13975/Kainashi Leashed: Central Park

Kainashi Leashed: Central Park
Date of Scene:	27 January 2023
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	NULL unleashes Kainashi in Central Park with intent to maim and do harm. Luckily several of her friends and family have taken issue with Null's treatment of bully breed mutants. Newcomer SUNDANCE and Incidental RICHARD STADLER join SALLY PRIDE, LEONARDO and A VERY VERY ANGRY ALOPEX
Cast of Characters:	Kainashi, Leonardo, Richard Stadler, Sally Pride, Sundance, Alopex

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Kainashi has posed:
    CENTRAL PARK - THREEISH IN THE AFTERNOON

    It was an unusually warm day in January (THANKS GLOBAL WARMING), and in spite of the slush and snow that was remaining on the greens, turning it into muddy browns. On the paved paths, people were jogging with strollers, on their daily runs, pausing by the few open stands of snacks or taking in the NYC skyline. There is an ice skating rink where some folks are taking advantage of the ice before it all melts away. All in all, the park isn't as crowded as it could be -- but still more people than if it was bad weather.

    To either long side of the park, two sets of black vans pull up, though one wants a spot occupied by a horse and carriage.

    A brief altercation later, the horse is screaming for its life, and running away with the carriage into traffic, its driver in a panic. That was the first indication that something was about to go terribly wrong.

    The second indication is, without anything that humans could hear, all the dogs in the park began to howl, or bay, or prolong yap. A couple run in tight circles.

    To those with better than human hearing, the source was coming from one of the vans on the far side of the park. It was a loud, high-pitched noise that was *painful*

Leonardo has posed:
Leo sits motionless in the dense foliage beside one of the many mostly obscured concrete City of New York landscaping and utility sheds. This one just happens to have a sewer access hidden in between the hedges, out of sight of the public but accessible to crews. And turtles.

Even in winter, the evergreen hedges here keep him out of sight. When they first started taking turns watching the park after the news story about the zoo, Raphael said he found someone using this space to sleep. Apparently they agreed to move along. Leo did not ask questions about how Raphael managed that. Sometimes it was best not to.

The ground is cold, but Leo ignores it. He is still. Legs crossed. Listening.

The sudden commotion from dogs in all directions strikes him as noteworthy enough. Leo silently unfolds and creeps forward so he can see just a bit better through the branches.

Richard Stadler has posed:
It was a rather nice day to go jogging, honestly, and Richard was going to take advantage of it; a townhouse in West Central wasn't cheap, after all, and what was the use of having gathered all that equity just to spend every day in a student dorm on Staten Island? Granted he did feel a little warm in the sweats (it was warming up, and it was suprising even after some sweltering summers in Maryland he had gotten used to the lower temperatues of a New York winter). On the whole, a pleseant time to keep fit and get a few miles in before he needed to get on the Loop.

It was happenstance that he happened to be emerging from the Ramble, sneakered feet thudding along concrete, successfully ignoring how he was getting winded a lot sooner than he used to, when that van had pulled up on the far side showed in the distance. It wasn't anything he thought much of, until that horse and carriage went screaming into traffic in a manner wholey uncharacterisitic to the gently clip-clopping made with lovebirds and tourists in tow. Granted, it was none of his business; something for the NYPD to handle, no doubt, but as the dogs started barking, yapping, running around in cricles, he slowed to a walk, looking curiously at the van that had just arrived. Another coincidence, but dogs were very good early warning indicators of... somethings. What? He didn't know.

He moved to casually unzip the fanny pack hanging at his hip, reaching inside to quickly check on what was inside. He was being paranoid. He knew that. But that didn't mean it wasn't prudent to make sure it was there and ready.

Sally Pride has posed:
There is a saying, about how knowing something is a trap but having to step into it anyways. This was probably one of those times that saying could be applied.

There was little question amonst one certain group of mutants just who Null's transmission was ominously aimed towards. Considering their numbers continued two of Null's original marketable soldier project, a third more recent iteration broken free of them (that's Sundance), and an escaped failed experiment that was almost literally a walking brain in a jar (and a few other organs). Not to mention the Mutanimals' own 'pet human' had been one of their scientists.

Not that any of them had any intent to give Null what they wanted. But they 1) didn't want to put the whole group where Null could snatch at them in one swoop, and 2) not everyone particularly cared about problems being caused for humans. So most of the gang stayed on watch in Mutant Town, while being the one more familiar with venturing into greater New York and with better connections with the other mutants there Sally was the one out watching for Null to make their move... It also helped that Sally had an easier time keeping a low profile in public than most of the others and their less human appearances (and didn't have to be buck naked to be invisible like a certain gecko)

It didn't take a detective in a bat costume that wasn't actually a bat man to figure out if they wanted to make a spectacle, it'd be someplace public like a park. THE park in the city. And while it's not on her specific frequency the pitch is enough to make pierced ears flick back. And a concerned look from behind the dark sunglasses concealing feline eyes, knowing someone is probably having a much worse time with that hideous sound.

Sundance has posed:
Sally and Sundance had decided to go check out the park, because of Sally's ability to blend in and because of Sundance's much more recent knowledge of Null. It seemed the most likely target, so undoubtedly the two of them would find something, especially if you know what you're looking for.

Sundance had been lingering near one of the park entrances, his hat pulled down over his face to hide his muzzle, and his duster pulled closed to hide his weapons. It was New York City, so his style of dress was definitely unusual, but also it was New York City so the locals knew not to worry about strangely dressed people.

All his worry about trying to hide his face becomes moot as soon as that piercing sound washes over him. He puts his hands to the side of his head, dropping to his knees, "Fucking hell!" He yells out, which probably looks strange to any humans nearby that can't hear the ear splitting sound. It's also pretty hard for him to hide his mutant appearance once he's down on his knees, tail instinctively tucked tight in response to the pain.

Alopex has posed:
In all honesty, Null's transmission wasn't a threat for the fox, it was information. Valuable information that caused her to shadow Central Park for days. She needed a break from the constant Purple Dragon patrols around her home. Getting in and out without being seen and/or tracked was becoming more and more problamatic as they became more and more stubborn about being in the area... but that problem could wait for now. There were bigger issues to deal with.

Said issue seemed to become fairly apparent when a horse and carriage tears off into Central Park, causing surprised patrons to dive out of the way of the terrified animal. This, the vans, and the just-audible noise to Alopex made it clear something was starting. For a moment her right hand moves to the blade at her back, hesitates, stops, and instead hovers the mini-scythes at her waist instead. As much as she wanted to show them just who they were dealing with, there was also the potential of -who- they were using for this event. Jerks.

        "And it starts..."

Kainashi has posed:
    The sound was made on purpose. It was a scream. A warning.

    The starting bell to a fighting match.

    The dogs begin to flee the sound, tugging on leashes. A few dogs manage to break away and run into the traffic around the park, the sound of tires screeching as -- THANKFULLY -- none of the errant animals get hit, running amok.

    And it stops as suddenly as it began.

    An air of waiting hangs over the park for the briefest of heartbeats below one door slides open on the of the black vans, and a figure steps out, almost hesitant. Bent over, digitigrade legs stretching, feet covered with some sort of boot in tactical black. Similar leggings cover up its legs to its waist, where a few patches of armoring can be seen over the gut to protect sensitive organs. Its tail curls under.

    Its eyes are hidden beneath the shadow of a hood, with a cold digital white light comes from a visor, but it's clear that its head is covered with scar tissue and patches of scraggly fur. Ears appear to move under the hood, listening to the sounds of traffic and the surrounding city. It carries two long sticks, one in hand, one on back, thick poles of steel to beat and break with. Its head tilts back as it sniffs the air, nostrils flaring, taking in the smells, and the canine asset prepares for a fight.

    There was a woman holding her child in her arms, having snatched the kid up from when their dog begun to go crazy. The same dog was now growling in aggression, between its family and this interloper.

    The visor lit up red.

    A whistle sounded, and the Null Hound goes on the attack, moving quickly and taking a leap off a handy park bench to get airborn in order to attack the tagged enemy near Leonardo's bushes!

    The van she stepped out from pulls away from the curb and goes to blend back in with New York traffic!

Leonardo has posed:
Be patient. Do not rush in. Understand your adversary. Act, do not react, when possible.

It is not possible. Leo sees the... Whatever it is... Focus on the family and moves instinctually.

The smoke bomb lands just in front of the Null Hound's targets and goes off with a blinding flash meant to cover the gap in time before the smoke spreads out enough to be useful. Just like Donnie said it would. This time.

Leo leaps after it from a crouch between the hedgerows and lands behind the woman and her child.

"You're going to be fine, miss," he says. That is all the warning they get before Leo tries to scoop them up and leap backwards over the hedge to where he had been with the woman, child and dog, unfortunately dangling awkwardly from its little harness.

If successful, before they can turn Leo is out of sight around the corner of the landscaping shed. The child catches the briefest glimpse of a giant turtle shell and that is all.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride grabs Sundance under one arm to hoist him back onto his feet. "Walk it off, dude. That's likely the only warning we're going to get..." Sure enough in those moments Null releases the 'asset' and the vans ditch the scene. While the mutant mutt and a loyal normal one get like... well, angry territorial dogs. Give that pooch credit for being willing to face down one much MUCH bigger than it was. That poor mother can't handle both her kid and her furbaby though.

Being less disoriented than her companion Sally tears into motion across the park. Even if she can't probably make it there in time... But fortunately one of the Brothers has decided now was the best time to dramatically make a reappearance! In a much better position to deal with the family.

Maybe the smoke bomb is enough to briefly disorient. Maybe not. Depends on what kind of tech that visor is. Not really important. The smoke bomb rescue gives Sally enough time to close in and lunge for the large canid, trying to get her attention away from the bystanders. "Down girl, down!"

Alopex has posed:
    Long whistle. Sundance is down. Then nothing. Not even birds. Animals know. It's just that instinctual thing, like when a storm is on approach but hasn't yet thrown lighting or roared thunder. Just uneasy silence. The van door opens, breaking it, and that's what gets Alopex's attention. If anyone could spot her on her perch behind pine needles, they'd see a scowl and flat ears. An angry indication not often seen, as she doesn't often let that much anger show. This confirms what she had heard. However, there wasn't a chance that Alopex would lift a finger against the hound Null had made out of Kai. She had other plans.

        <<Sun, Sally, slow her as best you can, I'm getting information.>>

The van door closes, it goes to leave, but the -loud- thud and the shriek of metal cutting metal is going to set the vehicle apart from any other in the city, especially with a large white fox biped trying to open it like a can of sardines with a razor sharp katana.

    "YOU GET ONCE CHANCE BEFORE YOU START BLEEDING. WHERE DID THEY DO IT?!"

Richard Stadler has posed:
The activity of the canines around the park wasn't exactly normal, but it wasn't sinister, either; it could have been a natural occurance, some... earthquake, or some substations transformer out of sync... right? He wasn't exactly an engineer, but he had heard something about that. It would have been nice for things to just e a random tragedy for once. Certainly there had to be some alerts by now, a few people already calling 911 at the near traffic accidents and panic about family pets. And see, it was subsiding a bit. Others could handle this, and he had tests to grade. He had made the decision to make it short answer, after all, and it would take the afternoon-

Stadler would have been concerned if it had been a human stepping out in a 10 year old plate carrier. As it stands, the way the canine was armorered was almost more concerning than the fact that is was a canine. Richard noticed well fitted and high end tactical gear quicker than he noticed the tail and digitgrade legs, but all of that, even before the snarling bark of a family's dog and the flash of red light replacing the white underneath that hood. Time seems to stand still for a moment, before the combat-preped dog goes for the family itself.

"HEY!" It was a loud bark of a word, an exclaimation and formless order, the best thing he could do at this distance. There wasa an explosion of a smoke bomb next to them, the area in front suddently chaotic, and Richard couldn't make out a target, his hand remaning buried for the moment in the fanny pack itself, dominant hand tensing oover a checkered grip. Attempting to grab attention was all he could do as he approched... even as the area in front turned into more of a furball than he had thought. Was that another figure trying to tackle the canine's silohuette?

Sundance has posed:
Thankfully for him, Sally is able to get Sundance back onto his feet after a few moments. He shakes his head, ears still ringing, "Fuck. I'm good. Thanks, Sal." He turns back around towards the larger canine, taking a moment to respond to the fox's comms. <"Roger that Pex, make it quick!"> He then takes a second to adjust his duster, before he opens it up and draws twin single action army revolvers. The last time he ran into Kainashi, he did everything he could to avoid engaging with her. Dodging back and forth, evading strikes. This time, he's decided to get a little more hands on.

Don't worry they're loaded with non-lethal gel rounds. It'll hurt like hell but it won't kill her.

The smoke bomb is going to make it hard for him to land any shots though, "Goddamn." He mutters, rushing in after Sally as he holsters the weapons, instead pulling out a steel cable lasso from his gear pouch, "Hold her!" He calls out to Sally, as he jumps at Kainashi as well, aiming to try to wrap that cable around one of her legs, and try to pull her off of her feet. He's hoping not on top of Sally, though.

Kainashi has posed:
    The smoke bomb does disorientate the canine, the smoke stings the nose and messes with the visor -- it permits Leo to make a rescue for the family (AND THEIR LITTLE DOG, TOO!), dangling from the harness as it YIPS?! in surprise.

    The woman holds both fur and human babies close, though the kid looks at the shell and yells out, with glee, 'FRANKLIN!'

    Sally gets her chance at Kai.

    She's shaking off the smoke bomb still when the lunge gets registered. Ears move beneath the hood nd the canine drops, curling, trying to catch and toss the lioness away, kicking with those super-strength legs. The bar she was holding drops with a dull bang and a dent in the pavement where the edge hit it -- it's heavy.

    Noticably, the canine doesn't make any noises, no grunts, no words. She's lasso'd around one foot by the steel cable from Sundance, and this she bares her teeth at and goes to reach down and grab at the cable to try and whip it -- and the coyote attached! -- towards Stadler, who's being silly and just standing there when he has tests to grade.

    Meanwhile, the van driver gives a screech in panic as the van begins to open with an angry fox. The guard inside the van opens fire!

    "This is Hound Two, we have an angry hostile -- what the hell IS that thing?!"

    "FOX!"

    "Yeah, FUX is right but what IS it?!" the guard yelps.

Sundance has posed:
Well that sure as hell didn't work. Sundance feels his feet leave the ground instead of the canine's, as the coyote gets whipped through the air and flies right at Mr. Stadler. At least there was some response to him yelling, even if it's a coyote that comes sailing out of the smoke and crashes into him.

The big coyote mutant rolls off of Rick after they're both on the ground, and takes a second to pick him up, "Sorry about that, boss. No harm done." He brushes some grass of of Rick's sweat shirt, "Now you might wanna git yourself to some cover, this is gonna get worse before it gets better."

He reaches up over his shoulder and this time pulls out the shotgun. It looks like a lever action 1887, but to the discerning eye they would see how modernized it is, "Sally, move!" He calls out, before he pulls the trigger, firing a beanbag round at Null's controlled canine, before flip cocking the lever and firing a second shot, while advancing towards Kainashi and Sally again.

Leonardo has posed:
Leo quietly draws his blades as he comes through the bushes around the far side of the shed. He crouches to jump then pauses. His eyes narrow.

New York is weird. Like, really weird. You should see what's in it's sewers. But it's not so weird that the mutants are not instantly recognizable to Leo. Nor does it escape him that they are not doing all they could to bring this creature down.

Leo sheathes one blade, pulls a pair of shuriken from his belt and lets them fly when the creature stabilizes to whip the cable.

Leo is no dummy. But he is not Donnie. He makes his best guess as to what part of the creature's cybernetics hold its comms unit and aims for there. The shuriken lance in as if from nowhere while Leo evaluates.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride succeeds in tackling Kanashi, but the successes is about as short-lived as one might expect. The lioness may be strong as one would expect of a mutated predator, she lacks the bulk to really hold down the husky (but not huskie.. I don't think) canine for very long. Before she's thrown off and sent tumbling across the park ground a few yards. The sunglasses are knocked off in the process, and left on the ground as she gets back to her feet. Exhales briefly. <<Easier said than done fox, but we'll do our best.>> Before she's charging back into the fray.

Then Sundance calls out, and she catchs the glint off his shotgun in the corner of her vision. The Turtle also properly joins, but she doesn't have the time to determine which one it is at the moment.

Not wanting to be in the line of fire but not wanting to break off her approach Sally adjusts by diving low and going to slide between Kanashi's legs while the others are striking high.
And grab the bar that she dropped the first time, intending to pull it away before Kanashi gets a chance to pick it back up and use it to do things she'll regret when they get her back in her right senses.

Alopex has posed:
"FOX. Angry Fox that will, again, start STABBING MORE if you don't answer my damn questions. WHERE DID THEY DO THIS TO HER?! YOU JUST DROPPED HER OFF. I'M NOT AN IDIOT." And if it wasn't clear that she isn't about to stop, she withdraws the Tentetsutou before stabbing it down between the seats up front, intentionally. Now she has an anchor that one hand holds onto while the other comes around and starts -smashing- one of her mini-scythes against the glass of the driver-side window. "AGAIN. WHERE. DID. THEY. TAKE. HER?!"

It should be clear that 'I don't know!' is not a good answer. They transported her. She wants information.

Richard Stadler has posed:
Stadler wasn't quite expecting what came next. The iron bars had indicated that the threat might have been getting into close quarters with the target, but certainly he hadn't seen any sort of firearm, so perhaps he was safe enough-

The smoke lightens up just in time for Stadler to see the flying form of a dustered indivisual, and then he's hit center mass by what seems to be a writhing mess of fabric and fur. Fur? What did this have to do with so many dogs, and why were there two of them that were almost bigger than he was. More importantly, why the hell did this one talk like he was walking out of the Italian countryside made to look like the Arizona Territory?

"Nothing more that he can do but take a shuddering breath, wheezing slightly as he brought himself to his feet as his sweatshirt (proudly emblazoned with a picture of a wolverine and 'Go Blue!' on the front) was courtesly dusted off. "Somehow I don't think you're a doctor." He notes, before he sees the coyete draw a, what... a Remington 1887? Were those Picatinny rails? What in the hell was going on here?

But if a firearm was being brought out, then the game changed, slightly. Off to Sundance's right, as he advanced, there were two loud cracks, the fanny pack now well and truely opened, the Glock 23 inside in a two handed grip, left hand high on the pistol itself. "Don't think so." He responds, before barking ouyt again to the dog in front. "DOWN! ON THE GROUND!"

Unlike Sundance, Richard doesn't have the luxury of less lethal ammunition. But that body armor looked expensive, and .40 Smith and Wesson should just leave a nasty bruise...

Should.

Kainashi has posed:
    Boom-CRACK. The canine moved to the point, turning to regard Leonardo.

    Her head snapped back as the first beanbag struck the visor. There's a audable crack as it breaks, and pieces of plastic spark against the canine's face. Its mouth parts, teeth showing, lips curled back, but there's still no sound other than a choking, wheezing breath out as the hood falls back.

    Unmistakably it's Kainashi. The cruel tattoo of the kanji for 'worthless garbage' that formed her name from the Foot Clan. THe burns and scars across her face, the pitbull (who is not huskie at all). The figure stops to scent the air, nostrils flaring again.

    I know these scents...

    HUCK. Shuriken strike the remainder of the array about her head, the controls sparking. She curls up, raising her arm up to try and stop the barrage. CRACK. The second beanbag hits her.

    The solid 'stick' of steel is stolen as Sally grabs it, and the secondary one from Kainashi's back is pulled as the canine's brown eyes open, out of focus.

    And a shrill whistle fills the area. Teeth clamp down on one another -- and then the bullets hit.

    One hits the armored area handily. The other?

    Well. Kai wasn't Null's work originally. There should be some sound that comes out of her as it strikes her left side, grazing the black cloth, and all her attention gets focused on the human.

    Blind with rage, with that steel cable still wrapped around her foot, Kainashi launches herself at Stadler, teeth bared, both hands on that massive rod of metal as she prepares to swing it, one-handedly, at the shooter!

    MEANWHILE AT THE VAN:

    "AAAAAAAAAAA!" the guard wails as the sword gets impaled uncomfortably close to their side.

    "We do pick ups at a warehouse in Staten Island near the docks! From there we take her any place they tell us to go!"

Alopex has posed:
Huh. That was... easier than expected. The sword is slooooowly retracted but the fox isn't done. She hops to the hood, stabs -down- around where something other than the engine is, like for a belt, fan, hose, or otherwise, and then she launches off of it into.. the unkown as far as the drivers are concerned.

<<Warehouse, staten island, near the docks. We'll be checking every single one until we either find them, or find where they -were- if they move out.>> It's a very matter-of-fact, but it is what Alopex will be doing. If the others want to help, that's fine. If not, that's also fine. When she speaks again, however, she sounds a little hesitant. <<I am on my way back.>> She doesn't want to fight with Kainashi, but at the same time she needs warded off from the park. One way or another.

Leonardo has posed:
"Kai?!"

Leo steps out of the shadowed bush in shock.

He pauses. You can almost see the entire situation restructure in the turtle's head.

Then the gunshots.

"No!" Leo shouts. He looks at the others closing on Kai. "Get her down, we have to get out here. Lure her underneath, there's a grate!"

With a mouthed 'sorry' he chucks a shuriken at Kai's hindquarters from an angle that will make it seem like one of the others launched the attack. He sprints after Kai and tries to pass her by if she turns to the new attack and get himself between her and the gunman. He gives the man a warning glare, ready to engage either the man or Kai to keep them apart.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride knew Kainashi was strong, but in the moment she kind of underestimated/forgot just -how- strong that was. She got her hands on the discarded bar with her sliding stunt, but then had to actually get onto her feet and use that movement to help move it, in more of an awkward drag than the really awesome yank and toss that she had invisioned in her head. Still, denial of weapons and assets from the opponent counts.

Except Kainashi had a second one on her back. Which now she's about to put to use. And that armor would make her own stun-pistol pretty useless unless she risked upping the charge to the point it would be dangerous...

Wait a minute. The whump of movement against the ground grabs her attention, noticing Sundance's cable lasso still snagged around the mutt's ankle.

Sally darts forward, grabbing for the steel cable, digging in her heels and pulling back with as much force as she can. She probably doesn't have much more of a chance than Sundance did, but if it at least gets the canine's attention back off the human... "Nice to see you again too," she quips at Leonardo, because it's never too hot in middle of the fight to make some action banter. "We'll explain what happend later! For right now.. what you just said."

It was a plan of action. That was the easiest way to tell it was Leonardo and not one of his brothers.

Sundance has posed:
The coyote spots Leonardo. Another mutant, one he doesn't recognize. One of the Turtles the other Mutanimals told him about no doubt. He does know they're supposed to be color coded but he doesn't know the colors yet, "We're trying to stop her, so we can save her! Null's got her mind controlled!"

Quick tl;dr for the fight. As he spots Sally pulling on that cable, he fires another beanbag, this time aiming towards the leg that Sally is pulling on, trying to knock her off balance with the shot and take her off of her feet, "We're trying to help you damnit!" He yells at Kainashi.

Richard Stadler has posed:
Stadler didn't want to kill anyone. Honestly, he rarely did; most of the time it was simply a regretable part of the job, and certainly just aiming to fire a round through what looked to be a pit bull's braincase was above and beyond the stress he needed today. But there was a split second where, with five feet dangerous inches of snarling missle leaping at him with a heavy bar swinging in her hand, where he wished he could be just a little bit more ruthless in where he aimed. Certainly though, you know what they saw. A moment in your sight picture, a lifetime on your conscience.

There was nothing for it. He had a general idea of how long it would take a melee attack to reach his position, and an innate knowledge that he didn't have the stopping power to put her down without an (at this time unlikely) head shot. There was trigger discipline there, not looking to shoot wildly, a single shot aimed at her center mass again (the arm was a possiblity, but there was too great a chance of a miss and too many things behind her that might catch the round). All brief shorthand thoughts in a millisecond as he choose the path to dive out of the way with all the energy he had, moving to the side while the mutt and the bar were moving forward.

He landed hard on a nearby hill next to the path they were on, wincing at the pain spiked through his shoulder and the fouled up sight picture from an askew set of glasses. But he quickly rolled, looking up, and pointing the firearm he held toward Kai. If he was vunerable before, there's no way he could move quick enough to avoid a second attack on his back. A reflexive shot to end the fight didn't come, however; suddenly the path to the target in front of him was blocked by...

Okay. He's seen odder things than a turtle with blades standing in front of him. Not many, though, and it was just odd that it kept happening. He could only answer Leo's glare with an exasperated look of his own. What the hell else was he supposed to do? But the effect was had; the trigger wasn't pulled a 4th time.

Kainashi has posed:
    The van is functionally halted, limping over to the side as they radio back to the remaining Null forces --

    <Uh... we just encountered a very angry fox. With a sword. You may wanna recall the asset before she gets there. She might murder everyone.>

    <. . . roger that, Hound02...>

    The lasso holds her, though Sally on the other end might find the inertia a bit hard to hold onto -- followed by the shuriken that embed themselves, certainly not by Leo's aim, neatly in the dog's rear end.

    The dog goes down hard, tail curling under her, ears pinned back, her scarred up face, blood striking the pavement as she's taken off her feet. She rolls to her side, curling, breathing hard. Still no barks, no growls, no audable snarls.

    And it's obvious why as she lens her head back to try and cler the headache from slamming down -- her throat's been cut up. Not recently, but the scars there prove that more than once.

    She's been 'debarked'.

    There's a snort, brown eyes with their pupils dialated, her mouth parts and she spits off to the side, and she reaches down to the steel cable, grasps in both hands, braces her feet and she PULLS with all her hits-people-with-full-dumpsters strength, then spins nd tries to whip Sally at the beanbag-shootin' rootin' tootin' coyote.

    And right about then is when the gunshots start in, and civillians begin to rush towards the fight. Stadler's not the only one packing heat.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride does her best to hold her position, but there's going to be some big ruts for the groundskeepers to deal with where Kainashi's fall and tumble dragged her along. Her tail lashes, fighting to keep her footing and balance.

Then Kainashi gets up. Turns around to grab the other end of the cable.. and that's when Sally can see her neck and throat.

"WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO" If there was any need to remind what animal Sally is mutated from, that angry roar is a good one.

Unfortunately that's the same moment the canine decides to yank back and swing, more than enough to heave Sally off her feet even if she hadn't been distracted by the sight and sling her back towards Sundance.

Alopex has posed:
Though Alopex doesn't expect it to work, once she has arrived back on the scene, her throat, and then the massive yank that follows, she yells out a single phrase once she's closed distance:

        "KAINASHI. THAT IS ENOUGH."

By this time, Tentetsutou has been sheathed, but the fox is in a stance ready to try and slow the pitbull down if she needs to. "Please. . . Stop."

Sundance has posed:
Sundance wasn't expecting that trick to work twice, until Sally barrels into him, knocking him for a loop and sending his gun clattering across the ground. He winds up with Sally on top of him, and he takes a few moments to look up at her, "We've gotta get her back on our side."

The excess of gunfire makes him groan as he helps Sally back up and grabs his shotgun, <"Cops are gonna be here soon, we need to bail.">

Leonardo has posed:
***ping***

Professionals with guns have bad enough aim in crises. Civilians are a terrifying disaster. A bullet riccochets off of Leo's shell as the good people of New York start to close in, with potentially deadly crossfire against each other. Now everyone's life is at risk.

Leo back handsprings away from Richard, who he had to admit was justifiably miffed. Kai was terrifying. But still. It was Kai.

Leo twists in mid-air over the coyote cable.

Flash.

Light glints briefly on folded steel. Twin blades swing for Kai's legs. Not a warning. Attempts to wound, deeply enough to incapacitate. Leo is already turning when he lands and tries to follow with a snap kicl at Kai's head.

He looks pained when he looks at her. Determined. But pained.

Richard Stadler has posed:
For the love of-

The amount of people Stadler trusted to be operating firearms in an area like this wouldn't fit the sides of a d20, and he certainly didn't include police officers. It's why he kept himself on the ground even as the pit bull seemed to be detered from going after his limbs or his throat. He couldn't see the dog's injuries, but he could hear the pained and desperate cries of friends about her condition. Had brainwashing been mentioned? It was a bit of a blur, but a picture was coming togeether, at least, that the dog here may not be here entirely of their own violition. And that annoying feeling that shooting things had, somehow, made things worse. Who would have thought? The very least he could do is keep this situation from getting any more fouled up.

Dangerous enough, but he stood up from his position, waving his arms, and yelling out. "Check fire! CHECK FIRE, goddamn it!" Say something with enough authority and people are inclined to at least hesitate. Maybe it would give the menegere behind him enough time to disengage before people started getting hurt, either from a rather frightening dog or moronic yahoos thinking that because they could puncture paper at a range upstate they could handle this.

Kainashi has posed:
    WELL, THEY WOULD CHECK FIRE, RICK, IF THEY WEREN'T WEARING BLACK UNIFORMS with big red 0's on them.

    NULL forces moving in, causing havok with a bunch of civillians running or trying to get back. They don't look like they're inclined to stop and pay attention.

    There is an urgent whistle, a dog whistle in fact, high pitched that makes Kainashi's head turn, her expression dead, neutral as her eyes catch Alopex, and then she turns to make it back to the sound of the whistle, neglecting Sally and Sundance off to the side.

    And Kai, Kai who had a teddy bear stashed in the turtles' belongings and would excitedly talk about learning guitar chords or working through a passage in a book she was trying to read, who would hold up engine blocks to be worked on and rip car doors and once pinned Raphael to the wall of an alley with a dumpster feels the bite of steel at her leg. Her eyes go wide, pupils contracting sharply in the light before she takes a two-toed foot to the face.

    She's lamed. HEr head is spinning. That whistle is even more urgent, even though Sundance might be the only one who's able to hear it other than Kai. All those familiar smells -- Lion and Engine grease. Sandalwood incense and sword oil.

    Alopex.

    the canine reaches into the small sidepack and then pops two balls, covering her nose with her good hand.

    And then it's not just a smoke bomb, but a pepper bomb, and with all these animals with sensitive noses that might start presenting a problem!

Alopex has posed:
The fox's eyes go to everyone else here, "Those men?" she motions at Null, "You can fucking kill them," she growls before looking back at Kai's dead stare and fishing for pepper bombs. She knows what's coming, either smoke or sensory bombs, but she has to try. There's no attack, just in the moment between arms go up and back down to cover noses and drop bombs, she whispers into one of the dog's ears from being latched on her back, "Pippilu Cutsey-Toes, you need to stop," she pleads before bombs get dropped regardless, which gets Alopex to drop and start to back away, hacking the whole time, with one hand going to her eyes, "Damnit!"

Sundance has posed:
It took Sundance far too long to realize that the gunfire wasn't civilians, it was that far too familiar uniform. He's seeing red when he sees the guys in that outfit. He can hear the whistle, his ear twitching. He has to ignore it, these guys are a higher priority. Plus they're not cops. They're targets.

He wheels around, his shotgun getting put back into the drop holster on his back as he quickdraws both of his revolvers, firing a single shot towards the face of one of the Null troops. It's a less lethal round, in the technical sense. It's still going to knock him out.

Sundance switches to his off handed revolver as he pulls the hammer back on his main hand, firing another shot at the chest of another Null trooper. He knows how well trained these guys are, but he's got super-human mutant abilities AND the ridiculous VR training that Null put him through on top of it. So he's better.

The blast of pepper that fills the air fills his sensitive nose with that irritant, causing him to cough and move away from it as it starts to affect him, "Shit, we gotta-" He's cut off mid sentence, coughing loudly, "Get out of here!"

Sally Pride has posed:
It's a good thing Sally wears biker gloves or her hands would of been tore up something nasty. You think rope burns are bad? Imagine if the rope was a heavy duty cable instead...

She grunts as she rolls off of Sundance, and accepts the assist back onto her feet. "Yeah..." She clenches her hands a few times. It's hard to tell if it's from the strain of holding the cable, or from how upset she is. The treatment and conditioning she and Ray were put through was one thing.

This... was an entirely different horror. Removing the poor girl's free will AND her ability to speak for herself? Null has hit a new low.

And then as if things weren't bad enough. "Sunnova--" Sally cuts off the rest of the explicitive, even as she covers her mouth and noise with one hand. Sheer stubborness, adrenaline, and the need to see to this problem another day, is about all that keeps her pushing through the moment.

The other hand reaches down for her own blaster. But rather than draw the weapon she ejects the battery magazine from it into her hand, thumbs the overload switch on it, and hucks it in the direction of the Null reinforcements. Improvising it as an concussive grenade. She and Sundance are probably thinking the same thing. They need to go, this is making sure they have the time to do so.

.. Okay, and it's some payback, even if these aren't specifically the people that did this to a fellow mutant friend. They work for them. That's enough.

Mercy is off the table from this point.

Leonardo has posed:
Chi gong. Day after day of training. Control. Body awareness. It was never ending. Splinter was relentless.

Today was one of the times it paid off. Leo's reaction was instinctive at the first whiff of the pepper bomb. The turn in the follow-through from his kick lets him see his friends, his family, and that exasperated guy with the gun who shot Kai. Somewhere in the back of his mind Leo feels a touch hypocritical as blood drips from his blades.

The others are all leaping into action. And they are right. It is time to go.

Leo charges at Kai. This time there is less art, more power. Raphael would be proud. He tries to wrap his arms around her and drive her backwards towards the bushes and the grate. He tries to pull Kai close, hold her tight to him so she can only claw at his back, and so he can also hold her up if her legs give out.

He wants to shout to Alopex for help, but there is no breathing in the pepper cloud.

Just hope, family, and bear hugs.

Richard Stadler has posed:
Oh no. Those weren't cops.

Stadler immediately drops to the ground again, cursing himself on why the fuck he didn't just keep jogging home? Or to the goddamn A train; the Rockaways had to be less crazy than the city, didn't they? And /where the hell/ were the cops? Lord, he couldn't keep doing this. Just jumping into problems with a retiree's ID card and two goddamn magazines to his name, and he really was on the fence at this point if that meant more caution or more ammunition. Running was still an option, but he didn't know what that would bring; body armored soldiers out in public didn't tend to leave witnesses or threats. But there were a number of them, and not that many of them. The team here, including the... fox that had just arrived, had an objective, obviously, but if they didn't break contact... hell, if he didn't break contact, he would wager his pension check that none of them would be making it out.

The fire coming from the coyote (SAAs? Really?) seemed to be having some effect, but there could only be one reason that the feline looking one was tossing something out in the middle of the group. And that would be the best option for any of them.

He had just seen a brief snapshot into a drama of unfathomable depth, and he could only hope that they'd get out to handle it.

He gave one last look over to the turtle who had interspersed himself between a gun and a target, before taking a breath, and standing up. The remainder of the clip was unloaded in rapid succession, attempting to spread the fire over as many of the targets as possible before whatever it was that was thrown (hopefully) goes off. That would be the time; he pulled back into the Ramble, the wooded area of the park that had pleanty of hiding places and occulded sight lines, first magazine removed and second magazine loaded into the Glock in a flash. Time to go.

Kainashi has posed:
    They were not police, no. They also have better body armor than the mutant. THey have better weaponry than Stadler -- but they heard Alopex's alert.

    They were ordered to bring in the mutants alive. Being shot at makes it a bit more complicated.

    They take some pot-shots now, trying to provide cover-fire for an extractor -- but unfortunately there is an issue they didn't anticipate.

    They did not anticipate hugs. They didn't anticipate Alopex knowing the Forbidden Name -- both which give the superstrengthed canine pause.

    She knows their scents. Her nose wiggles against Leo a moment.

    She raises her good hand to his back. It splays over his shell.

    And then grabs him by the shell ridge, her teeth bared as she rips Leonardo off her and flings him bodily to the side, leaning her body to make up for her lack of mass. How far can someone who can deadlift five tons throw a turtle? About as far as that handy dandy fountain, that still has some ice on it because it's still January in New York City (at now Three Thirtyish).

    Alopex, Kai reaches back for her shoulder and pulls her up and off her, followed by trying to slam her into the ground in front of her, and then hobbles horriedly into the gun fire.

    "Pull back, pull back!" some of the NULL forces are commanded, and even though they may lose some of their number (which, they are certain, would be handled with in a most severe fashion), they drag the injured Kai into a vehicle -- the same that the whistles came from, and then everyone seems to disappear at the same time, except the terrified civillians who are peeking out from behind buildings.

    And a small voice speaks up from the crowd:

    "MUMMA. FRANKLIN'S A NINJA!"

Leonardo has posed:
Leo goes careening through the fountain and rolls to a stop in the hedges beyond it. He shakes his head, grimaces, and gets quickly to a crouch. But it's too late. Kai is out of reach. They were all too visible.

"Come on!" Leo shouts to the others. Thankfully, he knows Central Park very well, in a certain way. There is another manhole cover for access to the park's extensive drainage systems nearby. He pulls it open and waits for any who are coming.

Sally Pride has posed:
That... well, it could of gone better, and could of gone much much worse. They don't really have time to look over the various threads of the moment.

Sore and tired, Sally is already realizing it is time for them to scram before the actual authorities show up. "Com'n Sundance. We've gotta plan for the homewrecking party to come." Leo's already got a manhole open, time to revisit the sewers.

Alopex has posed:
And thus, as Kai is hauled off shortly after being slammed into the ground, knocking the air out of her, the fox starts to pull herself up, still coughing from the pepperbomb. That hesitation was enough for the fox to know Kai wasn't all the way gone, but this was going to take... well, longer. A trio of kunai are sent at the van, wanting tires, but failing to find them. With those vehicles peeling away, there's a single word uttered, not often heard from that particular individual, but it's probably understood why it's said. You get one per movie right?"

        "FUCK."