13108/Who Was That Masked Man

Who Was That Masked Man
Date of Scene:	18 October 2022
Location:	Hungary
Synopsis:	During a mission in Hungary, Monica is helped by a mysterious SHIELD agent.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Monica Chang

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Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Some time ago...

    Comms were being flaky.
    Maybe it had something to do with the elevation and the interference from the detonation of the electronic warfare devices. Perhaps it was to do with the missile that was launched toward the satellite network. It was engaged and shot down, but it could have still had some impact. But that didn't make a difference.
    For on the rushing train as it hurtled through the Hungarian mountains it was damned hard to hear anything at all. The bullet train slashed through the tunnel, the Hydra drones that had been following in a near orbit to the cargo car activated their magnetic sponsons and connected to the metal sides of the train with heavy /CLANG-CA-CLANGS!/ that locked them in place. They couldn't attack from that position, but then neither could they be hit. They still had their orders, however, and once the train was out of the tunnel they would rise into the air again and target any of the SHIELD boarding party.
    For the people trying to get to the engine of the train it was looking like a very very bad day.

Monica Chang has posed:
The first team was already on the train. Which consisted of about four agents total. They were to get to the front of the train and take over before the Hydra agents that had taken over crashed the hurtling projectile of conveyance into the next population center. They had managed to get aboard using a Quinjet--and probably a few prayers for the more religious among them. But once atop the train, they had learned Hydra had air support in the form of drones which had not been seen previously. A bit of a firefight but the agents had managed to stay alive. They had not gained entry into the train itself, still relying on magnetics in their boots to help keep them aboard and dropping flat as they entered the tunnel.

Monica glanced over toward her fellow agents then began to crawl along the upper surface of the train. Hands and feet, magnets activated in the palms of her gloves. She was wearing a sleek black bodysuit, which included a hood and mask across the lower half of her face. Her eyes were only part of her visible. She also had a smallish backpack slung over her shoulders and resting low on her back for easy access if needed. A utility belt with several pouches that had extra ammo, an icer hung on one side, and her gun on the right in a holster since the drones were currently not a threat.

She moved as quickly as she could, knowing their window of opportunity would be over as soon as they got out of the tunnel. Hopefully they could reach the front of the car and drop down between then move foward to inside the next car to avoid the drones entirely from this point in.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    As her and her team moved forward the distant gleam of the mouth of the tunnel slowly grew larger and larger. They were on the clock, a quickly expiring one that ticked down steadily even as they moved ahead. Each of them had their gear, somewhat lighter than a normal load since for this mission they needed to be equipped for the heights and depths of a mountain op on a vehicle traveling almost two hundred miles an hour.
    It made it rough going.
    Suddenly there was a /whud!/ of impact, something on the side of the train out of view. Then there was a snap hiss on the comms, a brief break in of voice as McConnell could be heard saying just a single syllable of 'gout!'
    Another few explosions were heard and some of the agents further back were peppered with debris. The movement ahead was stopped as flashes were seen. Gunfire of some sort? Or charges going off? In the enclosed space with the wild bright/dark/bright/dark shifting of illumination in the tunnel... made it very hard to see anything even with night vision.
    But it stalled the advance.
    And then suddenly they were out of that tunnel as the train sliced through the freezing air. Mountains on either side of the vehicle and its tracks, and down below some good several hundred feet into the depths of a valley beneath those elevated tracks.
    One of her teammates suddenly gets hit by the drones who slice up into the air, his arms coming up to endure some of the blast but strong enough to slice him off of the back of the train, launching him into the air as if he were a feather off the back of an eagle. But then there's the flare of his emergency chute as it snaps out and hopefully will arrest his fall.

Monica Chang has posed:
Mentally, Monica was cursing those comms. They would still use them, still speak as though they were working, but a little piece of her mind was already off somewhere considering utilization of drones and signal boosters to improve such operations potentially in the future.

She turned and fired a few rounds at the closest drone, much as it pained her to do so. This was a new model she hadn't seen. She'd really like to take it undamaged for study. It didn't have the same consideration for her as she rolled to avoid a shot. Which sent her starting to slide along that train until she got her hands and feet engaged again. She rolled to one side and fired another round, satisfied when it hit and the drone exploded into pieces.

She was about to start forward when she saw another of her team go flying off the back of the train. Another wisp of the chute. Hopefully they would be okay but she had no time to worry.

Rolling back to her stomach, still on hands and feet and hugging that metal roof, she scrambled like some sort of animal until she found that link between the cars. A slice of a knife cut through the 'tunnel' there so she could drop into the space between the two doors. Already she was working on opening the next door carefully, to gain access and start that trip to the front. Her last teammate would join her if they could. If not, it was up to her.

Could things get any worse?

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    From the inside the sound of the train was quieter, yet still there. A steady rumble that has hints of a wind's howl from the gap she cut into the material between train cars. Outside the drones still flew around quickly, firing at times at an unseen target, others having her locked in and humming as they went from window to window to window, as if trying to build a line of sight before firing. Though it was a line of sight she denied them.
    She took a moment to consider the possibilities, the likelihood of the mission going forward and that thought flit through her mind. Could they get any worse?
    And like the horrible creatures they were, the Fates cackled and presented to her that indeed it could.
    The door opened at the other end of the car and through it stepped a HYDRA squad. A heavily armored figure led the way, looking as if he were wearing blast armor while two other soldiers split to bracket the door and take cover. The heavy clomp clomp of metal boots was heard, yet there was one positive note to this moment.
    They hadn't seen her yet.

Monica Chang has posed:
Shit.

Honestly, the two regular soldiers with their weapons didn't bother her. She could deal with that. Monica's attention was on the heavy armored man. Scanning the armor, trying to spy any weak points that might be capitalized upon. Because he was going to be her challenge. She wouldn't be able to hit him. Shooting him likely would just bounce off.

The car they were in was designed for travellers so there were rows of seats on both sides. She had ducked behind the row of seats on her side as soon as she heard the sound of those feet ahead. The back row of seats was designed with that little space to allow for storage of oversized bags that wouldn't fit in the upper compartments.

She quickly ducked /under/ the row of seats. Then started moving forward, row by careful row. Thankfully she was petite so, while it was cramped, she was able to make it a few rows foward this way. Her intention was to wait for the man to pass and work her way to the two less armored bodies at the front. Deal with them, then she could either try to continue forward and lock the passage behind her to keep Heavy Duty from getting to her--or she'd take him on more directly if she'd found something she might exploit in her examination of the armor.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The heavy boots of that trooper stomp across the immaculate carpet that Monica hugs to, the metal servos whirring with the shift and flex of the myomer musculature. It was not a thing approaching Iron Man level of gear, but it was definitely something better than their line soldier.
    Yet they are not wearing optics or thermograph as that soldier stomps right on past. She'll hear one of them say into the throat microphone...
    "Clear, moving to car five."
    Then the other two soldiers start to move ahead, steps alternating as she'll see them fall into line from her hiding place. Might seem like she had managed to avoid detection entirely until... fate takes a hand again.
    There's a soft thump-thump, as right in front of Monica a small spherical object falls. Then a voice, "Aw fuck."
    "I told you man, you need to attach that shit better."
    "One sec." In the next moment that last HYDRA trooper is bending down to pick up his grenade. When suddenly he's face to face with a crouching Monica hidden Widow.

Monica Chang has posed:
That about summed up this situation.

Things had been going so well! She was about to completely avoid any sort of confrontation. Just let them move on to car six and she would've quickly gone into car four. No one had to get hurt. But nooooooo...

As soon as the grenade had rolled under the edge of that seat, Monica grabbed it. Pulled the pin, while holding down the pressure lever. When the man bent down to grab the grenade and saw her there, she gave him her brightest smile. Which was utterly useless since she had that mask covering the lower half of her face. Though her eyes showed it a little since they were visible. Which likely wouldn't do a damn thing. So instead, she spoke very softly. "Fuck indeed." Hopefully he would be confused for a second.

She only needed three.

She fired out a punch toward his face, with the hand holding the grenade for that extra oomph. Then she rolled out from under the trio of seats and drew her weapon in the same motion with her right hand. She fired with her weapon toward the feet of the second closer soldier. With her left, she released the trigger on the grenade.

Three...

She fired another round at each of the soldiers near her. Even if they missed, it should have them ducking and covering, likely onto the seats so she wouldn't shoot any more legs or feet. Her left arm came up and she tossed that grenade toward the far end of the car where the heavy armored man was. Hopefully /that/ might be enough to slow him down.

She was back on her belly, scrambling under seats toward the front of the car. She shot backwards as cover fire while doing so.

Two...

She realized they likely were about to fire under the seats and jumped up into the next set of seats when she got the opportunity. So when they looked under, she wasn't visible. She kept herself as small as possible in the seat so she wouldn't be visible over them.

One...

She leapt/over the seat she was on and flung herself two rows forward, landing atop the seats there and covering her head with her arms as the grenade exploded. Hopefully taking care of the three men but she wasn't going to count on that.

She needed to get into the door to the next car...

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    She was greeted with wide eyes from the man looking under the seats.
    And then she punched one of those eyes.
    It was a meaty hearty /WHACK!/ and it sent the man rocking back as a bit of blood spattered the immaculate rug and one of the seats, his occipital lobe tearing from the weight of the strike and the grenade. Then she was moving.
    The others took longer to respond. She was already up into the other seat and firing before the second soldier realized that his comrade was laid out for the count. He spun, turning smoothly and bringing his weapon up, the SMG slide clicking as he worked it. A short three-round burst was all he could manage before she was leaping out of that seat and over, rolling forward at the door ahead when that grenade finally went off.
    There was a loud /WHOOMPF!/ as the explosive ignited and all the windows shattered outwards. Suddenly the train was immensely loud, the world freezing as the mountains rushed by. But she had been able to get through and out that door before the heavy trooper even knew what was going on.
    She rushed forward, laying a shoulder into the next door to the car ahead only to thump hard against it. Locked. She could work the door, use one of her many many security toys to clear it, or go up and over since there were only a few cars left before the engine.

Monica Chang has posed:
She could unlock that door but it would take a minute. By that time, she could already be halfway over it. But on the outside were the drones. And hopefully her teammate, still working forward. With all the weapons fire and explosions, she had no doubt they were not coming through the last car. They would still be up top. It would allow Monica the chance to confirm she wasn't alone too.

And with her luck so far? That car would be filled with troops. Up and over it was. The knife was drawn, material cut. Then she was leaping upwards, catching around the edges and scrambling up as she reactivated the magnets on palms and soles. A quick reach to the back pack and she pulled out the goggles she would need. She didn't have them earlier atop the train and it had been a issue with the wind. They were tugged down into place and the nightvision activated. This all took a couple of seconds. Then she was climbing up, peeking over the edge to see the lay of the land before starting out along car three toward that front engine.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Those drones responded to the explosion and were swirling around the train behind her, their LEDs flashing red as their weapons tracked left and right. They seemed to be autonomous enough to function without a connection as their sensors let them still rush around and gauge their location. Yet they didn't have the network that would have let them sound an alarm upon spotting her.
    Unless HYDRA had put speakers into their carapaces.
    "Halt! Intruder. Intruder. Intruder!" The drone spun on its little whirling blades, then started to rush toward Monica just as she came upon the window into the car below. She had only a moment to make the decision. Fight the drones up top... or drop onto the squad from above.
    No sign of the rest of her squad. No roar of a Quinjet's motors. It looked like she was all alone for this one.

Monica Chang has posed:
Of course they had speakers. So her attempt to avoid any guards that might be in the car she was now atop was completely wasted. The screaming drone was going to call attention from everywhere. Which was not ideal when she was in the open and unable to move thanks to the air flow around the speeding train.

There were some skylights on the car. It looked like a lounge of some sort as there were a few comfortable seats and tables along with a bar. And of course, there were bad guys.

She reached to her backpack, finding an item there as she rolled onto her back, using three points of contact and keeping herself low. The item was flung into the air and it looked like it was a small mesh net of some sort. The passage of the train hopefully would hook it around the drone. And she secured the line of that bag to the roof beside her with a magnet. If she was lucky, the screaming bastard would at least be bagged for retrieval later. If not, maybe the netting would interfere with the rotors and send it crashing.

She didn't have time to wait and see. Rolling back over, she flipped herself to the skylight and came crashing through it!

She wasn't going to have time to get much more than a glance as she came through. She had picked one that had people visible under it at least. As she fell and glass shattered on top of the men, Monica fired out a double kick in each direction then tucked her legs to try to drop and roll in preparation for a fight.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    There was the crash of glass, the whir and thunk of a drone struck by interfering cabling, and then the roar of the train that all bleneded together into a melange of chaos. She fell into that car and for a time all she saw were guns and soldiers. Armored figures all holding position in a defensive placement with their weapons covering that door she didn't come through. Only now she was amongst them.
    In such a fight it often became just movement and instinct. Realization coming that one has little to no time to think. It is all reaction save for brief glimpses of insight that her training might give her.
    The butt of a weapon came her way and she slipped around it cleanly, letting that soldier get in the way of another of his comrades who fired a short burst into his comrade. Another tried to slam a taser into her gut only for her to vault over the seats and get clear as the tazer ended up in the ribs of another HYDRA operative. It was a symphony of violence assuredly, and she was able to conduct it.
    Yet there was the feeling on the edge, an awareness that it could easily get out of control.
    There was another hiss and crackle on the comms, but no words, nothing intelligible. Drones whirled and rushed along the sides of the train and in this moment she might be thankful for the comm outage as they could not get the ok from headquarters to fire into a melee, so they were forced to hold and simply observe.
    Then abruptly one exploded, then another.
    And suddenly a window burst inwards as a figure held onto the roof's edge and smashed his boots through the glass, colliding with one of those soldiers who had been taking aim at Monica. Another operative. Though not garbed with the black and yellow of the HYDRA operatives. Just the black of a SHIELD harness and the mirrored visor of a tactical response team member.

Monica Chang has posed:
It was a dance she knew well. What she was made for. Monica found herself easily falling into those movements. There was thought but it was a situation where instant decisions were required, not deep analysis. She allowed instincts guide her as she shifted from one opponent to the next.

But even she knew that sometimes, one was out gunned. Not necessarily literally, though they were armed. Using those guns in close quarters was always a danger as they could hit their allies. In fact, that likelihood was high as there were more of them. But she was outgunned in that there were a lot of them and she could only do so much in these quarters against those numbers. Her skills usually relied on stealth and speed, using her smaller size to her advantage. Toe-to-toe against a dozen men?

She'd be lucky if she made it through this.

Then suddenly someone else was getting added to the party. She automatically ducked in case they had a weapon and were firing her direction. Only to see that this was someone from her side. But they were not part of her team. Tactical Response? There had been no secondary team assigned for entry. There was one on standby in case her team called for assistance.

So who the hell was this?

No time. She fired a hand into the arm of a man holding a gun, sending it flying out of his hand and off to skitter across the floor somewhere. Then she fired a punch into the man's solar plexus, to knock the breath out of him.

She saw the new figure was quite tall. Very imposing in that tactical gear. Likely well put together out of it, with those strong shoulders. Suddenly she saw a person behind him. As he was spinning to deal with another opponent, she fired a spinning kick /over/ his head perfectly timed and struck the bad guy before he could close with that knife in his grip.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    She was able to make that leap, surge upwards and spin over his head as he was ducking in that whirlwind of melee. He had an ICER in hand as he turned, pistol-whipping the side of one HYDRA operative's helmet and snapping that head cover askew. With his eyesight fouled it was easy enough to grab the man by the shoulder and the waist and suddenly...
    /CRASH!/ the man was _thrown_ straight through another window. When he turned back he meshed almost perfectly with Monica's recovery stance as they both timed their attacks in that instance of surprise.
    They had a brief moment, very brief, where he turned that helmet and lightly tapped a finger against his ear. No comms. Thanks. Like she didn't know that.
    But then he pushed off and sliced the leg out from one of the attackers that charged at them, setting him up to land on his face in front of Monica while he leaps into a group of the other fighters who had been trying to draw bead with their rifles.
    All while the mountains roared by outside and the drones kept watching with their red LEDs glowing evilly.

Monica Chang has posed:
It was strange. This ballet they were performing together so perfectly. It was as if she had trained with him in the Red Room. But no, he didn't have the same style as those who were in male version of that program. They were more Krav Maga and the like. This man had other techniques that were more--artistic.

That might seem a strange word to use in the middle of a fight with people trying to kill them. Yet, it fit. There was a beauty to battle, particularly the martial arts. She wasn't blind to that. It was one of the dangers of that world for her. Because it enticed, bewitched, tempted.

As the body came down at her feet, she slammed a foot down and gave a /sharp/ twist. She was rewarded with the sound of break ribs. A second kick to the head of the soldier meant he wouldn't be moving any further.

She stepped on the body to leap forward, firing a side kick and sending one of the rifles aiming toward the ceiling. There was the bark of gunfire which echoed in the car but no bullets hurt the duo.

Another shift as he fired a punch as she moved her head out of the way just in time for him to strike the man behind her. Even as she twisted around, turned, aimed a kick up over the stranger's shoulder at the opponent there. Bringing them back into line-of-sight of one another. Faceless mirrored tactical helmet. Tight balacava on her though the opening for her eyes was covered by that goggles. They could literally see nothing about one another yet the gear showed they were both muscled and fit. Him tall. Her...petite.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    As she dealt with the one on the ground and the others near, he was amongst the further group. One was slammed into the wall, head snapping awkwardly to the side from the impact while another was thrown over the back of one of those seats when a raised elbow from the figure in black smashed down on his sternum and caused him to break painfully over the anvil of that railway seat.
    Then he spun, twisting back into the woman's orbit as she slipped to her left and he to his, sliding past to suddenly change targets and make them deal with entirely other opponents. Her kick slammed into the one that had been about to try and tackle him. And this other operative? He slammed the ICER into the abdomen of another HYDRA trooper and the non-lethal weapon fired loudly even as it burst forward with increased energy, the barrel of the weapon shattering for some reason. Yet it discharged its payload powerfully and then some, knocking the armored figure down with a thundering clunk of heavy gear.
    Across the cabin at the other end of the car that heavy trooper /SLAMS/ open the door and emerges, heavy rotating rifle in his hand already starting to spin up as he realizes that most of his comrades are already down...
    And he just wants revenge.
    The room ignites with rounds firing, a sudden BRRRRRRT as the weapon fires and kicks upwards, sending only a few rounds down toward them but then puncturing a series of holes in the ceiling of the train car. The Response Team agent ducks into cover behind one of those seats. Across the way she'll see her reflection in his helmet as he looks to her then tosses a shaped charge into the air with one hand, catches it, then holds his gloved hands together with fingers interlaced in the sign of... 'I'll give you a boost.'
    And if they are truly on the same wave length she'll know what he means.

Monica Chang has posed:
Here she thought he might've blown up with the other guy. No such luck. Or this was another one. Either way, this was a problem. Mini-gun in such a small space was deadly. He needed to be taken out and quickly.

As he fired and the recoil sent the shots up and into the ceiling, she knew that was the window.

Glancing over at her mysterious ally, she saw him toss the charge up into the air. Already, Monica was moving. The slam of steps as she charged toward him and she planted a booted foot firmly into his cupped hands. At that same moment, she caught the charge in her right hand.

A moment later, she felt herself flying upwards, propelled by the extreme strength of the tac member. Through the air, over the tables and seats, tucking her body in to be a smaller target but making sure to spot her landing to uncurl at just the right moment.

She landed with a foot on the man's shoulder then hooked her leg around his throat. Flipping her body around, slamming her body into that spinning gun and trying to slam it back up higher to help keep him from having a chance to aim anew.

Then she was out, performing a quick flip from her hands to her feet and to her hands again before going airborne once more to land at the far end of the car. Where she did her best to make herself very, very small.

She glanced over at her new teammate, of sorts. Then she wiggled the fingers of her now empty hand at him in a cute little wave.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    For the other operative his point of view was more limited. The woman in black rushed him and he tossed the charge into the air, then half-knelt and laced his fingers together. She planted her boot and he lifted and boosted her up into the air.. then past.
    And from that point he broke from cover and ran across the aisle, three quick strides then he dropped to /slide/ along the rug and into cover. That mini-gun had time enough to fire a quick burst before the other operative leapt onto him and there she had her moment.
    The armored HYDRA trooper twisted, trying to bring a servo-enhanced arm up to sweep her free only for her to spin him around. Then she dropped and in the same instant her new partner looked out from cover...
    Was the same instant she waved.
    The next moment there was a gout of flame, an explosion that blasted out the sides of the train as the armored figure fell out that side and off the tracks, crashing with a clang upon the struts beneath them and filling the cabin with smoke.
    The op was still in play, she still had to make it to the engine. But when the smoke cleared...
    Her partner was gone.

Monica Chang has posed:
She was pleased when the threat was eliminated and tumbled out of the train car. Rising to her feet, she checked to be sure that there were no more threats through the cloud of smoke. With the windows blown out as they were, it cleared very quickly.

And now that they were safe, she looked back to her partner. Only there was no partner. She was alone once again. She tilted her head slightly, trying to figure out where he could have gone. And why?

A quick shake of her head and she was charging forwards to the next train car. Time to get this mission done.