4091/It always ends in fire

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It always ends in fire
Date of Scene: 10 November 2020
Location: A warehouse in the docks of Gotham
Synopsis: Hercules goes to the docks to rescue a distant relative from the mob, but Strix manages to murder them before Herc gets a chance to.
Cast of Characters: Hercules, Strix




Hercules has posed:
THEN

"We didn't want to bother you with this..." "But there's no one else we could have turned to. The police would have just, just-" two old men, drawn thin and spare with age fret in their home. One pours coffee into an old, chipped mug across the table where it is enveloped by a pair of hands that easily engulf it entirely.

"My friends, I will never forsake you. You need but to tell-

    HERCULES
    PRINCE OF POWER

and it will be done."

NOW
GOTHEM, SOMEWHERE

Moliven Oskar Belsario sits in an office of a warehouse in one of Gotham's shipping hubs. Below, illicit activity takes place illicitly. Crates are moved about and loaded onto trucks long after regular shipping hours have passed. Armed men stand at doors, forklift drivers operate PIT machines without the proper credentials.

Back in the office, a young man in his twenties sweats under the scrutiny of Moliven, "Listen, this is simple, so simple I'd even trust someone like you with it. A;; you've gotta do is put the package where I tell you, when I tell you and then walk away." his voice is icy cold, his gaze is no warmer. The young man stammers, trying to figure out what to do with his hands, "And that's it, right. We'll be settled?" "It'll be a start."

Beyond the room, there comes a sudden up roar. A loud crash and then shouting. A truck that was driven by a man without even a whiff of a proper CDL was suddenly on its side!

The only explination came in the form of a man wearing what could only loosely be described as a toga and sandals. He stood there in the amber light of the truck yard, skirt rustling in the cool night air.

"VIllains! Know you now that your dealings will be brought to an end by the Lion of Olympus!"

Strix has posed:
It's been a while since Strix has been on the hunt for the Court. She'd been spending more and more time away from her duties as she thinks about her station in life. The Court gave her life, gave her purpose, but the more of the world she experiences the more she rethinks her blind loyalty.

Still. She'd been chastised, but since she's one of the Court's best Talons, she was given one more chance at redemption. Belsario had been moving in ways that would impede the machinations of the Court, and therefore had to be eliminated.

She'd been stalking him for a while, learning his movements, his patterns. Rarely is he alone, without henchmen or guards protecting him. While these wouldn't be a problem for her, it does make quietly removing him less of an option.

So she finds herself on the roof of the warehouse, waiting for the right moment to strike, when Hercules beats her to the punch. The commotion he raises cause one of two reactions to the dockworkers. One is to run, the other is to pull out a weapon of sorts and to rush the demigod.

As for Belsario himself, he jumps up at the sound of the overturned truck and moves to the window overlooking the yard. His eyes narrow and he turns to his henchmen. "You two. Take care of this." He points a finger at the young man. "You stay here. We're not done."

Hercules has posed:
Gunfire is not an alien sound in Gotham. When people hear the crack and pop of it, they never wonder if it is fireworks. They move deeper into their homes and away from exterior windows.

Men scatter or gather as is their wont or duty. Armed men rush to get out one liners before one another, trying to claim the title of, 'Did you hear what I said before I shot that weirdo?!' story teller for the night. Its good for a beer after work.

"Bigmist-" one man rushes, fumbling his gun out of coat and dropping it off the dock. It falls into the detritus that always collects against docks from rainwash and wind. He's laughed at, someone else has the presence of mind to just fire...

When Hercules does not even stagger, it is assumed he missed. More take their shots. Pistols pop, automatic weapons rattle, a shotgun barks.

Hercules shields his eyes from the barrage... because a poke in the eye is still a poke in the eye even if your eyeballs are bullet proof.

"I take this to mean it is too late to tell you to drop your guns and walk away! Very well, Have at Thee!" He wrenched a spare tire from beneath the trailer and quickly spun in a tight circle on the balls of his feet. The tire karoomed away. There was a triumphant bark and the cries of tired men. Something about teaching Rogers everything he knew... It's all just noise in the office as the young man fretfully eyes the door, now alone with the intimidating Belsario... The absence of his cronies should have made the young man feel better. It didn't. He felt worse, the lump in his gut threatening to weigh him down to the floor. "Listen, that... it sounds really bad. Shouldn't we-" there was no We, not anymore. the man dry swallowed, attempting to tamp down the panic in his belly, "Shouldn't you get out of here... Sir?"

Strix has posed:
The thing about men like Belsario is that they think that their station makes them above whatever violent situation is happening. That they're untouchable just by being in charge. "No," he tells the young man, watching the firefight out the window. "My men will take care of it."

It's at that moment, when he's alone, that Strix chooses to strike. She leaps off the roof and twists, shattering the window with a well placed kick, catches the windowsill with her other foot to propel herself into the room, swords first, stabbing at the mobster.

Either through sheer luck or well honed reflexes, Belsario wheels backwards just in time to avoid being speared in the chest. He curses, and pulls a gun from a shoulder holster, and nearly unloads a clip at the Talon, causing her to stagger backwards.

Hercules has posed:
Douglas, the young man has a name. Douglas, given name and thus now higher survival chances, reels back from the sound of shattering glass. He throws his arms up protectively and feels a sharp pain bite into his arm. He's stooped back against the wall, panicking, looking at the shard of glass sticking out of him. Fear overrides common sense and so he yanks it free, also lacerating his hand. Flight instincts kick in a moment to late and instead he freezes when gunfire rings out terribly close. He's huddled by a filing cabinet while Belsario utters a litany of rough, terse curses as he ejects the spent magazine. It clatters to the floor as he begins to slot another one into it's place.

He's already making for the door when the door suddenly rushes out at him! Launching from it's frame, the heavy office door bowls of Belsario and reveals a towering, half-naked man in a skirt!

His leg lifted, he had seemingly kicked the door in! Hanging from either hand were Belsario's bodyguards. beaten to a stupor and dragged by their collars. The moment is laid out to him, a favored god-nephew is huddled on the floor, cut and bleeding and there on the other side of the room stands a strange, masked woman, her blades flashing in the light!

TThere is concern, confusion, and then anger. It shifts across the Prince of Powers face rapidly until there comes an angered bellow.

"No More!" comes the demand of Hercules as he hurlculeses one of the mob-toughs across the room towards Strix.

Strix has posed:
While Strix can heal pretty easily from the gunshot wounds, it still staggered her so she isn't quite quick on her feet as she usually is, the tough thudding into her and slamming her into the wall. She makes something like a croaking sound and kicks him off her and shakes her head to clear it, before leaping into the air to attack Belsario.

Neither the kid nor the demigod is her target, though she might have to deal with them later, once Belsario is taken care of.

Hercules has posed:
He'd made it out of worse. He'd survived shoot outs 3 to 1. Crawled out of burning buildings through the sewer. Belsario was a survivor. He clung to conciousness, bit back against the darkness that crept into the corners of his vision when the back of his head bounced off the floor. He shoved the door aside and brought up his gun.

That was one of the important rules, never drop the gun. Never. Even and empty gun could be used like a bludgeon.... But Moliver's gun wasn't empty and everyone was about to learn that-

He was driven back down, two sharp pain in his chest. Christ, was it his heart? His doctor had told him to go easy... His chest was heavy, like someone was kneeling on him. He drew breath and choked...

Strix found her target. A heart, a lung, fatal. Deep. He made a wet choking sound and coughed. It bloodied his lips even as the red stain on his shirt started to creep away from her swords.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god..." it was a whispered plea, vague but desperate. Douglas kicked his heels against the floor, trying to back through a wall that refused to give way! Luckily for Douglas, someone was nearby to answer his prayers.

"Dougie, come to me, lad." it was a firm, calm command that arose from Hercules as he stepped further into the room. He let the second roughian slip from his grip and held his empty hands before him, a show of peace... or a readied grapple.

"I know you not, but if your deed is done then I have no further conflict with you... My labor is done and should yours be as well then we should both quit the field."

Strix has posed:
Now that her target is down, Strix turns her attention to Hercules and Douglas. No witnesses is the modus operandi of the Talons, even though recently many heroes have thwarted that missive. She takes measure of the man, weighing the possibilities in front of her. He's certainly a hero, in every classical sense of the word.

Still, an attempt must be made. She leaps into action, the steel of her swords flashing as she lashes out at Hercules, silent in her strikes.

Hercules has posed:
Hercules IS the classical sense of the word.

Eyes as blue as the domain of his father narrow. His jaw firms and his cheeks tighten. She will not yield, she will not relent. He is trying to place her attire. Not so nondescript as the League might be nor the Hand. Her mask and her bodice speak avian... Falcons, Eagles? Some silent, costumed murderess? Nothing sticks and for his troubles, he is stricken!

She lunges and he steps forward, her blades flash at the flesh of a god and draw thin red, bleeding lines into guarding forearms where they should have severed limbs.

"Run Boy!" a command before chaos. The fire alarm screams... because of course, somehow a fire broke out below! The warm, orange red of the flame can be seen through the observational windows within the office. Fire suppressing sprinklers sputter to life and in moments everything is loud and sopping wet! Douglas is making a slipping, sliding break for the doorway, hobnailed sandals trod across slipper tile and Hercules tries to reach out and grab strix by her shoulders so he can defenestrate her.

Strix has posed:
Douglass doesn't need to be told twice, He turns on his heel and runs out the doorway, slipping a little in his attempt to escape. Strix makes a lunge to try to stop him, but there's a big be-toga'd man before her that warrants her immediate attention.

Strix is quick enough to dodge away from the questing hands of Hercules, and she makes another couple of cuts at him for his trouble. They're little more than papercuts, though, opening thin red lines on the demigod's flesh, some of which only barely bleed. The only way she could seriously hurt him at this point would be if she had any lemon juice laying around.

She leaps back to the windowsill, finding that her attacks do little enough to stop Hercules. She studies him for a few moments but drops out the window to escape before he can get a chance to attempt to grab him. This is yet another assassination attempt that has gone wrong due to a hero's interference. The court will not be pleased.

Hercules has posed:
She's faster than the Scion of Olympus. Even if he had his footing he would find her hard to lay hand too... It is their shared fortune that he does not. She because he is HERCULES PRINCE OF yadda, yadda, yadda, and he because to draw he close would only invite her blades into softer parts of him. She's out the window and he chases her, glowering out after here... But she is likely gone from his sight even before he could reach the sil. Would it credit her should they know she crossed paths with a living god and escaped unscathed? That she drew steel against the Son of Zeus and yet lived?!

A thought for later... for now, the clamor of the GCFD broke through the shriek of the fire alarm.

It was time to see Douglas home and tell his grandfathers that their boy was safe.