3224/7:10 to Lahore

7:10 to Lahore
Date of Scene:	03 September 2020
Location:	Train from Amritsar to Lahore
Synopsis:	May drops a team of SHIELD agents on top of a train carrying suicidal mercs and a handful of old Russian nukes. The end of the world is nigh.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Daisy Johnson, Alexander Aaron, Gothic Lolita, Mary Jane Watson, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff
Tinyplot:	Nuclear Evaluations

---

Melinda May has posed:
It's early morning. The sun has been up for roughly an hour as the 7:10 to Lahore, Pakistan, pulls out of the station in Amritsar, India. It's a 45 minute trip between India and Pakistan, the stop at the border hitting at roughly the halfway mark. And, yes, there will be a stop there for customs inspection.

Theoretically, anyway.

The terrain between Amritsar and Lahore gives way from city to farmland and then eases back into city once more. The train is packed with people, in addition to the cargo cars strung out at the end of the line. Actually, it's overcrowded, as is so often the case in these things. Which means the likelihood of civilian casualties increases dramatically, unless the agents SHIELD has enroute to intercept the locomotive even now are very, very careful. Or lucky.

The briefing back at the regional headquarters twenty minutes ago was fairly clear. There's a team of roughly two dozen mercenaries embeded in the train. While most are secreted back in the cargo cars, where the nukes are suspected to be stored, there's at least a quartet up in the first car -- likely insurance to keep the engine running in the right direction. Another 4 are embedded in the last passenger car, matched by a further four in the first cargo car, to ensure no one tries to simply separate the train at inopportune places. From there on back, there are two in each cargo car (for a total of 6, or 3 cars) to guard couplings and provide regular firepower against outside incursion.

The type of which SHIELD is even now committing.

In the car with the nukes, right near the end, are at least 8 more of the bastards, including their leader, a mutant mercenary out of Hong Kong named Shocktroop in the West because of his high martial prowess, electrokinetic abilities, and remarkable durability. Shocktroop is known for his unwavering loyalty to his contract and inability to accept failure in any form -- from his subordinates or himself. He deals harshly with those incapable completing the tasks he's set before him.

Piloting the SHIELD jet carrying the team sent to stop Shocktroop and his boys, Melinda May glances back at agents readying themselves there for the jump between plane and train. Farmland whips by below, the first city left behind several minutes ago. From the time of deployment, there will be roughly 15 minutes between the train and the border stop... if the mercenaries even let the train slow down there.

"Deployment in 3 minutes," May says. "If you have any more questions... you should've thought of them before now."

Which means they'd better ask quick.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Yay, early norning! In India! Which means you get jetlag atop it being early with a capital E. Daisy brushes her hands over her face then taps her cheeks as if to sharpen up, get ready for the mission ahead. And really, thank the Gods for the earlier coffee.. But now she is all ready, finishing to strap down her techno gloves, dressed in her black and blue SHIELD uniform, high boots, backpack over her shoulders with some of her tools of the trade (mostly hackerette stuff).

"What are our priorities? And where should each be headed?" perhaps she assuming a divide to conquer approach is what will be taken.

A glance is given over to GL. "Remember, with all the civilians we will need to keep those powers down a minimum. As we discussed a couple of days ago." a thumbs up given to her trainee. And realy, that means her own powers too. She can use them with some finesse now but sitll disruptible if out of control.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    In the back of the Quinjet, there is another operative though known primarily as an asset. Might be a sign of how important the action is for the draw upon other elements, yet the young man known as Alexander Aaron has remained quiet during the brief and only answered questions directed at him for the most part.
    For now he's sitting on the ready bench, belt across his waist and one hand tilting a faceless helmet in his hand. A small wire connects the helmet to a data display/cellphone and he seems to be tweaking some of the settings, causing the internal heads up display to flicker slightly through several color displays.
    A glance up is given as he looks to the others, then smiles a little at Daisy and murmurs just loud enough to carry over the sound of the engines. "This is a long ways away from your office."

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita is waiting patiently, though not in a poise of inhuman stillness...she shifts her gaze, leaning forward from time to time, listening. As Daisy speaks she nods seriously. "Civilians must always be protected. I would recommend I drop on the cargo train with the four guarding it and proceed at speed towards the nuke car." She pauses. "Alternately I can drop directly on the nuke car and make an entrance through the roof then keep those inside focused on me while the others are disabled, to prevent them from setting off the nuke prematurely." She calmly slides her ICER pistols out, checking their charge efficiently before sliding them back into their holsters.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Trainee Watson, alias 'Sonja', frowns a little. "Taking out mercenaries in the crowd... that's going to be a bit tricky." She hmms, then shrugs, no one said that the job would be easy after all. She checks to make sure that she's got her photonic sword in its sheath... as well as her ICER pistol. Normally she wouldn't have one just yet.

But then, normally a trainee doesn't get a chance to stop World War Three either. So she makes sure she has everything prepped and ready, ready to do what she needs to do.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint's dressed in his black, field issue SHIELD fatigues minus the insignia on his shoulder. On his back is slung a tight support quiver, with his fold-out bow sitting on his hip. With a train trip, that probably won't work as well as his pistol at his hip; which still isn't the most ideal in close quarters.

As they approach, the archer and Avenger looks to his team of contacts and trainees and exhales. "Aaron has top engine. Secure it quick. I'll grab the end cargo, as it'll give me room for the bow. There's the car for the coupling, but we also really need to keep the civilian casualties down."

Looking at Lolita, brows rise, "And when you're going after them, what's to keep them from saying 'kill the civilians'? We need to take out their support first.. quickly and quietly."

Moving forward in the cabin, he whispers something low into May's ear before turning around and heading towards the back of the aircraft. "Hope you all are good with your 'jumping out of aircraft' skills."

Melinda May has posed:
May glances sidelong at Clint when he murmurs in her ear. There's almost a smirk on her face. *Almost*

As he assigns his team's actions, she checks their position and altitude. "Drop in 60," she tells them. That's their cue. The back hatch opens and, below, the train can be seen snaking its way between the brown and yellow-green fields of the late summer countryside. "Hustle, people. Hustle!"

As the team drops away, she glances back over her shoulder. If they all survive this, she'll owe Barton a drink at the 'Fish.

On the train, passengers are jammed in to standing room only. At the front of the train, the engineer sweats not with the rising early morning heat, but with the knowledge that the mustachioed man beside him with the gun will definitely shoot him if even the slightest thing goes wrong. His three mates will probably start shooting into the sardine can of a passenger car behind. Just out of spite.

So, no. He's not having a good morning.

Further back, the other mercs are edgy, where they sit. They're expecting trouble. Word is SHIELD's out there. They're not stupid. That means there's trouble on the horizon.

But they *think* they're ready for it.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The field agent casts a look at Clint with a grin. This isn't her first rodeo..., or even in the second! A thumbs up is given. "Ready. Let's take these guys out." a sharp nod is given, a glance to Alexander. "Well, you aren't in Kansas anymore, Aaron. Or in this case, Happy Harbor." she says. "Stay sharp, no room for mistakes on this one."

Then her attention goes to her trainee, GL. "Lolita, give support on MJ, take out the cargo cars. We need to act swiftly so they don't have time to act and know what hit them." and besides, it will be *good* teamwork training..

And then off she goes! A jump out the plane to start falling down towards the train like a speeding bullet. When that limit is reached she gets her chute open, aiming to land atop her assigned car. Though she is a bit of a cheater too, using her own powers to stabilize herself in the air for a more firmer landing..

Once she has landed she focuses, attempting to *feel* those on the other side, seek their positioning so as to figure out the best way of entrance.

"Quake here. Just landed on the train." she announces on comms.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Yes, ma'am." Alexander replies to Daisy even as he shifts on his seat. Adjusting the fit of one of his boots, he sweeps a hand over the tactical suit he's wearing. Definitely out of the norm for him, but it fits well though the sleeves seem a little tight. A fingertip lightly plinks at the curious kevlar mesh breastplate making a small /thunk/ sound that is likely lost to most in the whine of the nearby engines.
    Then when Clint speaks the youth shifts his gaze instantly and gives a short sharp nod, "Yes, sir."
    He draws the helmet into place, adjusting the collar where it fits, then clicking the display to life on the inside which brings a subtle computer overlay to his surroundings but for him... it mainly helps him monitor the comms better and possible changes in objectives.
    Leaning down he scoops up the long-handled katana in its black sheath and hooks it over his shoulder, attaching the straps needed for the position then rolls fully to his feet to grab one of the hanging rings as he gets set on the ready line, then steps to the side as the rest of the team are dropping first.
    Once it's his turn he makes the quick jump, turning in the air to drop onto the roof of the rail car closest to the engine. A brief moment of skidding, sliding across the surface, one foot slipping over the side before he arrests his momentum, regains control. Then starts to crawl forward.
    A quick double-click on the comms from him signals his safe landing.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita smiles cheerfully at Clint. "I am a little pig-tailed itsy bitsy spider when it comes to landing and clinging." she notes, moving over to join MJ as the Quinjet moves down the train, waiting her turn patiently. And when the vehicle drops low over the cargo cars, she waits for MJ to grab hold, then steps out, plummeting, as she lands in a graceful three point impact like she was magnetically drawn to the train car, before immediately getting to her feet, her head dipping down. <Down. Alert: Thermal imaging detects more than two people in each of these cars. There may be additional passengers held as hostages.>

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja hops off gracefully from Lolita once the pair are down, frowning slightly as she relays the message. <Well, that makes things more complicated. Think that means we need to hit the cars simultaneously?> She says it as a question, since... well, she is the trainee here.

With that, she sticks to the plan, moving towards the other car cautiously. Along the way, she draws out her ICER, looking ready to use it, much as she prefers the sword. But the hostages that might be there won't care about style points.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint's in the back of the aircraft, timing the jumps for everyone before he takes up position as the last one out. "You got this, kid," is murmured to the youth that is quickly becoming something of a sidekick; after all, he'd had a great success (and continues) with the 'other' Hawkeye!

With each that jumps from the plane, Clint's doing a last minute check before he, too, is out the back.

It's always a little dicey, taking the last position on a jump, particularly when most everyone is new. It's all in the timing, and if it's off, and there's little wind for compensation, the mark can be missed by even the best. Luckily? Clint is one of the best.

Jumping out, he's in the air for those few heartbeats before he tags a landing, almost sliding off the side. Clint pulls himself up with his arms, and one leg follows before the other, and over coms,

<Keep to the plan as much as you can. Just means cargo got a little more complicated is all. You got this, spider.> He has faith! And, he needs to know where everyone is in order to keep everyone safe and moving. Yeah, yeah.. team of specials, but they're HIS responsibility. Not his first rodeo with powered players!

<On count of three, we're in... one... two...>

Melinda May has posed:
The Quinjet drops behind the train now, using VTOL power to keep it in the air, since the train's speed is about 80kph (approx 50mph). May flies it almost like a helicopter, up out of the way but available for support. She watches the visuals of the train as much as the instrumentation of her bird. The jet is quiet. Oh, so blessedly quiet. But the tension is still palpable.

On the train, the impact of the team's landing is heard throughout the cars upon which they land. Two of the mercs in the engine car point their weapons up at the roof, listening for some indication of exactly where the immanent intruder is. A third points his weapon deliberately at the passenger car behind them, while the fourth jams his gun against the engineer's torso, holding him firm by the shoulder. If he fires, the man is dead.

Passengers in the car Clint lands on look up, some of them half out the windows anyway due to crowding and desire for air. Those that perhaps see the Avenger start babbling in their native language -- mostly Hindi, sometimes Urdu. The mercs at the back, rise to their feet and raise their weapons. Two aim for the ceiling. Two aim down the crowded aisle. "Come any closer and we kill them!"

On the cargo cars, yes. There are additional bodies. There are *always* train jumpers in India -- people who want a free ride or who missed boarding the passenger cars or who just want a little bit of space to stretch out. More's the pity for them, because the mercs in those cars are perfectly happy to accept the human shields. Though in at least a couple of instances, there are already a couple of injuries. Those mercs are considerably less worried about collateral damage than any of the others.

Still, with the impact, word is sent back over comms to Shocktroop in the rear: SHIELD has arrived.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Well, no going back now. Or time for to change the plan. So on <three> Daisy goes in.. It's blitz time! Which means she slides across the top of the car quietly, using all her training and then swings over the side and towards a window. It helps that she cheats with those damn powers too, using her vibrational powers to make one of the windows smash up on the opposite side of the car she is going in. And hoping that the men on the cargo car will be distracted by the small ruse she goes in through another window, boots smashing through and she rolls into the cargo car.

ICER comes up immediately, along with a protective shield about her just in case they shoot her immediately...

But her first in her order of priorities is identifying the targets inside the car so she can shoot them down.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The wind on top of a train is a thing one can only really experience, doesn't matter being told that it'll be strong and whipping past you making the scenery look like streaks. He quickly manages to scramble forward, closing the distance with the engine silently.
    There, that one is the engineer, strong with that blaze of fear, barely controlled terror that isn't quite there with the others. Nervous, though. Not liking their position most likely. But it gives the Olympian youth an idea of where each of them are.
    Then on the comms the countdown starts, he quickly gets into position, fingers curling around the edge of the engine window from turning backwards...
    Which when Clint snaps out with that /Three!/ allows him to swing his legs back, lower himself, and then /slam/ both feet through the window, crashing into the engineer's cabin and trying to kick one of the gun men with both feet in an effort to land _heavily_ in front of the engineer himself.
    The youth turns and there's a flash of crimson steel as Grasscutter leaves its sheath in one smooth motion, slicing toward the one soldier who had taken aim at the passenger car.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    What Daisy finds in the train car is... awkward, and rather grisly.
    The two expected men are in sight, but one is on the ground face down with a boot on his head. And the other... the other is back-to-back with a hunched over figure, squirming and gasping with a garrote wire around his neck, pulled into a nearly horizontal position as Natasha Romanoff - in shabby train-jumper attire - crouches down in a position he can't reach her in. Two more men are scattered about the room, one with a knife sticking out of the left side of his chest, and another rolling around weakly with a broken jaw, broken elbow, and his leg turned the wrong way around at the knee.
    Her gaze snaps to Daisy. "Oh. Hey Johnson."
    The enemy gurgles and reaches out to Daisy.
    "... Give me a second." Natasha says, and sniffs once.
    A few seconds later, the enemy goes limp, and Natasha releases one end of the garrote wire, letting him roll off to the side.
    "There we go." Natasha stands up with a grunt, straightens her back... looks down at the second man appraisingly and gives his neck a quick wrenching twist with her heel.
    "Are we on schedule?"

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    "Luck." Lolita says simply to MJ before she's off like a shot, heading towards one end of the car. As she reaches the end she smoothly rolls, reaching out to grab the edge of the car then in a display of inhuman agility twists around so she drops to a crouch to face the door, her hands going down to draw her twin ICERs. Already, her HUD is running through thermal images, marking likely civilians versus mercenaries.

    It's all about judgements. She can't be sure which are positive until they start shooting, but there are passengers that might be standing. Minimal loss of life required. Several of those silhouettes go from midrange possibility opponent to 'stun target'. It's better to be safe. And if they're on the ground from the ICER, they are not standing up in the middle of a firefight where they will catch a stray bullet.

    There's a tremendous *CRASH* as Lolita goes /through/ the door, pistols coming up as she opens fire, smoothly starting to service targets in her range and moving to close as quickly. She wants the mercenaries looking at /her/ after all. She wants them startled. She wants them reacting like a soldier, which is to shoot the perceived threat, not like a terrorist where they take the nearest hostage. She can take the fire. She will take the fire.

    She's the tank.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
MJ winks back to Lolita, "Skill," as she moves towards the other end of the car. She then drops down and faces the door to her assigned car, drawing her ICER as she looks ready... then she throws open the door.

And sees two mercenaries, guns drawn with hostages held in front of them as human shields. Without hesitation, she shoots the ICER, one shot each for the hostages to knock them prone.

The mercenaries, for their part, look a bit surprised, and Sonja takes advantage of that, firing twice more to knock out the mercs guarding this cargo car. She sweeps the rest of the car, before saying on the comm, <Sonja here. Car is clear, two mercs down, two hostages down, no fatalities.>

Clint Barton has posed:
<Three!>

The train cars are, well, sardine cans with the local population being the sardines. Clint's actually surprised there aren't any people hanging on the //sides// of the train as it moves through.

As each time makes their entrance into their cars, Clint is doing the same, though on the opposite side of where he'd initially landed, forcing the two to keep training their weapon up. On that /three/ for him, he's in through the back coupling like a flash, reaching out to grab the pair of arms holding the weapons at the civilians and twisting hard, effectively breaking their arms. Letting go at the *crack*, there's a palm to the underside of a jaw on one, before he *yanks* on the now broken arm of the other, pulling him in to get a knee to the face.

Melinda May has posed:
In the engineering car, the man aiming his gun at the passenger car might get off one wild shot before Grasscutter makes its short work of him. But it's a reflexive, abortive shot. Not aimed. So, it actually cuts through the upper portion of the wall and out the roof of the passenger car, narrowly missing blowing some old man's head off. Of course, it sets the car to a shrieking panic. So there's that. But that's not where most of our heroes are.

Alexander, thus, has the attention of the two remaining mercs in the car with him. The gun in the hand of the man who had been holding the engineer goes off, bullet ricocheting off the metal control panel. It shatters a window on its way through the engineer's shoulder. He shrieks and staggers forward. A gear is pushed. The train begins to pick up speed.The others try to bring their weapons to bear but, let's face it... in close quarters rifles are pretty damned useless.

The men in the car with Daisy are, unsurprisingly, quite out of the fight, thanks to Romanoff's intervention. Which means they're free to move on to help Lolita and Sonja, who are handily, if unconventionally, taking care of the mercs they encounter along the way.

Clint, skilled and experienced as he is, makes short work of at least two of the mercs -- the ones that presented the most immediate threat to the civilians. The other two move to try to intercept him as he enters the train, impeded by screaming people. One shoots his weapon at the roof, scaring people out of the way. The other draws a very large bowie knife and moves to engage.

In the back, Shocktroop looks at his men and signals three of them to start making their way forward to intervene.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Noting the work of the Widow on the car she jumped into Daisy lets out an amused snort. "Romanoff." Nope, she doesn't call her by her first name, that's exclusive to the SWORDFISH bar. Besides, she still has that garrotte in her hands. It weighs in her decision really. "We are." a casual ICER shot is delivered to the man still rolling on the ground so as to knock him out cold. Mercy!

Her other hand reaches behind her to her backpack, taking out a communicator. "Frequency 0-3." she tosses it to Nat so she can be in contact with the rest of the team.

"We are en route to the back of the train once the other Agents secure the cars." she says. "They have hostages, and their leader is a metahuman. Electrical powers."

<<Made contact with Agent Romanoff. Coupler cargo car secure. We are on route to the back cars.>> She speaks through comms.

And then it's time to dash. She begins to make her way to the cargo cars where MJ and GL are, ICER at the ready to lend supporting fire.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Good." Is Natasha's even response as she forages among the dispatched enemies and comes away with a heavy loaded pistol and a couple ammo clips. She's only got one pocket to hold them in, though. The Shield Uniform probably would have made them suspicious.
    She catches the com unit and fixes it to her ear. "Testing. Black Widow on site." Satisfied that it's working, she nods to Daisy and moves with her to the next car, gun at the ready.
    She briefly considers putting a real bullet in the head of the surviving enemy, but... that would probably be gratuitous.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    In the engineer's cab.
    Spinning from the gunman that took that shot into the car, for a moment there's a /flash/ of light from where there would be eyes on that faceless mask that's being worn. A glow of eldritch light that burns across the distance between Alexander and the man holding the weapon on the engineer.
    To the world it's just a brief moment of illumination, but to the man suddenly the figure before him takes on the likeness of a great multi-armed creature of grim visage with a seething expression and flames for eyes. A manifestation of dark tales and ancient evils... that will hopefully buy that single moment needed.
    There's a sudden slice of a blade thrusting through the throat of one, even as Alexander's boot slams hard into the neck of the other. The close quarters serve to allow him to hold them both at that point until there's a sharp crack from the one and a gurgle from the other. The blade snaps back and into its sheath with a short sharp twist of its hilt to clear it of gore.
    Then on the comms, < Engine secure. >
    Now... which lever was it that sped this thing up?

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    It's straight forward. Target. Shoot. Target. Shoot. Lolita has been putting in lots of range time practicing specifically working against targets with armor who might be more resistant to ICER fire, honing her online systems to look for spots where they're not covered and target those. Non-armored still get center of pass as a few startled train jumpers suddenly find themselves unconscious and on the floor in the process as she proceeds into the last car, snapping a shot into an exposed ankle of one gunmen, then seeing the other swing his AK around and sidestepping to put herself between the remaining passengers as the bullets rip into her, rapid-fire tinking sounds of flattened bullets hitting the floor followed by a more precise *ZAP* of the ICER as she puts one in the gunman's head, watching him crumple, before turning to MJ as she arrives. "Superior programming?" she says curiously, casually continuing the conversation, before her head snaps up as the three mercs charge into the area through the wrecked door. "Behind!" she says, moving automatically to put herself between gunfire and MJ. <Cargo clear. Additional targets moving up from target car.>

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane crouches by Lolita, letting the mecha absorb the gunfire as she takes careful aim. Sonja might not be used to using guns, but the general principle is the same with aiming weapons. In this case, she takes careful shots, not wanting to waste her ammo nor her time as she frowns, "Think it might be time to get up close and personal."

As she says that, she snaps out her photonic sword, firing up the blade as it crackles with energy. Her eyes narrow a bit, as she starts calculating distance since... well, she has the ICER, sure. But the sword is what she knows best.

Clint Barton has posed:
Once the pair are down, down, the weapons are pulled from their unconscious and/or dead fingers and thrown to the side quickly, a brief *click*click* to acknowledge the message. Little busy! Clint's coming back around to face the other two, his attention is first on the weapon firing in the air, though the lurch of the train as it picks up speed? (Knew he should have turned the hearing aids down.. daaaamn, that hurts.) But? Oh.. this looks bad.

<A, stop the train. We can't cross the border. Repeat. Stop the train.>

What this means is that things have to be thrown into high gear back here, too. Looking at the pair remaining, Clint has to step over a couple of people who have decided that hitting the deck is the best option. Once the mercs have decided to try and lower their weapons to aim at the archer, Clint reaches out to grab the wrists again and twist/pulls them forward to force one to go offbalance, before that knee comes up to the face.

The second? Clint spins around in place and slams an elbow into the face of the one gunman left, which pushes him back and reeling back into the crowded car. Yanking the weapon from the fingers again, he tosses it out of the window, letting it fall and *clack* on the ground.

Not even winded, Clint's back on coms, <<Four down. Welcome to the party, Nat. Heading to converge.>>

Melinda May has posed:
The train continues to pick up speed, shortening the time it will take to make it to the border. Instead of being seven or eight minutes away, it's now closer to four our five. And the Pakistanis are starting to respond. May's voice comes over coms. "There's action on the border, people. Military is ramping up." Just in case they're wondering.

The shocktroops Shocktroop sent rushing forward, attack the oncoming SHIELD agents freely. There is now a real danger of stray bullets bouncing around the forward sections of the train. The mercenaries, after all, are fairly heedless of the lives they may sacrifice in service to their contract. No one said anything to them about keeping collateral damage to a minimum.

These guys, however, are a little better than the rest of the hero fodder heretofore encountered. They actually respond intelligently when confronted with a threat -- which means up close and personal may be a challenge, too.

The remaining four mercs with Shocktroop set themselves up in the foreward section of the car, crouched behind cover and aiming some fairly heavy weapons down the lengeth of the train. Unlike their dispatched companions, they wear some fairly impressive body armor, including the faintest wavering of some sort of personal energy sheild generating around each one. On their shoulders is some sort of multiheaded dragon type creature. Each wears a different color - red, blue, green, and purple.

Shocktroop is in black and silver, the same insignia on his shoulder. He stands by the cluster of nukes, on hand on the casing of the top one.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The door to the cars where MJ and Lolita are open with a kick, Daisy rushing in fast and levelling her ICER to one of those three men that has come to do backup on the others. She takes him down with a clean shot on the chest and then projects a shield to protect GL and MJ while they seem to be getting ready to do shenanigans. Just so a certain Hyborean doesn't get shot while preparing such...

<<We are close to the back car. Most hostiles down.>> She informs..

Then she adds up. <<Aaron, the train should have an emergency break. Let me know if you need any help finding it>> an offer of aid. But for now she keeps her vibrational shield up, hand extended forward.

Then to the couple of trainees and Nat she says. "Go on. I will keep them off your backs."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Her kingdom for her Widow's Bite gauntlets.
    Natasha has to make due with what she has, which is a mercenary's pistol and a frightening lack of regard for opforce life, moving in and taking cover while firing shots intended mostly for the heads and necks of the armed men inside.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Back at the front of the train.
    With the gunmen down, Alexander kneels quickly beside the shot engineer and says to him sharply, voice modulated with an electronic echo to it, "Hilana mat." Don't move. The only phrase in Hindi he knows so far. But it hopefully gives him time to examine the injured man.
    Tearing the shirt, checking the wound, he grabs the man's hand and presses it hard against the wound then tells him in English unfortunately, "Keep pressure on it, try not to go into shock." Very helpful.
    Once that's done he turns and eyes the equipment. He'd reviewed the schematics in brief to know which was the brake... this one. But this was... the one the man fell into? Throttle definitely, no pressure gauges in the red.
    Then Clint's voice is on the comms asking for the brakes to be applied, and when Daisy speaks he instinctively nods to her though she can't see him nodding. << Roger that. >>
    He grabs hold of that throttle and powers down, starting the deceleration and then he lifts his voice. << Triggering brake in 3-2-1. >> And as he counts down he pulls on that emergency brake, locking the wheels and causing them to squeeeeeal and squeak with such sudden and abrupt consternation, and likely causing a shift in the momentum that will be palpable throughout the train.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita has a quick moment to think. Charging back the length of the cars will expose herself and MJ to extensive fire, not to mention anyone else coming in behind them to reinforce, unless they go across the top of the car. Which might mean dodging fire from below through the roof. The best effective response is to ensure MJ is both past their current target zone and in range to respond.

    "Agent...I can throw you down the cars to where you're in range with your sword. Accepted?"

    And giving MJ the moment to consider she raises both pistols, firing furiously at the door in a blaze of supression fire to get the mercs there to hopefully duck back under cover, before, upon approval, dropping a pistol as she reaches back to scoop MJ up one handed, then hurls her like a shotput in the direction of the bad guys, her other hand continuing to fire to give MJ time to get to the other end and under cover. Or among them where their rifles won't be as effective.

    That done, she grabs her other pistol and charges after her teammate, continuing to keep up a steady stream of fire and not making any attempt to take cover herself. Fire on her is not fire on MJ or other agents.

    She does shout down. "AGENTS OF SHIELD! SHOCKTROOP, you're a mercenary, you weren't paid to die when those nukes go off! Protect your lives and surrender!"

    Who knows, shock and awe MIGHT work...but she doubts it. She's really hoping that this isn't one of those spiteful guys who likes to take everyone with him rather than go to prison...

    <Eyes on Shocktroop. Four targets with him, three reinforcing. Engaging reinforcements.>

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja grins, "Sounds good, let's do it." And with that, she's gathered up by Lolita and flung headlong into the car with the nukes, since... well, between Widow and Daisy, the 'reinforcements' aren't doing much of anything.

With that, she lashes out with her foot right before impact, connecting with the lead of the quartet with a solid *crack* as she lands. Then she whirls into a blur of motion with her photonic sword, shouting as she does so, "Shocktroop, is it? Starting World War Three doesn't seem to be exactly your MO. Mercenaries need a world to live in to get paid, after all!" Though she talks, she's not letting up on the fight, not trusting it to be over until the nukes are secured.

Clint Barton has posed:
Once his message is conveyed, Clint is moving into the spot where the trains are coupled, and takes to the ladder to get on top of the train cars. It's dizzying at the best of times, but he's moving quick along the top, leaping from one to the next to get there. As he's moving across, the train suddenly lurches, the brakes applied to skiiiiiiiid the heavy train and cars.

Clint slides across the last one he has to get to, swinging his feet down to plant. Here, in a cargo area?

Clint finally is able to switch to bow...

Melinda May has posed:
There's the sound of aircraft gunfire outside the train. The Quinjet breaks off and soars higher as a pair of two-man gunships descend from out of the rising sun, the multiheaded dragon emblazoned on their bellies and flanks. "Jet's under attack," she tells the agents in the train. "Pulling out to engage." In other words, they're on their own for the time being. Shortly thereafter, the sound of a GAU-17/A rattling over the sound of the clattering train.

Yep. May's busy.

The engineer is not really in good shape, however, no. But he also can't be the priorty, when there are hundreds of innocent lives at stake. As the train screeches to a halt, the air battle overhead overuns the position and passes right on by, May leading the gunships on a merry chase in an aircraft that can do far more than what they can do. Regardless, Aaron is left with a bleeding man and a cadre of Indian border patrol personnel in reinforce humvees racing towards the train.

The three shocktroops sent forward to slow the SHIELD agents do have enough armor on to make their engagement with Johnson and Romanoff not quite automatic kills. But... Yeah they're not really destined for long lives, here.

What Sonja will find, however, when she engages the 4 troopers between the merc commander and the rest of the team is that... holy crap, they're actually good. Between their personal force shields and their own training, they don't go down like the glass cannons the rest of their outfit seems to have been. She's going to break a sweat on this one.

Which means she's going to need reinforcements, too.

Shocktroop says nothing in response to Lolita's words. Instead, he flips a switch on the top nuke and draws out a pair of short swords suitable for such an enclosed space. The blades crackle with electric energy. He crosses them and draws them apart with a dramatic *SHNG!* 50,000 volts of electricty arcs between his insulated troops, heading forward along the train.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
With the charged up lightning coming their way it's time to think fast... And lightning, well, attracted to the ground... So why not direct it? Daisy places her hands on the ground, eyes closing and sending vibrations through it and /forces/ a rip to open on the floor of the train so as it give it passage down to the earth.

If it works? Well, she isn't 100% sure on the physics of the thing. But who knows?! Maybe it will alleviate the attack at least.

And besides she trusts the other Agents will be able to handle Shocktroop's cronies.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Hell!" Natasha mutters sharply and ducks behind cover as electricity arcs through the area, causing wisps of her hair to stand on end. As she reloads her pistol, she calls on the comlink "If anyone's got a spare hand, this guy's throwing electricity around a nuke!"
    One of the mercenaries hands reach over Natasha's low cover and aims their firearm down at her. Natasha grabs their wrists with a grunt, moving them just enough for a few shots to miss before she pulls his arms and kicks upward to catch him in the chin. She drags him the rest of the way forward and onto the floor where she puts a few bullets in the top of his head. As for the rest, she keeps taking shots when she can.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    In the cabin, Alexander finishes locking the brake into place, then turns to make a quick check on the engineer. However after only a moment it's the incoming Indian forces that has the youth's attention.
    << Incoming ground vehicles. Indian. >> He steps over to the back of the cabin and pulls the first aid kit off of the wall, then grabs the closest passenger, an older man with eyes wide in fear and trepidation to see what befell the other men moments before. But then the first aid kit is slapped into the man's hands as Alexander tells him in that metallic-tinged voice, "Help him." In English, but still. It somehow must be useful because that fear the man was feeling seems to taper off, no longer close to panic.
    That done Alexander starts to crawl out of the cabin on the side opposite from the incoming border patrol.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita is almost into the back car after MJ when the bolt of electrical energy runs down the center of the train, several of the arcs drawn straight to her as they run up her leg. Her HUD registers it. -Warning: electrical discharge. Effective 50,000 volts. Threat: Minimal.- This is probably a bit of a suprise to Shocktroop when she just runs Terminator-style right through it without slowing.

    Though the tag over Shocktroop gets updated to -ElectroJerk-. Apparently he /is/ good with dying in a nuclear explosion. Or he has some escape route that's unclear.

    <One nuke has been engaged. Timer unknown.> she warns over the SHIELD com, as she kicks off, throwing herself forward as a fist comes back then slams into one of the shields of the troopers with the equivalent of being hit by a good-sized SUV, attempting to blast him off his feet and into Shocktroop if she can angle it right. If not...well, she'll know they can take more of a punch with the next one.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja leaps back out of the way of the electricity, though her hair definitely gets frazzled in the best Frank Frazetta style possible as red strands just seem to *POOF* out when she lands. Then she frowns, "Not a normal mercenary if he thinks dying for the cause is something that makes sense."

With that, she goes back in, using the sword as a feint as she instead goes for kicks and punches on the weak spots of the armor of the remaining four mooks. She's definitely using her full strength and speed at this point, which is rather formidable for most regular opponents. With the nuke counting down, there's no time to waste.

Clint Barton has posed:
Okay, the briefing on this guy was 'electric-ninja', in a nutshell. So, Clint's got a quiver full of things that might actually help in his loadout. Of course he's got his stand-bys.. ziplines, explosive tips, but grounding? Grounding is good and good for survival.

Clint's on the end by the doorway, bow out and an arrow nocked and initially ready to loose when he makes the announcement concurrently with Lolita, <Engaged confirm.>

There's really no time, however, as he looses one arrow at one of Shock's sword. A modified goop arrow to deal with encapsulated insulation...

Someone was actually paying attention at briefing and really wasn't sleeping behind his sunglasses.

Melinda May has posed:
Daisy's attempt to ground the electrical blast is a good idea, but derailed by Lolita's closer engagement. The electricity flows over her body like water. Shocktroop's face is concealed by his black mask, so the surprise on his face is hidden. But he spins towards the ALF, swords dispensing yet another charge -- this one double the last as he moves to engage her.

The four armoured troopers swarm Sonja, taking beating after beating. They do slow down, however. These aren't energizer bunnies, after all. And when their personal shields short out from simply too much abuse, they're left to rely on their skill. Which, while excellent, isn't quite as good as that of a millennias old warrior spirit.

Hawkeye earns his name, however, as he manages to hit one of Shocktroop's swords, insulating the thing and rendering it useless. This distracts him enough that he splits his electrical discharge -- sending a strong taser bolt down the middle of the train once more, the other smashing into Lolita as they fight. Lolita might not feel it, but Daisy's grounding station won't be the safest thing to stand beside.

The shocktrooper colour brigade start to weaken, leaving room for the other agents to move in to assist more ably while the invisible counter counts down and the Indian authorities outside start converging on the train.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
With the train now being halted... Well, why stay *in* it? Specially with a bolt of lightning again coming their way.. And no Lolita to protect them.. So Daisy dashes to the side, smashing out through a window and pushing back with her hands as she propels herself forward with the use of her powers, some dirt lifting off the ground at the vibrational impact as she pushes forward...

She goes just to another window, one quite closer to where MJ and the fighting agents are, coming back into the fight with a swift kick delivered to the back of the neck of an unaware mercenary. Cheap shot! Who said SHIELD agents always fight fair?!

She gives the guy a kick aside and lifts her hands blocking a couple of shots coming her way.. <<Need to take these guys asap to get to the bomb. Aaron, Can you sweet talk those troopers to give us time before they board in?>>

And without time to lose she sends a blast towards Shocktroop if she finds an opening.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    With the bullet content of the air having thinned out, Natasha dashes from her place of cover and plants a boot in the back of the knee of one of the men fighting Watson. She grabs him by the shoulders from behind, turns him to the side, and puts her last bullet in the back of his head.
    That done, she sprints towards Shocktroop, and throws her empty pistol in his face when she's halfway to his position. That done she drops her legs and slides towards Shocktroop on her side, going under Daisy's blast, and under his blades, to lash a leg out towards his stomach, and then another at his crotch or head, whichever one's closer in the next moment.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Across the comms, Alexander's voice is heard as he responds even as he crawls along the side of the train. << Roger that, I'll take care of them. >> He says that calmly, in the same level and dead tone he uses normally upon the radio frequencies.
    That said he hops around the side of the rail car, moving past some of the civilians who are all wide-eyed and wondering what's going on. There's a flash of silvery energy around the katana's scabbard as it flickers with arcane light and then fades from view even as in the same moment he pulls off the mask and tucks it under one arm, then steps toward a man who has a coat sprawled across the front of a seat.
    "I need this," He says pointedly at the man who might suddenly feel that that coat was never a coat he liked at all, which is then pulled and draped over the Olympian youth's shoulders. Just enough of a cover to not look so staggeringly out of place as he hops off the other side of the train car, landing and then lifting his hands to wave at the incoming border patrol vehicles.
    "Hilana mat!" Which doesn't entirely work in this capacity until he's gesturing back over his shoulder and shouting, "Bomb!" Perhaps that'll help, then he makes a hand gesture to perhaps help accompanied by a 'skidoosh' sound as he shouts again, "Look out, bomb!" And in that instant his pale eyes flare with an abrupt flash of power.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    The troopers are focused on Mary Jane as she dances between them, the nearest avoiding Lolita's swing...but even as she starts to turn to back up her teammate, Shocktroop is on her with his swords, a second more powerful blast of electricity dancing over her as she staggers at the hit. Bluish arcs run over her body as her HUD stutters, her vision flickering as she pushes through. -Electrical discharge. 100,000 volts. Damage: Moderate disruption, nanoframework. Sensor systems fluctuating. Removing limiter. Heat sinks online.- With a *snapPOP* the shoulder of her outfit starts to smolder, along with other points along her uniform, with one of the ribbons holding her pigtails in place bursting into flame and falling as ash as the right one comes loose. The petite mecha jerks slightly, her eyes flickering from her usual brown to black with glowing red circles cut vertically with lines as she breathes out a puff of steam.

    Then as Hawkeye's arrow takes out one of the swords has the opening to close, with Daisy's blast catching the armored merc int he chest. Lolita follows Natasha in as she sweeps at his leg to throw him off balance. Step one: get the bad guy away from the nukes so someone can disarm them. <I will clear the way.> comes Lolita's voice with a slight burst of static over coms.

    Which she does by snapping out a kick at Shocktroop's chest, going high to Natasha's low. The force field his armor has may stop protect him, but there's only so much kinetic force it can bleed, she hops. She's not pulling her punch as much, hitting him with the force of a full dump truck at this point to send him down the car and away from the nukes hopefully, as well as giving everyone else a clear shot at him without risking hitting the nukes. If it is lethal force, well...it's a nuke. His life, versus life of innocent people if it goes off.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Sonja has been punched, kicked, and battered by the quartet of elite troopers, though they're now starting to break down under the pressure of additional SHIELD agents. As for Sonja?

Well, she's trying not to enjoy herself too much, because business, but she does pull out the photonic blade once more, looking to stun and incapacitate the remaining guards as she shouts, "We didn't have nuclear bomb disarming in Hyborea, for the record!" Translation: Someone else is gonna need to deal with that thing.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint's watching the action, timing his movement with the team's before him before he moves again. He's only got limited ammunition, as it were, and he's used up his 'goop' arrow to best effect. That's part of the game!

Now, however, Clint's got eyes on the nuke, and he starts to cross the short, chaotic distance towards the bomb. "Hey.. just like in Serbia, right?" is given off as an aside.

"I'm on it.."

Once he gets there, Clint's checking the timer, looking at the countdown. "Couldn't be too different from before.. right?"

Melinda May has posed:
High overhead, one aerial explosion punctuates the fight. Pieces of a crimson gunship rain down on browning fields. The quinjet loops around after its second pursuer. These sorts of fights are generally fairly short. But the second pilot is fairly tenacious. That, however, doesn't save him from the jet's greater maneuverability, particularly at the hands of a pilot as skilled as May. Moments later, a second explosion rocks the air and more debris is falling... while May radios the local air authorities to sound an all clear. (Because, you know, SHIELD is supposed to be a *respectable* international paramilitary organization, right? UN affiliated!)

Below, the Indian authorities are being told to back off by their superiors, who have had an irate Fury breathing down their necks... well, probably, anyway. Someone higher up the foodchain than May, anyway.

Given the encouragement Aaron provides... they actually aren't hard to convince. At the very least, they're willing to retreat to a safer distance. Though this doesn't help with the evacuation of the civilians. Not that it's safe to do anything like that, quiet yet.

Nevertheless, the last of the 4 colour brigade goes down under the combined assault of the agents in the rear of the train. Likewise, Shocktroop is ultimately overwhelmed by the assault. Between Daisy's power, Natasha's skill, and Lolita's cold efficiency... he is very soon no longer a threat. Will he live long enough to be one again someday?

That remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, with the opposition down, the final task remains: Disarming that bomb before it starts WW3 and takes at least 2 Avengers and a bunch of promising SHIELD agents with it.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
With the threat of the mercenaries now done it's time for the REALLY important part. To stop a nuke from going off. Daisy isn't exactly the most knowledgeable in disarming these bombs. That she leaves to the more experienced Agents, but as she steps over the downed mercs she gives a thumbs up to the trainees. "That was some awesome teamwork. Now lets make sure we live, mmm?" a wink to de-stress..

She focuses then while the others work on the disarming, nearing the bomb and extending her hands forward... It is a matter of feeling those vibrations, the waves. The wrongness. How they are getting ever closer to setting off into an unthinkable thing. A nuclear blast...

So as she moves her hands in a circle so does she begin to stabilize the core, or at least delay the ignition enough to give them time to work... She *is* sweating though as this requires lots of finesse. "Better hurry, guys..."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha kips up onto her feet and peers around briefly to make sure everyone who needs to be down stays down, before she moves to the bomb beside Clint.
    "I'm glad you can laugh about Serbia." She says distractedly as she exposes the bomb's inner workings. "Let's not cut it as close this time."
    She was around during the Cold War. The others don't need to know that, but the point is Russia had this whole Thing about worrying about being nuked for a really long time, so... she's had some training in this regard. Hopefully it's not TOO much different as she tries to work out how to shut it off.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Standing there in the heavy coat with his hands on his hips, Alexander touches a fingertip to his ear and speaks on the comms, << Indian Border Patrol is backing off. Going to need a medevac for the engineer. >>
    There's a short click-click to signal the end of his words but then he looks over his shoulder and ponders the idea of nuclear annihilation. For a moment his lips twist upwards, but then he takes a breath and shakes his head before looking back to the retreating HMMWVs.
    Once they're a good ways off he starts walking back towards the rear section of the train. Since really, if he's going to die from a nuclear blast he'll want to see it.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita is smoldering, and not in a fun way, as she idly pats out spots on her uniform to make sure they don't burst into flame, her hair fallign in a lopsided curtain now as she brushes it out of her face, kneeling down over Shocktroop. She trusts the others can deal with the nuke...if not she won't really have more than a split second to realize it anyway. And she doesn't want to distract them either.

    Instead, she busies herself getting the mercs out of their armor and into cuffs so they don't pull any suprises. Who knows what tricks their armor has, after all? It takes a little bit to hack into the armor systems to get them open, but she can stay focused on that. Though she does update May. <All targets down. Black Widow and Hawkeye are working on disarming it with Quake using her powers to keep it stable.>

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
MJ hangs back with Lolita, helping her secure the remaining mercs. She isn't too badly hurt, just a lot of bruises she's going to feel later, and her hair is still basically frizzled out all over the place. Still, she'll be okay...

Assuming, of course, that she and millions of others don't die in a nuclear fire. But hey, it's the little things, right. She does glance over at Lolita, murmuring quietly, "So... it always like this? I think I prefer punching Nazis."

Clint Barton has posed:
"I can laugh because I'm still here," is murmured as Natasha joins him at the mechanism. Clint sets his bow down in preparation, and once his partner has the cover off? He's looking inside at the guts. "It's Russian," which makes sense. India. "Oh, we're looking at Soviet stuff.." which is a bit older.

"Now I know why it looks familiar," Clint asides even as he puts his hands in, ready to draw the wires out and disconnect them. A quick look is made off to the side as Daisy does her thing, and she gains a quick nod of thanks before he gets back to it.

"Not.. a huge problem..." is said softly before, "Green, right?" He's //kidding//.. and a wire is pulled, then a second. In order.

Melinda May has posed:
As is the way of these things, Daisy can sense the explosives trying to engage as her power disrupts the charge enough to hold it all at bay. The thing *wants* to ignite. The timer is up. So she has good reason to sweat. But this is a Russian nuke and its interface is older. This means it's something Romanoff and Barton have seen before. So, before Daisy's power is taxed beyond her burgeoning abilities, they are able to render the mechanism inert, narrowly avoiding nuclear annihilation for another day.

Go team!

Thus, in the aftermath, May settles the Quinjet down in a clear field some distance away from both the train and the returing Indian authorities. "Clean-up crew's on its way," she tells the agents as she walks out to meet them. "C'mon back to the bus. Soon as Laghari and his people get here, we lift off."

Yep. She owes Barton a drink. Maybe all the rest of them, too. (Those that are *legal* at least.) The SWORDFISH will be busy after debrief tonight.