nope, not one bit...
Cast of Characters:	Colleen Wing, Jessica Jones, Elektra Natchios, Veira Lazarescu, Barbara Gordon, Robbie Reyes, Matthew Murdock

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Colleen Wing has posed:
The harbour of New York is never quiet at night. It's a party port in this section. Big multimillion dollar yachts are moored here. The fancy yacht in question is the Kotta Kaze registered in Japan. There's subtle security roaming the decks of the multi-level ship. There's a helicopter on its helipad at the far end and all kinds of ocean going sensory equipment on the ceiling.

Even the approach to the ship is dotted with subtle security. Some of them carrying guns but others with hidden blades. Colleen organised whoever was available to meet her at the edge of the birthing port for the Kotta Kaze. Having scouted it earlier she knows a good blind spot.

Dressed in white, which in the dark isn't great camouflage, but in the lights and on a bright shiny ship it'll be surprisingly good. Her sword is on her back. "We good?," she checks with people. "Let's go."

Jessica Jones has posed:
While Colleen is a pro and showed up with some thought put to her outfit, Jessica is a P.I., doesn't have that much expertise in actual subterfuge operations, and so, as one might expect, literally showed up in what seems like the only outfits she owns. Skinny jeans, black tank top, and cool leather jacket. Up, not a chance she'll look out of place.

"So, Colleen, just to make sure I got this, we're pretending to be tourists? Or we just board the damned thing and punch our way through to Big Boss Man?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Night. At an harbor. Sometimes Elektra feels as if this is her life now. Spending her nights at yucky ports tracking the Hand. Yet at least tonight they are going into a yacht which is more the kind of waters that she dwells in so she isn't as abrasive, "Nice night clothes.." sarcastic tone to Colleen.

Scratch that part about not being abrasive.

She is dressed in her usual black and red armor tonight, sais at the waist and her hair held up in a long ponytail that trails down her back.

"We are sneaking in." She answers JJ, a lookover at the outfit she brought but no comment on the choice. She expected that outfit one way or another.

"If this is Hand, and has any connection to the Fingers..., expect heavy resistance." She advises.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus is here. The tall figure in the sleek black armored clothing is quiet for the moment, listening to what has been said. She's also making sure that knives are strapped to places that she can get to and that she's got a good idea of what they might be up against. She was used to SHIELD and Homeland level threats so she wasn't too concerned, but she was also in new territory. The mask on her face covers most of it, one umber eye is looking over the others though and there is a nod given when it is time to go. "Sounds good." the vocoded voice states as she follows after the rest of them.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"I don't think I'd pass very well for a tourist." Comes a voice from behind the group.

Having just appeared there out of the shadows is the armored form of a Bat. One with female proportions, and fiery red hair falling out of the back of her bat-cowl. Her cape flows gently in the wind coming off the water as she just stares at the other women from a slightly raised perch of standing upon a shipping crate, one foot up o nthe large chain that wraps around its center.

Batgirl eyes those who have gathered, and then looks out to sea. "I hope we're not going to slaughter these people." She quietly says in her calm voice.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen pauses as she hears Batgirl's voice. "Glad you could make it bats," she says and nods at Elektra's response to Jess. "When have things ever gone our way. I'm sure you'll be punching soon. Also, 'being a drunk tourist' is always your default." She says it in jest, but everyone knows the group in general drinks too much. Trauma.

"But let's hope plan A goes according to..." she pauses realising she screwed up her grammar. "Anyway," she sets the tone and runs past a crate and up behind one of the armed guards.

The ones on the dock proper aren't the ninjas they're all concerned about. The heavy resistance will be on that ship. Colleen gets behind him and immediately pulls him back and in to the darkness in a full head lock. He grabs at his gun and her foot is in the way. He grabs at her comms but he passes out before he can use them.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Kinda makes sense the Hand would connect to fingers, I learned about head, shoulders, knees and toes ages ago," Jessica proves Elektra isn't going to be the only abrasive one here tonight.

Lazarus, is someone rather new to Jessica, so she just gives a nod of acknolwedgement, no need to share her opinion of the armored clothing here and now.

With Batgirl introducing herself, Jessica looks back at Colleen with an arched brow, "since when are we working with celebrities? Defenders moving up in the world? Give me a heads up if Avengers are ever involved, so I can bail on time..." despite having said that to Colleen well within Batgirl's earshot, she just turns to greet her, "I'm down for the end that bananas in pjamas crew."

Jess grins at Colleen, "it's my default because it's not a disguise."

Jessica waits for Colleen to clear the path silently, before joining up, her approach would cause way too much noise, and that would beat the purpose. "Good job, Colleen, always impressive to watch."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Oh, there you are. Coming for dinner, is it?" This said over her shoulder to the looming presence of Batgirl. Elektra's mouth does curl in some amusement though before she brings her mask up and covers the lower end of her face.

And that damn smile of hers!

To Jessica she only smiles. "Oh, going to tell us about your school days now, JJ?" a little jab, because she knows how Jessica is prickly about talking of anything related to her past. Abrasive vs abrasive. Go!

Lazarus gets a more careful look out of Elektra. Like JJ she hadn't met her before. But it's not as if she didn't know the Defenders where getting more people joining them. And it's not as if Elektra was an ACTUAL Defender. (At least she'd never admit to that). But there's a nod to the figure before it's go time.

And just like all those ninja legends Elektra blends in with the dark, moving quietly and stealthily to infiltrate the yacht, eyes steeling themselves as she focuses on the job at hand.

And nope, no answer to Batgirl on whether there will be slaughter or not.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus wasn't sure there was judging on ones armor, but she's not worked with others outside of her old jobs. The Romanian sticks to the back since shes one of the new people. No red shirts were called on so she didn't volunteer either. The nod from Elektra and Jessica is returned though.

"You know what to do should things go badly, Ati." Laz states to the sky. There's...nothing there above her. But she most definitely spoke to something. Then she's back to following with the others, watching off to the other sides as Colleen takes one of the guards out. She trusted that no one had made a terrible noise yet though, so they were good.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl just smirks at those who acknowledge her. "Right..." She says softly. "This should be interesting."

And there-after she's gone again, though this time there is a blur of motion before she's up in the sky, her cape stretched out in to the classic Bat styling. She glides through the night sky, with several other bat-shaped objects joining her, though they are smaller, as they surround her... drones.

In the sky, the flock of Bats make their way over where the women below are preparing their attack, while soaring out over the water at a silent level.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie's a little late to the party, though at least he arrives dressed for the job: head-to-toe bullet-resistant black leather, armoured boots and gauntlets. The racing helmet's been ditched in the front seat of his car, leaving his dark curls slightly askew.

He isn't the stealthiest of creatures, but he's at least got the sense to hang back for the time being, and let Collen take out the frontmen in a manner that won't draw too much attention. *His* MO generally involves considerably more lighting things on fire, after all.

Colleen Wing has posed:
For such a large yacht, there are several ways on. Gang planks for the visitors which are far too visible to go up without being seen. Separate cargo ports on the side where usually people are operating forklifts to move crates on and off - but no one is doing that right now. They're probably on break. This ship has a moon pool and that's one of the easiest, yet wettest, ways to get in to a ship like this. Of course, there's always the option of flying on board. People rarely look up unless there's a noise drawing their attention.

Colleen is opting for the cargo port. She smirks at Jessica glancing over her shoulder, "I like the bit where you help." Her voice is a whisper as she lifts the comms off of the guy. It took her quite a while as a Defender to come out of her shell and reveal all her ninja-type skills. Those she's worked with the longest know her sorted history with the Hand.

She nods to Veira though, glad to see her. In truth she perhaps conspired to loop in some of the new people she doesn't know well on this mission. She wants to see how they work so she can tell Matt and Danny honestly what she thinks. She knows Luke won't care and, well, Jess is here to see it all first hand.

The goal today is simple. They know Nobu Yoshioka is connected to this ship which means there's likely documents, computers, what have you on board that might tell them what Nobu is up to. It's a good old sneaky snoop. Colleen can only guess at which way Elektra is going to take to get on board, but she does not the Bat in the sky.

Colleen gives Robbie a quick wave, then tosses a pellet across the gang plank in to the cargo port. Spoke erupts and she races across the open area quickly in to it as guards come to investigate. She moves to intercept.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Oh, it wouldn't be very entertaining, slept through most of school," Jessica simultaneously retorts, and tells the truth while expecting nobody to believe her, since, who would ever guess she was in coma for at least two years of school. Ha, take that doubters, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

Trust Jess to help others out of the kindness of her heart, when Elektra says nothing to Batgirl, she offers on Elektra's behalf, "in case you didn't know, she's a professional assassin, she wears red so she won't have to worry about stains. Blood is a bitch to get off, I don't even bother, I just buy new clothes. There'll definitely be slaughter." Of course, Batgirl then does the happy thoughts let's fly bit, with her crew of drones, and Jess quips to Elektra, "I guess that's why she's the celebrite and we are the C-listers. Showmanship."

"Let's be honest, Colleen, you do stealthy much better than me...they'd notice if I had taken down that idiot," Jessica shares she wasn't waiting out of being lazy, there's method to her laziness. "I'll stick with Elektra, we make a good team, she gets me in an ambush, and I crack skulls...oh, and take fucking blades in the back," Jess grumbles to herself, or rather, to Elektra, who she does stick close to, "after you, Ninja Queen."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"You buy new clothes?" This to JJ. As if Elektra didn't really believe that at all because she always sees her in the same kinda outfit. And now she's imagining she has a closet full of the same pants and shirts at home. About Batgirl flying off she smirks at JJ, "She's got a lot of toys."

But with it being GO time then they begin moving up, over by the cargo port as well, nimbly jumping from platform to platform to reach the top. Ninjas and their parkour skills... She drops a rope just in case JJ wants it but then slides to a side and moves in a different direction from where Colleen is going to, making use of that distraction to go across the deck to an advantageous position to further move inside the yacht.

"Keeping up, Jessica?" She looks over her shoulder.

Just in time for a ninja to drop down in front of Elektra with a sword.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus moves with the group, since these are the Ninjas that they were looking for yet, she doesn't get too concerned about them. Just regular guards, which means they are probably easier to take out. She follows the rest of them across the on the fly gangplank and into the ship. Smoke bombs are nice to cover entrances and she keeps her one eye peeled to see if any other guards come rushing out to greet them.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Up in the sky, Batgirl is using her cowl to view the large yacht in its entirety. She, and her drones, marking people within her cowl's augmented reality system... It's when she sees the others in this siege party getting to the dirty work, that Babs starts to drop back down out of the sky... with her drones zooming off ahead of her while she makes her glide down toward the yacht's upper deck!

From the sky, the drones begin to shoot out smoke capsules in rapid succession! The capsules dart out of the sky, and start to explode across the yacht's upper deck, on the port and starboard sides! The Bat-drones strafe the yacht with smoke pellets, as Batgirl sweeps down from above, the fringes of her cape flapping wildly in the wind as she flies right at the front window of the yacht's upper deck rooms!

Smash!

Batgirl goes right through the glass, as the men inside it are all look out to the side windows! She ignites more smoke within the room, and... goes to work.

The first man who turns around at the sudden smashing of glass, gets a bat-gloved-hand right to his nose, sending him out another window in to the smoke outside, while the others all start shouting around the smoke-filled room now!

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Well. Moon pool it is, much as Reyes doesn't relish the idea of taking a swim. But this way, perhaps he can staunch the flow of henchmen from the inside. He rolls out his shoulders as he prowls in under cover of dark; then slips quickly, quietly into the water and disappears below decks.

Moments later he surfaces inside, swipes a gloved hand over his face to remove the film of water that's collected, and swims toward the edge of the pool. A pause to listen for whether he's got company, but there's only the movement of the boat and the distant sound of voices.

Dripping water as he moves, the young man climbs up and over in a singular, liquid motion, and slinks forward into the smoke-hazed darkness. He sure as hell ain't no ninja; nor does he need to be, with his kind of firepower. The first guy, he manages to catch unawares: his neck's snapped instantly, and the body drops to the ground. The next one puts a knife through Robbie's ribs, and there's a brief exchange of blocked strikes before he, too, goes over the side of the boat.

Yanking the knife out of his side, Robbie tosses it away and grimaces at the blood, even as the wound's closing over. "Maldito pendejo," he grumbles as he wades back into the fray.

Colleen Wing has posed:
This time in the fog of smoke Jess can't appreciate Colleen's moves. The guard who came to see if there was actually a fire makes a 'thunk' noise to the ground and a gun clip and bullet are tossed out the port and in to the water below. No one likes being shot at. As much as Jess pokes; they're not the Avengers. The only way to dodge bullets is to be mentally ahead of your enemy.

Colleen isn't too interested in what the crates contain. May be it's drugs, may be it's guns, may be it's chocopuffs. She knows the real meat will be in offices, quarters, and meeting rooms. In a low voice she says, "Let's split up. Try not to get seen," she states not realising Elektra and Jessica have already managed to get seen.

As Batgirl carpet bombs the boat with smoke she sighs, "Well there goes the element of surprise. Let's be quick and.. you know, if you get shot Claire will be super pissed. So don't get shot." She rushes ahead. They have limited time now.

There is one thing that Robbie senses from these people, especially the ones wearing the black pajamas carrying swords. Many of them carry the stench of death. They have died and lived again.

Rounding a corner she comes face to face with a man in his thirties. He stares at her and she stares at him. He has a sword in his hand, drawn, and several men in black ninja outfits rush past him. He mutters angrily, "Bakuto!," and dashes off in the opposite direction leaving Colleen and those with her to deal with the oncoming ninjas. Colleen lifts her phone and snaps a picture of the man's face.

Does it sting that someone sees Colleen and immediately assumes she's still working for Bakuto? absolutely.. but it also suggests that perhaps Bakuto doesn't tell his colleagues everything that's going on. Do they not know she quit? that she's been fighting him? that they're at war with Gao's drug operation? It suddenly dawns on her that the man she just saw must be a head of the Hand. "Shit," also double shit, they've stepped in the belly of the beast.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Occasionally," Jessica admits, but it doesn't sound overly convincing, as she nods in agreement to the toys comment. "I got some, but I can't bring them to a fight," she just has to make it awkward, before following Elektra, looking like she's about to actually jump, before the rope is lowered and she takes it instead. "Thanks for the help, I'll be fine," then the ninja drops infront of Elektra, and she calls out, "douche with sword, right infront of you. He better pray you kill him before I make it all the way up!" Jessica calls out as she picks up the pace, climbing up the rope. Should Elektra delay in dispatching him, Jessica would reach to grab an ankle, and swing him into the water. Hopefully Elektra does what she does, a water splash would alert people, though after Batgirl smoke bombs, they probably have a clue.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus sees the incoming ninjas and the tall woman grabs onto the first one that she can with the smoke in the way. Their face is brought down into her knee sharply and quickly, blood blossoming on their faces as they stumble back, dazed for the moment. All the while her eye glows that ember orange as she finally gets ahold of the bad guys.

She's well trained, so she knows not to stop and stare at downed enemies or to offer aid. She gets a punch to the side when she tries to spin out of the way of a few of the incoming. This would be interesting for sure! She just had to remember no magic unless it was dire.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl's hope had been to draw the guards on the yacht up toward the upper deck, to get their attention upward. Along this hope, her drones are now circling back, and through the smoke, they release shrill shrieks as they swoop over head, passing by any of the guards that they have already spotted aboard the vessel!

Inside it's upper deck area, Batgirl continues her fight, working her way through the smoke filled cabin, with two men heled by her strength-enhanced bodysuiT! She runs them right through the posh glass doors that lead out on to the aft deck, smashing them through the glass and dumping them on the upper deck, sending them gliding across the glass toward the aft bulkhead wall!

When one more man lunges at her out of the smoke, Babs takes a glancing strike off the side of her head, then jumps upward to slam her knee in to the man's sternum! He pulls a gun, only to have her catch his wrist, and squeeze it until bones pop and the gun drops!

Meanwhile, the Bat-drones are sweeping over the yacht, still shrieking, to draw guard eyes UP to the smokey sky!

Matthew Murdock has posed:
One might think that being your own boss, or at worst co-partners, would make it easy to avoid work on days when one is raiding the luxury yacht of an ancient ninja clan. However being a lawyer also means you have to deal with judges.

Matt had the distinct displeasure of having a case before Judge Anita Bobson. The woman held sticking to her court schedule to a high priority. Which in today's case, meant a sessions in judge's chambers between the lawyers on both sides of the case, that wasn't allowed to end until an agreement had be hammered out. As much as Matt needed to get out of there, he couldn't shortchange his client against her crooked landlord in order to leave.

Finally, Daredevil arrives on the docks, well past the appointed time. He senses smoke billowing from areas on the docks and from the yacht itself. "Well, there goes the element of surprise," he murmurs, not knowing he's parroting someone else.

Listening closely, Matt makes out the sounds of fighting. The buzz of... drones judging by their movements and altitude. Listening for the sounds of breathing and footsteps, he picks a gangplank that is obscured by smoke and doesn't seem to be guarded, and runs forward quick and quiet through the smoke. A few steps up the gangplank and then rather than continue to where it meets the ship, Daredevil jumps to grasp the side of the yacht and flip himself up and over onto the deck.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie narrows his eyes as the realisation hits him: "These ones ain't human. Not anymore."

Two of the pyjama-clad things converge on him, and a burning kama-tipped chain manifests in his hand as he goes to strike. The sound of the blade slicing through flesh and muscle and tendon is sickening, and it screams as it goes up in flames. The other ninja manages to kick the Ghost Rider to the ground, but he twists around onto his back in a fast, fluid motion and catches its attack with a clash of metal on metal; and this one, too, goes up in a gout of hellfire.

Scrambling back to his feet, he lunges at another of the undead ninjas, taking a knife to the thigh this time with an irritated growl. This one gets headbutted hard enough to crush its skull, but it's the hand around the throat that ignites it like a pyre, body crumbling to a blackened husk and washing into the water.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Elektra rolls her eyes at Jessica's insinuation at adult fun times. She doesn't linger as the ninja approaches. Sai in hand she scoops up the sword and with a turn and a flourish, the sword drops to the ground as she blocks an elbow from the ninja.

This guy clearly spends a lot of time practicing his art. His attacks keep on coming, a knee in to a kick, an attempt to grapple, which Elektra twists her wrist free from and then she dips and body checks him on to the edge of the boat. With a swift kick under his chin, he fall over the edge and tumbles past Jessica.

"Do you really climb that slowly?," she quips at Jessica as another less anonymous ninja steps out. Part of his face is scared. It's true - Nobu Yoshioka is alive and is standing right in front of them. His eyes narrow as he recognises Elektra.

He doesn't turn and flee because he's afraid - he turns and runs because people needs to _know_ that Reid's right hand gal is attacking a Hand ship. He leaps off the boat and rolls smoothly on to the dock, dashing off in to the shadows.

Elektra narrows her eyes too and glances back at Jessica. "We need to stop him," she states in all seriousness. She doesn't wait a moment longer to jump off in pursuit of Nobu. Jessica, able to simply jump off and land on her feet, joins the pursuit.

Colleen whips around and kicks another ninja who comes out of a side door and rushing toward Veira. Defenders have got to stick together. The sword and scabbard come off her back, but the sword is not drawn. She uses it as a baton to deflect blows.

Out of no where, three poison darts whip across the air and out of pure luck, not skill, Colleen was already moving out of the way. One embeds itself in to her scabbard. As the ninja reloads and lifts the blow dart gun up to his mouth her sword leaves its scabbard and in a flash cuts through the air slicing the blow gun in half. This earns her a swift kick in the side and she lets out a grunt of pain, stumbling back a few steps to make some room between her and the ninja.

The helicopter starts up as people rush on board of it, and several more ninjas jump out of it. They're coming out of the word work. This ship is crawling with Hand soldiers. And not the usual kind. This ones seem to be very well trained. The fire alarms begin to howl across the ship.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Well, that's new. Lazarus' glowing eye focuses over on the Ghost Rider for a moment. Put a pin in it, we'll get back to it later. She didn't know anyones identities much like only a few knew who she was under everything. It just made things easier in the end of it all. And Homeland didn't like vigilantes on their payroll much. The ninja that was rushing her seems to be taken down and there is a nod to Colleen.

There's a bottle neck at the door and the woman takes a moment to puncture a wound in her arm before she sends a ball of energy to knock them back so that others can move. "If we need to move out of this place we should clear a path." the vocoded voice calls out.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The Bat-drones continue to strafe and shriek in the sky above the yacht, as a man screams, and lands in a heap on the deck beside where Daredevil boards. Up above, Batgirl stares down at the Devil of Hell's kitchen, her red locks flowing over her shoulder in the smoky night. Then she's gone!

The drones sweep by over head, dropping more smoke pellets near more of the visible guards that are scrambling around the ship, while Batgirl is stalking down one of the starboard walkways toward the sound of the chopper...

A shout, and a sword! A man jumps out at her, and starts slashing his weapon savagely at the Batgirl! Her forearms go up, blocking the attacks with the bracers of her armored suit catching the katana blade again and a again! Sparks fly off of the bracers, as the man continues his unrelenting assault!

... until Babs can attach her grapple gun to his pants, and fires it up in to the sky! A second later, and the man screams again, drops his sword, and is yanked up in to the night, attached to one of the drones that flies him off toward the water, all flailing his arms and legs!

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Amidst the sounds of the fight that is underway, the harsh bark of orders being given from the helicopter deck catch Daredevil's attention. Where there are orders, there are leaders.

Daredevil gives the man who lands near him a quick shove with his foot, knocking him between the railings of the yacht and over to the side so he splashes into the water below. Then he takes a few running steps and hops onto the railing then up higher onto the yacht's superstructure.

The tabi-clad feet make little noise, but Daredevil still hears the coming. Two ninjas leap up to where he is, one swirling a bladed chain about him, the other pulling out a pair of short swords.

The rolling smoke aids Daredevil, but only a little as the ninja are skilled at fighting in the dark as well. The blade lashes out at him on the chain, Daredevil ducking under it then rolling to the side as a short sword clangs off the deck where he was. He spins, still on the ground, a boot connecting on the handle of the sword, breaking the ninja's hand and making him drop the one weapon. Daredevil leaps aside then as the blade swings back through again, traveling low to try to slice him. The costumed hero just gets himself up high enough it passes beneath him, one hand coming down after it's past to aid him in flipping back onto his feet.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Flaming chains and energy bolts. Colleen stares a moment. Well that explains things. Danny is going to geek out massively when he hears about this. But for now they have the problem of a ship full of ninjas and their prey getting away.

Outside is a mess of smoke which is great for people with heat vision or super hearing but for Colleen it's a complete fog of war. "We've accidentally stumbled right in to the lair of one of the heads of the Hand." .. the opportunity is too good not to take. "We can't let him get away." She wants this and is becoming blinded by the goal as she rushes through the door and in to the smoke.

A shadow moves past her. Was that Batgirl? she's not sure. Is that Daredevil? she didn't see him when they started the mission. Perhaps it was another one of the ninjas. She feels along the wall and pulls her jacket lapel over her mouth and nose so she can breath a little easier. She's been trained to fight in these situations. That doesn't mean she's good at it though.

As a ninja stumbles in to her she turns and brings the back of her sword across his neck. He doesn't fear death and she knows it - which is why the hilt of the sword pushes up in a punch at the side of his jaw, hitting right in the 'off switch' most people have. He doesn't let it happen - instead he rolls away back in to the smoke.

The sound of a helicopter is ~that way~ but she's on the wrong level to get to it. She makes it to the stairs and finds herself blocked by a ninja with a sai and a short sword. She raises her sword as she hears the helicopter rising up in to the air.

It was all they had to do - the ninjas - stop us getting at the man in charge long enough for him to get off the ship. Killing the invaders is just a bonus if they can manage it. That they haven't been able to surprises most of them.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
A helicopter. There's a helicopter somewhere, but Reyes isn't sure *where*. His senses are about as human as anyone else's, unless one factors in his very inhuman ability to smell sin. And this place reeks of it.

Two, three-- no, *four* of the jumpsuited undead creatures swarm him. And instead of trying to fight them off one by one, his body simply disintegrates into a column of flame as flesh and muscle and tissue melt away into papery ash. His opponents are caught up in the conflagration, and a cacophony of screams shatters the night-- then silence.

On the bright side -- literally -- the demonic Ghost Rider acts like a living torch as he stalks forward, cutting through the smoke, illuminating the area around him in a burning haze.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus' battle tactics are a little different, but fighting style is definitely different from this mix. She's a master of systema and other fighting. So there is a lot of kicking and punching. And her favorite thing, Spetsnaz. She finally brings the knives out to get to work. She's taken hits, stabs and it's probably not over. She stabs people in non-vital places, but they bleed a ton. She is stabbed and slashed in return. Which is going to suck stitching up.

Morana's Avatar moves along when she's got an opening clear. She's not called on any other magic for the moment, but she's willing to bring her power and the dragon out should they get pinned down. She catches up to the upper deck and there's a moment to look over all the smoke and things. "Atilla, go spook the helicopter, would you?"

"How many nuggets?" a voice asks.

"I'll get you two twenty pieces." Laz states.

Whether that is acceptable or not there is the sound of wings flapping through the smoke and then disappearing. That is right before a gout of greenish and gold flame bathes over the door of the helicopter. Apparently it was a warning only.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
As 'luck' would have it, Batgirl ends up right down the pathway of the large yacht that Robbie is at. She's there when he puts on display some of his ... more interesting abilities.

The smoke wafts around Batgirl, as she just stares at him.

"What, in the Hell, are you?" She asks the man then, having not heard of any Ghost Riders in her time thus far.

Babs' right hand comes up then and she speaks in to her com. "Colleen. My drones will chase the chopper, hopefully find out where it's going. It can get you more information in the long run to do it that way." Batgirl offers before lowering her arm again to stare at the Ghost Rider, almost like she's not sure if he's friend or foe!

Matthew Murdock has posed:
The two ninja fighting Daredevil are good. They work together, making it difficult for the hero to get in many of his own attacks. He ducks a sword swing and then pivots away from the chain, only to have to back step another slash of the sword.

Daredevil darts forward blocking a sword thrust aside with his hand and manages to throw a kick into the ninja's ribs. But it costs him as the back end of the chain swings around, a heavily weighted end impacting his upper arm hard enough to numb it for a few seconds.

The bladed end follows up, Daredevil rolling under it, then reaching up to snag the chain on the way past. The ninja immediately pulls on it to outstretch Daredevil's arm, and it's only by out muscling the smaller ninja that Daredevil yanks that arm back before the short sword can come down on it! The sword severs the chain though, leaving Matt with the bladed end. He swings it and plants the blade in the side of the chain-wielding ninja. Not a wound that will kill him, but it causes the man to fall off the top of the yacht where the fight is happening, leaving Matt with just the sword-wielding opponent.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen is in a pitched battle with the ninja. His choice of weaponry is a serious threat that you can't take for granted. Each time his sai nearly touches her sword, she creates space and disengages as that short blade stabs to her. She is taking ground from him though, through the smoke.

He tumbles over a pile of ropes that was impossible to see. He rolls back up to his feet but Colleen takes the moment to cut at the wrist holding the short blade. It drops to the deck. He switches grips on the sai and Colleen moves in again, letting the fancy dagger catch her sword. She lets go of the sword hilt and wraps her arm about his. With a crunch she breaks it and headbutts him.

Dizzied, she watches him stumble back dropping the sai too. He suddenly dives off the edge of the ship.

They all do. One by one, the ninjas make their sudden and unexpected get away by diving off the ship in to the dark waters below. The helicopter, harried by drones and.. a freakin' dragon.. tries to fly out over the harbour with evasive manuevers. It's drawing attention. Deliberately. Murakami is not on board.

Quietly, the minisub disconnects from the yacht and Murakami makes his departure from the invasion of his personal international space. From the perspective of Nobu, Reid sent Elektra to raid the yacht - but Nobu's fate is yet to be determined. From the persective of Murakami, Bakuto sent Colleen to raid the yacht. There will be a very angry board meeting for the fingers of the Hand soon.

The sounds of fire trucks and police sirens are wailing in the distance, rushing down the roads to the docks with all haste. The scene starts to clear itself as the smoke dissipates. There are bodies; some dead; some still breathing. The ship looks to have been overwhelmed by a fire rather than the sight of a battle. The Hand likes to remain auspicious.

Colleen looks out over the deck and drops the comms that the Hand didn't even bother to use. It seems there is little more they are going to get from this ship. She puts her fingers to her mouth and does a loud whistle. The signal to retreat. The only treasure they've left with is a single photo of a man currently without a name.

Veira Lazarescu has posed:
Lazarus feels the weight of the dragon when it comes back to her and there is a smile, "Good job." she whispers. But there are still people to deal with...or well, there was! Things are on fire and it seems that the welcome wagon needs to depart!

The Romanian woman proceeds to make a quick exit along with the rest of the people that don't want to get detained or arrested.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Poised at the prow of the boat, Robbie cranes his neck to peer up at the helicopter.. then swivels slightly, tensing as Batgirl addresses him. A quick once-over confirms she's an ally. Probably. She, on the other hand, is treated to the sight of third-degree burns covering his face, and exposing patches of skull and jawbone and teeth as the flesh rapidly knits itself back together. One eye, completely hollowed out, reforms into a perfectly 'normal' bright green as she watches.

He dimples a grin at her, still smelling of smoke and ash and burned leather. "Ain't wrong about Hell. But don't worry. I won't bite unless you ask real nice." His face has fully reformed by the time he's finished speaking, and his dark curls have grown back, matted with blood from a nasty hit he took to the head.

Turning his attention back to the chopper, he watches as it careens out over the water, and the remaining Hand disperse. The sound of the fire engines is his cue to get the fuck out of here, so he turns on his heel and slinks back off into the dark and smoke.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl eyes the man's face as it repairs itself in front of her. She's not sure how she feels about that level of oddity, but she's seen some odd things in her tenure as a caped crusader within the streets of her hometown...

"Right..." She says to the bite comment. "Maybe another time..." She adds before her right hand detaches her grapple gun from her hip and she raises it above her head. Another shot of the gun and the form of the armored redhead is lifted rapidly through whats left of the smoke, with her cape flaring out around her before she's taken to the skies again, her drone squadron surrounding her once more, save for two which are following the helicopter.
as far as they can manage to tail it anyway...

Matthew Murdock has posed:
Daredevil exchanges a few blows with the sword-wielding ninja, only to find he runs and dives off the yacht before the hero can take him down. Daredevil gives a frustrated grunt, not so much at the ninja's escape as at the sound of the retreating helicopter. He's not aware of the submarine at this point.

It doesn't take him long to find the others, announcing himself as he steps forward out of the smoke with, "Sorry for being late. Was unavoidable," he says. He didn't get the fleeing leader's face, of course. But he did hear the voice barking out orders to cover his escape.

It doesn't take Daredevil long to recognize a fully unfamiliar presence. The sound of the cape, the grapple gun. The retreating drones. Behind his mask his expression grows curious. "Going to have to catch up on what all I missed," he says, before heading in to find what might have been left in any office type rooms, before they make their escape.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen nods to fearless leader Daredevil. Then remembers that's a pointless gesture. "Here DD. Time to go. We'll debrief up at the ..usual spot" Luke's bar. Colleen leaves the ship the way she came aboard. It's time to scatter in to the night. Elektra and Jess disappeared though - but she's quite sure they can take care of themselves. Of the Defenders, she's still the squishiest. Once in an ally way far enough away that she's not part of the scene, but with a vantage to watch the fire fighters rush on board to help the 'victims', she opens up her phone.

Her eyes look over the Japanese man. He seems to be in his 30s. No scars, nothing special about him really. He'd blend right in to any crowd in Japan. She swaps to the Birds app and sends a message through it to Batgirl: <<"Thanks for coming tonight. We dove in to a hornets nest. That was far worse than I had expected.">>

Now she'll have to face the music. Stumbling face long in to a Hand stronghold is a hell of a mistake. Could it have been avoided? she's not sure, but now she's second guessing herself. She saw the man in charge - but he also saw her. There will have consequences.