13305/Hank vs Dove

Hank vs Dove
Date of Scene:	08 November 2022
Location:	A seemingly abandoned warehouse
Synopsis:	A bored Dove stumbles across Hank's undercover op and the two find themselves squaring off.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Hall, Dawn Granger

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Hank Hall has posed:
It had been nearly a week since Dawn had received the brief text message from Hank. Or rather, that it had greeted her in the morning when she woke up, likely expecting him home at the end of his shift.

TXT to Dawn: Pulled into an undercover op. Details later, but might be a few days. I'll be fine. Love you.

Since then, nothing. Radio silence. No one at the precinct would provide any information about his status, either. Not to anyone other than family.

But on the bright side, Dawn had not felt the total emptiness that Hank had told her he felt when Don had been killed, so it was unlikely that Hank was hurt or dead. So there was that.

Dawn Granger has posed:
The last week had been a bit strange. Going from a whirlwind of Hank to a dearth of him left Dawn in a strange place. It was an adjustment, certainly. He was entirely capable, as both Hank and Hawk. He wasn't dead, no, but figuring things out solo was a thing that was now happening.

At first it had been simple, dance classes and practice, but after a while it was hard to just stay still. Stir crazy would be putting it mildly. Eventually, she decided it couldn't hurt to be out and keeping an eye on things. Patrolling as Dove meant she was making good use of any nervous energy. Which is what brought her to the supposedly empty warehouse.

Hank Hall has posed:
It was not hard to find trouble in the city - it was everywhere and anywhere. Tonight, though, there was a line of trouble headed to that warehouse. A stolen car, more specifically, the driver unaware that a superhero watched him take off while its owner had hopped out to grab a snack. Not briefly enough, and without taking the keys out.

When the door slides open to admit the car, it is abundantly clear what is within the warehouse - the sounds of grinding, the sparks in the night. The car is going on, but presumably when it comes out, it will be entirely different. Or so they think.

A chop shop may be generally beneath the notice of a super hero on most days. But to a bored superhero, it may as well be a god send.

Dawn Granger has posed:
When you're looking for trouble, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth when it gets stolen right in front of you. As the car enters the warehouse, so too does Dove. There's barely a flash of white and blue before she's crept in, cautiously making her way around the warehouse to find a spot to hide for the moment. There needs to be strategy, a plan of attack, and unless she's got a good vantage point that's not the easiest thing to formulate.

Hank Hall has posed:
There is clearly some sort of hierarchy at work here in what appears to be a well-oiled machine. The driver is greeted by a man with a pad who quickly takes down some information, and then rips off half the paper and hands it to him as he goes scuttling off towards a corner. A few critical looks, and then the car is pulled into a corner. In various places about there are mechanics at work, some under the hood, some sanding off VINs.

Collected over in the far corner are a group of men, broader than the mostly wirely mechanics - clearly the muscle. They are engaged in conversation with a few more finely dressed fellows. If you call gaudy shimmering suits fine, that is.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Gaudy suits might be someone's fine fashion, but for Dove it's a fine distraction. With the muscle chatting over in the corner, it means the mechanics are under much less attention. Right about now, she's thinking everyone needs a little nap. Current plan: quietly move about the room and knock out anyone who might be isolated enough to take a long break from work.

Hank Hall has posed:
There are, indeed, quite a few mechanics around, and likely some could be picked off easily. But most of the warehouse is open, and aside from some angles, there does not appear to be much of a way to take out the mechanics without attracting some interest. And as for the meatheads, there are really only four of them of any consequence. The three suited individuals do not seem to be the sort to be more than a spoken threat, boasting to each other about sexual conquests at the moment, evoking rolls of the eyes and heads from the muscle standing around them.

They look like conventional muscle, at least. Two with longer black hair, one with short close cropped blonde hair, and a fourth with a healthy length of dreads.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Too much open space. Too many variables. Dove's attention roams the room, trying and failing to see easy alternatives. She makes a face. Instead, she takes in the muscle. Four could be handled, provided they didn't all rush her at once, but the open warehouse meant she wouldn't be pinned in quite so easily. Still just out of sight, she raises her voice as soon as she finds just the right spot of quiet in the din of the chop shop noise.

"You know, if you just give up who's in charge of this you can all leave before you're caught in the middle of all this. This is a pretty hefty thing to have on your record just for having been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Hank Hall has posed:
As might be expected, any voice that is not part of the crew leads to the mechanics scattering. They certainly want no part of the record. The man in the suits start to gesture frantically - one falls out of the chair in his effort to run for the door, another tries hastily to reach for something in his jacket. The two muscles with black hair spin around to confront the speaker quickly while the man in dreads just laughs, shaking his head as he leisurely starts to turn around. "Gonna threaten us, girlie?"

The blonde's shoulders sink, his head goes down, and it almost, _almost_ sounds like he issues a resigned sigh. He does not turn around quite as quickly as the other three, seemingly waiting for orders from the chaotic men in suits.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove is content to let them scatter. She takes a few steps forward, her stance as well as her tone, firm. She's visible, but she's somewhere that the can get a bead on anyone who might be staying for whatever was about to happen.

"Like I said, you can just give up who's in charge or who you want to take the fall for all of this and make it easy. I'd really rather handle this like adults."

Hank Hall has posed:
Like adults. Violent adults. That seems to be the choice. The two men with the long hair charge nearly in unison - they look like they might be brothers. Their swings seem almost coordinated, one throwing a punch at Dove's head while the other moves to where she might be, where she to dodge. The man in dreads reaches out to grab a crowbar and advances on her menacingly. The men in the suits seem to encourage this choice, even down to one of them yelling "get her!" as if the group were not already trying to do that.

The blonde turns around once the order is given and moves to follow behind the other three as they advance on Dove. His body language seems to suggest he would rather be anywhere but here, about to fight Dove.

Probably because he would much rather be somewhere else, about to do something very different to her.

It is there for but a moment as Hank tries to catch her eyes without anyone else noticing. If she sees them, she will watch them roll. And then Hank's posture shifts, and he is all business.

Dawn Granger has posed:
"Right then, you've made your choice," Dove says, bracing herself as she sees the muscle coming towards her. As she does catch the eye of the blonde, she cracks the tiniest half-smile. Of /course/, of course this is where Hank ended up. Of all the gin joints in all the world...

The two that seem to be brothers are her first threat, the fact that they're moving as a team being something she's keenly aware of. So when she dodges the punch, it's a dodge to the side and back, a careful move to avoid whatever someone might be predicting of her. She slowly starts to move back towards one of the partially-open cars being worked on, as if somehow they had the upper hand and not her...

... and that she wasn't purposefully moving them to where she'd be able to use more of the environment to fight them.

Hank Hall has posed:
Hank watches Dove retreat back, and watches the eagerness of the men as they pursue her. Over pursue, of course. And a smile crosses his lips, as he realizes that this is a rare moment to watch the artist at work.

He hangs back by a few steps as the dreaded man with the crowbar advances on her as well, letting the two brothers get their swings in before he takes his shot. Hank is slower to approach, despite the shouts from the two remaining suits - their partner seems to have vanished along with the mechanics.

It _almost_ looks like Hank is having fun. Almost.

Dawn Granger has posed:
There's a quick sideroll from Dove as she narrowly avoids the swing from the crowbar. It, instead, impacts on the body of the car she was 'backing' towards with a loud clank. A clank that serves as a nice distraction as she abruptly comes forward with a swing of her own towards the man's jaw instead. She gives the muscle a sympathetic look. "Your 'betters' are abandoning you and hoping you take the fall for all this, so I hope you get paid well. No one seems to want to stay and fight the girlie who already reported all this. You realize that means I'm stalling you, right?"

Dove squares her shoulders up as Hank approaches, narrowing her eyes. She's all business right now. "Still giving you a last chance to run." Maybe she's daring him.

Hank Hall has posed:
There is almost a certain expression of pride on Hank's face as Dove manages to dispatch the first three with relative ease. It helps that the dreads' jaw is made of glass. But Hank? That is a different story altogether as he squares up on her.

"This bitch is one of them capes," he calls back towards the guys in the suits. "Get out before her partner gets here." He cracks a grin. "He's the tough one of the pair, she ain't nothin'."

Oh yes. He's daring her.

Dawn Granger has posed:
"Really bold of you to say that," Dove states, feet braced as she stares back. She's the reactionary one, not the aggressor. "Last I checked, partners were equals which means you're either really overestimating him or... you're underestimating me. Both are dangerous, really."

The punch she sends in Hank's direction isn't pulled. She's not intentionally trying to hurt him, but he's undercover. He's not going to break cover, so neither is she--it's a fight.

Hank Hall has posed:
"What can I say, I'm a call it like I see it kinda guy," replies Hank as he continues to advance on her. "And I kinda like dangerous chicks anyway."

He manages to duck under Dove's punch - between his training and knowing her fighting style, and that she is not particularly trying to avoid telegraphing, it is easy enough to do - and tries to sneak in under it to come up with an upper cut towards her. He, likewise, is not pulling any punches.

It is still, however, Hank taking a swing at Dove.

Dawn Granger has posed:
"They must pay you well, sticking around to fight someone in a cape," Dove says, taking the blow without an attempt to actually dodge it. She manages not to stumble from the hit, and keeps her head held high, light on her feet for ease of movement before she tries to get in close and bring her knee up to his stomach to try and get him to double over.

It's still Dove versus Hank, though, in the end, which makes it complicated in more than one level.

Hank Hall has posed:
It should come as no surprise that the hero takes the punch from the mere mortal without much of an effect. The crack of that blow landing and having no impact is enough to send the other two suit scurrying, heeding Hank's earlier advice, if a bit later. As her knee comes up, Hank takes it, doubling over as necessary.

While he cannot see it, but would likely be quite frustrating for him to witness, one of the suits pauses at the door to watch the interaction between the two. From the safety of having a hand on the door knob.

The charade must continue, sadly, as there remains one further witness.

Dawn Granger has posed:
They're still in character because there's still a very real audience and very real reprocussions to being found out. Dove gives Hank a shove, her gaze briefly moving towards the suited man. "If you like dangerous women too, you're more than welcome to stop fleeing and wait out your turn to take a beating /and/ get nailed for this entire chop shop," she offers in his direction. "But you'd better make up your mind fast."

She's firmly making sure that Hank's aware of the fact that they aren't alone there. It's still a team play.

Hank Hall has posed:
Stumbling back for a moment, Hank rights himself a she sees Dove look past him to the man in the suit. He knows what he has to do. He charges at Dove, even as the man hears her threat. He is out the door, but Hank is already on a full head of steam and leaping from his feet, diving at Dove.

The sound of the door clanking shut hits Hank's ears right before his body has a chance to impact against anything else.

Hank probably didn't need to sell this that hard. But when has he ever done anything halfway?

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove doesn't dodge. At least, not this time. She's trying to keep the threat real for the suit the entire time he's in eye and earshot. Hank, as the dutiful muscle, does what muscle does and goes for the dive. She's no football player, but Dove is at least sturdy. The impact of him hitting her is solid and does knock her down, especially since she's not trying to reduce the impact. The air leaves her lungs in a little breath.

She's still got game face on, but she's listening to try and determine if they've actually cleared out.

Hank Hall has posed:
Hank seems at least a little bit surprised as he takes Dove down, but he follows through on the motion and for a moment his weight is resting against her. His progress causes him to bury his face against the side of her hear, and he mutters into her ear quickly. "Cameras." is all he says, knowing that she will realize that implication. She can feel his body go loose in preparation for trying to take as little injury from an impact as possible. He knows what she she will do.

What she has to do, like she always does.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove's eyes catch sight of the security cameras when he mentions it, then her gaze darts back to Hank. There's just the slightest hint of a nod of confirmation, and that's all there is. Then she's back at it. She rolls over to get onto her feet and square off again. "Looks like you're the only one left. They're all going to turn on you. Only a matter of time before police get here. All the blame's going to end up on your shoulders. Even if you run, you're screwed."

Hank Hall has posed:
Laughing, Hank spits on the ground. "Jokes on you, lady. I'll be outta there before you even get home to soak your feet. Lawyers beat capes any day of the week." He nods to her. "So you do what you gotta do, and I'll do what I gotta do." He does not appear to be backing down. She'll need to either leave, or take him out.

Dawn Granger has posed:
There's a moment when Dove seems to be taking stock of the situation. She rolls her shoulders, ready to fight more if necessary, but they're at a standstill. "Must have some pretty good lawyers," she notes. "You seem very confident of that." The real issue is... he's undercover. She hasn't blown his cover and now she's trying to determine what's better for his cover at the moment. By her stance, she's more than willing to fight until authorities show up.

Hank Hall has posed:
There's a shrug from Hank. "Confidence is my middle name." Clearly, because he, once again, charges the caped hero.

And from the way he lowers his shoulder, Dove knows exactly what is coming next. She has trained with him enough to know, and read his movement. It would be a big swing and a punch to her gut as he goes down. But from the way he is approaching, and the angle, if she knows which way he will twist - very easy for her to 'guess right', side step, and send him into the car door to finish off the fight.

Dawn Granger has posed:
"I'm sure they'll note that on your rap sheet," Dove mutters, but she is, in fact, reading his movements. Even with one in costume, and one pretending to be someone else, they are an effecient team. She sidesteps the blow, twisting to bring his momentum to the car door. She trusts him to play his role as she does hers, and she'll make sure that authorities are able to handle the mess.

Hank Hall has posed:
Hank lands against the car with a convincing thud, and all opposition to Dove is wiped out. The suits and the mechanics have escaped, but the records in the shop will at least help return some of the stolen vehicles.

And somehow, the blonde muscle finds himself in the same holding pen as the other three, and is the last to get bailed out. But oh, the interesting stories he hears while in holding...

But when all is said and done, someone is going to have some apologizing to do back at Titan's Tower...