Location: Abandoned Warehouse; Base of The Bad Kids (name pending)
It was all coming together. About damn time! Even though Eleanora’s sister had only been back for a few months, trying to help her find that freaky vampire guy Morbius has been a major hassle, but no more of that! While she couldn’t bring the crew themselves to the meet for reasons of privacy, the guy she’d met had been awfully convincing; seemed like whoever they had ties with, they’d be able to help them track down the forlorn doctor, and they could finally get some answers for Eden. With a newfound pep in her step, Elly was practically prancing her way down the quiet streets to the massive warehouse before her. Her home away from home. Clearing her throat, she spoke out with exaggerated energy befitting the joking concept of royalty; her callsign for being let in.
“The queen has returned!””Welcome back, your majesty.”, Eden playfully teased as she landed down from the rafters with a dramatic bow.
”Any luck on your possible lead?” Harold merely groaned, mortified by the elder sister feeding into this ridiculousness, while Terrance, tucked away into a small corner of the warehouse, just about jumped out of his skin when Eden simply emerged out of nowhere. For their part, the other two girls in the room, Anastasia and Jennifer, seemed nonplussed. Whether because they’re too stoic to care or simply expected her to hop abruptly from the rafters is up for debate.
With a grin, Elly whirled around to stand eye-to-eye with her sis.
”Why, thank you! At least someone here has manners!” She glared menacingly at the rest of the lot. Ana, of course, met it with a glare of her own, while Terry awkwardly buckled underneath it, trying to recoil further into his hoodie. For Harold’s part, he simply stared, unimpressed, while Jennifer rolled her eyes, though Elly was sharp enough to catch the faint glimpse of amusement in her eyes…Which was especially hard behind the stupid hazmat suit they’d gotten for her. Still, probably better than getting radiation poisoning.
”I do! It’s awesome news! We’ve got a job, and if we do it right, the employers’ll help us find your rogue doc! Eee!” By this point, Eleanora had her sister grasped by the shoulders, jumping up and down with joy. This was gonna be it! Of course, she had neglected to mention exactly what the job is, but…Well, she could get to that later.
”Really!? That’s amazing!”, she replied excitedly, joining in with her sister's jumps for joy before pulling her into a hug and spinning her around once.
”Don’t leave us hanging, what kind of job is it?! When do we start?” That got the rest of the team’s attention, and Harold was the first to follow up.
”Yeah, fair point. What’re we stacked up again, SS?” Okay, made-up name time. After giving her sister a good squeeze in their embrace, she broke it off to face the rest of the team as they slowly gathered around…Well, except
Terrance, unless they wanted him to turn into their worst nightmares. No thanks.
”A very good question!...So…How do people feel about heists…?” Ease them in, one step at a time. That should work, right? Yeah. For his point, Harold actually seemed pleased.
”Seriously? A heist? Sweet! Y’know, my dad’s old suit was actually made for popping open locks, before, well…All of this.” He waved in the general direction of everyone present, but the intent was clear. Superpower shit. Trauma didn’t say anything, which at least meant there was no resistance, and Ana briefly spoke up, her tone as harsh as always.
”I care not. As long as we will see combat. Preferably, something interesting.” That got a grin out of Elly.
”Good thing, then, that I have a very special job for you in mind for this!” Kraven briefly lifted an eyebrow, vaguely intrigued, before returning to what could only be described as her resting bitch face.
Eden practically rolled her eyes at Ana, of course she was only there for the violence as if she really needed to state the obvious. She hid her disgust, hoping that whatever part of the job she was handling would be out of range from the rest of them or at least herself.
”I’m all for doing a heist but isn’t that a bit too simple of a request? What’s the catch? They wouldn’t need all of us if it wasn’t something big so why are you dancing around on eggshells? Just tell us what it is, we can handle it.” Normally, she would have stayed quiet and just gone with the flow with no questions asked but if this meant finding Morbius, getting some answers to at least a part of what she had become then she couldn’t just standby in idle. Even if he only knew how to control the hunger…she needed this desperately. If this was her only chance, she would do what needed to be done even if it meant something crazy.
Elly took in a deep breath. Okay, lightning round it was.
”....Okaysoweneedtobreakintostarkindustries.””I’m sorry, there is no way I heard you correctly. Can you say that again…slower perhaps?”, sarcasm dripping off her tone, clearly unamused. Fidgeting nervously, Sickly Sweet took another breath.
”Okay, so…What we need to do is….Breakintostarkindustriesandstealanironmansuit.” She couldn’t help herself! This was stressful. She wasn’t a fan of stressful.
Eden stared at her deadpanned, realizing the first statement wasn’t a joke and the second explanation had just made it worse. She took a deep breath, trying to relax herself before weakly smiling as her eye twitched in annoyance.
”I know, you did not just say, we are breaking into Stark Industries of all places to steal an Ironman Suit…please for the love of all things holy tell me I heard you wrong!” Their peanut gallery didn’t take this sitting, either. Even behind the mask of his Thunderwave costume, the white eyes widened in shock at the statement, silently reeling, and Hazmat stared incredulously at Sickly Sweet, as if trying to judge if she had just completely fucking lost it. For his point, Trauma had fully curled in on himself. And as for Kraven the Hunter….She just laughed.
”Good, good! Finally, something worthy of my name! I cannot claim hunting metal men to be much sport, but it will do far better than the street fodder we have cleaned before.” Well, someone was into it, at least. Nervously, Elly did a showy move with her hands, as sprinklings of sugar dust flew off of them.
”Got it in one, sis! Ta-dah! Hehe…he…” Clearly seeing that this angle wasn’t working, she straightened out. Time to sell it.
”Okay, first off, while it’s Stark Industries…Can you really call it Stark Industries without the Stark in question? Dude’s been in a coma or something for like, ever, if the news doesn’t lie. I mean, lie as much as it usually does. So who do we have to worry about, his knockoff Iron Wife? Pssh. And as far as the building security goes…” With a devious grin, Sickly Sweet reached into her purse and fetched out a…Deceptively small-looking device, all things considered.
”This bad boy will give the whole Stark Industries tower a complete blackout for about 10 minutes. More than long enough for us! With any potential security measures FUBAR’d, all we need to do is handle whatsherface and make sure no civvies get in the way! Plus, they got me a schematic of the building, so I know where we hafta go to get to the goods. Eh? Ehh?? Sounding pretty doable now, right?” It seemed this show had gotten her wind back, all grins and confidence once more.
Eden crossed her arms, tapping her foot as she thought about it. All an all it didn’t seem such an impossible task
if, and that was a major if, what her contact said was the truth and that the tech provided would really do what it was meant to or hoping the maps weren’t outdated. The biggest concern was them betraying or backstabbing the group in some way.
”And you double checked that everything is legit? No surprises? I still think you aren’t giving the wife enough credit seeing as how she has been with Stark since the beginning but if that is the only major problem to deal with, I think this is manageable. I just…sis, I can’t have this going wrong…”Eleanora huffed up, clearly upset at the implication.
”C’mon, sis! I know what I’m doing here, or else I wouldn’t be putting it out! The only risk would be Ms. Metal calling up the A-gang, but everyone knows how messy they are nowadays. Half the numbers, and a quarter of the cohesion. Heh, chances are they’ll be busy stopping Doctor Doom or some crazy shit anyway!” Shrugging nonchalantly, she used the moment to close the gap between herself and her sister, whispering conspiratorially.
”...And besides, who d’ya think I gave the ‘luxury’ of fighting an actual superhero?” Giving a cheeky wink, she slid back to her prior position, seeming to ponder something.
”...You might have a point about the doohickey, though. T-Wave, give it a once-over, yeah?” In spite of its potentially massive implications towards the mission, Elly casually tossed the gizmo over to Harold, who barely caught it.
”Goddamnit, Elly, watch where you’re throwing stuff like this! You got any idea how sensitive it could be?!” To that, she merely shrugged.
For a time, there was a brief silence as Harold walked off on his own, puzzling through the device, until he eventually reconvened with the team.
”...Kinda can’t believe it, but yeah, it’s legit. For such a small package, it’s holding a serious charge that knocks out any system for a solid time, if it can get a connection. Lucky for us, that’s easy; the entirety of Stark Industries is basically one giant pylon of information. We could practically slap it on the side of the building and it’d do the job.” With that point made, Sickly Sweet turned back to Frenzy, a smug look across her rosy-cheeked little face.
”Guess that means we have a suit to steal.”, Eden stated, letting a cheshire grin on her lips with a light shrug, letting her sister have her smug ‘I told you so’ moment.
SS was all grins at this point, pleased that they were actually going along with this crazy idea. Still, a few stragglers to confront.
”Jeeeennnnn, stop stoically judging us and gimme thoughts!” She took a cutesy pose with the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster up, all as a simple mockery to Hazmat, who simply rolled her eyes.
”....This plan is insane…But, I’m here, and it beats sitting around the warehouse. Sure, whatever.” Now Elly was practically giddy with glee, just as she’d been when she entered the old warehouse, jumping with joy. She whipped her head around to the last straggler, a bit of the energy already fading just by looking at him.
”Well, Trauma-Llama? You game? Or do you still need sulking corner time?” Not even looking up from his own knees, the boy responded.
”....I can’t stop you, even if I wanted to…I definitely don’t wanna do this but…” He gave a passing glance that turned into a shared look between himself and Eden.
”....I’ll do it.”The ginger mouthed a soft ‘thank you’, appreciating that he was still willing to do something he didn’t agree with to support everyone else and because they shared an understanding. He knew how much this meant to her. She hoped this went smoothly because she didn’t want this to be too much for him.
”When do we get started?”Like she was charged with energy, Eleanora rapidly stamped her feet in place before launching into the air, arms raised.
”YES! Oh, we are SO going to stomp this mission! You pumped?! I’m pumped! Woo!” After that wave of passion left her, however, she mellowed out to a more reasonable state of mind, and nodded thoughtfully with her sister’s inquiry.
”I think an hour’s time is good. No time like the present, after all! It’s enough for us to all get into the mood for stealing from a multi-billion dollar corporation, and enough time for her,” she said, pointing straight towards Anastasia
”to get her weird tribal combat drugs ready. Cuz you got a date with a Woman of Steel, Ana!” For once, Kraven didn’t bristle at the mention of her name from someone like Elly, her face not even hiding the eagerness with which she was ready to fight a superhero.
Location: Stark Tower, Manhattan, NYC
Okay, so maybe there were a few things Elly hadn’t fully considered. First of all was that trying to covertly break into a giant fucking tower that stood in what was effectively the heart of The Big Apple in broad daylight was…A challenge. They’d need a distraction. Even in Manhattan, where traffic might as well be the 10th circle of Hell, there were plenty of onlookers and loiterers around a locale as all-important as Stark Tower, which quite literally towered over even the other myriad monumentally large buildings the borough had to offer. As such, two members of the team had already been split off for the time being. Kraven was prepared for her hunt, awaiting the signal of Sickly Sweet to strike out at their only primary obstacle; Pepper Potts, otherwise known as Rescue. That left the other straggler, Trauma. His ability was invaluable here; when the time was right, she’d give him an alert to step out from a nearby alleyway into the public, and from there, his ability would do the rest. Of course, she made it clear he didn’t have to actually hurt anybody, but as long as he could sell the act long enough to take some prying eyes off of them, it’d be all the better.
Which leads us to where the rest of the team was; Sickly Sweet, now adorned in her regal-looking attire. At least, it would look regal, if bits of dust and debris didn’t cling all over it as they traversed one of the many Manhattan tunnels left behind by decades of construction and building over the ruins of other architecture. It gave the team a subtle mode of transportation on their way to the mark, so it was their best bet. Thunderwave was present, too, clad in gear very close in design to his father’s suit, though it held shades of blue and black over yellow and red. His white eyes on the suit glanced from side to side, forever the mild paranoid. Still, it meant he was great at keeping track of anything. Hazmat was here too, with her all too fitting name. Her ‘suit’ was just that; a slightly fancified version of a hazmat suit, more for protecting others from her than the other way around. And lastly, her sister, Frenzy, wearing her stylish Spider-themed ensemble, though with some notable extra flair. Namely the weird mini-jacket thing, which was an interesting design choice from Elly’s perspective, but who was she to argue? She was the one walking around in cotton candy.
”Stupid fucking…Why didn’t I just make this a cookie or something? Because it wouldn’t fit my color aesthetic? Hrrgh…” Needless to say, despite all of this being her plan, traveling the decrepit holes between demolished buildings wasn’t her idea of fun with a garbage magnet that was her dress.
Eden had to bite back a chuckle at her sister’s antics while they all continued to carefully maneuver through the abandoned and forgotten ruins, feeling very much in her element. It was no secret that the darkness was her comfort zone now, sunlight an irritant to her skin but it was more than just that. The city was constantly loud and the smells sometimes downright unbearable with all the clashing scents. At least here, all of the smells were pretty consistent in the stagnant nature and the only interruptions being her companion which was something she was used to and thus easily ignorable. She did keep her sense open down here though instead of the usual trick to block things out, listening intently as they moved to make sure there weren't any surprises which is why she had taken up near the front of the group.
”Any idea how much further we have to go?”, she asked, trying to distract her by looking towards the silver lining of their little excursion.
Eleanora had opened her mouth to respond, but it was Harold who spoke up first, his left hand running against the desiccated walls of these ruinous tunnels. To Hazmat and Sickly Sweet, nothing was happening, but Eden’s senses were keen enough to pick up the soft ding of a subsonic pulse traveling across the mega-structure they traversed.
”If what my suit’s picking up is right, it’ll only be a few more minutes.” For her part in it all, Elly glowered at Thunderwave. She could’ve answered that just fine without the fancy stuff he must’ve been up to! Sheesh! Rolling her eyes, Sickly Sweet’s walk had turned into dramatic stomping. Hazmat broke up the tension.
”Okay. So we get out of here, signal Trauma, then turn off security and signal Kraven. But how are we getting in?” She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but honestly? She was asking for Eleanora’s sake more than her own. Which worked, because it broke her out of her irritation as she turned towards the nuclear girl with a smirk, and casually laid her hand against the roughshod concrete walls surrounding them, turning a section of it into some form of peanut brittle.
”Yeah, like tower walls are gonna stop me.””It’s better than my method, that’s for sure, and...”, Eden started, her statement drifting to a pause as her fingers gazed along the wall before placing her hand on the newly formed section of peanut brittle and attached to the surface. She pried her hand backwards with some of her strength like a suction cup, easily splitting a chunk from the rest before taking a bite with a sickening crunch.
”…much more rewarding.”, she continued with a light chuckle before taking another bite while glancing over her shoulder.
”Oh, and Thunderwave, little warning next time, yeah?”, she said gently with an awkward smile, tapping her ear as a subtle reminder before continuing onward with her sweet prize. The sooner they arrived, the better as she just wanted this to be over so they could get her answers. None of this was her scene and she was mostly there to make sure her sister got out and to help the others if needed. That was her preference when they plotted their
activities.
Fortunately for Eden, her wait would soon be over. Shortly after she had pried out concrete-level density peanut brittle (to which the fact her sister was casually snacking on it was not lost on Eleanora), she abruptly stopped, and with her, the rest of the team did as well. Sickly Sweet glanced over her shoulder to Thunderwave.
”This is the spot, yeah?” Walking forward, he was unceremoniously hoisted up by Elly, so as to be able to reach the slanted ‘roof’ above them. Before he went through with this, though, he took a hasty glance towards Frenzy.
”Uh…Warning. Since apparently you can pick up sounds even a dog can’t…” His tone of voice was somewhere between annoyed and disturbed, but regardless, he began his work…Though not before receiving a scowl from Sickly Sweet below him, clearly not pleased with the barb towards her sister. Trying to ignore that, he lifted one of his gauntlets to the stony exterior, letting another inaudible (barring their sharp-eared companion who promptly covered her ears) pulse of sound.
”...Yep, this is it. You doing the honors?” To answer that, she quickly dropped him straight out of her hands, as he landed with a dull thud to the hard floor beneath them. A small dose of payback. With that, she turned to address the group as a whole.
”Okay, when I pop this open, a lot is gonna be happening. So…You all ready? Cuz once I turn this into, like, a stream of jelly beans, we’re haulin’ ass.” Despite the nature of what was being said, for once, Eleanora had a straight look on her face. She was being serious. The other two were quick to respond (at least, once Harold got his sorry ass off the floor).
”Ugh, yeah…I know how it goes with you. Once the planned bit is over, it’s all fast and loose, huh? Long as we get it done, though…” Jennifer, for her part, gave a far less committed answer.
”Whatever. Can we just get this shit over with?”. Eden gave a small nod in agreement with the others before replying seriously,
”Ready when you are.”Sickly Sweet nodded. Go time. Now, admittedly, there were less extra ways of her doing this, but she decided to flex her metaphorical superpower muscles, as wobbly, inconsistent tendrils of her hair began to drift off to the sides of her before lashing out, sticking with a wet smack to the ceiling of the decrepit tunnel and hauling her up. Before she busted this sucker open, it was time to begin the first phase of the plan. Pulling out a burner phone, Eleanora shot out a quick text.
“time to start the freakshow”
Outside, hidden in the dark corners of Manhattan, Terrance laid in wait, anxiously awaiting the inevitable message, and then it pinged him. Jeez, she couldn’t have worded it worse if she tried…But he’d be lying if he said it wouldn’t be accurate. All these people…He just hoped no one got hurt. Taking a shaky breath to steel whatever resolve he could muster, the raven-haired teenager stepped out into the crowded streets. And all Hell broke loose.
Even as deep down as they were, the vaguest of screams could be made out. That was their signal. Eleanora wasted no time clasping down on the stone roof, making a clean hole of it pop out into dozens of jelly beans, causing a beam of sunlight from the surface to break through. Wordlessly, Sickly Sweet reached her hand out to help the others up…Or at least, the two who needed it. After hastily hauling the two who actually needed her assistance up through the opening, she looked down to her sister, a cheeky smile on her face. She definitely didn’t need the help. So, with her vibrantly pink tendrils, she hurled herself up to the surface with the rest of the team, landing in an upside-down handstand before wheeling herself into the proper position. No one could say she didn’t have fun doing all this. And there they were, standing in the shadow of Stark Tower in all its eminence. Granted, the atmosphere was ruined by the screams of fear and horror not so far in the distance…At least it meant Trauma was doing his part. Elly quickly pulled out the strange device their employer had provided, slapping it on the side of the building and hastily inputting the required code. Activated, it beeped for a few moments before displaying a timer; ten minutes. How long they had before it went kaput. It’d be plenty of time. With that out of the way, she whipped the burner phone out for the last time, dialing up their final distraction.
“the hunt begins”
Anastasia was crouched, watching like a predator would its prey, hidden amongst the sea of gray buildings as she perched the rooftop nearest to the Tower, eyeing her target. The top floor, the executive suite. Under normal circumstances, she might have trouble reaching it, but for however much she despised Sickly Sweet, she could certainly provide much in the way of conveniences, a thought that crossed the Hunter’s mind once more as she stroked the massive eagle beside her, seemingly made out of a finely smoothed out palette of candy rocks. She would have questioned if such a creature could truly achieve flight…If it hadn’t already been the thing to fly her out to this rooftop. Her musings were cut when the cell phone blipped in her pocket. She didn’t even bother to look at it; she knew exactly what it meant. A grin grew across her face, a wild and ferocious look in her deep green eyes. Taking her place upon her multi-colored avian companion, Kraven took to the skies, straight to the top. Pepper was completely unaware; Ana could not hear exactly what was going on, but could figure it out. No doubt the woman was receiving panicked calls about the abrupt disruption of all their security measures. However, she would not give her quarry time to gather herself. As she stood on the giant eagle’s back, she readied a spear from her own back, and hurled it with unbelievable force and unerring accuracy. Mrs. Stark was completely unaware, but thankfully for her, something within her was not. As the spear neared her body after flying straight through the suite’s window, her Rescue suit seemed to explode from within her, the internal armor arriving just in time to save Pepper’s life, though the force of the throw still sent her flying across the extravagant room, ungracefully clattering to the back of it as Kravinoff leapt forward, landing within her new hunting ground. Anastasia brandished a knife, moving it with finesse as it seemed to give off an odd, dangerous hum as she regarded Rescue.
”My name is Anastasia Kravinoff, daughter of Kraven the Hunter, and inheritor of his title. Prepare yourself, Rescue.” Her cadence was cold, yet filled with an almost primal hunger, her stance shifting lower to the ground, preparing to strike at a moment’s notice against the armored Avenger…
As the team made it topside, Eleanora only grinned at the proceedings as she heard the chaos around her and saw the shattering of glass and the gleam of her rainbow bird of prey from on high. She turned to the rest of her team; her sister in particular, a smug look on her face.
”Toldja she was useful. Even if she’s a bitch.””Uh-huh, whatever you say. Let’s see if she can put her skills where her mouth is and keep Rescue busy.” Frenzy answered with a rumbled growl in her chest, irritated that Elly was probably right but she wasn’t giving any props to the woman who wanted her head as a decoration. At least coocoo for cocopuffs was far away from them which meant some calm for her own nerves and the ability to fully focus on the task at hand. The last thing they needed was her going monster mode when it wasn’t intended all because of Kraven and her piss poor attitude. Eden was already struggling enough with the screams and noises, trying to filter them out which was causing obvious negative emotions.
”Everything is in place so why don’t we get the show on the road?””Couldn’t have put it better myself, sis!...Actually, I could, but we’re on a time crunch!” As if to jokingly punctuate the ‘crunch’ of her sentence, Eleanora shifted her burner phone to a hefty-looking brownie and took a big chomp out of it. It had served its purpose, after all. Still chewing through the chocolatey delight, she stepped up to the side of the building, though kept a fair distance from their little jailbreaking gizmo. She wouldn’t want to fuck things up accidentally, not when they were actually managing shit so far. Thus, she laid her hand onto the thick steel walls of Stark Tower. It took her a few seconds even with direct contact; this was a lot to work through, and it wasn’t lacking in the durability department, either, but eventually a nice person-sized hole popped out, replaced with a small tidal wave of gummy bears, to which Sickly Sweet cheekily flicked one Frenzy’s way. Frenzy quickly took a step or two forward before giving a light jump so she could perfectly catch it in her mouth, arms crossed as she tried to fight a smile. Eleanora knew they were Eden’s favorites, so it’d help soften the vibes after pointing out Krazy Kraven doing God knows what above them.
With that, she led the team to the nearest elevator, a location she was thankfully privy to thanks to their employer. It wasn’t on this floor, but that was hardly an issue; her plan didn’t involve them actually using the elevators. What were they, a bunch of powerless losers? No. Thus, she reached out towards the metal doors that would halt them from entering the elevator shaft, and turned it instead into a precarious stack of candy canes, which she puffed over the edge and watched them fall into darkness with a big huff of her breath. Even if all those canes were more durable than the steel they originated from, they were as light as actual candy canes, so it was a laughably easy thing to do. Though she couldn’t help but wonder just how intact they’d all be at the bottom…? Wait, right, job to do. Turning back to her team, she motioned towards Hazmat.
”Since I know Frenzy’ll make a fuss over ‘cross-contamination radiation’ or some crap, I’ll be your chauffeur on this lovely elevator ride, Hazzy!...Well, crossing out the ‘elevator’ part of it, at least. Which leaves T-Wave in the ever-so-delicate hands of my sister. Catch ya at the bottom!” Poor Jennifer barely got a word in edgewise before Elly scooped her up bridal-style and jumped headfirst into the shaft, no doubt giving poor Eden a heart attack…At least, before she could see her a dozen or so feet down, latched onto the sides of the shaft with her elastic and aggressively adhesive hair. For Harold’s part in all this, he just looked to Frenzy, equal parts awkward, embarrassed, and frightened.
”...Just…We’re never bringing this up after this. Capiche?” Eden glanced over at him from her leaning position, having panic dashed to the shaft opening to peer down after the startling heart attack her sister had just given her. Her body had moved on its own, ready to dive and help if needed but obviously she knew deep down that Elly knew what she was doing, clearly evident by the two latched to the side walls. She smiled gently at Harold’s comment and nodded before speaking with a soft tone,
”Of course, wouldn’t dream of it….”. That being said, she crouched down to offer him a piggyback ride since unlike her sister’s jumping tactic, she planned to walk down which would be much less awkward for the both of them if she didn’t bridal style unless she wanted to walk backwards going down which she did not.
”…and don’t worry, I’ve got you…, she stated with confidence, noticing the quickening pace in his heartbeat but unsure if it was discomfort at relying on her for this or if it was some type of fear but either way she hoped to soothe him.
The descent of the team was fast-paced…Or at least, as fast as Eden would allow, patiently walking her way down the elevator shaft with poor Harold practically strapped to her back. Elly’s method of transportation was much quicker than hers, but a bit of a heartstopper, given that she launched from wall to wall, letting herself and her slightly trembling companion in her arms fall for just long enough to get a bit of fear pumping before she latched herself back to a solid surface, only taking breaks to catcall her sister.
”C’mon, granny! Keep walking your way down and we’ll be here ‘till the entire Avengers find a spot in their schedule to roll in!” Her tone was joking, but mentally, Eleanora was a bit peeved. It was a slow-and-steady approach that didn’t suit their situation, and more importantly, didn’t suit
her. At least it possibly brought Thunderwave some small comfort…Regardless, though, they eventually made their way down, landing themselves at the bottom of the shaft. Sickly Sweet wasted no time touching the shut elevator doors before them, shifting it into a thick gelatinous block. Perhaps to let Harold gain a bit of his self-confidence back, she motioned to him as he was being let off Frenzy’s back.
”T-Wave, pop it.” Clearly eager to get this done, Harold reached a hand forward as a massive shockwave of high-intensity vibrations ripped through the air, gracelessly scattering the watermelon-flavored jello across the elevator shaft…Which included the group themselves, of course. Elly took a fingerful of the stuff that had smeared across her, hastily licking it up.
”Mmm…Forgot how good jello could be. Oughta make this stuff more.” She didn’t waste much more time on that, however. Elly quickly hauled herself into the room proper; this was their moment. When human life was detected in the room, the lights switched themselves on, though thankfully, no security measures did. They were in the clear. Around them were the makings of a grandiose workshop, with all sorts of scattered tech, well-used tools and even a few aged blueprints lay scattered about. But without any doubt, the most eye-catching thing in the chrome-shaded basement was a large line-up of various suits of Iron Man armor, all contained in what looked almost like glass tubes, though it was certainly more complicated than that. Seemingly giddy with joy at having made it to the motherlode, Sickly Sweet barely managed to face her other teammates before she bolted off. [color=pink}”Oooooh! Okay, okay! You guys can mill around, but don’t touch anything unless you know it won’t shoot a laser in you! [i]I[/i] have a suit to pick out!”[/color] And just like that, like a kid at a candy store, she sprinted away, eagerly eyeing all the potential merchandise. Hazmat merely stood off to the side, uninterested in the goings-on of the Tony Stark Funhouse they’d smuggled themselves into. Thunderwave, however, had taken a more active interest, approaching a few monitors as they’d begun powering on.
”Whoa. If I can decrypt his passcode, I might be able to see some real interesting stuff…” He was clearly lost in his own tech-savvy world now, muttering to himself more than anyone else.
Eden smiled at how passionate the other two had become but she was more in agreement with Hazmat on this one if her expression was anything to go by. She decided to hop up on an empty spot on one of the work benches, working to pick jello out from her hair and brushing it off if anywhere it was still clinging to her form as she waited on her sister to ‘pick’ a suit from the multiple glass cases. The sooner the better because she was ready to be out of here even though they hadn’t been here long. It was going smoothly so far but she had a nagging worry it wouldn’t stay that way which kept her on edge, listening carefully even if she might seem distracted to others.
This one. She had a good feeling about it. ‘Model 28’, apparently, if the fancy little datapad installation next to its containment unit meant anything. Though, beyond the model number, it didn’t say jack or shit about it. At least, not without some kinda scan…Something she obviously couldn’t do. Maybe if they had more time, she could just bug Thunderwave about it, see if he could make a cut in the system, but…Well, she had her own shortcut. With a cheeky grin, Eleanora laid her hands on the installation as it shifted its molecular structure from metallic alloys to delicious sweets. She…Hadn’t been particular about what it was supposed to be, but she didn’t need it to be. What she needed was…
”Heya, E.L.L.I.! Welcome to existence! Now, fill me in; what’s what with this hunka junk in the tube?” Springing to life, a digitized voice that sounded eerily like Elly herself popped out from the datapad. “Hello, Elly! Yes, I can tell you all you need to know about the Iron Man Full Body Armor Model 28! While possessing all the typical Iron Man accoutrement, such as flight, superhuman capabilities, and the ever-present repulsor technology, this model possesses a highly advanced on-board artificial intelligence. This AI learns and adapts to the wearer, granting them enhanced efficiency in wielding the suit, as well as being able to serve as an excellent autopilot mode in cases of duress and emergency, such as the pilot being incapacitated or even killed! It is even capable of creating a digital copy of the wearer’s consciousness, allowing one to effectively cheat death! Shall I continue?” In truth, Sickly Sweet had grown bored of the discussion the moment it brought up ‘AI’, though the ‘death’ part snapped her back in a bit.
”Goddamn…Not bad! Uh, tell me though; this suit do any physical integration? Cybernetics-style, or subdermal wear, or crap like that?” Elly would’ve never thought to ask these questions on her own, but it was the main concern of her client. Apparently a suit that involved a user’s physiology too deeply would create complications for their intended usage. Whatever that meant. “No! Unlike some models, Number 28 does not possess any biotechnical capabilities beyond the digital consciousness program! It does, however, contract cleanly into a size capable of being fit into a briefcase or other such personal transport options!” Elly listened as her digital voice prattled on, but it was already decided. This was the one.
”Yeah, yeah, great. Just…Just pop the damn thing open.” “Yes, Elly! Here you are!”
With a distinct hiss, the glass-like cylindrical container for the impressive piece of hardware retracted away, exposing the suit fully. Truth be told, with all the dope shit her little AI self talked about, she kinda wanted to take it for a spin herself. But, well…There wasn’t time for a joyride, and she had a job to do. For her sister. Fumbling around her dress, she pulled something out from one of its tiny pockets; it looked small, almost unnoticeable, kinda like a tracker in one of those spy movies. But this wasn’t a tracker. She hadn’t told the team about it, but it wouldn’t be important for them. This was her part of the job. Carefully, she stepped up and placed the inconspicuous device on the Arc Reactor present in the Iron Man armor. Apparently, the device was supposed to detect the unique energy signature of an Arc Reactor and-
Before she could finish that thought, a warp of blueish light whisked the suit away without a sign of it ever existing there. Well…Job done!
”E.L.L.I…Nice work. Treat yourself to a virtual Fiji vacay, alright?” “Will do, Elly! Thank you for requesting me, and good luck for the rest of your day!” With that, the datapad seemed to shut down. It took Eleanora’s advice…Whatever that might’ve meant for it.
Did we do the right thing?”, Eden asked nervously from behind her sister, having slowly made her way over the second the specs and details about the suit were being relayed. She wanted answers but this didn’t sit right somehow. It made her hackles raise and her stomach felt like it was in knots. What kind of people wanted such a suit and with those kinds of features? It shouldn’t be her business or bother her but it did. Perhaps being selfish and wishing for her own answers wasn’t for the best but even now it was really too late. It had been done but she felt doubtful. They didn’t really know anything about these people even if Elly seemed positive about them following through. She looked to her younger sister, wanting reassurance that everything they had just done wasn’t a mistake.
Eleanora just rolled her eyes.
”Seriously, you’re coming back on this after I just sent the damn thing off? Ugh…” She pinched the brow of her nose, clearly irritated with the abrupt questioning. Still, she owed her sister a proper response…Even if it might not be what she wants to hear.
”Listen, nothing about this is ‘the right thing’. It’s just…What we had to do. So what if this armor starts up some trouble? It’s what we have the Avengers for. We might’ve created some short-term problems, but in the end? We’ll be on top, because we’re gonna get all the answers we need to help you out. Really, sis…” Sickly Sweet chuckled to herself before sidling up to her sister, a smile on her face to ease the tension.
”It won’t kill ya to worry about your own sitch for a change. And, tell you what. If this does end up doing a whole lotta bad, then I’ll do my part to fix it for your guilty little conscience. Cross my heart and hope to not have to fight a bootlegged Iron Man.” With a cheeky smirk, she did just that; a show of goodwill for her sister, to ease her concerns if only by a fraction.
”Thanks, that actually makes me feel a bit better even if I’m still worried about the what ifs… though I guess you’re right that it’s a little too late now.”, she weakly chuckled, running her fingers through her hair to get rid of the nervous energy she was holding and smiled gently at her sister. At least of all things went to shit she would have someone by her side to at least try and make things better.
”How much do you think it’s gonna take to drag T-Wave away from this tech and get the heck out of here?””Hey jackass! How much longer are you gonna stand there jerkin’ it to Iron Man models?!” Her callout was completely out of the blue, and Thunderwave reacted as such, freezing up and startling under her exclamation before giving an exhausted sigh. He hastily pulled something out of the side of the terminal, looking to be a form of thumb drive, before pocketing it and turning to the girls.
”Shut up, Sickly Sweet. I’ve got what I wanted. But…How exactly are we getting out? The timeframe for backpedaling is way too steep. We’ve only got a couple more minutes, tops.” He seemed to have a point, and for a moment Elly seemed to be in deep concentration…But her sister knew better, and that she was simply making a mockery of things.
”Weeeelll…I did have one plan to make a hasty getaway.” Her gaze was cast off to the far sides of the metallic playground, where Jennifer had previously been lounging about, leaning haphazardly against of the containment units for an Iron Man model, though the gaze of her friend got her vague attention.
”I know that look…Fine. What the Hell do I have to do?” Elly gave a devilish grin, whipping back to her favorite person who wore what looked like a patchwork quilt.
”T-Wave, any clue where the surface would be in reference to where we are? When we got the schematics, it showed that this little workshop isn’t built completely level to the Tower as a whole.” Harold realized almost instantly what she was planning. He didn’t exactly approve, but…At this rate, it would be the fastest way to the surface before security measures were online again. Stepping around the room for a bit, he seemed to pace for a moment before stopping near the end of the metal man factory they were present in.
”It’d be about here. So…Your cue, Hazmat.” Growling in discontent, Jennifer stepped up to the proverbial plate, it now only just dawning on her what was being asked.
”This is stupid…You all should step back. Unless you want acute radiation poisoning.” That was more than enough to make even Eleanora take some paces back, not eager to get caught in this kind of blast zone. When everyone gave her enough space, an intense green glow seemed to surround Jennifer, even permeating through her containment suit, before with a yell of force, a torrent of nuclear energy tore right through the roof of the workshop, creating a destructively perfect tunnel straight to the surface.
”Alright, climbing would take too long, so we’re takin’ the expressway. My way.” With that same manic energy from before, she stepped close to where Hazmat had blown their exit into, and laid her hands onto the harsh, cold floor.
”Everyone, all aboard! Oh, and try to hold onto your lunch. Goes double for you, sis.” She couldn’t help but give a snicker at the comment, patiently awaiting for the whole of her little break-in team to nestle in close. This was gonna be a wild ride.
”Ha. Ha. Very funny.”, Eden said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes as she stepped close. Just because she had been walking and slow for a descent earlier didn’t mean she couldn’t handle something like this.
”Let’s just get the heck out of here.””Alrighty, everyone who doesn’t have those spider-grip hands ‘n feet, you know what to do!” Begrudgingly, Hazmat and Thunderwave lowered themselves down to the ground, stanced almost like a runner about to burst out onto the track, while Sickly Sweet held the same position. Giving a few brief moments of silence to let them brace themselves, Elly allowed her power to flow freely, pushing it as hard as she could. The first things those not named Frenzy would feel was a strange sensation as ultra-tough tart-like formations locked down their limbs to the newly candified platform, though this was only for their own safety. That much was obvious when said platform began rocketing through the air at alarming speeds, before stopping abruptly at the surface, having made a clean exit. Hazmat and Thunderwave had their own ways out of their securing bonds, with a flare of nuclear energy and precise usage of vibrational force, the two of them were free and (still woozily) standing, though Elly had to awkwardly turn to her sister.
”...Mind helping me out here? I can’t actually, like…Break this stuff. Still pretty damn close to a solid metal, and now it isn’t even one I can turn into whipped cream or something.” She awkwardly wiggled, still strapped to the ground, to push her point. However, before her partner in crime could bust her out, she noticed something approaching rapidly in the sky. It looked like…Some kinda plane? Or maybe a…
”...Oh crap.”She giggled at how adorable Elly was sometimes and was about to assist her when she heard the curse causing her to stop mid step, her head snapping upward. She growled defensively, eyes shifting a glowing red as her nails turned claws before quickly moving on all fours and ripping the candy bonds as if they were tissue paper.
”Crap doesn’t even begin to cover it.”Sickly Sweet hauled herself hastily to her feet, not even wasting time to scrape off the crumbs and sugary dust that settled over her after her bonds were shattered. Her mind raced wildly, trying to figure out what was going on. She didn’t have much time; she’d give it a minute before that thing practically parked over their heads. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but no police force could send out some crazy jet like this. It was something bigger. Maybe those S.H.I.E.L.D. people she’d heard about, or worse…Could they run? From
that? No way. Not without…It was desperate, and it could certainly endanger whoever was aboard that vessel, but they didn’t have the luxury to be worried about that if they valued their freedom.
”Hazmat, you’ve got some firepower left, right?! Shoot it! Clip one of the wings off! NOW!” It was the first time Eden had seen her sister so obviously rattled, and with it came a deranged sort of anger that bubbled in her voice. So much so that when the command was offered, Jennifer barely hesitated, out of a disturbing mixture of fear and respect. Raising one of her hands to the skies, she let loose a violent blast of that green nuclear energy once more as it rocketed its way through the air, tearing through one of the wings of the high-speed aircraft with laughable ease. Still, this wouldn’t be enough. If it made a clean enough landing, whoever was on board would come out still ready to whoop their sorry asses. They needed to be moving while they had the chance, but…
”GODDAMNIT! Where the FUCK are those two?! Her emotions were mounting by the second as she glanced wildly around their surroundings, hoping that Kraven and Trauma could show up, and they could all be well out of the way before that damn thing landed or crashed, whichever came first.
Fortunately, one of the stragglers made his appearance, though he looked visibly pale; even moreso than usual. Likely due to whatever his powers had just put him through, terrifying entire city blocks worth of civilians out of the way. As Terrance began his approach, though, he could immediately tell something was wrong; not only was Sickly Sweet looking as erratic and dangerous as possible, but there was still a missing piece. Anastasia. Had she…? He didn’t know what to think, so he simply ran up as close as he could risk to his team, which granted him a view of the aircraft currently hurtling towards them, threatening to crash and burn into the city streets below. Suddenly, he was incredibly thankful he’d been told to get so many people to run…Even so, if it were possible, the sight made poor Trauma grow a shade paler than he already had been. Frenzy wasn’t looking much better than Trauma in looking paler than usual department, staring up in horror as she hadn’t been given a moment to protest or convince her sister to deter her actions to not create a fight or cause possible casualties. Eden spun her attention to Sickly Sweet pinning her with a furious cold glare before hissing out in a hurt tone,
”This is not what I signed up for and you know it.” She avoided people being harmed if she could help it and this was just over the top seeing as they either make the landing anyway, even more upset than before or they crash which would harm those inside and who knows if Trauma was able to evacuate everyone from the streets below which meant more innocent lives put in danger. She was not one to usually be upset or angry with her sister but that is exactly how she felt, creating some physical distance by walking further from her as she gazed back up to the aircraft.
With Anastasia Kravinoff, the situation was a bit more complicated. For her, the entire time had been spent participating in a deadly dance with Rescue, deftly avoiding her ionic blasts and sonic waves as they tore through the elaborate suite, with Kraven returning fire with her seemingly sole weapon of choice after her surprise attack with the spear; the knife. It had proved more than meets the eye, however, as Pepper found it able to cut through her armor time and again. She was suddenly very thankful Tony had upgraded her armor to nanotech right about now. When the two had begun this duel, Rescue was quick to try and contact the Avengers, and luckily, the internal services within her suit had been spared from whatever had disabled Stark Tower.
”Rhodey, there’s an attack at the Tower. Some lunatic named-!” She didn’t have time to finish the transmission before Anastasia struck out once more, the blade crackling with vibrational energy as it cleanly tore through Rescue’s helmet, nearly tearing into her face if she hadn’t recoiled fast enough; yet another perk of her suit, improving her reaction time greatly. Yet she still found herself on the backfoot here, against all odds…Before she could finish that thought, however, something sharp hit her; she didn’t notice at first, but the strike had also carved away at the neck piece of her suit, and with it, exposed her own flesh-and-blood one. However, she didn’t feel the searing pain she expected from a knife plunging into her, but instead a strange numbness that was…Spreading.
”You have lost. What you are feeling enter your system is a nerve toxin that will numb out and paralyze your entire body. The effects will finish in a few moments.” She wasn’t lying. Within moments, Pepper felt her whole body buckle beneath her, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes. But even more problematic…
”I like to do my research, Lady Stark. I know what you are, and I understand your weaknesses. Your armor being so close to you is useful, certainly…But it gave it a vulnerability. With it tied to your body, it means your body is a flaw in its designs. The armor is intricately linked with your nervous system, so when it stops responding, I suppose you could say it…Blue screens. That would be the right word for it, yes?” Rescue had many choice words in mind for the taunting supervillainess who stood over her, but her body refused to respond, and true to Kravinoff’s words, the armor, too, retracted itself, receiving none of the inputs it required to function. With a scowl, Kraven lifted her quarry off the ground with no resistance, staring unimpressed.
”For one who can be called an Avenger, you were disappointing prey. It seems like my hunt is over.” There was sorrow in her voice…But it certainly wasn’t for Rescue, and that was made ever more apparent when she hurled the helpless woman straight out the window she’d just crashed from, quickly hurtling her way through the open air. From there, she looked down from her immaculate view from the peak of the tower, seeing her team huddled down at the bottom. Undoubtedly awaiting her return, but yet…She turned her gaze more forward, and saw it. It seemed as if the hunt might not be over yet…
While Ana took in the situation from above, Eden’s attention shifted from the quickly descending craft to something else moving through the air. At first she had been somewhat hopeful for it being the absent Kraven because as much as she hated the other woman, it would be better to have backup with possible pissed off Avengers. Instead her gaze was met with an un-armored Rescue which gave her a split second of panic that she was headed their way on purpose, that maybe something happened to give an opening to escape but the way she was tumbling through the air like a ragdoll and not even attempting to save herself or armor back up was what had her gut sinking like a rock. Something was wrong. It wasn’t really in her best interest to save her but she would never forgive herself if she didn’t. Without a word to her team, she leaned further into her monstrous form as her legs and arms transformed fully into their lizard form which would help with jumping distance and would hopefully mean less reliance on her webs.
”I can’t believe I’m doing this.”, she stated under her breath before sprinting full speed forward, planning to launch herself to catch Stark’s wife.
What the FUCK was her sister doing?! She watched as their heaviest hitter launched herself away to pick up some dumb broad falling from the sky, as if they weren’t about to get hit with the equivalent of a Superhuman SWAT team! Her sister stuck to her guns, at least, even if it was utterly irritating and less than ideal for anyone involved. Elly’s panic was numbed a bit by Kraven’s arrival, landing down with her multi-colored bird of prey. As her team (mostly) assembled, Sickly Sweet took a long, shaky breath.
”Okay….Okay. We can make this work!” As she spoke, the jet had finally finished its crash landing. Mostly intact, too. Fuck! She looked to the rest of her team, deathly serious.
”From here out, not a fucking peep out of any of you unless I ask for it. Follow my lead. I’ll get us out of here.” With their leader’s intentions being made, her team (minus a certain web-slinger), lined up at her side, poised to face whatever was about to come their way. She put on her most charismatic, cutesy smile. Alright…Time to fake it ‘till you make it.
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