8257/Should auld acquaintance have forgot

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Should auld acquaintance have forgot
Date of Scene: 15 October 2021
Location: Financial District
Synopsis: A bank robbery is foiled by Wonder Woman and the Shadow. Only one of the two recognizes the other.
Cast of Characters: Natasha Cranston, Diana Prince




Natasha Cranston has posed:
            Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Men?

    Robbing a bank is significantly more complicated than movies might make one expect. You need sufficient surprise to take the in-house security out of the picture one way or another, enough people of your own to keep the main area covered while you either break into the vault or force the manager on duty to open it, and a way to make sure the police are distracted long enough for you to get in, get the job done, and get out.

    Especially that last one has gotten drastically more difficult in the era of smart phones; all it takes is one bank customer that already has their phone out when you kick off and the alert is going to get out -- which is what has gone wrong with Kenneth's plan just two minutes ago. More problematic is that he didn't have a Plan B, so he's decided to wing it and take everyone hostage to buy time to come up with a plan C.

    What he doesn't Know is that that wasn't remotely the first thing to have gone wrong with his plan, because his getaway driver has a habit of talking too much when he's trying to chat up girls in a bar, and he didn't notice the girasol on the waitress' ring... And that's how The Shadow Knows.

Diana Prince has posed:
A bank in Manhattan being robbed at gunpoint with hostages being taken? That is definitely going to come across Diana's radar, and quickly... specially in this day and age!

She's not terribly far away when it happens either, she was in fact enroute back to NYC from Metropolis when the information came across the JLA communication channels. The Invisible Jet, powered by alien technologies, goes in to silent running mode and tears through the skies toward the south end of the Manhattan island. The craft arrives without any fanfare of its own. It hovers over the main street and just quietly observes the situation as it further unfolds. The monitoring abilities of the Jet is impressive, especially the closer it gets to something like this... Diana is able to listen to the police down below and have some scanning abilities to view inside the bank itself.

She leaves the jet after gaining enough of a update on the situation, appearing in the sky for only a brief moment as she leaves the back of the Jet and streaks toward the roof of the bank...

Moments later and Diana is inside, staring down from the domed ceiling inside. Its a good long drop down to the ground, but she is just quietly observing the situation below for now....

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The Plane obligingly patches Diana into the police communications. Apparently the cordon has been set up and they're fairly sure all the bank robbers are all still inside, unknown number of hostages, currently holding position until a negotiator can show up. Snipers report too many obstructions to guarantee clear shots and the commander on the ground doesn't want to chance any surviving crooks deciding to take out hostages once the shooting starts. A standoff, in other words, unless someone does something unwise...

    From her vantage point, she can see that most of the hostages have done the sensible thing and lied down on the floor, making no sudden movements, but a few of them have been grabbed by a few of the robbers as human shields.

    Judging by the way all of the crooks are looking at the one pacing in the center, that's probably the leader, and judging by his pacing, he's not happy... And so far, none of them have noticed the way that a shadow by the far wall appears to be moving without a body to cast it.

Diana Prince has posed:
The bank robbers and nare-do-wells of this world always get something that makes them think they'll have the edge on a situation like this. Be it some kind of tech to help them break in to some security systems, or a member of their team who has a power that will maybe grant them some boon....

Diana is almost five years in to her public life as a superhero affiliated openly with the JLA> Before that she'd just been a supporting founder of the League, one who believed Superman, and several of the others, were enough for the world to have. She helped from the background, from the 'shadows' herself. But when Superman 'fell' everything changed...

Now, Diana is a well known figure in the world at-large. These criminals should know she may well show up if they don't act fast enough.

and they didn't act fast enough. All plans can go awry, if one is very unlucky.

The criminals with the hostages are her first concern. Diana steps off of the rafters and drops out of the sky to land between and behind the men with the hostages. She instantly lunges at the one on her right to deliver a swiping blow to his neck before she puts her hand between him and his hostage, shoving the hostage out of his grasp before throwing the man across the room.... Wonder Woman's lasso is brought in to play next then as she turns back to her left and sweeps the rope outward to grab the other's gun holding wrist with it as she yanks powerfully upon the rope to disarm them!

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The first man has just enough time to yelp in alarm before he suddenly finds himself airborne; the other is just turning toward the motion when Diana snags his arm, only to scream in pain when the sudden pull nearly dislocates his shoulder and pulls him off balance, his gun clattering to the ground as he lets go of it.

    "Cape! the leader yells as he spins to face the sudden intruder, his own SMG coming up to bear on the Amazon... Until a gloved hand blurs into existence as it wraps around his wrist and pulls just as another blur sweeps his legs out from under him. He goes down hard and there are several surprised yells from the remaining would-be robbers... And a cold, malicious chuckle that echoes off the walls.

    Shadows move and twist, flowing around the leader's fallen form, and up his form, somehow pulling away from the surfaces, stretching, solidifying -- and in an eye-watering moment, shifting from two dimensions to three... And a moment later, a familiar tall figure in a black greatcoat and slouch hat is standing over the fallen leader, blazing blue eyes glaring at the remaining robbers before glancing toward Diana.

    A flick of the eyes, a slight twitch of the head, little more communication is needed - if she can deal with the remaining gunmen, the Shadow can handle the ones that haven't had time to draw yet...

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's fighting training started in her teens, she rapidly developed in to a young woman that matched the clay construct that her mother sculpted when the Princess was granted life by the Gods of her people, and hundreds of years later she's honed her skills and abilities to work in conjunction with one another. Speed and strength unlike most others, mixed in with the martial trainings of an Amazon warrior culture that dates back even thousands of years before Diana's 'birth'.

These things have culminated in to the warrior that Diana is today, and these poor saps are suffering for it. The man she disarms she pulls him to the ground as her right wedge-heeled booted foot slams down upon his gun she took from his hand, crushing it in to pieces upon the polished floor of the bank foyer. She spins around after planting her other foot on the man's chest to hold him in place... and stands there.

She observes the Shadows come to life, she witnesses what the shadows do to the possible Leader of this robbery. When they form in to a familiar figure, Diana stares with her left boot upon the one disarmed man's chest then nods to the Shadow themselves. Does she know its not the one she met years upon years ago? Maybe, her senses are pretty primed. Either way she spots the similarities and knows the basics if nothing else!

But they're not done here yet. The other bank robbers know they have little time to act and raise their guns. One begins to fire upon Diana and she sweeps her metal covered forearms up to block the incoming bullets before her powerful legs thrust her body forward and she rams the man like a battering weapon! She slams in to him and sends his body backward in to a bank teller's desk, causing him to vault end over end above it. Another rushes the Princess to try and tackle her, only to be met by a chair that she kicks hard with her armored leg to slam it in to the man's knees, before she takes him by his throat and tosses him toward the front doors of the bank itself, sending him outside and down the stairs in a tumbling mess of arms and legs flailing all about

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    There are similarities -- the coat, the hat, the red scarf, the laughter -- but there are also differences. The Shadow Diana knew was a skilled fighter, but not a complicated one; his hand to hand skills were limited to boxing with a bit of grappling thrown in, relying mostly on his skill with guns and visual trickery.

    This Shadow, on the other hand, seems much more fluid - the figure blurring into invisibility again even as it charges toward the more distant group, reappearing just in time to land a palm strike to the solar plexus, then twisting into a spinning kick that takes his companion down, then vanishing again.

    All this goes through Diana's mind even as she has her own enemies to deal with.

    Bullets bounce harmlessly off her bracers, the sound of the ricochets audible even over the sudden screams of fear from the hostages, but then the fire slacks off as the shooter lowers his gun in disbelief -- just in time to get knocked off his feet by Diana's charge.

    Some sudden loud yelling from outside suggests that the police may be about to do something impulsive as well, but for the next thirty seconds at least she only has one putative ally in this fight - and two dozen civilians to try to keep out of the line of fire, as several more robbers reach for their guns...

Diana Prince has posed:
She wants them to fire on her, and not the hostages. Often this works, but sometimes it doesn't...

The next Gunmen that she takes down leaves the one behind him reeling backwards as he watches the gladiatorial armored woman just take out his partner in this fight. He spins his pudgey black clothing adorned body toward the hostages and opens fire with his automatic weapon. Diana reacts by thrusting herself in between the shooter and the men and women that he was firing at! She lunges, her bracer covered right arm extended to block the bullets and send them up in to the air toward the roof of the building from which she came inside.

She blocks a line of the bullets before she does a similar move to what the Shadow had done.

In a blur her red, blue and gold armored body twirls around on the floor and delivers a sweeping kick to the back of both of the shooter's ankles, causing him to tumble backwards with his feet going up higher than his head had even reached at full height! He falls backward and collides with the front desk of the bank...

And diana rises up again with her dark hair falling around her bare shoulders, her fists clenched as she raises them up to scan the lobby again... partially keeping her senses on the Shadow's location as best she can too...

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Keeping track of the Shadow was always easier said than done -- especially when so much is in motion, keeping track of a single errant shadow takes up a lot of focus on her situational awareness. Diana - used as she is to significantly more confused battlefields - can manage it, for the most part; it helps that the Shadow isn't actively trying to elude her.

    Their opponents have significantly less luck, and another suddenly doubles over around a fist to the stomach before being spun around and kicked into his companion, sending both tumbling to the ground.

    The Shadow briefly materializes to kneel by the fallen bodies to take hold of their heads and slam them into the floor and knock them out, then vanishes again to hunt more of the rapidly diminishing prey.

    Only a few more left, but one of them thinks a bit faster than the others and grabs a hostage from the floor. "S-Stay back! I'll blow her brains out if you come any closer, I swear!" His hands are shaking, but at that close range even an inaccurate shot will likely be fatal...

Diana Prince has posed:
With the amount of robbers that this team had, Diana might have acted different if The Shadow hadn't been here. Maybe more ruthlessly to stop them quicker, but with the backup she has changed her tactics a bit. Unfortunately this also means some unforeseen situations can crop up. Like one of the aggressors getting a hostage.

Diana is across the lobby when they grab them, having been distracted by a man coming out of a corner after being on a patrol or lookout... now she stops to watch the man with the hostage....

Her leather wrapped hands come up to show her intention to stop. She walks slowly but curves herself to the left. She wants the man to keep his eyes on her as she walks to put her own back to the front desk of the bank.

"Very well." Diana says to the man. "We are calm here now. The situation is mostly over... we can come to an arrangement...." She talks to the man as she walks side stepping with armored boot over boot as she goes.

The Shadow will see what she's doing no less too, turning the man and the hostage to put their backs to where the Shadow is...

"Let us just find peace here, today. Nobody has to suffer any further than they already have..." She says before lowering her hands to her sides again...

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    She definitely has his attention; his wide eyes are flicking nervously from side to side but keep focusing back on her. "Don't come any closer! Just-- just stay back!"

    He glances nervously around, trying to focus and weigh his options -- and realizing that he doesn't have many. After all, even if he somehow gets past Wonder Woman and the Shadow, how will he deal with the police outside?

    His eyes widen for a moment as he hits on an idea. "... That's it. You're going to escort me past the cops. You're going to tell them to back off, or I shoot her..."

    His gaze flicks from Diana to his hostage and back... And utterly fail to miss the shadow creeping along the wall behind him, moving into position...

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's hands are at her sides with her lasso coiled up against her hip on her harness. She continues to walk slowly but does stop when she has the hostages half way between her and the gunmen holding the single hostage. His request gets a soft dip of Diana's chin.

"I can do that." She tells him in response. "In fact, I can even up your luck in this. I can offer a ride on my personal Jet to wherever it is you would like to be let loose." The Princess says in her naturally smoky and soothing voice... she's playing it up a bit too to sound more alluring for the man, maybe more convincing? Motherly even?

"There is no reason you have to suffer today because of all of this. We can find a solution that leaves everyone involved here.. safe, and happy."

The lobby's large windows will see soemthing come in to form outside them. Hovering over the police and emergency service vehicles, a giant white cloudlike shape comes in to view out of thin air. The crowd gathered outside can be softly heard reacting to it as many heads are looking up now. The long Jet just hovers there completely silent.

"You need just to say the word and we can be on our way..." The Princess adds for the man with the gun.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Diana's words have a calming effect on most people, and this robber is no exception. It's visible in the way he relaxes slightly - although he doesn't lower his gun yet, and it's shaking less, which means he'll be more accurate if he decides to pull that trigger, so that may be merely neutral.

    Then the shimmering from outside draws his attention, and his mouth falls open as he sees what's outside. It's a not uncommon reaction upon seeing the Invisible Plane for the first time, so he could be forgiven his sudden distraction.

    ... Unfortunately for him, his jaw wasn't the only thing that had gone slack -- and he has barely enough time to come to the horrified realization that he'd lowered his gun when a black shape materializes behind him and takes him in a sleeper hold, squeezing his wrist until his weapon drops, then pressing down on his carotids until lack of oxygen sends him into unconsciousness and he slips bonelessly out of the Shadow's grip and onto the floor.

    The Shadow straightens as the man falls. "Thank you for distracting him; this might have gone very badly otherwise." Courteous but curt. Another definite similarity, as well as the voice. And with the police now cautiously approaching the entrance...

    "But it appears I'm about to overstay my welcome." Yep, that's familiar as well, as is the half-bow and not-quite-a-hat-tip gesture. "Well met; my apologies, but I'll have to leave explanations to the police up to you..." And with that, the figure turns to leave.

Diana Prince has posed:
The Gunman turning his head to look at the Jet might normally be a good enough distraction for Diana's speed to take him down, but the situation she was in now gave her team mate in this fight a chance, and she let them have it. She watches the Shadow take form behind the aggressor and watches them take him down.



It makes Diana breathe a soft sigh of relief before she steps toward the hostages then. She kneels down beside a family with three small children with them and then looks up to the Shadow as they speak. She nods once to them. "Thank you for intervening." She says to them before they can go. "It is good to see you again too. It has been a long time."

That might give Natasha something to think about!

The Princess will watch the Shadow leave then before she will put her eyes to the hostages, specifically the children to help calm them down while the NYPD inevitably will filter in from outside....

They live in a mad mad world, with unending chaos all around them.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Anyone else might have missed the brief freeze or the widening of blue eyes above that scarf; apparently this Shadow does not remember her. But the figure rallies quickly and smoothly, nodding slightly before turning and walking away, vanishing into mist and shadow like an uneasy dream.

    There's not much time to contemplate this, however; there are saved hostages to comfort, confused police to explain matters to, robbers to secure before they wake up...

    By the time there's any time to think again, the Shadow is long gone. But with all the chaos and uncertainty in the world, one thing that is certain is that she'll likely meet them again...