16171/Hand in Hand

Hand in Hand
Date of Scene:	25 October 2023
Location:	Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	The Hand start to be all Handsy.
Cast of Characters:	Betsy Braddock, Matthew Murdock

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Betsy Braddock has posed:
Sounds of violence filled the wee hours of the morning in Hell's Kitchen.

After a brief glance about to try to pinpoint it, the few people who were still out and about hunched their shoulders, kept their heads down, and hurried their steps to reach their destination more quickly. There was nothing to be seen and just as quickly as it had been heard, it was gone.

This wasn't uncommon for this area of the city. The residents generally felt safe here as they had their own guardian angel. Or devil. Did it really matter which if they were kept safe? If the sounds were heard, likely it was some form of justice being dealt to those who would do harm.

Only tonight on the rooftop, this time the sound hadn't come from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Instead, it was a shadow fighting other shadows. The Hand were very good at what they did and the three on the rooftop had been surprised when they were spotted by another figure. The woman they encountered was dressed in a purple leotard legs and arms wrapped, tall stocking type boots. She was not someone familiar to them, for she wore no mask and they could see her Japanese features.

She had a katana strapped across her back but had not even bothered to draw it as she took down one of the trio before they even knew she was there. Now she was facing the pair left, violet eyes tracking their movements as they gauged their target.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    There are nights where Matt Murdock does nothing more but perch upon the edge of a building and take in the city around him. The way of his 'hunt' is often a passive one. Not unlike a spider, though very unlike a particular wall-crawler, the Daredevil sits at the center of his web and waits.
    And listens.
    The vibrations of conflict, the intensity of battle, that carries. It's not at first, for when Psylocke strikes and fells that initiatl combatant it could almost be anything. But then from his perch two blocks away he could hear the soft slither of silvered blades sliding from of their sheaths. Could hear the crunch of gravel on the rooftop near.
    That was all he needed. A quick turn to the side and he was moving. Silently. But moving with speed as he uncurled from his perch and darted into motion.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
As they opted to go for blades, Psylocke smiled. Just a quirking of the corners of her lips. Then one lowered slightly leaving that expression as a smirk. Which had the two combatants wondering why she would be amused. They drove forward intent on hitting before she could draw her weapon.

The smirk had been for a reason. For as they attacked, she moved her arm as though she was holding a weapon, putting up a block to the strike aimed for her torso. And just as the Hand ninja thought the blade would go through untouched, a blade of purple psionic power appeared in the hand of Psylocke and countered the strike that had been incoming. There was no sound of steel on steel for the psionic blade had no substance of that type. Yet, it was solid and pushed that strike aside away from her even as Psylocke reached over her shoulder and drew the actual katana from her back to block the second blow coming in.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    There was a flash of movement as they came together. She handled the one with that flickering purplish and pink blade, her own katana sliding free of its sheath. Yet even as she brandished and deflected against that first opponent, the second moved in with his sword ringing loudly against her guard.
    Those were the loudest sounds in those moments. No words were shared, no grunts of effort. Just impact upon impact.
    The one she deflected at first shifts, repositions with a quick sidestep, then makes to press the attack. His advance is halted, however, when a baton whirls past the British Ninja and /CLONKS/ hard into the assassin's head. It gives her time to focus on her dance partner, even as Daredevil drops from the higher rooftop to the side of their current battleground. He lands heavily upon that one opponent, the two forms coming together as a large shadowy form.
    There's a short /CRACK/ then only one figure rises.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
That catches Psylocke's attention as she hadn't expected another dance partner. Yet, for now she had to worry about the one she was still facing. At least whoever it is seemed to be stopping the Hand. Though, if it was a vigilante, they might be planned on stopping all of them since it was rather impossible to tell who might be good or bad at a glance.

Yet, if it was Hell's Kitchen's Devil, he would know the Hand were bad people. Enemy of my enemy is my friend? Hopefully.

One on one, it was far simpler now. Between the two blades, she was able to drive back her opponent. Then suddenly she fired a forward kick, slamming the figure in the chest. He staggered back and dropped his guard in the process. Allowing her to drive the psionic blade into his torso and sliding it up through his head.

Were it a true blade, it would be a nighmare visual after that. But being psionic, it simply interrupted all his neural processes and he fell unconscious on the ground with no visible wounds.

With that one eliminated, Psylocke turned to see if the newcoming had the third down, weapons held at the ready just in case.

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    As quickly as it started, the ruckust ended with the fallen three ninja. Daredevil stepped forward into a faint limned silhouette given life by the moon above. He stepped to the side and said, "Care to give an explanation?"
    As he says that she can sense the wariness in the man, the leather of his uniform creaking slightly as he steps to the side. But also when she touches his mind she can feel... or perceive the curious... intensity of the lens through which he views the world. It's as if he could tell the entirety of her story just by being so near. Yet not a telepath...
    He perceived her in a shape that was unlike any way she had seen before. And she might be able to sense... he didn't actually _see_ her at all.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
"I presume No is not an acceptable response?" came the accented voice back. It was British, posh London to be precise, but with a hint of something else that was not quite the same. One might think Japanese when looking at her but...he wasn't looking at her. For Betsy was scanning. Just surface to see if he had any bad intentions as they were speaking. And thus she caught a glimpse of how he perceived the world. That had her head tilting slightly to the side at the curiosity.

At least she wouldn't need to mentally alter his memory of her face, as she often had to do. Maybe she should consider wearing a mask. It worked for so many! Even her gestalt counterpart had used one.

Psylocke considered how to answer then gave a mental shrug, not mirrored physically. "I was out and caught a glimpse of one of them. Having an unpleasant history with the Hand, I knew that nothing good could come of their presence and chose to confront them. My apologies if I offended in any way by being in your territory."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    That causes him to tilt his head slightly, that mask shifting as red lenses seem to reflect herself back to her, giving no insight until she looks behind the eyes. He lifts his chin after another moment, nostrils subtly flaring. Now as she touches the hazy surface of his thoughts she can see something almost akin to color washing over his senses as he... tests the scent of her.
    To see if she's... lying.
    Curious. Perhaps a mutant as well.
    But his senses seem to be enough to convince him that she isn't dissembling, and her manner is not lending itself toward subterfuge. Still. It leads him to voice a thought that isn't as severe as it could have been.
    "Does anyone ever have a positive history with the Hand?" Considering his own... he would find it hard to believe.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
"Point."

As though they were in a match of wits and he had just scored. Or just that he said something valid. Depending on the point of view, obviously.

"Though I suppose those in higher echelon of the organization that live lives of luxury might think it positive? Yet, should they want to leave, they could not. So perhaps no."

She sheathed her katana and the other blade disppeared with a thought. Or more accurately, the absence of one since she was no longer concentrating on it existing.

"I was kidnapped by them some time ago. Subjected to some experimentation that was meant to leave me dead and someone else alive. Instead our bodies and minds were merged partially, though we still both exist as our own beings. It's complicated," she added with a hint of a smile. "I am Psylocke. I presume you are the Devil that protects this area?"

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    "Mmm," Daredevil says as he starts to walk along the edge of the building then steps up to the low-hanging antenna. A hefty enough length of metal that lets him catch it and flip upwards to clasp the edge of the higher building above and ascend.
    When he lands he straightens up, even as his gaze goes to the fallen ninja. He shakes his head, a fleeting thought that she likely can't catch as it's very fast. A face of a similar soul as her own.
    He motions, "You seem like you're out here for a reason. This wasn't a casual encounter. Either they were tracking you, or you were tracking them."
    He starts to move away, "Is this all of them, or do you expect more?"

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Psylocke reached out with her senses again. It was tricky to find the Hand as they were trained to hide their thoughts, to an extent. As much as a human could, of course. Yet, she knew their tricks and could look for them more efficiently. "None that I am sensing."

She wasn't going to explain that at all. He had his secrets, and she wasn't pressing to learn more than the glimpses of things from those surface thoughts. She had her own. The lack of answer or introduction on his part let her know she likely was right. And he didn't give a damn about niceties.

Though he also wasn't buying that she accidentally spotted on. This time the shrug was physical. "I was at home and had a feeling. I can't explain it in any way that makes sense. So I came out hunting, trusting my instincts to guide me. And ended up here, with these fine examples of Hand training." She waved a hand to the fallen foes. "I did ask what they were doing but they were not the most conversational, as one might expect."

Matthew Murdock has posed:
    As he crosses the rooftop he stops then turns to her, not quite facing her directly. His head tilts a little and he says, "I'm going to ask for a number to contact you. I don't have time to play around with flirty comments. But the Hand showing their... fingers around here is a bad sign."
     He undoes a clasp of one of the belt pouches at his side, then holds out a black card with white text. Just a number that he extends in her direction. "Call this, don't leave a message. Just call it. I'll take care of the rest." He seems to assume she can handle her own security issues with such a call.
    "Right now someone's breaking into Sister Mary's on 48th. I'm going there. You're welcome to come." A slight tilt of his head then he adds. "Though... you're a little underdressed."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Mention of flirty comments caught her attention and she smirked slightly. That hadn't even been anything intentional, if he had taken her propensity to be conversation as flirtatious. When Psylocke was flirty, it was pretty obvious. A brief memory of times she had done so in her past flashed through her mind but then she tamped it down as he offered the card.

She accepted it, taking a glance, then tucking it into one of her boots. It wasn't like she had pockets! As he noted by the last comment, there wasn't a lot of material to begin with. Though there was no way she was going to resist that.

"Sister Mary's on 48th?" She wasn't familiar but could find it surely. At least the street and go from there. "Let's see who gets there first."

And she took off toward the edge of the roof herself, even as she called back over her shoulder. "I'll be sure to ask for forgiveness for my state of dress while we're there."