3910/Not Completely Insane

Not Completely Insane
Date of Scene:	23 October 2020
Location:	City Docks
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Arthur Curry, Betsy Braddock

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Arthur Curry has posed:
    On the edge of the water in Bludhaven the distant bells of the buoys and the tide markers sound rather often. It might seem like there's almost always a faint clang off in the distance, or the reverberating thrum of old metal impacted by waves or some piece of debris. Has something to do with the way the tides shift on this part of the river, but still gives a faint background sound to dealings on the docks. But right now a different sound drowns out that distant sound. This one is heavier, louder, still a heavy clan like one of those distant buoys but accompanied with the crackle of shattering wood.
    "What did I tell you, Manny?" The tall man in the wet clothes stands beside what looks like it once was a cargo ship of some quality, only now the front of it has rather large holes smashed into the side of it. Held in both his hands is an old twisted metal depth marker that looks like it's seen some wear and tear.
    "If I caught you again I was going to bust your boat up real good, right?"
    "C'mon, man, you know how much that ship cost?! It's not anywhere near fucking paid off!"
    "Hey, hey!" The man in the wet cargo shorts with the wild hair and beard rounds on the man who was complaining, who seems to be... tied to a large billboard on the docks with what seems to be cargo netting wrapped around his entire body. "That's not what I said. I said you bring your smuggling operation back around here and I'll smash your ship up but good. You wanna make a liar out of me?"
    "But we're nowhere near Metropolis, man! You told me that in Metropolis!"
    "The whole East Coast is my stomping ground, baby. You should know that."
    "Ah fuck, what do you want then?" The captain of the smacked up ship droops in the netting, apparently ready to play ball.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Despite her attempts to be civilized, the purpled haired woman tended to prefer things that were far from it. Like prowling the rooftops, following up on leads about the Hand activities. Sometimes she ran across information on a criminal act which would lead to those leads, if she followed the trail long enough. One such lead had brought her here.

Throw in she really needed the workout. This body was fit but it wasn't toned to the level her old one had been. A regret she felt that she dare not share with anyone. Everyone had been so delighted when she got this body back, got back who she was from birth. While she had the skills from that time still in her mind, it didn't change that the body simply was not up to the same physical levels. Yet. She spent a lot of her free time working to fix that.

The lead had said there was a smuggler in town. One who worked for the Hand from time to time. Thus, here she was, prowling the tops of the cargo containers in search of her prey. Her mind was open, picking up the mental voices of people working on the docks. Which is when she heard the goings-on one dock down.

On silent feet, she traversed the metal box, rushing that direction. A shadow in the shadows, thanks to the darker colors of her costume. She still wore the same costume, for now. Perhaps she would change it later. It had served her well for a long time though it had needed some modification to fit the new body. Such a different feel, center of balance not quite where she remembered it.

She paused, peering at the two and listening to their disagreement. Now she was in a quandry. She didn't care about the smuggler's ship being ruined but she did need to question him. If this guy was planning to harm him, that would interfere with her plans. For the moment she waited, keeping her attention and prepared to leap down and cross the short distance to them if things went awry.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    That voice though... that somewhat snide growly arrogant voice might sound a touch familiar.
    "The Yingtzi and their shipments, I wanted to know where they're going to now. Heard you didn't take the work but you know who did." Arthur Curry, the Amazing Aquaman according to the newspapers, that was the guy she had met that one time a few months back.
    "Ah fuck that man, you know what they'll do to me if I tell you shit like..." Words abruptly cut off by the loud /BONG!/ of the old buoy in Arthur's hands as it /smashes/ into the side of the ship, cracking wood and snarling metal, creating a large hole still above the waterline at least, but that vessel... no really seaworthy anymore
    "Ah c'mon, Arthur! You're trying to make me choose between death by stabbing and death by starving."
    /BONG!-CRACK-CRASH!/
    "Fuuuck! Ok, fine, Boston, man. No idea what docks since I don't use that shit hole anymore."
    "Boston?" Arthur's voice is strong as he drops the buoy to the ground and frowns, "Seriously? The Yingtzi are in Boston now?"
    "Ehn, I heard they're using some of the Stone facilities. You know? He's branching out."
    "Man."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Not him. Their last meeting had not gone as smoothly as one might have hoped. She had made quite the negative impression, she was quite sure. Though she had her reasons. Sadly, she hadn't shared them. Thus she must have seemed no more than a psychotic mutant terrorist of sorts.

Some days heroing just didn't work out as planned.

This moment for instance. Yingtzi were tied in quite often with the Hand, a few of their members serving the secretive group. Which meant whatever business he was tracking likely was the same as hers. And she did not want him interfering in her business which meant she continued to listen or she simply made her presence known and got the rest of the information she wanted.

The simplest way would be just to take it. She didn't mind ripping it from the smuggler. He was fair game. But the hero, that became a sticky wicket. She shouldn't be just ripping information out of his head which again led to the need for a consultation.

Sighing softly to herself, she leapt off the shipping crate, landing nimbly on the ground then simply walking toward the duo. The sea breeze shifted her light purple hair as she moved. There was the handle of a katana visible above her left shoulder. "Good evening, gentlemen. I hope I'm not interrupting?" A flick of her gaze to the boat then back to Arthur.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    The buoy in Arthur's hand had been set on the docks with a heavy thud, and he had pulled his cellphone out of a pocket in its durable yellow case and was flicking through it when out of the shadows emerged Psylocke's silhouette, the faint light from the harbor master's office illuminating her faintly. Just enough to make out her outline, hear features, and for Arthur to recognize her.
    "Oh man you again? Let me guess you wanna kill this guy too?" Arthur gestures with a scowl and his phone aimed at Manny.
    Which causes Manny to blink a few times, "Excuse me, what now?"
    But Arthur rounds and starts to walk over toward the ninja, his phone sliding back into the pocket of those wet cargo shorts, his bare feet fnapping on the docks as he walks. Bare of chest save for a tan hunting vest of some sort, also wet, he scowls and tells her "What do you want, lady?"
    But Manny still seems a little concerned, "Wait, what, kill who?"

Betsy Braddock has posed:
For all his faults, the man was pretty to look at. Too bad he has the personality of one of those crustaceans that crawled in the ocean he protected. Betsy frowned, stopping in her advance as he started her direction. She shifted, balance going to her back foot, ready to react if he tried to get physical.

Her voice was cool as could be, the British accent adding to it somehow. "I wasn't particularly planning to however, if you feel he should be, by all means be my guest. I simply would like some information which it seems your ever-so-comfortably bound companion seems to have. Her certainly knows more than he has told you."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    A glance over his shoulder, Arthur's expression still just as severe and just as grim as he looks to the tied up Manny, then back to the woman in front of him. He crosses his arms over his chest and frowns severely, exhaling a slow rumbling sound of displeasure even as he says across the way.
    "I'd answer her questions if I were you, Manny. I had to stop her from cacking about a dozen human traffickers last time I met her and she had the crazy eyes."
    "Arthur, c'mon man, are you serious?" Then to Psylocke, "Look don't kill me lady, I'll try and help you or whatever. But fuck you people are assholes." Which, assuredly to a small time smuggler it must seem that way.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
"Such language is unnecessary," comes the soft rebuke from the Lady with the Crazy Eyes. She's guessing that is what Arthur considers her name to be at this point. Now that he has slowed his approach, she goes to continue forward, attempting to close the distance over to Manny.

"If you continue to be polite, I will do the same. Your friend," she flicks her gaze at Arthur, emphasizing the word. "Had an altogether incorrect assessment of me in his head." She considers. "Not that he is incorrect. While I had no crazy-eyes as he puts it, I certainly was prepared to kill the people in question. What he fails to understand is just how badly they had deserved it and, sadly, my temper had gotten the better of me."

She gives a small shrug then smiles to the man in the cargo net. "But that is the past. For now, I need all the information that you have about the Yingtzi. However, I am going to simplify things for you. You will be able to say with complete honesty that you didn't tell any information."

A faint glow begins around her eyes, purple aura expanding out to a butterfly shape. "I'll simply take it out of your mind and be on my way."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    Manny though, not the most physically gifted of individuals with his thin stature and his pencil-narrow mustache, he looks like he is not liking anything at all about this deal that's coming up in front of him, wrapped in a ninja package called Elizabeth.
    "Yeah, sorry about that." He answers, though he's looking askance sidelong at her with a clear air of utter wariness and suspicion.
    "Wasn't that they deserved it." Arthur's rumbling voice is heard from behind and to the side, though he appears near her, arms folded over his chest as it's clear he's going to keep an eye on matters. "Was more they had surrendered, so yeah. Manny, tell her what she wants to know."
    "Right, Art." He says, then takes a moment to swallow deeply, seeming content to answer her questions...
    When of course she mentions the Yingtzi and he grimaces, "Ah christ you people. Why not just bring the whole Justice League here to ask me about them. Take out a full page ad in the times, 'Thanks Manny Horowitz for ratting out the Tong.' Cripes."
    At least his language has cleaned up a little.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
"Says the man who destroyed Mr. Horowitz's livelihood and will likely have him starvnig on the streets when such things could have been handled with more finesse," comes the retort from Betsy. The glow of the butterfly intensifies. "You won't feel a thing, I promise. And after we are through, you will not even remember this encounter. So they cannot use their telepaths to gain information from you about our exchange."

And with that, she opened her mind, letting hers find his, seeking the information there on the surface and further within. Physically he will feel nothing. Only the telltale butterfly gives away something is even happening outside her standing there. She doesn't always let that be visible to people but she had her reasons this time.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    For a shrewd man who handles a lot of business, Manny's mental defenses are non-existent. His eyes go wide and his face goes blank as he sits there in the net wrapped up and tight, a slight dablet of drool trickling down his lip as she casually goes through his mind and picks out what little pieces she needs from here and there. It likely doesn't take long, but it does give her what little information Manny has.
    And, curiously enough, he seems to have been telling the truth to Arthur when he gave the scuttlebutt on Boston as well.
    But Arthur just watches, frowns, and when it seems to be taking a little long he rests a hand heavily on Psylocke's shoulder and tells her, "Alright, that's enough. You did your mumbo jumbo"

Betsy Braddock has posed:
It doesn't take long at all. A minute or two. Apparently that is too long for fish-boy though. Feeling that hand land on her shoulder, it takes all her discipline not to reach up, twist and gain control through a painful hold. Instead, her body stiffens, letting him know she is not pleased. At all.

The purple glow disappeared and she glanced over at the hand on her shoulder. Then she followed that arm back, to shoulder then up to his face. "Kindly remove your hand before I am forced to do it for you. He is uharmed and I have all the information I needed. He will not remember I was here at all and he now has information on a payment he received from a side venture which is just enough money to fix his boat. Money he will find in a bank account I will provide for him, to fix the damage you did in a timely manner so there are not questions which he has to answer, potentially leading to him being compromised. I will verify he was telling the truth about Boston."

She shifted to turn. "Perhaps I will see you there. One can hope not."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    At her words, Arthur does draw back his hand, refolding it across his chest. He shakes his head and then turns his gaze to follow the departure of the X-Man, expression shifting annoyed as he scowls. A glance is given over toward Manny as he takes a deep breath, "Telepaths."
    He says that likely as the woman's already departed, but then he's starting to pull Manny down, "They must all go to the same university to learn how to be assholes of that particular flavor."
    That said he yanks the smuggler down, "C'mon, Manny."