12971/Ninja Paradise

Ninja Paradise
Date of Scene:	04 October 2022
Location:	Harlem's Paradise - Club
Synopsis:	June and Elektra pursue someone at Harlem's Paradise that may have some more info on what's after them. And yes, it's the Hand again.
Cast of Characters:	Elektra Natchios, June Connor

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Elektra Natchios has posed:
Night time. And in New York there are little places where one can have as much fun dancing as Harlem's Paradise. Was that why Elektra brought June here? Drinks and some fun? Nope! There's a mission for the young grasshopper. It doesn't help that Elektra has been quieter and more somber than her usual as of late and going harder on her trainings with June, to the point where the girl is getting out of most of their sessions rather sore.

Almost as if preparing June for something.

Maybe getting June ready to finally become an equal! From young grasshopper to full graded ninja. One can hope at least. Of course that it doesn't help that the first thing Elektra says when they arrive is: "Go over to the back and watch it. If you see someone running stop them." so much for keeping June in the loop, eh?

As for the nightclub itself? It looks as good as they say, currently the local band doing a cover of 'Gangster's Paradise' with a few dancing people on the dancefloor.

June Connor has posed:
    "You gonna let me in on what we're exactly doing?" June asks as she's directed to the back. "I mean, you love your vague badass image I know," she mutters, sticking her tongue ring out far enough for her to grip it between her teeth for a moment, as she frequently does when she's annoyed but is trying to pretend that she's not annoyed.

    She takes inventory of the dance floor, having dressed the part to fit in, she's wearing some assymetrical black pants, as short as can be on the left leg, and all the way to her ankle on the right. Her blood red halter top is worthy of a dance floor, being risque enough, but also worthy of movement, hugging her tightly so that she'll be able to maneuver without having a wardrobe malfunction. A black denim jacket comes no lower than that top, sleeves rolled to her elbows.

    She glances up at the balcony, and then to the bar. "Who exactly might be runnin' maybe?" she suggests as some further details for her mission. "And stop as in kill? Or stop as in just...you know, stop?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"It's not vague." Elektra replies about her badass image. Nothing vague about that! Though she also looks down at June with just a touch of a smirk to her lips. It's better than that usual distance she's been giving the girl last couple of days.

"Stop as in just stop. No killing. If I want people dead I would do it myself, mmm?" The assassin's dark gaze prowling the place for a few, seeking almost. "And this is not a good place to kill people in. The people that own this..." she chuckles. ".. wouldn't look kindly to it."

"Looking for an old contact that I know is still running business from here. Hand. And no, not someone you'd know." She seems pretty sure about June's connections inside the Hand, "Now get moving, June. Things will get clearer when you do your job." she assures the girl.

And then she is off.

June Connor has posed:
    "As opposed to other places that do look kindly on it," June replies with her ever present smartass attitude. "Hand?" June wrinkles her nose with a frown. "Just fantastic. I thought we were done with those assholes?" She shakes her head, making her way across the dance floor. She hits the back wall, and slides down to sit on the back of a booth with a few frat boys, who naturally look up. She gauges the area, but starts engaging conversation as clearly the trio of guys seems to be on the prowl for some female attention.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"You'd be surprised, actually." This about the places that actually allow killings to happen on their grounds. Look, Elektra is an assassin. She knows these things. But then she is gone so there is no more clarifying about that. Nor about the Hand being back.

Vague badass image and all that.

One of the frat boys starts checking out June, looking over, then establishing that eye contact with the brow arching a bit as if invitingly. All part of the club 'dance'! The guy gets up at last to go over to June's table... And that's right when a man comes running, asian by the looks of it, dressed up in an expensive suit. He pushes the frat guy away and makes to the back door.

"Hey, what the fuck...!" the young man says, stumbling towards June's table.

June Connor has posed:
    June, for all her appearances to be distracted, was actually paying attention during her sidebar flirt with the eye contact. "Sorry boys, see ya later!" She leaps up from her sitting position on the back of the booth to perch upon it instead, and with a burst forward she steps on the table of the young men, revealing that she had sneakers, not heels. The next step hits the opposite booth back between two of the guys and launches her into the air.

    Ninja jump! June goes flying over another booth, much to the surprise of the crowd of girls who are in a 'girls only' party night as she makes a flying leaptackle toward the man in the expensive suit.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Hey, come back..!" Says the poor guy that got his whole vibe messed with by the running man. He's still trying though... At least until he sees June just jumping over the booth in an acrobatic ninja jump. Yea, she clearly must be on drugs to be able to do those jumps...

The man running from the scene grunts when June's tackle hit him from behind and sends him sprawling to a backroom, right next to the kitchens. He rolls with the blow and comes up standing, a glance behind to June and narrowing eyes, "Fucking gaijins.."

But he doesn't stay and fight. He runs! Right into the kitchen and throwing some silverware and plates behind to clatter on the ground or to hinder June's pursuit!

June Connor has posed:
    June clamors to try to keep hold as the man falls away from her, and finds herself landing flat on her belly. Oof. She doesn't waste time though, pushing forward more than up with her feet, using her hands to get herself off the ground. The result is an instant sprint forward as she pounds through the door. As the plates and silverwear smash before her, she leaps up to slide across the stainless steel counter, knocking a plate of potato skins off as she glides past. All of the said potato skins crash to the floor, ruined. All except one which is in her hand.

    She takes a big bite out of it and throws the rest to the side as she follows after him, grabbing another plate from the dishwasher as she passes it. It's flung toward the back of the man's head like a scalding hot porcelain frisbee in an attempt to hinder his flight.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Silverware is flying. Cooking knives. Dishes. Food. All in an attempt for the man to get rid of the nuisance after him! A look over his shoulder tells him it's just some young punk girl. Really? For a moment he's tempted to turn and fight but nope. Not with Elektra being out there! And he can't see the assassin now...

And it's all going real swell, the man bursting the doors that lead to the street open until he takes that last pan right on the back of his head. Followed by the scalding contents to burn down his neck and back.

"Ow, shit. Fuck." And a few more expletives as he topples out onto the street, rolling and getting out of his expensive jacket, still dazed.

It also gives time for June to catch up.

June Connor has posed:
    June follows out the back door as it starts to close, slamming it open so hard that it slaps against the brick of the building with a crack. She doesn't stop, but uses her full weight in a muay thai knee drop to the gut, flinging herself from the exit straight toward him to attempt a rather brutal disabling maneuver.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The door flings open and the man barely has time to register that June has come out before he's getting a muay thai drop on the gut. It's not a nice feeling. It also makes him scream. "Get the fuck off...!" but the brutal way in which June goes at him makes it so soon enough he can barely breath with that knee.

He bends over, holding on to his gut in pain. "Fine. Fine. What do you want, gaijin girl?" he spits to the ground, some blood coming off.

As for Elektra? Not in sight yet.

June Connor has posed:
    June doesn't get up, keeping her knee on his collarbone. She's a little out of breath from the sprint herself, "I want you to shut up," she says bluntly, giving a slap across his head. What does she want? She doesn't even really know. She glances back at the door, hoping Elektra will show momentarily.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Nope, no Elektra. Not that it stops the man from starting to talk. He doesn't like a knee on the neck after all!

"Look, look. I had no idea! But they are starting to make big moves. Not only Nobu, man. No. Think the Fingers are in it too and..---" there's a pause and he tries to look up at June better.

"Wait, you are just a kid. Do you work for Elektra? Look, you may want to get the hell out of this city..." he saying it while gasping for air.

June Connor has posed:
    June glances again. "The fingers?" June spits. "They are supposed to fuckin' be leaving us alone! We been through this, fuckin' hell." She almost punches the messenger. "So why the fuck are they makin' moves now? We stayed out of their shit, this was closed." She makes sure not to close off his airway, she now apparently does want him talking. Dammit Elektra, where are you? It's not time to play the vague badass nonchalant card.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Yea, yea. I dunno. Someone messed up, and it wasn't on our end, maybe blame that nosy dojo teacher, Wing." He's still struggling a little, trying to get up but stops when June doesn't relent her grip on him fully. There's a bit of a flail.

"Careful." A voice heard from the door behind them. How long had Elektra been standing there? "You don't want to kill him." a grim smile. "Not yet at least.." the assassin steps into that alley, circling over the fallen man and lowering herself down on a squat, elbows resting on her knees.

"Look, that's all I know!" The man says in a bit of a panic.

June Connor has posed:
    "June's ire turns toward Elektra now that she finally shows. "He says that the fingers are comin' for us. Or is it you?" there's accusation in her tone. "Said something with this whole cease fire is busted." She tilts her head. "Anything you wanna share?" She releases her knee on the man, expecting he wouldn't dare try to escape with Elektra there right now.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Once June releases the man he exhales slowly, dragging himself to the side so he can sit. There's a moment in which he considers making a run for it but June is right. He doesn't really dare it. So he rubs at his neck. "Where did you find this one?" he asks Elektra, "She's fucking vicious.." he mutters and gives June the stink eye.

Elektra looks at June, "Cease fires exist until someone messes up, on their side or ours. And while we may have been fine ..., well.., the Hand has many Fingers, each with their own objectives. And it seems their objectives may have come to clash with the Defenders." she frowns a touch at this, getting back up to her feet. "And if Kim here is talking about Colleen then it means it was during that last raid, where Nobu was. Think they saw something they shouldn't had.."

The man doesn't say nothing more for the moment, just looking between them.

June Connor has posed:
    June clenches her fists and stands up, looking down at Kim and Elektra. "This is why you don't get involved with self-righteous, limp dick heroes that want to make a name for themselves by takin' down some "big bad crimelord." She gives air quotes, a mocking tone. "Why the hell would you do that? They aren't our problem. They /make/ problems. Here I thought you knew what it's like bein' on the street in the middle of the shit. You know where to stick your nose, and know where NOT to stick your nose. That's how it works!"

    She paces, her rant revealing that June still thinks like someone who is at the bottom of the food chain, not like an assassin playing the system, and not like someone who sees herself rising to be commanding any forces of her own.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
A silent gesture with her chin and Kim takes it for what it is. A signal for him to go. So he scrambles to his feet and runs away. Ufff, he's out. Alive! It's a good day to be Kim.

Elektra focuses fully on June now, her tone lowering. "June." a moment of silence, "There will come a time you will need to stop thinking like a bottom-feeder and realize what I am training you for." her tone serious.

"You know the cease-fire was just that. Besides having been a show of strength when we went to Japan." another pause, "You are not on the streets anymore. Stop keeping your head under the mud."

June Connor has posed:
    June paces some more, watching as Kim flees. "And what have you been training me for, huh?" she asks, her own tone raising with the stress of the recent discovery. "I'm passable at best. We both know it. They got lots of folks who are hella better than I am in a fight, and a hella smarter than a street kid any day of the week. Sure I'm better, and that's good when I got elbows and fists flyin' at my head. But that doesn't mean I want more of them flyin' at my head. How does helpin' a bunch of bullshit superheroes help me? Or help you? They wanna get their asses roasted, that's one less problem for us."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"For one, starting to think by yourself instead of continuing with that thug mentality of survival of the fittest, selfish outlook you have on the world. That can only get you so far. It took me a while to learn it, but I did. I wouldn't want you to take the same time I did." Elektra replies, folding her arms together and continuing to regard June.

"You are passable only because your focus isn't in it. You prefer to fight and figure ways to prove me wrong than actually trying to learn. If you put your mind to it you could be better than me in the future." She assesses.

"Those bullshit superheroes as you call them have been allies in the past, and they will be so in the future. Why do you think I want you training with them? You haven't even reached out to the Shadow yet about furthering your training, have you?" she doesn't wait for an answer. She already knows it.

"But in the end though, and if you a straight answer, I am training you against yourself. Because you are your worst enemy."

June Connor has posed:
    "Well, thank you Dr. Phil," June says, "But I'll have to do battle against my inner demons later since it looks like we've got Hand ninjas coming to kill us. Again. And not my fault. Again." She arches her brow, the implication of course is that it's Elektra's fault. Again. "So what, we just...run? Go live in like...some appalaicha town or something with five hundred people whose family tree doesn't fork." She considers that, placing her hands on her hips. "Be boring as fuck, but they'd never look there. But I'm guessin' you want me to help the Defenders with you instead."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Running?" Elektra blinks once as she stares at June for a few moments then a rather devilish smile comes to her lips. "Do I look like a little bitch to you? I don't run." she gestures. "Come on, let's go home. And start planning." Oh yes, Elektra had her plans.

"And yes, part of those plans go with being with the Defenders. You included. Also, call the Shadow tonight, will you?"

And then she starts walking back to the car.