1352/One last crack at ...

One last crack at ...
Date of Scene:	24 April 2020
Location:	Central Business District
Synopsis:	Yu Phun comes by for one last showing when Vanessa is being brought to testify on his trial. He is rude enough to bring a rocket launcher but after a few dance steps with the 'gang' he is captured. Time to put him behind bars for the foreseeable future.
Cast of Characters:	Vanessa Carlysle, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper

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Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The call to Roy asking for his help went out a day or two ago. If Yu Phun was going to stop Vanessa from testifying against him, it would probably have to happen soon. And the security men had noticed a lot more vehicle traffic on the roads around the Queen estate of late.

Upon arriving had been a revelation. That Vanessa knew about the Green Arrow. Not only that, but she had been working alongside of him the last week or two, wearing a costume and going by the name 'Quiver'. Her archery skills had yet to be seen, but Roy was given reason to suspect she was good enough to run with Team Arrow.

Now it's time to head to the courthouse. It's up in New York City, where Yu Phun was arrested and arraigned. There's a pair of black SUV's ready to make the trip to the HyperLoop station.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Yes they were getting close to the final days of the trial. And this testimony would be crucial to make sure the supposed head of the criminal organization trying to infiltrate Starling City, Yu Phun, would go to jail for a long time.

Oliver had provided a couple of lighter suits to both Vanessa and himself, not exactly with the durability and resistance as the ones they wore when out there, but enough in a pinch, and usable under their normal clothes in case they needed a quick change-over.

As for the SUVs, one was a decoy, the other was being ran by those of Oliver's confidence. Which meant it was Diggle on the wheels.

"Ready to put that bastard behind bars..?" The man speaks over his shoulder once Oliver and Vanessa get in. Yes, where it came to trusting people for his safety or those he cared for there was only one man for the job.

On that same SUV were their bows as well, in case they had a need for it, covered under a bench.

Roy Harper has posed:
Arsenal is present in his usual dark red suit, fully geared out and kitted for protection. He has his bow, his sword, more than one knife, a selection of arrows, specialized and otherwise, not to mention a few gadgets along his belt if needed. The mask is in place, the red hood shrouding his features further. He's alert, vigilant, and keeping an eye out on things as they go. He has comms in one ear so that he can communicate with everyone. He's been quiet since they started the journey to the Hyperloop station, but he doesn't seem tense at all -- just watchful.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa had thanked Roy for coming to help them, and then when it's time heads out with Oliver to hte cars. "Yes. It'll be nice to be done with this," she says. Vanessa glances back to the house. "Not that I haven't enjoyed having the reason to be here. I mean... I still have a reason to be here, don't I? Or do you think your mother with want me back in New York?" she asks him.

She buckles up once inside the car. "Hopefully the last attempt taught them a lesson," Vanessa says. Though the ten or so men that Oliver and she beat down when they attacked them on the trails of the estate, might have just taught the lesson that he needs to send more men!

Oliver Queen has posed:
"After the praise you gave to my mother's precious vase I think there's no way she'd let you go." Oliver says towards Vanessa, a faint grin to his lips. Just before he turns on his comms too. A brief test as he talks to it then a glance to Vanessa. "No problem if you forget to activate the voice modulator with these." a little poke perhaps at when they met a certain April at a certain ninja battle. Though in truth he seems to be mostly wanting to put Vanessa at ease. He knows this is a big day.

"So do I. But these types often like to come back for an encore.." He sighs. Too true. Diggle seems to agree from the front seat with a solemn nod. "Right enough."

And then he speaks up to Arsenal. "Alright, you know the route we will be going to take, along with where the most likely ambush points might be." he says.

And then it's go time, the SUVs starting to drive off through the streets of Starling.

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy Harper gives a grin to Vanessa and a double thumbs-up for the thanks. Then he's back to business. He's borrowed a bike for this journey, something that will let him quickly adjust course and get through narrow spaces if he needs to. He gives a nod of his head to Oliver, and then one to Diggle as well before saying, "Yeah. I know the route. Scoped it out once already. There's a few spots that are the most likely. I'll be ready." And with that, he's swapping out the hood for the helmet for the bike, taking up his spot as escort for the SUVs as they make their way through the streets of Starling.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Diggle turns around to toss a small bag to Vanessa. "Here, this might help too," he says. She opens the bag up and pulls out... a blond wig. "Nice!" She says with a laugh. "Not only can I get all archer on them but they might think I'm in the diversion car," she says.

She dons it, and then checks her comms. "Great to have you there, Arsenal. Feel much safer," she tells him. She glances through the windshield at the streets ahead. "A lot of spots they could try an ambush," she comments, putting some of Oliver's knowledge to use as she looks for likely spots she might try something in their place.

Up ahead a large truck is sitting in an alleyway, the engine running, the driver waiting patiently.

Oliver Queen has posed:
There is a nod of agreement from Oliver, he taking in those same spots, a faint frown starting to creep up to his expression the more they go. And also a rising anger at these people that are making the streets of -his- city to not feel safe, at least to him and those about him. But he tries to temper it, perhaps he won't need it today....

Just in time for that waiting truck to come out of hiding from the alleyway. It's a one-way street, short, just perfect for it. Tires screech as Diggle hits the breaks. "Hold on!" he warns.

Not that behind them things are better, another truck coming out to cover a retreat behind them, so as to keep the two SUVs pinned there.

Men start to prowl out the trucks, some with guns, some without. But they seem intent to start shooting at the SUVs. And whoever else interferes.

Roy Harper has posed:
Over comms, Arsenal says, "Happy to help." But his attention is on the streets as they make their way through. He easily comes up alongside the SUVs and then shoots out ahead, before falling back again. His movements are primarily to keep from seeming like he's following only one of the two SUVs, and to scout ahead before falling back, never letting enough distance get between them that they could get cut off from one another.

So it's when that truck starts to come out of the alley that Roy falls back, "We got incoming." But Diggle's already seen it, "And behind." He covers the rear, spinning the bike around to face the men coming out of the SUV behind them. His bow comes up and the first arrow he looses is pure distraction, exploding like a flash bang when it hits in the middle of them to perhaps give him a few seconds time to react before they all start firing at once.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The side door of the SUV opens and a pair of smoke grenades are tossed out, one forward and one back, laying down some cover amongst the SUVs so the gunmen can't pick out targets to fire at as readily. Vanessa pops on a domino mask and pulls out the hood from her lighter weight costume that she's wearing under her other clothes, pulling it up over her head and then pulling off the break-away clothing with the velcro seams down the sides.

She leans out and shoots a sonic arrow towards the front. It hits the truck, sticking in the side and emits a high-pitched, loud whining sound that causes a few of the nearest gunmen to stagger and cover up their ears against the painful sound.

Oliver Queen has posed:
The distraction provided both by Arsenal's flash bang grenade, then Vanessa's own sonic arrow and the smoke grenades give just enough time so they can all get ready for this. Diggle brings out his own desert eagle, popping a few shots out at some of the stunned men. Specially those with machine guns. Shots to kill? Most likely not, but he's not one to hold back.

As for Oliver, he pretty much mirrors Vanessa, getting out of his suit and donning the mask of the Green Arrow. He leans out on the opposite window from Vanessa, a couple of blunt arrows shot. Bullseyes on the head of course, taking a couple of thugs down.

Some still start to shoot though, a couple from each side, using machine guns, not that they can hope to have a good aim, but sometimes a lucky shot is all one needs. "Down." Arrow says as the hail of bullets is shot towards them, starting to prick against the armored vehicle.

Of course that Yu Phun *wanted* to be here today, to make sure things are done. He isn't with the trucks though. Nope. Instead having chosen one of the nearby roofs. And after the tale of his men getting beat like that he isn't here to take chances, having brought a rocket launcher... What a cheat, bringing a rocket to an arrow fight! But he is still preparing it, that immaculate white suit that he likes to wear getting all dirty. He hates it.., but sacrifices must be made..

Roy Harper has posed:
One, two, three of the gunmen are taken down by Roy's arrows. They're not lethal shots, instead they have mini-tazer type heads that provide more of a shock and stun effect, keeping them down long enough so that he can vault off the bike and cross the distance to where they are laying and make sure they stay down for the count, the sound piercing all around him, and the smoke making it harder to see his own targets, but it keeps them from being able to get a good shot at him, too.

Not that he doesn't get grazed, but the bullet proof suit manages to stop that graze from being more than an inconvenience at the moment. The bow finds its way to his back as some of those without guns approach. He catches sight of something on the roof out of the corner of his eye and says, "We got something up top guys." He hasn't actually seen the rocket launcher, but he's busy with more goons on the ground.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Quiver ducks as the machinegun fire peppers the vehicles, when they hit a lull to reload, she rolls out of the vehicle and comes up firing. One after after another leaves her bow, the hardened arrow tips hitting guns hard enough to break them, or sometimes jutting through a gunner's hand if he was unfortunate enough to have it in the way.

As she hears Arsenal warn about the rooftops, Quiver is about to look up when a form darts out of the smoke at her. His rifle pulled back to slam the butt into her head, Quiver rolls back with the blow, legs wrapping around his to pull the man off his feet. The two scramble, Quiver pushing the gun barrel away from her face while the man tries to get it aimed towards her, his hand moving towards the trigger.

Oliver Queen has posed:
It's almost eery, the way both Vanessa and Oliver move with the kind of skill and motions that are close to a mirror of each other. Oliver gets out of the SUV as well, shooting on the move, quick as is his trademark, zen shooting them down with precision and speed, without thought. Something he has honed throughout his whole life.

A brief distraction when Quiver becomes entangled with one of the assailants. A moment of hesitation? He frowns to himself, knowing he needs to trust her. So a arrow is drawn, up to that roof Roy warned us about.

The hesitation costs him though, a shot grazing his suit, just his luck to not having brought heavier armor, which means his arm gets it. Not through the bone, thankfully, but enough to make his shot go haywire. Which for Oliver means he hits Yu Phun's arm, making him drop that rocket launcher, instead of hitting him on the head.

He lets out a gasp of pain, but he can fight one armed up just as well, reaching for a couple of throwing knives and tossing them towards another man coming out of the smoke.

"Need backup over here." he tells over the comms.

Roy Harper has posed:
Arsenal is engaged with a trio of combatants on the ground, but he's got a pair of knives in hand and seems to be fending them off without too much trouble. Unlike in the movies, they're not waiting to attack him one at a time, and so it's a constant flurry of movement that is both acrobatic and taxing to try to keep at last two of them at a distance at any given time while trying to disable one after the other. He takes a few hits among the ones that he deals out, knocking one of them out cold.

The other two give chase as Roy begins to climb upward, using a nearby fire escape to pull himself up above ground level and out of their reach. He's moving toward the roof, but it's going to take him a little while to get there, particularly given that he's still got two thugs on his heels attempting to pull him back down.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
There's a sudden gunshot where Quiver is, that leaves her ears ringing in her face feeling the heat of the discharge, but thankfully doesn't hit her. In the moment she's dazed though the man gets the gun pointed directly at her head and pulls the trigger.

Only then realizing she managed to eject the clip from the gun during the struggle. In the moment he's realizing, Quiver is grabbing her bow and using it like a club to the side of his head, taking him down and out.

Over by Oliver, out of the dark a figure soon looms, moving behind the man approaching Oliver. A pistol goes off twice, putting two bullets in the man's leg and downing him.

"Seems like I'm always taking care of you," Diggle says, his own mask on now as he helps Green Arrow to his feet.

On the other side of the SUV, Quiver looks up and sees Arsenal making a run for the rooftops where Yu Phun is with the rocket launcher, and a wounded arm. As the men below reach up to grab him an arrow suddenly hits the ground where they stand, the ground immediately icing over as something sprays out of the arrow. They both lose their footing and fall, freeing up Arsenal.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Count it on Diggle to have his back always. In truth Oliver dreaded the time when he might not be around for it. But right now, he took it, taking the man's arm and getting up to his feet with his help. A nod. "Always." But no time to think. More gunshots. One close by. He draws out another knife, sliding across the SUV to go out the other side where Vanessa was.

Seeing the man down and Vanessa still standing comes as a relief. Not that the relief lasts for long, a man coming out of the smoke, knife tossed to take him down on a shoulder, followed by reaching out and kicking out on the sternum.

The attackers down here appear to be trickling away now, most having been neutralized or fled. A sort of calmness starting to come down on the battlefield..

Not exactly up there on the roof though. Yu Phun must be cursing on the why he came here. But screw it. If he is going down he is taking someone with him. Be it a vigilante or his real target. So reaching within his jacket he brings out a gun, a magnum. He likes the high caliber ones apparently. He points down at Vanessa and Ollie but at the sound of someone joining up there he turns, starting to pop shots more or less where Arsenal is coming from, letting out a shout. "Diiieeee!"

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy Harper glances over his shoulder in time to see his pursuers slip and fall over and he shoots a grin and a thumbs-up in Quiver's direction, and then it's onward and upward as he continues to pull himself up and scale the side of the building with impressive speed. He's just about to come up over the edge of the roof when Yu Phun begins shooting at him and several bullets ricochet off the ledge where his hands were about to go. He pulls them back and pulls out his bow again, waiting until he hears the man get to the point where he's going to need to reload. That's the drawback to unloading before you even have a target.

As soon as Yun stops shooting long enough to have to reload or swap weapons, Roy comes up over the lip and fires an arrow at his arm, winging him, and makes a dive and a roll for the rocket launcher. There's definitely a scuffle as he tries to get ahold of it and Yu Phun tries to prevent him from taking his toy away. The two of them vanish from the view of those below as they trade blows in a tug of war over the weapon.

"Diiiee?" Arsenal asks. "That's what you're going with? Diiiieeee. C'mon, seriously, like, you can get more creative than that."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Quiver spots a gunman still on his feet and dispatches him with a quick knock-and-fire of a blunt arrow to his head. She surveys the area again, visually checking on Green Arrow and Diggle before looking up to see how Arsenal is doing.

As she hears him over comms, she turns to look back at Green Arrow. "I'm going to need to work on my quipping, aren't I?" she says, with her voice distortion unit turned on this time. "Heroes are always making the quips. Probably need a good catch phrase too. This is going to keep me up nights."

She looks up towards the roof. "You good up there, Arsenal?"

Oliver Queen has posed:
Just as Vanessa finishes that 'keep me up nights' the response from Oliver is. "Is it now?" the tease there on his voice. Hero banter for sure! "I can help with those quips, though I am sort of a fire and forget kinda archer.. No style." well, he is sorta taciturn, sometimes even broody. But he seems to enjoy that Vanessa is getting more into it, making him let out a chuckle. A chuckle that reminds him well about the bullet that hit his arm. He winces and then opens and closes his fist.

Though he gets back to reality soon enough at the sound of scuffling up there. Yu Phun isn't exactly just some thug. He knows his stuff, in fact his karate isn't only for show, having learned with a Clan back in China.

The man is trying to indeed get to that rocket launcher, though as Arsenal intervenes he starts focusing on him instead, frontal kick, then an exchange of blows with his fists. All in an attempt to find an opening to get that launcher. Not that he is exactly a match to a well-trained martial artist like Arsenal or the rest are.

Oliver goes to his bow, picking it up from the ground while Diggle goes on about picking stragglers and checking on the SUV that was travelling with them to make sure everyone is fine. "You have been caught in my quiver?" Oliver finally suggests to Quiver. Corny!

Roy Harper has posed:
"Oh, you know, dance party goin' on up here," Arsenal says into comms back to Vanessa. He must be alright since he's still joking about it. He continues to go toe to toe with Yu Phun, but Roy's faster, younger, and is carrying for more weapons than a single rocket launcher. And by the end of the struggle, he's got that, too. He uses it to bash it into the guy's face, knocking him out for someone else to come and collect. Yu Phun is left on the roof in his dirtied suit as Roy hops over the edge of the roof with the rocket launcher gripped under one arm, and makes a rapid decent to the ground. "Look what I got," he proudly proclaims, as he tosses Oliver a wink. "Can we keep it?" Like he was bringing home a kitten he'd found in an alleyway. "He's out cold up there. Probably want to tell someone to pick him up. You guys alright down here?" He surveys the scene as he makes his way back over toward the SUVs and the bike where he'd left it.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle winces at Oliver's suggestion of a catch phrase. "Or I could change my name. Maybe go with something like Cupid..." she starts to say, when just bringing up that name suddenly triggers a few memories that she didn't know were in there. "Oh. Oh no. Oh. Oh my. No," she says as it all comes up as if she'd lived it.

"Yeah, Quiver it is then," she says, but before she can suggest her own catch phrase, Arsenal is rejoining them. "Nice job. Hope he's got another suit. Jury probably won't take kind to him showing up all scuffed up," she says. She looks around, the rest of the gunmen are down and defeated. And there's the sound of sirens in the distance.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"Yea, he is fine.." Oliver says when Arsenal starts going about dancing, then adds as an afterthought. "I thought him all the quips he knows." perhaps an exaggeration. A mild one..

And then Roy is coming down from the roof, holding his stray rocket launcher as if he wanted to hug it.. A stern. "No.." at whether he can keep it or not. No finesse to a rocket launcher, no matter how good it is at doing it's job..

A glance then at Vanessa. "Why would you want to-" but then he blinks at the mention of Cupid, then whatever goes through her mind. "What happened?" he approaches the duo, some concern etched on his features, having forgotten about the wound on his arm. Yet as Vanessa starts to recover he offers a nod.

"Honestly, saves us the job of picking him up. Good work.." he tells to both of them, reaching up to place one hand on the shoulder of each.

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy Harper smirks a little at that firm "No" from Oliver. One might even be given to think that the reason he did it at all was to try to get that No out of him. He sets the rocket launcher down somewhere that the bad guys aren't going to get ahold of it. "You alright there?" he asks Vanessa, glancing at her features as she has that little internal/external conversation.

He gives Oliver a little wry sidelong smile at the hand on his shoulder. "Kinda nice to be working together again, huh?" Then he nods toward the trucks and says "Should probably get those out of the way so we can keep moving. I didn't see any more coming when I was up there but probably don't want to hang out here too long."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Quiver gives a wave of her hand. "Sure. Fine. Just, remembering some... old times," she says. The female archer chasing Oliver. Now even if she remembered it as if it happened to her, Vanessa will have to ask Oliver about those memories to hear them from his lips. And make him squirm!

"I got the truck in front," she says, stowing her collapsible bow and then heading over to the truck. She opens the door and swings up into the cab nimbly. Soon the large vehicle is backing up into the alley again.

She rejoins them soon after. "Maybe if you ask Santa nicely for one at the end of the year," Vanessa tells Arsenal of the rocker launcher, and flashing him a grin. "Nice work there. And thanks again for having our back."

Oliver Queen has posed:
A squint of his eyes.. Oliver remembers Cupid, yes... And indeed it -does- make him squirm. Inside for now. That woman was relentless! But he lets that go for now, even if he does expect a talk eventually. Maybe in the faaar future.

"I will get the back one." he goes over to get the truck out of the way as well, the sirens indeed already being heard coming by. When he returns a nod is given to Roy. "It only means we should do it more often. I am glad you still remember some of the lessons." he says with a brief smirk at Roy.

But then when Vanessa mentions for him to ask Santa he nods approvingly. "You are starting to find your quip game. We just need to spice it with a bit more corniness." because it's a very important part of it too.

Though true enough, they should make their way out of here just in case there would be more coming in their way. Or at least to finally reach their destination. Yu Phun should come by soon enough, in cuffs this time, and ready to serve a long prison sentence.

Roy Harper has posed:
Arsenal laughs and shakes his head, "Nah, rocket launcher isn't even on the list. But, I'll keep that in mind for other things." He has no idea what's going on about Cupid and is probably would be grateful for that. As the trucks are moved, he gets back on the bike, ready to follow them the rest of the way to the Hyperloop.

Then he smirks over toward Oliver and says "Maybe. Maybe then you'll stop acting so surprised." But then, he pulls his visor back down on his helmet and once everyone is back in the SUVs, he pulls on out ahead just to scout up a bit further to make sure that the rest of their ride is much more uneventful.