4955/Shine: Together Again

Shine: Together Again
Date of Scene:	31 January 2021
Location:	Gotham Gate building, Downtown GOtham
Synopsis:	Press conferences at the Gotham Gate always go awry. Phoebe outs herself to her parents apparent, her mother's charity case is reopened (Thanks Gotham Health System and Mysterious Benefactor Angelo Tampambulos!), Jim Gordon calls BS and punches someone who everyone who has met him wants to punch, and Laura Kinney is on the trail of her compatriot by the end.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Achilles, Laura Kinney, Jim Gordon

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
THE GOTHAM GATE BUILDING.

    A grand building that was once a bank, and still retains its marble floors and graceful columns meant to evoke a feeling of worshipfulness, a temple to Greed. It was fitting, then, that when the Gotham Gate went from mediocre tabloids to trying to be a stand-up newspaper thanks to its wealthy new owner, Michael "Mickey" Rogers, intending on being THE best paper and online subscription news service on the East Coast, and the drama surrounding Phoebe Beacon -- who went from orphan to orphan over a period of fourteen years, currently missing with whereabouts unknown, and the surprising re-appearance of her parents has captured the imagination, attention -- and pocketbooks -- of a good amount of Gotham.

    Things are rarely whaat they seem.

    Today's news conference was small, five or six journalists from other papers, but with the theatrics (and stench) of the last conference, there were plenty of onlookers, allowed in a roped-off public area.

    Mickey, with blonde hair and a big-toothed smile and all the charm of a corner lot used car salesman is shaking hands and talking with others, sitting near the podium at the stage.

    There are armored guards now, and some plainclothes guards as well among those who have come to sate their curiosity.

    "No, no, I don't know anything about some shady underground dealings with metahumans--" Mickey scoffs, "I have enough trouble trying to keep my reporters on the straight and narrow, I don't have time for that!"

Achilles has posed:
    Sometimes, things really are coincidences. Okay, nobody really believes that or can say (or type) that with a straight face. Either way, Angelo happened to be in Gotham. You see, on top of his status as a probie agent of SHIELD, he also owned a small elite company of his own. Myrmidon Personal Security. He's not been involved in the day to day operations of the firm for a while now, ever since he signed on with SHIELD. But there are still things he does for them. Such as high profile, he level meetings with potential clients.
    So Angelo Tampambulos found himself leaving a meeting with one of those weird firms in Gotham that have nothing at all to do with Wayne Enterprises. And he was walking past the press conference when he paused to pull out his phone and send a message through the secure SHIELD network. Basically... hey, I'm on site, think I'll see what this press conference is about. Will advise if it is something I think SHIELD might be interested in.
    Because... probie. Duh.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Given the strange events that happened at the last Gotham Gate press conference Laura is here on Outsiders business. Namely providing back up and support for Phoebe if she decides to announce herself. And of course there's a high chance of trouble kicking off that needs a good snikting.

She's dressed to blend in with a hoodie and charcoal colour jeans plus some grey running shoes. Hiding away in the back of the room where she can idly pretend to be checking her cellphone and still get a good view of everything that's going on.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    You and 3/4 of the population, Angelo.

    At the appointed time, Mickey gives a smile, and hops up to the microphone, brushing his shoulders off a moment before murmuring 'how do I look?' and giving a wink to a woman in the front -- who regards him with mixed disdain and disgust.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out on short notice. We do want to keep the case in the public's eye, to ensure that our reward does not go unnoticed, for the return of Phoebe /Johnson/." he states, using what must be the birth name.

    "As you know, at six PM tomorrow evening, the medical team at Gotham General will be removing the lifesupport from her adoptive mother, and the court of your /Great City of Gotham/ has already transferred stewardship of Phoebe to her birthparents, in an attempt to smooth the transition to a new life." he gives a smile, as if it were a bittersweet situation.

    "I feel confident that Phoebe will be found, and will be safe. After all, Gotham is a city of many heroes!" he boasts, "Least of all the Batman and those who help him."

    There's a little movement to the side of Laura. The scent of lavender and hand lotion and herbal tea and dog. Phoebe steps to the side, and at her side was her faithful pooch Scout.

    Proof of identity.

    "Miss, you can't have a dog in--"

    "He's a registered support animal." the girl in the beanie in a leather jacket states, turning her collar up a little bit.

    Will she chicken out?

Achilles has posed:
    Inclining his head as he listens, Angelo narrows his eyes. Being a parent is more than biology. Someone who loved the girl enough to adopt her deserves every chance they can get.
    Johnson. Not like that's an uncommon name. In fact, he's partnered up with Daisy Johnson a few times. But still, he radios in, "Control. See what you can dig up about a record of a woman on Life Support at... Gotham General. In relation to an adopted daughter whose birth surname is Johnson. I'd love to look into this. Something seems off... maybe we can find some sort of medical miracle in lieu of removing the woman from life support."
    Either way, he's speaking into his bluetooth lookin' thing, hovering around the edge of stuff. For gear, he has his Hephaestus-forged stuff tucked away in his bracers, and his ICER. Just in case that comes up. Otherwise, he's not really -involved- in anything here. He just wants to try to save the life of someone who -wanted- the child they raised.

Laura Kinney has posed:
When Phoebe makes her modest entrance Laura subtly shifts her position. Moving a little so she can react quickly to the widest possible range of threats. After all if trouble is going to happen it'll be either be planned to happen during the main announcement or triggered prematurely by her team mate speaking up.

Either way the mutant killing machine intends to be ready.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Information would come back: Caroline Beacon, husband Charles Beacon (deceased: Fire). Third degree burns, lung damage, unable to keep a steady temperature.

    They had waited for a miracle, but with her per diem expenses racking up higher than the Gotham School District could reasonably put out for a history teacher and her right of attorney given to her father, time had long, long run out.

    "So, with this in mind, I am increasing the reward for Phoebe's safe return to five million dollars, two million from the Gate, and three from my own pocket!"

    There's a small titter. A couple of people go to check their cellphones, when someone does, in fact, look over at Phoebe. There's a double-take.

    "Oh my god -- you're her!" she whispers.

    Outside, there's a minor scuffle between some guards type and a middle aged man with some really awful sunglasses.

Achilles has posed:
    Narrowing his eyes as he hears back from SHIELD, Angelo thanks them and hangs up. Then calls his corp's attorney and says, "Richard. I have a special task for you. I need this done immediately. I will answer questions about it later, but time is of the essence. There is a Caroline Beacon at Gotham General. She is in the ICU and on life support after being hurt in a bad fire. They are preparing to pull the plug on her and as we know the US health care system is run by the almighty dollar. I need you to contact them and do whatever it takes, spend whatever money of mine is needed to insure that she is -not- taken off life support. I will see about finding some expert to help her but.. please just make the call right now."
    He barely gives Richard Harrisn, his attorney, time to respond in the affirmative before he hangs up and begins approaching the perimeter.
    Along the way, he reaches into his pocket and withdraws his badge-wallet, flipping it open to show to the local police in hopes of getting past the line.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney takes a deep inhale. Her enhanced senses will tell her if trouble is really going to happen. Her nose searching for weapons and explosives while her keen hearing listens for any terms that would cause alarm. An eyebrow raises at Angelo and his call. Presumably if money and Doctors were an issue then Tim or Dick will get involved too.

The man outside gets a little more attention. Could he be about to storm the building? Every avenue is checked for assassins. From snipers to bombs.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There were weapons all around, the smell of oil and guns and the lingering smell of singed flesh in the vents, Some people had knives, some smelled like trouble.

    And as there's a soft murmur going through the crowd, Phoebe's stepping forward, with Scout at her side.

    The man on the outside is largely combattive, jeering that he should be getting *all* of the money, it was HIS WORK that got her where she was, he turns and lunges at one officer to try and batter his way inside. His sunglasses crack a little bit.

    Up at the podium, Mickey with his greased hair gives a rather upset look.

    "Why is it every one of my press releases gets interrupted? What do we *pay* the police for?!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The police officers are slow to part for Angelo, however, eyeballing the SHIELD badge warily.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon wasn't late intentionally. He'd gotten a quick call from HQ, Bullock nudging him about this, that and the other, none of which was nearly as urgent as the sergeant thought it to be. But Jim's place here was as an observer, not part of the scrum and he didn't need to get microphones shoved in front of his face. He didn't have any answers to give, not yet, and nobody was more frustrated about that particularity than him.

He didn't like SHIELD butting their nose in either, but it wasn't Jim's call to make. By the book said SHIELD could stick their hand in just about anything they pleased. But Mickey's remark doesn't go unheard by the Commissioner and his gravelly voice calls out over the rest.

"If any cops are charging you, Mick, they're ripping you off. You'll get nothing and like it, not on my watch."

Achilles has posed:
    Well, since Angelo missed the scuffle starting due to his phonecall, the escalating level of the disturbance draws his attention. He doesn't reach for a weapon as that would hardly endear him to the local authorities, "Excuse me officer." he says as he turns to start approaching the violent man. He's just walking right at the man. His plan is to try to reach the guy, where he might be able to help subdue him. With as little violence and bloodshed as possible.
    When it boils down to it, he was literally only trying to get past the line to inform someone that Caroline Beacon's bills are being covered. Either way, he now has a priority of trying to prevent this from growing out of hand. He does pause however... before reaching there and looks up and about.
    Almost like he thinks this guy might be a diversion, and that someone else might be making use of it to do something stupid.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura can already see several problems with using this event for Phoebe's return to society. The crowd outside turning into a mob driven wild by the prospect of five million dollars for a start! Hopefully the police and security staff will decide she came in of her own accord and not let any more people inside..

Everyone having a weapon also ranks pretty highly in the 'minus points' column. With this many people around Laura can't guarantee Phoebe will remain safe.

She sighs and makes a mental note to raise getting some better operational awareness training arranged with Tim.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "It's gotta stop." comes a soft voice from Phoebe. She tilts her head back, takes a breath, and as she comes forward with the dog in tow, his tail curling behind him in fear at the commotion, she raises her hand, as if this were a class and states:

    "I'm Phoebe Beacon." she breathes out. Cameras begin to pop. She winces, and attempts to keep her aura under control, tightly tamped down.

    Already some networks are tweeting out: "Caroline Beacon's medical bills paid by mysterious benefactor?! Press release goes wild for cool 5Mil in Gotham!"

    Mickey turns and attempts to deliver an icy stare to Comissioner Gordon, and then figures you probably shouldn't glare at the Commissioner.

    "Why, Jim Gordon, as I live and breathe, come to see the fairy-tale ending we have in mind?" he asks, no where near the mic but already quite close to Jim before he turns about.

    The side door opened, and Julia and Taylor Johnson appear, running towards Phoebe!

    "Phoebe! Oh thank God you're safe!" Julia cries out, weeping as she embraces the shorter teenager.

    Who looks *REALLY* uncomfortable suddenly being hugged.

    Outside, the guy doesn't need to be a distraction.

    There is the sound of shattering glass as the front windowpanes of the building are shattered when the man throws one of the security guards through it!

    "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"

Achilles has posed:
    "Okay Jerry MacGuire. Time for night night." mutters Angelo. Not loud enough for the guy to hear really. But it's mostly a joke he tells himself as he reaches for the ICER in his shoulder holster. As he draws it, he bellows out, "FEDERAL OFFICER! ON THE GROUND!" as he steps forward. Why did he yell? He doesn't want all the cops here shooting at -him- because he drew a gun.
    Planning ahead is what it's all about. Either way, he aims the weapon at the guy and announces, "While this weapon -is- non lethal, it is still no fun to get shot with it!" And he has his SHIELD badge on his belt now, weapon aimed at the MF who broke the window with another MF. Had he been focusing, he'd have commented on crocadile tears from the bio-parents. But for the moment, there are more... dire things to deal with.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon shakes his head, "I deal in the real world. There aren't any endings here, happy or sad. Just life going on. Thankfully, Phoebe's life is going to go on and --"

He turns sharply a s the glass is shattered, his brow furrowed as he reflexively slides a hand under his coat to his holster, but he doesn't draw yet. Too crowded, too messy, last thing he needs is another picture of him waving his revolver in the pages of the newspaper. His voice is sharp enough for his own officers, even as the SHIELD guy, once again, puts himself at the point of the spear. Fine. Credit and blame, he could have them both. Jim just wanted the kid home safely, even if he still had some of his doubts about certain niggling details. One of the reasons why he stopped going to church. Too many doubts.

"I can assure you our guns are very much lethal and you've got more than a few aimed in your direction besides. Do what the agent says and give yourself up quietly."

Laura Kinney has posed:
If only Angelo knew that the couple rushing over to Phoebe aren't even her biological parents. Just an Aunt and a stranger. The mystery is after all far deeper than a simple missing persons case! Still Laura isn't really keen on sharing that information. Not with a SHIELD Agent who might have questions about what she, a former clone assassin, is doing here.

She tries to slip far enough away from the action to keep her eyes out for other more exceptional threats. Things the police and SHIELD won't be able to handle. Or any weird traps like the meat smoke from the last press conference.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe looks started by the sound of breaking glass. Two guards come up and try to usher Phoebe and the Johnsons out the side door, while another comes and stands in front of Mickey, doing his best Secret Service impression.

    "Nevermind the cops!" Mickey starts to yell shrilly, "Shoot him! Shoot! HIM!" he motions frantically to the guy with the cracked sunglasses, who gives a bullish roar, and tries to charge Angelo!

    Probably a bad idea, all told.

    Scout's barking, the loop that was around Phoebe's wrist loosened, and he goes for the next msot familiar person in the room -- he's panicked and running towards Laura!

Achilles has posed:
    When you lack any real fear for your life, it is amazing how calm a man can be in a combat situation. Adrenaline does spike however because... truth be told, as much as Angelo truly hates war, he cannot deny that combat sparks something deep down. It is the one thing he has ever... and always been good at. When Achilles stepped onto a battlefield, shit got real. And so he has a long moment to consider..... taking a breath and letting it out before he squeezes his trigger once, twice.
    IF he was expecting a real fight, some superfight, Angelo is in for disappointment. The toxin on the bullets puts the guy down like a sack of potatoes. And so Angelo steps over and bends to check the man's pulse before lowering his weapon and glancing up and about. What was the purpose of all of this? Really?

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon has plenty of fear. He has fear for his life, his career, his friends. His daughter, perhaps most of all, who lived in this city and hadn't been immune to the pain it inevitably caused. But he never let fear stop him, not when he was needed.

Jim moves with surprising speed for a man in his sixties, knowing all the angles from years of experience as he shifts his trenchcoated figure into Mickey's path, "Here's the payoff you deserve," he snarls.

At which point, he gives a solid right cross right across Mickey's jaw laying him out while some uniforms swarm in around the Commish, "Cuff him and put him in holding. See how he likes sleeping with the drunks tonight. We'll figure out what else I can charge him with by morning."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney thankfully deals with animals better than she does people. So when Scout rushes over she reacts like any semi-normal woman her age who had a dog run over. Ducking down a little and giving a re-assuring pat on the head. If anything it should help her blend into the crowd a little better while everyone is focused on Angleo and Jim.

She reaches for the lead, once she gets a hold it's unlikely Scout will be able to make any further breaks for it, and looks for a good moment to discreetly return him to Phoebe.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The loud man goes down, Angelo can remain disappointed in not getting a full adrenaline rush and combat. A security guard -- not a GCPD officer -- goes to search the man's pockets for ID. One guard looks over at Angelo and asks: "So... is SHIELD recruiting? I'd like a detail with a little more sun."

    Mickey gets a solid sock to the jaw in the chaos! He goes down and flails like a fish out of water before he sits up -- and then is stood up by a pair of officers.

    "You HIT Me! You... you lowlife Cretin! I'll have your freaking BADGE for this Gordon? /DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?/" he bellows, getting red in the face -- and quite swollen where he got hit. Mickey even gives the indignanty of spitting on the ground at Jim's feet as he snarls "YOU COME INTO MY BUILDING AND DISRESPECT ME?!"

    Scout seems a little more secure being next to Laura and not with a bunch of strangers grabbing his owner. He gives a whine, his tail curling between his legs, and then sits down.

    There is no sign of Phoebe, except the beanie on the ground where she and the Johnsons were ushered through a side door during the chaos.

Achilles has posed:
    "I am sure that they area always looking for recruits." offers Angelo to the guard. "Feel free to submit one online. Be ready for the most thorough background check you've ever heard of." he adds as he holsters his weapon and turns to head back towards the stage, towards the girl who is somehow miraculously back.
    He does hear the whole yelling of Mickey and glances to the man standing over him. He's read his Gotham briefings, and recognizes the commissioner.
    So now he is just walking that way, feeling no real rush since it -appears- that the combat element is over.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon steps forward and gets in Mickey's face, putting his food down on the puddle of spit. "You can own as many buildings as you want, Mickey. But you'll never own me. And you'll never own Gotham," he says. He turns to look at the officer on Mickey's left arm, "Get this piece of overdressed trash out of here. I'm tired of smelling his breath."

He glances over at the approaching Angelo, "Agent Tampambulos. You sure you're ready to sign off on letting that girl out of our sight yet? I've got this itch in the back of my brain I can't quite scratch," he says, then looks over where Phoebe has vanished along with the Johnsons. "Dammit."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney ducks down and pockets the beanie. Phoebe will want that back later after all. Besides there's no cause for alarm just yet. The Outsiders should have a tracker on their team mate and, if needed, Laura can scent track better than any bloodhound on the planet.

Unless of course Phoebe did something silly like put the tracker on Scout. Which... she may have done. Thankfully there is still a back-up.

Still now is probably a good time to find her way out of the room so she can scent track if required. And before the authorities start asking questions about why she has Scout, who she is and what she may have seen.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There's suddenly minor chaos. Everyone who had ducked and taken cover is now very confused -- where did Phoebe go? Was that really her -- or some publicity stunt by the Gotham Gate? Especially where the owner of the Tabloid-turned-Legit is being lead away by police officers as he curses Jim Gordon!

    "Commissioner! Commissioner! Do you have any information on what happened here? Who was the man outside? Why was SHIELD on site? Is there something deeper going on?"

    "Do you have any information about the Metahuman gangwar in Chelsea that it was reported she was at? Is Miss Beacon getting protection from SHIELD now? AGENT! Can you give us a comment?" the reporters begin to call out, taking out cell phones and digital recorders and attempting to get commentary from everyone!

    There doesn't seem to be anyone minding the Dalmatian-possessing Laura Kinney as she moves through the crowd.

Achilles has posed:
    "I was actually planning to speak with... bloody hell." mutters Angelo as his English accent reasserts itself out of frustration. This because he has noticed that the girl is gone once more. "Sorry for complicating your situation commissioner. I'm not here to take anything over. I was literally off duty in the area for something totally unrelated and just... thought that when things went tits up that I might assist in whatever capacity I am able to. In fact, since I'm here and all... why don't I put myself under your command and just be another officer on site who might be able to make himself useful?" he asks with a lift of his shoulders.
    He has a few ideas of what he wants to do next, but it would be -far- better to coordinate efforts rather than running around like kittens being hearded.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon nods, "I won't object to that, although your bosses might not like the precedent. They tend to cede jurisdiction only by the skin of their teeth and every one of them's got dentures," he sighs, running a hand back through his hair, more grey than red now by a longshot.

"It's not your fault this case has all kinds of sensitivities to it. Not to mention players too big for their britches," he says, gesturing a thumb back towards Mickey. He nods towards Laura, "That girl. You know her?" he asks, watching as the young assassin cuts through the crowd. "One of Phoebe's friends?"

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney doesn't stick around for questions. Especially not when her keen senses pick up on the cities Police Commissioner paying attention to her! Oddly no matter how thick the crowd gets she's strong enough to shove herself a path out. But alas she is very careful not to allow anyone a clear look at her face.

Once she gets free it's off to begin scent tracking.

As you can imagine this isn't the nicest task in the city of Gotham...

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Scent tracking in Gotham isn't nice, but at least she has a friend to help! Scout pads along beside Laura as the investigation begins, seemingly unphased by the chaos going on behind them as people tweet, and call around.

    ... who gets the five million if Mickey's in jail?

Achilles has posed:
    With a shrug, Angelo looks towards the departing Laura. "I do not." he states. "And should I assume that the missing girl is named Phoebe?" He asks. He really has no clue about any of this. He's starting at level one in a game everyone else is already up to level fifteen in.
    "As for jurisdiction, this isn't -really- a case SHIELD has an interest in. I am just a concerned citizen who happens to have a federal badge, so I'm doing my civic duty in the most organized way I can." he says. "My real expertise is tactics and close combat. But I have access to SHIELD assets so... let me know what you want from me."

Jim Gordon has posed:
Jim Gordon nods, "Phoebe Beacon. Suppose she's not exactly missing, she should be with the Johnsons. Only I'm not entirely sure about the Johnson's bonafides, but I was overruled. Gotta have the happy reunion for the cameras and to make people stop worrying," he says, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Can he smoke indoors legally? No, but go ahead, try and bust him. It's the one police rule he breaks. Okay, not the only one, but the only one he actually thought should be a rule. He knew it was bad to smoke around other people. But dammit, he needed a smoke.

"Get the feds to double check all the identification stuff we have about the Johnsons. I'll call up to the office and my secretary can give it to you, presuming she hasn't bugged off by now. Stupid service. Need a full time girl. Or man," he says, reminding himself. "In the meantime, I'm going to see if look through the footage here and see if anybody sticks out. Yeah, reporters, that means you, you can either let me look at your raw footage or say goodbye to your press passes for a couple of months, how's that for justice?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Some of the reporters look at one another, and one asks "Can he do that?"

    "He's Comissioner Gordon, are *you* going to tell him 'no'?"

    "Mm. Good point."