Alert: Do the Ends Justify the Means? (Row)

While Kaiju was almost effortlessly dispatching her own foes, Corey was in a much more awkward losing position. The bruise on his cheek had healed but he knew it would be a struggle to win this fight. The brute was already rushing him when the thief righted himself, flipping up to his feet. For his size, the Equalizer was fast and Corey had to throw himself to the side, pivoting a stance that presented his improvised weapons.

It quickly became clear that while his adversary was fast, he lacked agility, having struck the wall before he could turn to follow the nimble pest. Corey seized upon his chance, unleashing a flurry of blows, using the heavy wrench heads as striking weights against the brutes side. As durable as the man was, bruises were already forming under his skin and along the side of his head. The quick man darted back only once his target took another swing at him, evading by a hair's breadth.

"Is that all you got," the Equalizer mocked, thinking to goad Jardin into a misstep.

Corey, for his part did not take the bait. Keeping out of measure, he let the weighted clubs pull his arms down. "Honestly, yeah," he panted, jogging backward. "But lets be honest, Tons-o'-fun. You ain't doing too hot yourself."

The nickname must have hit harder than he expected; the brute growled and, turning, struck a large metal toolbox that went careening toward Corey. The thief reacted quickly and jumped against it. He seemed to wipe out as the rolling container's mass shifted under him but taking advantage, he allowed himself to flip, hurling one of his weapons forward with surprising force as he landed. The mass of flying steel stuck the man in the neck and the brute was left gagging on his hands and knees.

Taking advantage of the brief lull in the fight, Corey dashed for the woman, deft hands untying her in moments. "Go," he ordered. "Run and get help. I'm not equipped to deal with this guy." To illustrate his point, the thug was already recovering as Jardin pushed the woman toward the door.

The fight was almost over. The last man who was holding the chain picked himself only to see his friends down for the count. He was the only man standing. It did not make sense. How as this small girl so strong? Emerl yanked the chain to which the man let go. Then she let out a loud chirp and ran at the man. He took a step back and went into a brawling stance. Then he swung. Emerl lowered her body, using their height difference to her advantage, and ram the man in the stomach. He stumbled back allowing Emerl to grab him and then throw him to the ground with her superior strength. The battle was over. She held up her cestus and slammed it down as hard as she could. Rocks and dirt threw up a dust cloud as they flew through the air. When the dust cleared, the man was trembling. Fear filled his eyes but somehow he remained conscience. So Emerl leaned closer to his face and made every insect noise she could think of as loud as she could. The man Screamed for a couple seconds before fainting. Her victory was complete and now she needed to return to the bad smelling shop. Hopefully John had already rescued the noble woman.

Corey was not in a position to win a fight with his large adversary. Even while his companion was effortlessly finding victory against the other trio, the thief had the added challenge of trying to keep the business woman alive. The bruiser refused to let his prey go quietly, wheeling the thrown wrench. Had it been aimed at Jardin, he would have let it go but the woman had pause to open the door, making her a prime target and the meta-thief was force to reach out. Even as he caught it, an audible crunch was heard as the force snapped his wrist.

After uttering a brief string of obscenities, Corey lost his hold of both bludgeons and moved to intercept the man as he charged, slowing him enough for the woman to vanish through the shop. Now the brute was truly angry, having failed his mission. Jardin only had one good hand to fight back but knew he would have to suffer for the woman to remain alive.

Luckily, with a bit of focus, Jardin retained his composure long enough to tear himself out of his vest. The tattered fabric remained in the giants hands as the nimble man hung off his arm. Planting has feet, he fulled the charging man's arm over his shoulder as he turned. It took only a moment but Corey twisted the man down over his should, flipping him against the rolling toolbox from earlier. It was a brutal throw but with only one good arm, it was impossible to capitalize on it and the brute rose in time to catch a side kick to the ear. Corey needed to keep the thug contained for now...otherwise all his effort would be wasted.

Returning the bad smelling shop, she noticed the lack of woman and John around her. She moved closer but the terrible smell quickly stabbed her antenna. She did not plan to give up, not when there was a possibility of being reward by nobles. She placed her free hand over her hood to press down on her antenna and then entered the shop. Her stomach rumbled as the smell filled her nose. She wanted to throw up but she managed to keep her food down. She wanted to be finish with this as soon as possible so she decided to use her scouts. Her stomach felt empty as she mustered the strength to create 2 drones. Both of them where own the smaller side of her usual drones. They also both covered their antenna's as the sudden smell overrides their resources and one even started throwing up. A waste of resources but Emerl expected a lot worst. Sweat rolled down her face as her energy levels dropped. The girl released a sweet scent and the drones eyes swapped from blue to yellow. They understood their mission, find the girl and find the noble but stay out of combat.

The 3 split up moving slowly. Emerl happened to hear the sound of a body hitting the ground. Someone was fighting inside. Was it John? She hoped not... nobles did not like it when nobles got hurt. She rushed forward still keeping her free hand over her hood and pressing down on her antennas. As she moved she released a spicy smell which would signal the clones that their was a fight. Emerl came across a close door with the sound of grunting coming from behind it. It was her only shot. An exo skeleton grew on the top of her foot and then she kicked the door off of it's hinge.

The bruiser had been thrown for a literal loop and was still struggling to regain all his senses. Jardin had not done a tremendous deal of damage, though, left to brace for the big man's retaliation. Luckily for him, Dorylus had elected that moment to return, sending the metal faced door sailing into the brute. It hit with enough force to send the man reeling. By the way the thug's arm hung, Corey could tell his shoulder had been dislocated. "Nice," he quipped.

The thief turned to his companion and was briefly taken aback by what he say beyond her sparse clothing. He knew better than to show this though and, offering a roguish smirk, offered a peculiar complement. "Such lovely chitin you're wearing." Glancing back to the now screaming criminal, Jardin added, "Hang one a sec..." Unlike the downed man, Corey was unconcerned with his own pain and strode forward. The brute gave a slow, distracted slap that missed as the thief took his ruined arm and twisted it into an unnatural position.

Even as the man doubled against the concrete floor, Jardin looked up, scanning the room once more. Gesturing toward a wall mounted switch, he said, "Mind hitting that button for me? That should open the big door and let the stink out." He had taken not of the girl's discomfort so the last part was more for her benefit.

She hit someone with the door. An uneasy smile grew on her face as she readied to apologize. She was not sure who she hit and was sure her rep would be destroyed if the noble was hurt. Luckily his voice had already acknowledged the deed. She turned her head with her eyes still hidden under the cloak and saw the noble holding his arm. This was great. She did not hurt him. However, he was still hurt. Was this her fault? She dropped her smile and ran to him.

"Chit-lings? An unfamiliar with word. I wear cloak, dress, and bra."
A loud scream stopped the girl. A giant man was now over the door and rushing John. Let let out a chirp as she ready to protect the noble but he had other plans. He wanted her to hit a button and pointed to the wall. What was a button? She groaned and turned in the direction. There was definitely something sticking out of the wall. All she had to do was hit it. She turned to the noble and nodded before running to the "button." She made a fist with her free hand (without the cestus) and the exoskeleton grew back. Then she punched the wall easily putting a large dent and crushing the button. Then she turned to the big door hoping it would open.

Though the power behind Dorylus' hit was clearly excessive, it did the job and with a metallic groan, the door hinged upward, sliding back inside as the air within rushed out to mingle with the world at large. The sirens were much louder now, blaring as the police came closer. Corey finally felt comfortable as he began to relax...

To late the young man realized his mistake as something closed around his ankle. The large, angry thug growled through the pain in one arm as he used the other to snap the thief forward, casting him outside where he braced as he hit pavement. Adrenaline; humanity's greatest source of strength in confronting adversity. Corey had wrongfully assumed the man had burned through his rush already. Even as the smaller man rose, the brute was charging forward, pushing his initiative as he slammed the thief against concrete with a roar.

The immortal managed to maintain his composure though. Even as he hit the ground, he was kicking up, folding the man's good arm with his heels even as a thumb was driving into one of the goon's eyes. It was a particularly nasty maneuver and Corey was hardly fond of it. Beggars could not be choosers though and as the more broken man screamed more in his agony, the agile 'hero' rolled back to his feet.

A giant door opened which brought in fresh air, but it was not enough to make a big different in the smell. Her antenna where just too sensitive to it and she probably could not forget it. Still it was worth a try. If there were any other motives, Emerl was unsure exactly what they were. Turning back to the noble, she was ready for a new set of orders but his attention was taken up by the giant man who she hit with the door.

This was great. The man turned out to be their enemy so she did not have to feel bad. However, now the noble was just thrown out of the building and into the street. Also loud sirens were blaring. The knights were coming. Kaiju was hestitant on sticking around too long with people and blue around but she also did not want to leave the noble's side, not before getting a reward or finishing the job. Also he was still fighting the man.

Kaiju let out a loud Cicada cry and then charged the man. She did not plan to kill him but she wanted him to feel her strike and learn the punishment of hurting a noble who hired her. She would try and punch him off of the noble and was not ready for a counter attack. The smell was still eating away at her head just made it hard to overall think clearly while acting.

Jardin smirked as Dorylus caught the bruiser on his literal blindside. The trouble with an adrenaline rush, especially for those without the focus to counteract it, was a rather crippling case of tunnel vision. So, the big man's eyes swam as the reinforced glove struck him on the ear.

That was all it took and as the man toppled, Corey was already behind him, wrapping him in a choke hold. Dazed as he was, and unable to flex his one good arm in a way that let him reach the thief the brute's eyes fluttered as the blood feeding his brain was cut off; his arteries were still soft, making them vulnerable to the pressure from Corey's forearm. It took only moments for the large man to succumb, allowing Jardin to roll away.

It was around that point that the police arrived, three well equipped pairs pulling up in black and white cruisers. Hands rested on sidearms as the tried to make sense of the scene: to men lying on the ground, one clearly unconscious and a small girl seemed to be standing over both of them. Corey, winded, gestured toward the chitin clad girl, comically announcing, "She did it..."

She did it. The giant man fell to the ground and the noble did some sort of combat attack that choked the man. Victory was theirs though she was sure the noble would be a little upset with his injuries. As the blue men arrived in their flashing carriages, she would misunderstand the noble's joke. The blue men all pulled out their guns, a weapon she was not familiar with but heard was very powerful and deadly. It could attack really fast from a range prompting her to change the soul gem she wanted to use. Her exoskeleton vanished and shells started to grow on her body. She did not convert her hand into a claw yet as she hoped to avoid combat.

"Noble Woman kidnapped... I help... I fight for noble. I do good things this time."
Sweat rolled down her face as she took a step back. Her and authority did not get long. If this noble was going to sell her out, then she was going to be very upset. There was nowhere to run except inside of the shop, a place she really wanted to stay away from.
"Promise... Good this time... don't shoot me please."

The police saw the alien's armor form but largely ignored her. It seemed that the guns were a precaution meant for the large unconscious thug on the pavement as they moved to collect him. One of the officers had a pair of oversized manacles, likely meant to contain the man's strength as they closed around his wrists, at which point the weapons returned to their holsters.

Corey regretted his weak attempt at humor, as the officer's focus on the primary threat meant they could not put Dorylus at ease. Sitting up, the thief joined the terrified girl. "Sorry," he said before admitting, "I meant to sound funny, not menacing. At around this point, the large man was awake, barely, and stuffed into a squad car where he was further sedated for the police's convenience.

A pair of cops came over to the aspiring superheroine and her companion. Jardin was escorted a few feet away so that the pair could have their statements taken separately. Dorylus was left with a tall blonde who quickly pulled out a notepad. "Sorry if this is inconvenient. I just have some questions I need to ask regarding what happened here..."

The questions were pretty standard: How many assailants were here? How many were metas? What sort of superpowers were involved? She actually had most of this information but she was mainly trying to gauge the girl's honesty and corroborate the statement of the victim. There was also the question of the girl's identity and the officer pulled out a business card in the hope of trading contact information. It all might have seemed overwhelming of the officer did her best to keep Dorylus comfortable...

Kaiju was ready to flee. Her eyes darted around the group of blue men and woman, knights as they would be called in her world. However luck was in her favor. As they moved, their metal devices followed the giant man. They even brought in these giant metal circles. She believe they were called cuffs for hands. A silly name if you asked her since they looked nothing like cuffs the nobility wore , but it was not her world. Finally, the blue men put their devices away after seeing the man no moving.

The blue men picked up the giant man and stuffed him into their carriage after cuffing him. She was safe. She almost threw her hands into the air, maybe if she was a couple years younger... Meanwhile that noble man found his way next to her with an apology. Emerl's face went red with embarrassment.
"I... uh... not nice for noble! But forgives if buy me more bread," she turned way not wanted to reveal her red face or what little of her red face he could under her hood.

One of the blue men escorted John away and a surprisingly tall, no giant, blond knight replaced him. With a pad in hand she mentioned she had questions. Emerl frowned, unsure if she wanted to be apart of this. Last time she saw knights asked questions, they pestered the hero. Kaiju did not like being pestered. She looked at John who seemed to play along and he was a noble so she played nice.

"What is a-sail-lint?" Emerl started. The woman described as the person who committed the crime. Emerl brought up her right hand and started counting on her fingers.
"Four. Punched 4 people," She nodded before realizing something, "Wait... didn't punch one of them. Punched ground next to face. Then he fainted. Punched 3 and made 1 faint. People are fragile here so held back a lot."
"Superpower? don't understand." The woman then cycled through a list until finally hinting at an ability Kaiju saw in her world.
"Oh abilities. Uhh. Not sure. Your world people are generally weak. Have not seen anything special. Nobody had Aurian flowers on them either nor golems."
"Uhmm..." the final question was a tough one. Kaiju really did not want to give her name out to the knight woman. However, she already introduced herself to the noble so maybe it was too late.
"Dorylus. Only name will share."
The woman seemed satisfied with everything and even gave the girl this card. Emerl had seen one before but never had one herself. Sadly she could not read anything on it but the woman did not need to know that.
"Thank you... I think."

While Jardin was asked questions much along the same lines as Dorylus, the thief was much less inclined to tell the truth. He knew more about the state of the city than the alien girl, and conveyed his theories on the gangsters and their involvement in the dying pseudo-populist movement. He was intentionally dishonest regarding his own involvement, hiding his broken hand and giving all credit to his companion. By the end of the exchange, the cops were convinced the insectoid heroine was the sole participant of a 4-man takedown...a story that would change when they compared his story with the victim.

Eventually, the officers left to collect the other three thugs and Corey retrieved his jacket as he rejoined his newfound friend. Glancing at his hand, he joked, "I am all kinds of messed up..." His tone was hardly critical. "This is why human's aren't supposed to fight each other. Crap like this happens..." He 'tsk'ed before hiding the damage under his coat again.

Turning, the thief change the subject. "So, kiddo. How's it feel to be a full-on superhero?" He wondered if Dorylus understood. "I mean, you were already dressed for it, but now you've got an actual rescue under you're belt."

Kaiju smiled a little bit as the man made light of his injuries. It kind of reminded her of "him" and how "he" would pretend to be tougher than he was after a big fight. Her eyes stilled watched the blue men but she was less worried now that there weapons were away.
"Seen few places where no infighting exist. Your world seems more peaceful. Maybe why earth humans are... uh fragile maybe, on average."
The man words were nice in theory but in her world, one person's death was another persons empowerment. Even her strength scales comparable to the number of people who died around her. Still this was not a world wanted nobles to experience.

Looking back at John, she noticed his hand was in coat. Aurins flaunt their injuries while boasting their natural recovery abilities. Mechins and Turmans did not heal nearly as fast or well but with proper treatment, they too could recover from most wounds. This made her question the noble for a moment. Was hiding something? Did he have a reward for her? Maybe he was worried about his looks cause he was a noble. That's right, he was a noble and he got hurt.

Before she could say anything the man asked a very interesting question.
"Hero? No, not hero. Just Mercenary, or was mercenary," she pulled down on her hood more, "I've done many in life. Helped some, hurt many more. Could not save important people. Did not listen and now their gone. I'm no hero."
After a deep breath, "You offered me bread and are noble. So I help a little. Though wish I could stop you from being hurt. I failed. Is very sorry."

Corey fixed his eyes on his naive companion.  While he had joked about humans not being meant to fight each other, he was reluctant to correct the girl's understanding of human violence.  It was aside the point now, and she would learn that only a few places seemed peaceful.  No, better they just head back to the cafe.

Instead, his focus shifted to Dorylus' term for him and the woman.  She had been looking at him as some kind of aristocrat this entire time and suddenly, he grew uncomfortable.  He did not view himself as any sort of authority and the thief felt the draw to correct.  "Just a heads up in the future; most countries lack any form of noble.  With a gesture into the nebulous distance, he explained, "That woman from before was actually a merchant.  I, on the other hand," his left hand used to indicate himself.  I am an outright peasant.

All the while, Jardin and the insectoid girl made their gradual way back to smell of coffee and backed goods. "You did good anyway. I guess I aught to buy you a coco and donuts or something..." he remarked.

Kaiju was taken back by the man's statement. He was not of nobility and apparently such a term was not applicable anymore in this world. It was too ridiculous to be true. Did the dirt world not have people of massive wealth and fame? Where their not people so important that a stranger would not give their life to save them? Even worst, John was not one of those people. The girl grabbed her hood as she tried to process what he said.

Sure it was nice to help people but it was nicer to get paid money and or receive some notoriety. She could of... okay there was no way she was going to die, but she had to deal with that bad smell. It, it was not fair. Still, she did get free bread. The girl had no choice but to sigh.
"I less than peasant, So cannot complain. Really hoped you could link me to more jobs. Not good speaking to people. Hopes and dreams..."

As the two walked backed to the shop the smell of bitter beans and bread hugged her antenna. It was even more pleasant now that she was out of that smelly carriage shop. She could not help by give a small smile. Still she managed to keep her cool. Even if the man was not a noble, she did not want to make a fool of herself around him. He however decided to test her nerves with complement and, even better, a reward.
"Co Co! But that, such a rare food. Did not thing I did perform so good to be rewarded one of Aurina's most expensive treat," the girl fought the urge to cheer with the biggest smile on her face. This world is different. To think a peasant class person could easily get such food. She had to accept that this world was different, both good and bad.
"Thank you Thank you."