19322/Streets of Rage - Shurikens Fired

Streets of Rage - Shurikens Fired
Date of Scene:	26 October 2024
Location:	East Side
Synopsis:	The lower east side is the site of a battle amongst the Foot, the Clan, and the League of Assassins. Work by heroes manages to keep those who fell limited to the combatants. But not all heroes limit themselves.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Jane Watson, Thea Queen, Gwen Stacy, Cinque Evers, Clint Barton, Caleb Dykstra
Tinyplot:	Ninja War

---

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's a short time before sunrise on the rough side of town. A few blocks away from the Daily Bugle, as the graveyard shifts get ready for going home in a couple of hours, and other places have folks come in early to get them ready to open. There's that short span on the streets as the night quiets down and takes a few breaths before the morning starts when there's that gradual trnasition. Things stay silent, for those that have been up extremely late or are starting extremely early.
    A tired looking man walks towards the Bugle wearing a trenchcoat, grey haired and with glasses smoking a cigarette to stay awake as Ben Ulrich heads in to get things ready for the story he's working on.
    The silence stays there. Teh dawn is some time away. The world is not holding it's breath. Everything is normal.
    Then the bodies start to drop. Two cyborgs cloven in half, wearing the emblems of the Purple Dragon hitting the ground that had clearly been punched all the way through. Right behind them goes smashing down a big, heavy man in armor that hits the ground and goes into a roll, barely getting himself upright before a woman casually dressed in but a cotton gi slashes her palm past his head.
    Along the rooftops, two more men that are each dual wielding blades face off against one woman with a circle that's been branded into her forehead wielding a pair of sai. She goes to kick two small pebbles up into the air, a rapid strike of the pebbles to her sai having them split through the skull of each man as she would grin twistedly.

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea Queen hears many things. Things that she'd thought she'd stepped away from, given her time away amongst the stars. But, grapes have strong roots and even stronger vines that seeks to draw her in once again.

Again.

The Red Arrow, then, is settled upon a rooftop, her hood up and over her head, all but obscuring her features in the dim lights. She has a bow in hand, her sword crossed upon her back, as well as a quiver settled there. It's the silence that is the hardest. Or is it the waiting? The archer in red hates waiting, but she's learned that good things come to those who wait, and are motionless. Movement draws the eye, and as such?

The battle begins upon the rooftop just a few buildings away from her, and she's witness to the tableau from start to almost finish as one attacker is cleaved in twain. Or pretty much close to it.

Wrinkling her nose, there's a soft puff of air; a silent 'ew', while it may reach her lips, it's never spoken. Now is the time to determine where she's going to putting her money. Or, better yet?

How to even begin to contain this mess.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
o/~
All eyes are set upon you
A choice move forward, follow your path
Patience is not a virtue
There's a chance there's nothing following that

When you speak just speak directly
What you want, just point it out
When you come, just come correctly
There's no time that's running out
o/~
Gwen's Current Track: https://youtu.be/SvXiLS0cky4


The city rushes by below as Ghost-Spider swings effortlessly through the Lower East Side, her body moving like it's part of the wind itself. She glides with a dancer's grace, weaving between buildings, the neon lights and shadowed alleyways blending into a symphony of color beneath her.

In her earpiece, 'Sound the Alarm' by Shallow Side pulses in time with her heartbeats, and she leans into it, letting the beat push her forward. Her hand grips the web-line, and with a flick of her wrist, she sends herself soaring upward, a perfect arc in the night sky. Her form is fluid, muscles moving in smooth, precise movements that make every leap feel like part of some invisible choreography.

She flips mid-air, just because she can, her legs curling close to her body before extending in a perfect stretch. The city's lights blur and warp as she twists. Somewhere below, car horns blare and the faint hum of traffic weaves through the music, but her world is high above that chaos, in the space where skyscrapers and moonlight meet.

Gwen's HUD lights up her mask's eyelets, and the screen is suddenly alive with threat markers -- big guy in armor, two cyborgs with Purple Dragon insignias, and a few others who look way too intense for this early in the morning. Her eyebrow arches behind the mask. "Oookay, looks like someone skipped their morning coffee."

Rather than diving in, she aims her next web at the corner of a nearby building, shifting her trajectory to swing up and stick to the brick wall. Settling herself just out of sight, she clings to the rough surface, letting her HUD zoom in on each player in the scuffle below. Her mask outlines each figure in red, while her gaze darts from the big armored guy trying to right himself to the woman in the gi who's casually slashing her palm near his head. "Alright, that's... something," she mutters.

Her attention shifts to the rooftop across the way, where a woman kicks two small pebbles into the air, and with a flick of her sai nails her opponents in the skull. Gwen lets out a low whistle. "Noted: avoid that lady in a rock garden."

As she observes, she notices subtle details her HUD picks up: the emblems on the cyborgs' gear, the traditional gi on one fighter, and the calculated, almost brutal precision of each strike. Her fingers drum against the brick wall, processing. "Purple Dragons, a guy from the Foot, the Hand... and that's definitely League of Assassins style." She shakes her head, watching the unfolding chaos. "Alright, Gwen. Maybe this is a 'wait and see' kind of situation."

Hunkered down, she keeps her eye on the scene, ready to jump in if things go south -- or if someone notices her first.

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque, after an intense day of managing the Jamii Shelter and redirecting a lot of new arrivals to other locations, knows that something far bigger than the usual neighborhood drama is afoot. Rumors of a war brewing between the League of Assassins, the Hand, and the Foot have begun circulating. As someone with deep ties to the streets and the underground, Cinque knows that these organizations rarely move without purpose. The city is already on the brink of chaos, and even though the world may end soon by the arrival of Galactus, it won?t be today, and certainly not because of a ninja war threatening the lives of the innocent.

Cinque heads into the shelter's backroom, a hidden compartment where he keeps his old costume and gear: his Oletha Ukufa suit. Despite trying to put this part of his life behind him, except in extreme situations. With a frustrated sigh, he mutters to himself, "This is really the last time I put this costume on, unless it really is the end of the world."

Now fully suited, Cinque channels his experience from his days navigating the criminal underworld. He picks up chatter from the street that leads him to Daily Bugle. Cinque arrives on the street a block away from the Bugle, where he fire his grappling hook to the rooftops. Once upon the rooftops he begins to look around to his surprise, he begins to see bodies start to drop and men with dual weilding blades. "Feck!"

Clint Barton has posed:
SHIELD, Avengers, his own contacts from both sides of the line of legality, Clint _isn't_ Nat by any means, but he can put 1 and 3 together and usually get 4. Most days anyway. It's not clear, and he probably wouldn't say, why he's sitting atop the spire of one of the taller buildings within a few blocks of the newly burgeoning action - in a spot where you just don't get to with mundane things like elevators, even ladders. For the first time since returning from wherever it is he's been for the past several months, Hawkeye is fully decked out in armor and various kit all designed for stealth and keeping a low profile - the point that his arrows are all individually braced in his quiver and everything he wears is mottled gunmetal grey and black.

Sharp blue eyes watch things start to unfold on the street, body's start to come apart and he just barely frowns -

<< All hands, looks like we've some high level activity kicking off downtown - I'm onsite - unsure at this point if this is a SHIELD event or something more. >>

An arrow's drawn from the quiver on his back a moment after he checks a few other holsters and items placed around his body, his bow coming up as he scans the area with the gaze, and patience, of a master marksman surveying the field.

<< Given the locale I imagine we'll get ... hell, who knows .. but you gotta imagine ... yeah, there's at least one of the Spider... family here. No, not the 'man' himself. >>

He shifts slightly in his position, enough to let him ensure that he's got the right angle on the combatants - once more eyes flicker around - bystanders at risk?

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
It's still night, and Caleb's recent project at Happy Harbor CC has him driving an experimental vehicle to test its limits and see what improvements he could pull off. Everything about the project is going on wheels...

...And then, two cyborgs fall onto the street, smashing onto the asphalt!

"HOLY METEOR!!", is all Caleb manages to say as he swerves away from the impact site (cyborgs tend to weigh a ton with all that metal), barely having time to avoid a head-on collision with the obstacle... And then, an incoming car, which driver just yells 'Get in your lane, you retard!' before continuing along like nothing had happened.

Wait, really? (Yeah - really!)

Caleb pulls the vehicle to a stop, and looks up once the door opens. "What the fuck is happening up there?..."

Against all better judgement, he decides to go and investigate. Pulling out a collapsible mask that makes him featureless once he turns the car around the corner, he heads for the top of the building using the back entrance for a better looksie...

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The woman on the ground wearing a cotton robe goes to assault the man in the gi. Her strikes are difficult to keep up with, evne for those with extraordinary senses. Her blows are fast, precise, and brutal. With immense power among them. The bulky looking man in armor somehow withers them while he backs away, despite being nowhere near her speed. Strikes that would have been crippling are tanked, turned away at the last moment, or barely evading the full power. His own strokes miss her broadly. For those that can keep up and know the pattern of such fights, the artistry of them, it is as if she knows the moves even before he makes them. And yet somehow the bulky man holds his own in the brutal, powerful choreography.
    As Cinque goes along to the rooftops, he sees a pattern of bodies. Several of them mangled in close quarters. Mixed together in hate. One man that clearly has a broken spine moving to slash at the ankles of another, hamstringing the man. The man would twist around, other foot gonig up to stomp on hsi neck, shattering it while a third woman goes to calmly snap her blade through his heart as two more charge her. A melee that is almost impossible to tell who is on what side.
    Thea and Gwen have a good positiont o make out what is going on. It's a death batlte among three groups. All of whom are aware of the heroes there. And yet none of them are making any moves towards them. No stopping fights to charge them, no throwing down smoke grenades to vanish.. Along the rooftop of the Bugle, Lady Bullseye goes to finish her targets, moving to take a leap off the side of it to join the fighting on the ground. Instead of plummeting from over twenty stories out, her blades snap into the thick walls, allowing her a controlled descent.
    Clint is able to see that the streets are mostly clear of bystandards. Just the luck of that time of night. There are only a precious few souls going back and forth. Home from work, in to work, or for the very early hours of the morn. Also strange for the fighting, perhaps, is the seeming uncaring the combatants are giving to them. What civilians there are out and about are well aware of what this side of the city has. They know the routine. So when the bodies of combatants start to drop, they're running for cover. But there's not much of it. The streets are clear, almost nowhere is open, and those places that are are rapidly snapping shut secure shutters, locking down doors, and barricading themselves. The few people out and about are then heading for whatever the nearest thing that has them out of the way. Behind newspaper stands. Into alleys. Behind construction equipment. Struggling with a sewer grating to try and shimmy inside.
    Caleb pulls up right where three people are trying to shove a sewer cover out of the way, the trio surging and struggling to move it and lift it up and out of the way.

Thea Queen has posed:
*sigh*

The problem with this is that they're using the city for their battles. While they're not dealing out a lot of collateral damage, they are fighting in the streets with impunity. And if it was Starling?

Well, the Arrows would have something to say about it.

But, this isn't her city. What is it that they say? Not my circus, not my monkeys? That said, Thea makes it her business.

Rising from her crouch, she finally moves. Calling down from the building now, her voice sounds a little synthesized so it changes tenor and timbre. "Why don't you go beat each other up somewhere else?"

The Red Arrow is specifically calling out Lady Bullseye as she moves to the edge of the building. "Preferably somewhere like, oh, I don't know... the Sahara or somewhere?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen's eyes dart between the brutal brawl unfolding below and the handful of civilians caught like rabbits in a trap. She watches the woman in the cotton gi unleash a flurry of attacks, each strike deadly and precise, while her opponent, the hulking guy in armor, somehow manages to dodge or deflect enough to stay standing. It's like some high-stakes dance, the choreography brutal and fast enough to make her head spin.

Then her gaze shifts upward, catching sight of Lady Bullseye's controlled descent from the Bugle rooftop, her movements as sharp and intentional as a blade. Gwen's fingers drum lightly against the brick wall, biting her lip as her HUD tracks the chaos below. These three groups are ripping each other apart without any care for the bystanders who are just trying to get to safety. The fact that they haven't even glanced her way, or toward Clint's position, doesn't escape her attention. "So, what, we're not even worth a side-eye?"

That flicker of relief vanishes as she spots a group of people struggling to pry open a sewer cover. Gwen's expression tightens behind her mask, and her voice drops to a mutter, "Alright, Spider-senses. Time to clock in."

She angles her wrist toward Caleb's position, her web-shooter primed, and she's about to fire off a web-line when Red Arrow calls out!

Oh, snap!

Alright... so, we're getting in this fight, then. Ghost-Spider's down for it. She *thwips* to an adjacent building, close enough to have a quick web-shot to Red Arrow if she needed to, but not in the immediate 'shotgun spread' of whatever someone might throw at either one of them.

It's a delicate balance honed of years of Gwen not working as a team. Meaning, it's a work in progress.

"You heard the nice lady with the bow! Come on, people, you're why we can't have nice things! You know, we've got some great anger management programs in town..."

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque watches the chaos unfold on the rooftops with narrowed eyes, his frown deepening beneath his mask. "When in doubt, everyone burns," he mutters to himself, a mantra that has saved him in the past. Without hesitation, he unholsters his modified Navy Colt Revolver and utters a single command: "Incendiary."

The revolver whirs mechanically as it shifts its ammunition type, the distinct hum signaling that it?s now ready to deliver a fiery end to anyone foolish enough to challenge him.

Cinque holsters the revolver, calm but ready. With a swift motion, he fires a grappling hook toward the rooftop where a lone warrior has just downed another ninja by snapping their neck. As he zips through the air, the wind howls around him, and the warrior's head snaps up to meet Cinque's approach.

Landing lightly on the rooftop, Cinque positions himself with calculated precision, sideways to his opponent, his long coat draping over his holsters, concealing his weapons. His left hand casually strokes the brim of his hat, a gesture that?s become second nature when he's ready for a showdown. His right hand hovers near his holster, ready to draw in an instant.

"Impress me," Cinque challenges, his voice calm but laced with menace as apathy arises in me.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Red Arrow, Arowette (that name did not stand the test of time) goes to threaten Lady Bullseye as the other woman lands cleanly on the ground, hvaing completed her slide with her sai still completely sharp despite having gone through several hundred feet of rock and concrete on her way.

"If you care so much, you can go elsewhere." Lady Bullseye would taunt back. "And complain to someone who cares, circus freaks." Red Arrow has the bowstring drawn on her, arched and aimed..

And then Spider-Ghost is going in to backup Red Arrow. Lady Bullseye goes to reply with a barrage of flung shuriken. But the shuriken aren't aimed directly over at Spider-Ghost or over at Red Arrow. They're in trajectories aimed towards the fired blasts of webbing. Each thrown shuriken going to casually intercept each shot of webbing as fast as they were fired. Another one flung up in the air towards Spider-Ghost with the intent of severing the line she was using to sling on. She was showing off. In the most terrifying way.

As Cinque goes to take out his own gun and faces off against the warriors, his shot goes through the body of one of the fighters that by his garb marked him as one of the Hand. The warrior goes to let out a scream as he would combust. Lower ranked Hand when slain would simply dissolve, this one was burning fully for those last few agonizing moments.
    There's a twitch from the one remaining standing near Cinque, wielding a long dagger on a chain. The dagger goes to slash forwards, moving to try and stab at him, blade trying to pierce through. Upon closer inspecting, the dagger had eyes upon it and was seeking him. Lashing out at Cinque in spirals and twists, corkscrewing in the arc of a blade to try and gore him!

Thea Queen has posed:
"And you're the monkey in this circus," Thea shoots back, the words in a cadence resembling something like 'I'm rubber, you're glue'. Red Arrow's bow is decidedly drawn, and an arrow is easily nocked. The moment Lady Bullseye moves to send the shuriken flying is the moment she looses that arrow, aiming for the wrist. Time to take her out of the picture; Green Arrow would be so proud.

Non-lethal!

Of course, there's also an ulterior motive present. Red Arrow catches Gwen's entrance AND the webbing, which the blades cut through easily. She's covering for the other woman, her voice low in whispered urging, almost a mantra, "Get to cover."

Of course, the reason the hooded archer in red is taking on Lady Bullseye is, well... bow. Sword. Whether they're evenly matched or not, that's a completely different story!

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Nut, just as Caleb's about to go up, he notices the fight is happening even down on the streets.

He sighs, and looks around at the people fleeing. That's good. Sharing no love for ninjas, since at least two Clans have already tried to kill him, he's really inclined to just let them take each other down. And again, the people, they're doing the sensible thing - running away. But still, he can't ignore the possibility that there could be casualties. I mean, how would he have felt, if he were the bystander? Wouldn't help have been appreciated by one of the heroes?

So, he decides to move to the area where the group is fighting in the middle of the street. Looking at bystanders, his distorted voice echoes, <<Do the sensible thing. Run and hide. And no posting on the net - they got ears everywhere.>> That last bit might be a lie, but who knows for sure?

And then, resting quietly, arms crossed, he waits to see who takes out who - let them thin themselves out into a more manageable group first.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Caleb plays it smart when faced with numbers and few civilians at immediate risk. Let the enemy thint hemselves out and spread. Never get in the way of a blade aimed at someone else's chest, after all. The brawlers didn't seem to be attacking him, which probably meant that if he didn't get in the way he had the time. The trio of civilians don't need told more than once to take his advice. They're intent on scattering to the wind as fast as they can. Two are rushing away using Caleb's car as cover to put it between them. The third.. Well, the third goes to head to Caleb's car while he's going into an overwatch position to wait for the enemy to thin themselves out, so focused on slaughtering one another.

Intent on jacking the ride there's a loud *BZZAPPT* as the security system kicks in and he's fed enough electricity to drop him.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen swings in beside Red Arrow, launching a rapid series of web-shots toward Lady Bullseye -- only to watch in shock as every single line gets shredded mid-air by Lady Bullseye's expertly flung shuriken. She barely has time to blink before a final shuriken slices cleanly through her last line, leaving her momentarily weightless. Her heart skips as she twists mid-air, reaching frantically to fire a backup line.

She misses her mark.

Her shoulder slams into the side of a building, jarring her down the wall before she manages to get her fingers to stick. Gritting her teeth, she hauls herself up, breathing heavy, her body protesting with every move. "Alright, okay. So, you've got the whole 'bullseye' thing down," she mutters, voice wavering as she resets her web-shooters with a shaky hand. "Hope that's not your entire personality, 'cause it's not winning you any charm points!"

Did she hear Red Arrow's urging? Was she too far away? Was it even meant for her? It's hard to tell, because the response is a (slightly more worried-sounding than before), "I got this, Red!"

Narrator Voice: She does not, in fact, 'got' this.

Pushing off the building, she swings back up, barely dodging another shuriken that flies within inches of her head. "Hey, Bullseye, ever think of, I dunno, switching to darts? I bet you could make a fortune hustling drunks in bars. Or is 'public nuisance' just, like, your whole thing?"

Breathless and more bruised than she'd care to admit, she readies herself for another strike, eyes locked on Lady Bullseye as she clings to her spot. Her voice lowers, more to herself than anyone else. "C'mon, Gwen. Don't let her run the show."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Red Arrow goes to nock an arrow and moves to aim it down at Lady Bullseye. Accurately lined up, carefully aimed.. And then launched down at Lady Bullseye's hand. The woman adjusts as the arrow darts down at her with speeds almost that of a bullet. And as it heads down her, to disarm her.. She twists. Hand catches it by the shaft. Body twirls with it. And it's launched back through the air at Red Arrow, flying just as fast and just as powered in an even flatter arc towards her indicative of the more force behind it on the way up. "So how about you stay out of my way, or I'll have you stay six feet under. Go back to the circus where you and your lot belong." It's followed by her taking out a throwing dagger and launching it at Red Arrow with speeds more in line with a sniper round. And then there's the challenge from Spider-Ghost.

"Oooh, you like playing with pointy things then? Well, who am I to deny someone's urge?" She goes to take out a half dozen shuriken and goes to launch them through the air in crazed arcs. And as they go to hit around where Spider-Ghost is her spider-sense is quite likely going haywire as the shurikens ricochet. Off one another, off the windows, off the building, bouncing around her in crazed arcs. Launching at her from so many different angles.

Had Spider-Ghost ever fought Bullseye before? Or been told what he could do? And could her body adapt fast enough to such an unconventional attack that came at her from all directions in wild arcs bouncing around and yet all seeming to converge on her?

Cinque Evers has posed:
There is ancient serenade of apathy born from the memories of the one apex predators that live in Cinque now, as time slows and he sees the eyes of the dagger that is seeking him, there is only a coldness emanating from him.

The gleam of the dagger catches Cinque's eye, the subtle shift of the warrior's body telegraphing the strike before it even comes. In that moment, everything falls away, leaving only the cold emptiness inside him. The dagger moves with lethal precision, aiming for his gut, but Cinque is already reacting.

Without a word, he leaps backward off the rooftop, hoping that his calculation are correct and gravity will carry him out of the blade?s reach. As he falls, his right hand expertly flicks two concussive bombs toward the rooftop in the direction of the ninja, while his left hand prepares to fire his grappling hook to another rooftop.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
The nearby *BZZZZZT!* sound doesn't make Caleb turn, but he halts for a second in a deadpan. <<I see the anti-theft system works fine... That's good.>>

(Obligatory pun: and it won't even discharge your battery!)

Once the numbers are a little more manageable, he finally breaks. <<Esteemed ninja-folk of...", he looks at one, "The Hand...", at another, "I'm guessing... The Foot?", and another, "...And insert whatever other body part to fill in the blank?>>

A slight pause, <<I'm not against you people fighting amongst each other, but could you at least pick spots where you don't make a spectacle, like a forest or some ruins? I mean, ninja's supposed to be all about secrecy and stuff, right? And you're just...>>, he looks about the open street, <<well, not ninja-ing enough!>>

Thea Queen has posed:
So, really the only thing that is left for Red Arrow to do in the face of the arrow that returns to her is hit the deck. Thea throws herself down flat on the rooftop with a *whoomph* of air escaping even as she hears the whistle of the arrow fly past her head. Rolling onto her back, Red Arrow has her bow up and a second arrow is nocked. This one is a glue arrow. Not super impressive, not super lethal, but it's not supposed to be.

Another roll, and the archer is on her belly. It's an awkward position from which to shoot, but it'll have to do. (She'll never tell Ollie that his training came in handy. Ever. Nope.)

"I'd love to go back. The funnel cake is amazing. And the caramel apples? Very, very sticky."

As the words leave her lips, she's shooting at a spot on the building where the shuriken look to land and become embedded instead of bouncing and arcing, wreaking havoc with trajectories. She won't get all of them, but Red Arrow is betting on at least a few, which means less that the spider.. girl? has to contend with.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The dagger slashes at Cinque and barely misses him, like a shark snapping at prey with blood in the water. It would snap and slash, reaching the end of it's tether as the chain would yank it back over to the hand of the one that wielded it. The warrior would let out a cry at the disengaging Cinque, right as a member of the Purple Dragons would strike at him from behind with a brutal PUNCH that would snap his spine and have him twisting like a puppet wiht the strings cut. The Purple Dragon would take the full force of the concussion grenades, dropping hard while the dagger and chain would twist about. The dagger and chain would go to wrap around the broken spine of the man. Twisting around like a cobra going to crush it's prey..

Then SNAP as the chain would crush the man's spine back into place, bones resetting back with a brutal -crack- as the man goes to leap through the air after Cinque once more!

Caleb doesn't get a response from anyone for just a few moments as the melee continues, bodies dropping. One of the Purple Dragons goes to twist towards him, going to arc up a large vibro-scythe as if intent on going to hurl it at him.. Right as another warrior goes to snap two blades through his spine. The two large blades would split into his stomach, each then snapping out horizontally to cut the man in half. He would bow with a flourish towards Caleb, garb smeared red. "I can respect someone so pragmatic as to let everyone around slaughter themselves while applauding. You should consider joining." Then he's gonig to nimbly dart out of the way as twisting through the air is a hard looking, elderly man with long grey hair, scars down his face, wearing of all things a suit and tie. Fist would meet with blade as the two would go to attack one another, each swing of the powerful blade that had just shown how cleanly it could go through bone and body stopped hard by a fist of a man that through th efight had yet to get blood on him.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen's eyes widen behind her mask as Lady Bullseye catches Red Arrow's arrow mid-flight, twisting her body with effortless precision to send it hurtling right back at her teammate. Gwen's mouth goes dry as she watches the return shot soar upward with even more force. This lady is no joke.

Before she can even call out a warning, her Spider-Sense practically screams in her ears. Gwen barely has a second to react before a storm of shuriken flies toward her, spinning in impossibly chaotic arcs, ricocheting off windows, walls, even each other. They're everywhere at once, a whirlwind of metal slicing through the air, each one programmed to find her no matter where she moves.

"Seriously?" she mutters, heart pounding. "Lady, didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with knives?"

Her body snaps into action, moving on pure instinct as she twists and flips, dodging as best as she can. Her Spider-Sense gives her a split-second edge, but even with it, the attack is so unpredictable, it's like trying to dodge hail in a hurricane. One shuriken grazes her shoulder, slicing through her suit, and another clips her thigh as she twists, sending her skidding against the building's wall. She manages to keep her grip, fingers sticking just in time to avoid a fall.

Breathing heavily, she looks down at Lady Bullseye, voice more shaken but determined. "Look, I get it. Your whole vibe is 'professional pincushion provider,' but I gotta say... still not impressed. Maybe try a new gimmick?"

With a quick flick of her wrist, she fires a webline to the rooftop, launching herself into the air above Lady Bullseye. Time to return the favor. "Let's see how _you_ handle things flying at you from every angle."

She fires a rapid series of webs in a wide arc, the sticky lines snapping to nearby street lamps, walls, and anything she can anchor around Lady Bullseye. They crisscross into a rough net, shrinking her opponent's space to maneuver with each added line.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The woman's ricochets are brutal. Lady Bullseye packs a twisted blade. Even at their roughest, however, Gwen is able to dodge and take the worst of them. She manages to artfully evade, as Arrowette goe sto snap others of them out of the air with quick shots. Where the two would each have a brutally hard time facing off over against her, combined the two are able to hold their own.

Red Arrow and Spider-Ghost manage to limit the combat area that Lady Bullseye has to operate in. That makes it far, far rougher for her to fight. She's fast, but not as fast as Spider-Ghost as Gwen goes to fire her webbing over in every direction. But what she does have is an incredibly analytical mind in a twisted way. Like a firing computer, watching how Spider-Gwen moves, how her body contorts and twists, how it maneuvered, how she seemed to react ahea dof time and her limbs twisted in ways completely unnatural..

She goes to flick off two more blades through the air, crazed and ricocheting. Gwen's Spider-Sense would warn her that the kunai were aimed over towards her wrist, a split second that the woman was trying to maneuver to cut off her webbing. Body acting on instinct she might move to dodge, might move to twist out of the way, might move to snap up a webbing shield or just web the blades up before they could hit.. However artfully she could, so many ways.

And like a targeting computer going for lock-on, Lady Bullseye would watch, watch, even as she had virtually no room to maneuver in and would soon lose the ability to do anything but be left in a vast webbing ball..

Then she launches her sai up and through the air in a hard throw. It would be launched and aimed towards the center..

Of her opponent's chest.

Thea Queen has posed:
Red Arrow, or the more short-lived 'Arrowette', is on her belly, eyes of blue looking out from under her cowl. Taking stock, so far she's still alive, and so is her current battle buddy. Good news all around. Even better?

Lady Bullseye is finding it harder to deal with two coming in on her. So, the game truly begins. Feint, attack, feint, attack. One, then the other, always pushing, always pressing. Ultimately, make it impossible for her to move.

Gwen looks all the world to her like she's starting a 'spray and pray' maneuver, which is fine, but there's a whole lot of wastage there. The blades that fly again should be dodge-able, but it seems the 'not so good' Lady is trying to press and pressure. Thea sees it as an almost last ditch effort that their target throws the sai into the air, albeit with deadly aim.

Once again, Thea isn't leaving anything to chance. The sai currently are the biggest threat, and for that?

Concussive blast arrow. Just a change of trajectory is all she needs. Area of effect, just that push.. and the moment that arrow is loosed?

Red Arrow is headed for the ground, ready to play 'tank' to the Spider's AoE. This time, the bow is getting put away, and out comes the sword the moment feet hit the ground.

"Okay," she murmurs, "probably not the smartest thing, but hey... welcome home to me?"

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque calculates that he is not going to be able to swing to another rooftop and defend himself in time. As he shifts his momentum to crash into a nearby window, he thinks about how the dagger has eyes and seemed to fix the warrior. "How did he?", but another memory overcomes that thought. It was from a coversation he had with horned red haired woman about unexplained things.

She told him that he could either accept these odd things, and let them consume him, or he could be lunch."

Cinque was not prepared to be lunch, he crashes through the window and quickly pivots around to fire his Revolver at the approaching Purple Guardian.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The Purple Dragon is met by the shot and drops down hard, impacting and dead. Stepping right after him is the ninja that wields the chain and blade. He's glowing bright yellow like flames on him, his twisted head snapped back into place by the chain, spine straightened.. Even with the sheer brutality of his injuries somehow moving unnaturally through them. The dagger would rise up, the man twirling it faster and faster in a circle.

Cinque's training can confirm him one thing. His opponent isn't living. Isn't a demon. He's somehow fighting a corpse. Of someone's spirit forced to stay within their body to revivify themselves after death. If Cinque knew of the Hand, there would be perhaps stories he might know of the twisted things they inflicted upon their own, their willing corruption..

But he is facing a golem wearing the shell of a body maintained by a spirit willingly inhabiting it in a macabre style, twirling demon on a blade building up power.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Ghost-Spider's fingers flash through the web-slinging dance she knows by heart, filling the space with crisscrossing lines that leave Lady Bullseye boxed in, every shot narrowing her movement options. She's finally got the upper hand... or so she thinks.

But her Spider-Sense suddenly spikes, a warning sharp and loud in her mind. She barely catches the glint of two kunai as they sail toward her wrist with uncanny precision. Acting on pure reflex, Gwen yanks her hand back, twisting to dodge. The first kunai misses her web-shooter by a hair, but the second cuts deep, slicing right into the mechanism. Her stomach plummets as her web-shooter sparks, rendering her left wrist all but useless.

"Oh, come on! That was custom!" she shouts, wincing as she realizes the fight just got a lot harder.

She doesn't have time to recover. Lady Bullseye's eyes gleam with a twisted triumph, and Gwen watches in horror as her opponent launches her sai, aiming dead-center for her chest. Gwen's remaining web-shooter snaps up instinctively, firing a line toward a nearby wall just as she hears the whoosh of Red Arrow's concussive blast.

The blast knocks the sai off its deadly course, giving Gwen the precious moment she needs to pull herself clear. But her line jerks violently with her momentum, dragging her into a dizzying spin before she slams into the side of the building. Hard.

She barely hangs on, fingers digging into the wall as she fights to keep her grip, breath coming fast and shallow. She's battered, bruised, bleeding in several places, and barely hanging on. But the grit remains. "Guess what, Bullseye?" she calls down, her voice shaking with adrenaline. "I'm still standing -- sort of. And now I'm really annoyed."

With a pained grin, she pulls herself up and fires another quick web, swinging low to try and encircle Lady Bullseye in one last, desperate trap.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
<<Hmm... No>>, Caleb says. <<You misunderst...>>

He gets interrupted when one of the ninjas gets slashed by two blades. <<The mortality rate is just too damn high>>, he says, smirk hidden by that featureless mask. He looks around for any people that happen to be hurt - none on his end.

<<But seriously, open-field feuding?>> Hands shoved in the pockets of his dark-colored suit, he makes preparations - shurikens, pellets - making a note of every cannon-fodder ninja one on the field of battle, <<What's the special occasion for all this last-ninja-standing face-off?>>

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's a brutal melee so far. Bruised, battered, bloody. Carnage across the area. Fortunately, the few civilians about have gotten to safety. The stretes are being bathed in scarlet as it dribbles down rooftops, down gutters, down windows, down the sewers. It's been a twisted, macabre dance.

It's Red Arrow's expertly timed shot that saves Gwen from that sai snapping up between her chest. The tight teamwork of the two women that might not have ever met or operated together in the streets, but somehow fight instinctively together. The concussive arrow blasts on down, knocking the sai off just enough as Gwen spins out of the way and hits a wall hard.. It's now or never. Have to take her down or have the next one go between the ribs.

Blasts of webbing come out. Swinging as Spider-Ghost goes to circle in towards Lady Bullseye, even as the woman automatically tracks her and goes to slash out at a webbing with a blade, it cleaving through it.. But she has so, so little room to work with with all the webs, Spider-Ghost at close range, and the tight angles.

Red Arrow has the perfect moment to go for the proverbial kill.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
The ninja with the huge blades fights the man over with the fists, the two brawling as blade met knuckles to be deflected on glowing ki pulsed through hands. Powerful blows going each way as the fighters would neither gain an inch on the other as they would slash, punch, and brawl back and forth.

"Because it's the end of the world as we know it. And we must settle things. One cannot leave the world with unsettled affairs. Debts must be fulfilled."

His opponent goes for a ki enhanced strike that was blocked on the blades, them singing with the brutal CRUNCH as it would be followed up by a slam kick that would have the suit wearing man twisting about like a ballet dancer.

"And at the end, there can be only one." His blades shatter as the foot breaks through them, and the suited man follows it up with a solid punch that would go clean through his torso, leaving a hole the size of a basketball in it. The old man would take his hands away, no blood upon them, and straighten his tie.

"It will not be you." Spoken to the corpse.

Thea Queen has posed:
Here is the question; does Red Arrow hesitate and hold her attack, or does she bring her own katana down and slay the woman? Thea's on her feet, the sword held deftly in hand. It's more a psych-out game at this point; does Lady Bullseye think she can actually use the thing and make (not necessarily) quick work of her? It wouldn't be the first time that Thea's killed an opponent. After all, she'd been in a war far beyond Earth's measure.

Her manner and mien are forward, blue eyes locked on her target. There's no hesitation then as a decision is made, and it can be hinted at with the set of her lips as seen in the dim of the lights.

The red-leather clad archer turned swordswoman doesn't go for style points, though some might say that she does execute her blow with the grace of a valkyrie.. light, airy, with a good amount of leverage in the swing. She's on the balls of her feet within the boots, and with an upswing, looking for that spot where her sword will bite the deepest, she not only swings, but feints, pulls, and drops her blade once more for what she'd consider the 'killing blow'.

Blood touches the blade, the droplets appear between Thea and Lady Bullseye. Whether it's a killing blow, well... that's up to fate.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen swings in tight, her remaining web-shooter working overtime as she snaps web after web, tangling Lady Bullseye in a relentless barrage. She darts left, then right, leaping off of street-lights and keeping her opponent off-balance and limiting her movement even further. Each shot lands with precision, shrinking Lady Bullseye's last few inches of space until she's all but mummified in webbing.

"Alright, Bullseye," Gwen calls out, voice taut with adrenaline as she sees Red Arrow preparing to move in. "Let's see how sharp those blades are now."

Lady Bullseye struggles, slashing through a few threads, but Gwen fires another thick line of web, sticking her arm back in place. For every web Lady Bullseye cuts, two more take its place, leaving her helplessly ensnared, her limbs tangled and weighed down by the sticky threads.

And then Red Arrow moves.

Gwen watches, breath held, as Red Arrow closes in with lethal grace. The swing is smooth and swift, the blade glinting in the pre-dawn street lights as it slices through the air. Blood sprays in a fine mist, and for a moment, their fight stills.

Gwen drops down to the ground behind Red Arrow, her body tense and ready to support if needed. The sight of it -- the brutality of it -- isn't exactly something she loves to see, but on the other hand...

"I... did try to tell her not to play with knives..."

Her voice is soft. Sad. But there isn't anything to be done about it, now.

"Thanks... for the help."

As Ghost-Spider's costume turns slowly from white to red in several places where the fabric has been sliced away and the skin revealed, bleeding. There's scorch marks around her left wrist.

And those eyes... those big, expressive eyelets reveal so much about her melancholy and the final, bitter-sweet blow.

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque?s mind becomes a whirlwind of calculations, each scenario flashing through his thoughts as he seeks the best strategy for survival. His eyes lock onto the lumbering, the golem Purple Guardian. A being of magic, but still bound by certain laws of combat. Cinque knows he can?t take him head-on without precis planning.

"Armor-piercing," he mutters.

The familiar mechanical whir of his Navy Colt Revolver signals the change in ammunition. His cold focus narrows in on the shifting patterns of the blade in the warrior?s hand as it swings with deadly precision. Cinque?s mind predicts the arc, the timing, the exact moment when the Guardian will be vulnerable.

The revolver barks to life with a single crack, firing a well-placed shot at the hand of the Guardian. The armor-piercing round punctures through the warrior?s tough skin, severing nerves and loosening his grip on the blade. As the golem grimaces in surprise, his grip falters, and the blade drops from his hand, clattering against the rooftop.

Cinque doesn't waste a second. Before the golem can recover, he fires again, this time aiming low. The round strikes the groin of the towering figure with a sickening thud. Whether golem or no golem, the shock of the impact causes the Guardian to stagger, his mouth falling open in pain and surprise. It?s all Cinque needs.

In one fluid motion, Cinque darts forward and jams a concussive bomb into the open mouth of the golem. The warrior?s eyes widen in shock, but before he can react, Cinque slams his shoulder into the massive form with all his might. The Purple Guardian stumbles backward, disoriented and weakened by the rapid-fire assault.

With a final, powerful push, Cinque sends the Guardian tumbling through the nearby window, glass shattering as the golem crashes out into the street below. The concussive bomb detonates mid-fall, a muffled *boom* erupting from inside the Guardian?s throat, sending a wave of shock through its body as it hits the pavement with a bone-cracking thud.

Cinque stands at the broken window, watching the aftermath below.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's a brutal takedown. Did Lady Bullseye think the hero had it in her? Likely not. Was it something any hero wanted to ever have to do? Likely not. Was it necessary? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But the woman that earlier in the fight had been called a circus freak had efficiently stabbed the Hand warrior and cut her down. She would look down herself, and the blood spewing from her. And Lady Bullseye has the time to look down at her torso, where the blade had gone through, and laugh. "Good one. I get the clown.. This is funny. It's really, really funny." She falls down flat and crumples.

Cinque understands the way to take down someone who doesn't feel pain, that can't really be hurt by anything, that can't be slowed. Take them apart. Blast them up. Rip them.

The effective fighting of Cinque goes to engage with the golem, right as the concussion bombs detonate within him. Cinque goes to dart away as the body would tumble backwards, detonating with parts breaking off leaving bones and gore. In the distance now, there are sirens. Loud ones.

Even for the numerous ones that are still alive and fighting, no matter how brutalized.. As sirens come, and more heroes come, they go to escape. Teleportation, smoke bombs, vanishing.. However they accomplish it. Most taking the bodies (at least those that have enough of a body left at least) of their fallen with them. It's just one fight out of what will be many. For a debt of blood and war cannot be settled in a single skirmish.

It is but one opening shot fired in what will be a city filled with Streets of Rage.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb whistles as he watches the old man punch a hole through the would-be 'recruiter' with a mere punch of his fists.

<<Yeah, Highlander you were not>>, he mutters to himself.

He assumes the old man is gonna go for him next, so he assumes a fighting stance...

Only to find out he instead vanishes after breaking a smoke pellet, classical move to cover his escape.

All the better, though - somehow, he feels this fight would've been one he'd might've had a hard time walking out alive from...