1955/Bodega Blowout

Bodega Blowout
Date of Scene:	03 June 2020
Location:	Somewhere in Manhattan
Synopsis:	Paige stops random passerbys for some directions, when they're interrupted by a robbery at a bodega. Paige, Vampirella and Atlin move in to save the day!
Cast of Characters:	Paige Guthrie, Ella Normandy, Brunnhilde, Atlin

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Paige Guthrie has posed:
It's early evening in Manhattan, and the rush of people leaving from work has finally started to die down, leaving the streets and sidewalks sparse (well, sparse for New York.) Paige has decided to come out to the city to scout out the various universities for when she graduates. Now that that's done, it's time to do a little sightseeing, but there's one problem: She's horribly lost and her phone has ran out of power.

"Excuse me! Hello? Ah, excuse me!" Paige calls out trying to flag down somebody to help her find a place where she can charge her phone, but New York being New York, people just brush right past her. If she's lucky, they'll give her an annoyed glare before stalking off.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella (though she's pretending to be Ella Normandy today, including the rather annoyingly stifling outfits) and Atlin are walking through New York City with no particular goal in mind. They don't know yet what all they have in common, if anything, but they know they enjoy moving more than being stationary; doing more than planning. That's a place to start from. The sun is setting, so Vampirella's bad mood is being replaced with some relief as the sun ceases burning her sensitive nerve endings, so she sounds a lot more natural than she did half an hour ago as she explains to Atlin, "...so she invited me to move in with her. It would mean leaving my job and moving here, but I'm sure New York could use a tea--hm?" she asks, as Paige interrupts her monologue.

Brunnhilde has posed:
Early evening. That means Hilde's on shift in too-few hours and on too little sleep. She managed a shower and into her uniform, that's a step in the right direction, but she still desperately needs some coffee, maybe food, and to remember what time of night or day it is. She's got the look of a shift worker who's just come off of changing shifts, but from the pallor in her skin, maybe she always looks like that? Her pale blonde hair is messily braided back off of her face and her paramedic's uniform is clean in a way that says she's not actually been on shift yet today, but it's coming soon. She stares blearily at the stores, figuring out which one has acceptable enough coffee.

And then, there's someone looking desperately not ready for NYC. Hilde blinks a bit more, tired eyes narrowing on Paige as she debates how do-gooder she's considering today. She finally makes the decision to approach when someone else seems to be stopping. She pauses just a few feet away, watching with the wary protectiveness in her eyes that says this other good samaritin better do the job. She does light up a cigarette as she watches.

Atlin has posed:
"Moving in with...?" Atlin begins, the Amazon herself also having swapped her prefered attire for something more 'normal'. Jeans, a simple 'off-the-shoulder' shirt that was probably donated to her, the tanned woman walks with Ella, conversation of topics having shifted to one of interest right at that moment where interuption has her blinking and turning towards Paige, crossing her arms under her bust.

How can one pick a out-of-towner? She actually turns to face the questioning woman with a blink. Accented tones greeting Paige.

"Is something wrong?"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Ah'm terribly sorry to disturb you ma'ams," Paige says, her Kentucky accent coming out with the stress of trying to find somebody who'll actually /talk/ to her. This is yet another indicator of just out out-of-town the young mutant is. "My phone is out of power, and I'm terribly lost. I've been wanderin' about the city for an hour tryin' to find a Starbucks or someplace where Ah can charge my phone." For as lost as the girl is, she doesn't seem too terribly worried about being alone in the city.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella smiles politely at Paige. There's a Starbucks around here somewhere, she can smell the acrid stink of coffee and vinegar, but the smell is so ubiquitous in this town she could be getting hints from a cup in a trashcan or people wandering by sipping their mocchacinos for all she knows. She explains in her own, thick accent (though her word choice is somehoe extremely American), "Sorry, I don't know. I'm just visiting. Atlin, do you...?"

Brunnhilde has posed:
Paramedic to the rescue. "Uh... I gotta charging brick... " Hilde offers huskily, exhaling the smoke of her cigarette as she takes another step closer and sets down the heavy go-bag duffle she almost always drags on shift with her. She's got a dozen pockets on her body and a dozen more in the bag, so it's going to take some digging because which pocket the brick is in is REALLY not something she consciously remembers right now. She gives Ella and Atlin a brief nod, a motion of respect that says she's not trying to intrude, but hopefully can help, then goes back to digging in her bag as she talks around her cigarette. "...at least, I thought I did."

Atlin has posed:
"I am still new to the..." Atlin begins, shaking her head and begining to glance around. At least she knew what a 'Starbucks' was now! Hilde to the rescue! The Amazon tilts her head to the side and turns with a furrow of confusion to her brow.

"A charging brick?" she begins, looking questioningly to her companion. Strange girl in a strange world!

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Oh thank goodness!" Paige says with a relieved breath. "You're a lifesaver. Ah really appreciate your help." The girl tucks a lock of blonde hair behind an ear as she digs her phone out from a pocket, handing it over to Hilde in a show of trust that is, perhaps, not the smartest move when you're in Manhattan. "This is the first time Ah've been into the city. Never been in a place so huge before!" Yup. Out of towner through and through.

"I really appreciate the he...." Paige's thought is interrupted by the sound of gunfire coming from a bodega across the street. The pedestrians around the street scatter to the four winds, yelling. Some are cognizant enough to go for their phones to call 911.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella has been in plenty of places bigger than New York, as long as you measure horizontally rather than vertically, so she's not terribly impressed with the city. It helps to bear in mind that most of the humans here can't fly to get a proper view of the layout, though. She glances toward the commotion, straining her ears to try to hear what's going on. "That's unusual," she muses, sounding interested but detached, like she's criticizing a scene in a movie rather than observing a dangerous situation. "Normally robbers don't let witnesses flee ahead of them. What's going on in there? Terrorism?"

Brunnhilde has posed:
"Yeah, a brick, yanno... portable battery...thing..." Hilde's smoker's voice mutters flatly, giving Atlin a bit of a weirded out look, like the woman might be a bit of an alien, but then Hilde has seen far stranger things in New York this week, so she doesn't press about it. She just keeps digging in her bag, finally getting to one zip part and pulling out a little black, two port charging brick, "Hopefully it-" Then there is shooting. Her eyes widen just a bit and she gives a deep curse, especially as she looks up at the bodega. "...My bus's parked two blocks off. Just... keep it... I got more..." Hilda mutters to the tourist woman, but she's not going to flee towards the scene. No, bag in hand and suddenly over shoulder, she's dashing back to where the ambulance is parked fast as spindley legs can carry her. If things go bad, she'll need more than her go bag.

Atlin has posed:
"I see..." speaks the Amazon, who's tone alone speaks to the suggestion she didn't really understand at all. Still, it seems that whatever Hilde was offering Paige was satisfactory for the woman seeking aid, so she wasn't going to question it further. A little shrug of her shoulders, she's about to turn back to Ella when the sudden sounds of gunfire and yelling has Atlin blinking.

She could 'sense' the panic even before she saw it, but with Hilde taking off? Atlin too began to move. There was one last glance towards Ella and Paige before she took off at suprising speed; it wasn't subtle, but the 'Daughter of war' was rushing straight to the commotion.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Paige is left standing there with the charging brick in her hands, blinking in confusion as the medic just takes off. It's only when the Amazon takes off towards the bodega does Paige go into motion herself, and like the Amazon, she heads straight /towards/ trouble. There's a sound of tearing as Paige literally /rips/ off her skin to reveal polished steel underneath. Unfortunately, she also rips off her clothes while doing so, leaving them and her shredded skin in the middle of the street.

Inside the bodega, Atlin can see a large man wearing a black turtleneck, jeans and a black balaclava waving a gun at the harried old Korean man behind the counter. It looks like the robber started trashing the place to intimidate the owner of the bodega before pulling out the handgun. Dust and debris are gently falling from the ceiling from where the robber has opened fire.

"OPEN THE SAFE AND GIMME ALL YOUR CASH!" the robber is yelling at the store owner. "DO IT NOW OR I'M GONNA SHOOT YOU DEAD!" The owner has his hands up and is desperately trying to defuse the situation. "Okay, okay," he says. "Just put the gun down. I'll give you the cash."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella, left alone on the street, sighs in annoyance. Human problems aren't her concern, but Atlin is, so she doesn't have much choice. She runs across the street after her friend... girlfriend... frie--whatever Atlin is to her, faster than anyone should be able to run in heels but that's probably just adrenaline. The easiest solution to this problem would be to hypnotize the robber, but that power has never been reliable. The most certain is to come up on him from behind, which is harder to pull off, but not too difficult. The crowd provides cover for her to enter, and the aisles will keep him from noticing her as long as she stays low.

    Not attacking to kill is always hard for her, but she doesn't feel like explaining a slaying to Atlin, so she grimly focuses on keeping her teeth and claws from extending as she creeps at a crouch up the aisle toward her prey. The gun is the first target. She doesn't want to watch the storeowner die from a lucky shot in a fight.

Atlin has posed:
Subtle is not Atlin's main approach by any means or sense. The speed that Atlin moves was downright superhuman. Clearing a car, skidding through the door, her senses were in overdrive. She couldn't exactly go slamming humans through walls...she had been told that was excessive last time after all. But the gun? It was extremely dangerous.

Twisting through the space, she was suddenly grasping the weapon, yanking it upwards and crushing down on the slide like it were an aluminium can.

"You have interupted my outing brigand..." the Amazon growls, eyes practically blazing at the robber. Perhaps unknown to Ella, the urge to slay a foe was far more natural to Atlin than most.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
While metal, Paige has increased strength, but not speed, so she just kind of watches helplessly as the other two rush right past her into the bodega. By the time she gets there, Atlin has already disposed of the gun, and Ella is poised to attack. Still, it doesn't stop her from interposing herself between the robber and the owner just in case. Maybe the guy has a second gun? You never know, and Paige is bulletproof while like this and the owner... isn't.

"HURRY UP OLD MAwhuh?" And just like that the robber's gun is gone. He looks more confused than anything at this point, staring at his hand where the gun used to be and is little more than a twisted pile of metal now. "How?" he asks Atlin, before Paige's shiny chrome body catches his attention, "What?" He doesn't even notice Vampirella stalking behind him.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella notices Atlin taking the gun and, with a shrug, rises to stand tall. No need to waste her effort at this point. She strolls past Atlin to the front door, smoothing her shirt as she goes, suggesting, "Best to hurry before the police arrive." Her passage out the door is marked by the electronic chime of the security tripbeam.

Atlin has posed:
There's a naked metal woman behind her, that was...suprising. Atlin actually blinks, tilting her head in suprise. She would ask what exactly Paige was, but there were more things to deal with right now. Tossing the ruined fragments of metal from between her fingers aside, her attention shifts back to the thug as Vampirella speaks up and departs, a bite of her lip perhaps hinting to some concern for a moment before she speaks up again to the thug.

"You will surrender to this woman," she speaks with a gesture to Paige, "Or I will return and repeat this with your bones."

Paige Guthrie has posed:
The crook thrusts his hands into the air, and nearly panics. "Yes! Whatever you say! Just don't hurt me!" He watches wide eyed as paige walks over and grabs one of the guy's arms in an iron grip.

"You'll have a lot of explaining to do to the cops," she says, applying a bit of pressure on the wrist she's holding, making him wimper. Of course, she's going to have to do a lot of explaining herself. After all, she's a mutant, she's naked, and she's metal. It's 50/50 as to whether or not the cops are going to arrest her as well.

Speaking of which, it seems that the calls to 911 have born fruit and the sounds of sirens can be heard coming closer.