THE BUST (Open)

THE BUST
Location: Docks
Time: 2300 hours
Character: Elisheva “Ellie” Wong, CIA Operative; Office of Crimes and Narcotics

It was a very quiet evening at the docks, as a small freighter arrived; disembarking its cargo and it’s very well armed crew. Port officials were absent from the scene- the crew of this freighter handled all logistical works. Each one was in military camouflage dress, armed to the teeth with assault rifles and grenades.
They unloaded their cargo; from inside the massive boxes came the inaudible sounds of human beings, begging to be released. Inside were a dozen girls, chained up, wearing the same clothes that they’d worn since they were taken from their home countries- Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, China... everywhere from Asia, girls who wouldn’t be missed. They were Nobodies, plucked from rural villages and streets. The girls were too tired to cry, to protest anymore. No one could hear them physically, as these traffickers were experienced and well trained.

But, that did not mean no one was coming to their aid.

With one press of a holographic button, the lights at the docks went out, all equipment stalling. This was the signature of a raid- FBI agents clad in their operations gear, by their dozens, began storming this dock. Silenced guns and lightning fast tactics make short work of the scattered thugs about the docks.

“Good work Alpha-two. I’m reading only a dozen more hostiles in the area.” She said. She was a dark, ominous figure in the Port Official’s office who surveyed the battlefield with the eyes of technology, on holographic screens. She wore a crisp business suit- and at her feet were the corrupt officials that allowed this smuggling to happen. Several wiretaps here, a loosened tongue there, and the operative had deduced the arrival of the ship perfectly.

These officials were in various states of unconsciousness- they had the sense to respond to a government agent’s presence with batons, and as such were subdued by the agent who carried an arsenal in her coat. Officially, she had no jurisdiction on domestic soil... but the recent shortage of manpower of her respective agency and the FBI meant that there were fewer boots on the ground to tackle non-meta human affairs. Officially, she was supposed to be just the consultant.

The remaining thugs dug in on high ground in their ship, as the silhouettes of government agents converged on them. Their leader looked at his men.

“Open the cage.” He said, the men looking at each other.

“But the boss said...” they began to object, as some of their fellows cut loose with a mounted machinegun. The gunfire would cause but one squad to stop- more were coming.

“Do it. It’s what he wants. To make these freaks look like the monsters they are.”

Outside, Squadron Alpha-2 pause as heavy machine-gun fire pinned them in place. The bullets would rip into a volatile chemical container, causing a massive explosion that could be hard throughout the entire docks district. The FBI operatives would be knocked down by the shockwave.

From where she was, Ellie witnesses on her screen two thugs racing towards a particular container. She curses under her breathe- she didn’t have time to figure out what was in the other containers. She pulls out her assault rifle and heads to the railing, but even with her skill she could not hope to hit them both at such a distance. One of the thugs goes down to Ellie’s gunfire, but the reinforced container was opened anyway- and from it came a scaly, winged reptilian creature, roaring in its fury....

“Overseer! We’ve got a.... a dragon over here! They were carrying a DRAGON! AAAAH!” One of the soldiers on the ground said, in a panic, before communication was cut. Ellie cursed. Now she had to intervene to save those men. She fired a zip line to the nearest container, and zipped down to the engagement, having to face down something she was not familiar with.

Any curious soul that would investigate the explosion would come upon the scene of a battle- a massive winged reptilian creature of dark gray scales, as large as a Humvee, tossing aside armed FBI agents like ragdolls. A lone agent moves through the battle with a cool discipline and measured zeal. The awful sound of automatic weapons fire rips the air as she blasts the creature with assault rifle fire, attempting to draw its attention away from the beleaguered government forces. The beast roars in anger, attempting to run this attacker to ground. The boat, meanwhile, slowly powers up, and begins to depart the docks.

Sim sat cross-legged with her eyes closed near the water on an empty dock. Recent days had been difficult. Meta-humans had become the enemy in the public eye, and Sim stood out too much. She was human enough, she could always wear a wig, contacts, blend right in. She was proud of her heritage though. In fact, the recent meta-human hate had only prompted her to go out of her way not to blend in. Gone were the gloves that usually covered her clawed hands, and the sunglasses that covered her jewel-like eyes. Wind blew water onto her face as she meditated, but she didn't move a muscle. That is, until a large explosion rang off into the not-so-distant distance. Sim calmly opened her eyes. As she continued to listen she could hear gunfire. She soundlessly got up, and quickly began to run in the direction of the commotions. Sim had made a vow to be a guardian of this world, and she did not break promises.

Amidst the chaos of the battle, a small figure appeared largely unnoticed. A girl, looking no older than 14 or 15, with long blue hair and jewel-like purple eyes that shone in the dark as if lit up. She wore a navy turtleneck body suit under a purple coat and pants, her bare hands ended in long claws. Sim was awestruck by what she saw, a large dragon attacking a group of armed FBI agents. It was the first time Sim had seen a dragon since she had been taken from her home, though this was nothing like the giant, peaceful dragons from back then. Regardless of what it was, it was hurting others. She didn't know the situation, but these were law enforcement officers, and she was honorbound to uphold the law of her adopted land.

An FBI officer fired instinctively at the beast as it reared up a giant claw to send crashing down upon him. He instinctively closed his eyes right before it hit him, only to feel someone push him to the side. He fell on his side a short distance away to see a young blue-hair girl, holding the claw up with the hand she didn't just shove him out of the way. It was an odd sight, to see such a small girl match strength with the impressive beast. She placed her other hand against the creatures foot and pushed off, forcing the dragon to take a step back and regain its balance. "Just what in the heavens is going on here?" The young-looking girl asked in a commanding tone.

The agents, under equipped to handle the threat level, were performing a tactical retreat. Ellie was torn between protecting her fellows, and chasing down the retreating thugs. Bound to protect the agents, her choice was locked in, cursing as the dragon was about to fell another...

But then, she arrived. A girl. A meta-human, obviously, considering how she could appear to match the dragon in combat. This was her chance.

"Meta! you handle the creature! I'm going after the slavers who brought it here! Everyone else, get clear!" Ellie shouted, and sprinted towards the boat. It was quite a sight to see this particular agent's athleticism- her speed, her ferocity, her determination. Machinegun fire ripped through the docks once more as she was spotted headed for the boat, but Ellie already knew the place's layout, and knew how to take cover.

Now, some distance from the battle, she drew a pistol and fired upon the boat... but the round exploded with a surprisingly large blast, reaching the engine and causing the freighter to come to a halt.

The thugs went to the railings to defend against her, but she was nowhere to be seen...


Meanwhile, the dragon roared in fury at Sim. The beast was stronger, much stronger, but fought with a bestial savagery, on instinct, devoid of any training. Indeed, the creature fought out of pure emotion. It was in fact, afraid... its scales showed many burn marks, and a good observer would note that the beast was thin for its proportions... starved.

Regaining its balance, it whipped around to bludgeon Sim with her long tail, before resuming her savagery. Its respiration was too fast, breathing to shallow. The dragon was anything but an adult- those familiar with them would, with time, know it was nothing more than a youngling, abused by her captors and unleashed on any unfortunate soul it came across.

((Feel free to win against her eventually.))

The Dragon: http://superhero-rpg.forumotion.com/t5528-xiaolongnu

On nights like these the small Asian woman would normally be in her apartment, sleeping because work started at an unholy time in the morning. However, tonight was different. As she was given an involuntary vacation, she had nothing better to do so she volunteered to house sit for a friend that was touring Europe. Yes it was tempting to go herself, but the foreboding feeling that any day now, the Act would go into place and meta humans would begin to be round up like cattle forced her to stay. She didn't believe that she would be safer at home, quite the contrary. Jade stayed because she believed she could talk some of the younger metas from doing something utterly stupid. Yes the idea was a bit vain, but meta humans tended to be rather... passionate in general, and someone, anyone, needed to be the voice of reason when the powder keg was lit aflame and all of Tartarus came rushing out.

Speaking of Tartarus... the oriental woman was taken by surprise by the sudden explosion that she heard from the docks. She had not expected anything eventful tonight, however she was ready to act. Her black overcoat fluttered in the wind as she rushed towards the location, rather thankful that she had discarded that silly mask and costume so that she didn't need to waste any precious time to change.

"Thien dang," Jade muttered in Vietnamese as she raced around the corner and came to an abrupt stop at what she saw. "Thien dang," The short haired woman exclaimed as she stared in awe a the feral beast that could only be described as a dragon. Her mother always told her that a dragon would gobble her up if she went to the deep end of the water, it was now time to test that theory out. Immediately, Jade pressed one thermal covered knee onto the docks and pressed a gloved hand against the wet wood, preparing an attack. Wait Jade! Her conscience shouted at her. You always advocate peace. Why is an angry monster from the tales your mother used to tell you any different? Of course! All things needed to be treated with respect- that is after they're subdued and not prone to wanton destruction any longer.

Placing her best effort into her abilities, Jade pressed both palms into the wood and created a series of crystalline spikes that would grow larger with each subsequent spike, the series would then conclude in an array of crystalline pillars that was created in an effort to lock all four legs and thus stop the dragon from moving.

The dragon's rampage towards Sim would have seen her attempting to take a bite out of the dragonkin. Instead, crystalline growths trapped her limbs; seeing as her wings were part of her arms, it meant the creature was immobilized. The crystal pillars would not hold the furious creature long, but it did provide Sim and Jade a precious window of opportunity to act. Communication seemed difficult, the dragon having not shown any sign of intelligence. Their options were few.

One of the creature's limbs was already breaking free, though it roared angrily at the crystal's general source. More afraid than angry, it desperately bit at the crystal, then smashed its head against it- doing harm to itself as much as it tried to break free.

In the distance, the boat crawled to a halt, the lights on deck going out. Several flashes of bright light, and seconds later, it finally began heading back to shore.

Sim effortlessly jumped over the dragon's tail. The size of the opponent didn't matter, Sim was accustomed to fighting larger foes. Something was wrong here however. Normally a person's energy is focused in the limb they're striking with in a fight, but the dragon's energy was focused inward. It was merely thrashing about in the eyes of someone like Sim, it didn't have a true desire to fight. Suddenly the dragon was locked in crystal pillars. It gave Sim a chance to examine the beast, the lack of light being no problem for her bright eyes. She saw burned scales, and her mind instantly went to the burn marks on her own back. Sim could end this quickly with her abilities, but she knew she couldn't. This was not truly a fight.

As the creature broke free from it's prison, Sim approached it with her arms at her sides. She wasn't sure how intelligent this creature was, she knew if it was related to the dragons of her homeland it was very distantly. She had no idea what intelligence it had, if it could understand English, or if it was even a true dragon or some other creature entirely. She would try to communicate regardless. If that didn't work, she would have to try to let it tire itself out trying to fight Sim. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

she walked up to the dragon, just out of range of it's fearsome teeth. "You do not want this. I do not want this either. I am a friend, I am called Sim." She spoke softly, soothingly. "Please calm yourself, I do not wish to hurt you. I do not fight to hurt, only to protect." She made sure her stance was non-threatening, though she was ready for a renewed attack. She raised a clawed hand, and gave a sincere smile that revealed rows of dagger like teeth. "I know you have been hurt. I have been hurt too. I know you think you will never be safe, but I can promise safety. I am a friend, Sim the dragonchild, the protector. I can keep them from ever hurting you again, if you can only calm your spirit." Though she knew it was a longshot, she hoped that she would not have to face such an unwilling opponent. Time seemed to stand still as she waited for the proverbial other shoe to drop.

A curse was uttered in Vietnamese as the crystals began to shatter due to the machinations of the dragon. Jade was about to form more of her constructs to subdue the rampaging beast, however she stayed her hand when she noticed the, judging from the clawed hand, meta human lay down her arms (rather literally) and try to converse with the monster. There was a voice in her head that told her to keep restraints on the reptilian creature, but she knew that attacking the mythical creature could provoke it even further, and as a result the meta human who was attempting to calm the dragon down would be injured. As such, she would play the waiting game as well, and remain where she was in the possible case that the beast did not turn docile and required further restraints.

There was one pressing question however: What in the world was a dragon doing in L.A.? Until this moment she wasn’t even sure that dragons existed, and yes, there was magic in abundance in their world, as was obvious by the proclaimed mages and sorcerers, but there was never anything so… alien in L.A. before. Despite the circumstances there was a small smile across her lips. She could create solid crystalline structures from seemingly nowhere, and yet she had hard time believing in a dragon that was before her. Rather ironic.

Jade blinked away her thoughts and remained with one knee to the ground, growing ever aware of the growing wet spot around the area. Should the dragon break out as was before thought of, Jade had to be ready to spring out the most simple of her constructs, a spike. It might not be a lot in the way of defense, but she hoped that the prospect of harm would make the dragon flinch should it try anything aggressive.

The boat had returned to the docks, away from the battle. The FBI agents board it to assist Ellie, only to find most of the perpetrators had been slain, chunks of their bodies blasted apart by high explosives. The sole survivor had a crushed collar bone, and was catatonic. Ellie quickly made her way to the scene of combat, while ordering her men to stay away from the Meta humans and focus on freeing the captives in the containers.

The dragon, meanwhile, roared and was about to bite into Sim, until she had shown the initiative to stop hostilities. The beast caught her scent, and recognized the familiarity of one of her kind. Words were not necessary to convey the kindness the dragonchild showed- it was the first time in many months anyone had bothered to not attack the dragon.

Blinking her reptilian eyes, the large dragon’s head slumped with a loud crash beside Sim, her ordeal finally coming to an end. She groaned loudly, eyelids slowly closing, her gaze fixed on the dragon child, as she finally slipped into unconsciousness. Slowly, a change took place over the beast.

Ellie would only just bear witness to what was next- where there was once a massive dragon, as intimidating in size as a main battle tank, now lay a young woman, barely a teenager but tall and skinny, naked, resting in the impression she left on the dock’s concrete ground. The great beast’s rampage had come to an end, peacefully resolved. Now came the aftermath.

“Alright, freeze, both of you.” Ellie commanded, in the authoritarian voice of the law enforcement officer she was not. No, with her black coat and tie, she was the urban myth of Men In Black. Furthermore She held out a pistol of unusual design- unusual in that it was a semi-automatic grenade launcher, the size of a bulky, boxy handgun. She didn’t want to start a fight with two Metas whom she didn’t know the powers of, and started off with speaking instead.

“Where did the dragon go...?” Ellie asked initially, though any keen mind would be able to deduce the signs of a draconic rampage- the trail left by the beast. She did not witness any creature departing and taking flight, and where the beast should have lain; there was only an unusually tall girl without clothes. Slowly Ellie pieced it together.

“This girl... was the dragon? This is no good... so they’re smuggling Metas into the country now...” Ellie muttered to herself, the situation playing on her sympathies. However, she had a job to do, and Federal agents but a stone’s throw away.

“You two, I want names, affiliations and I.D. Now. No sudden moves.” She said with weapon trained on them; though seeing as the girl was alive; they seemed to have resolved this without violence. Without even looking, the agent removed her trench coat and covered the unconscious teenaged girl.

Thankfully, the dragon seemed to understand Sim's intent and ceased its attack. The exhausted beast simply collapsed and reverted to the form of a young woman. She still bore signs of being something more than simply human, and Sim momentarily pondered just how distantly they were related. Unlike Sim, the dragon blood in the girl seemed to be less diluted given the fact that she could still change between forms. She hoped she would be able to speak with the girl at some point.

Sim thought to cover the poor girl, though any of her clothes would be an ill fit, but before she could make a move a woman had a gun trained on her. Given the warm welcomes Sim had experienced since meta became a slur, she feared the direction this might take. She was honorbound to follow the laws of the land, but she had also made a vow to this girl.

Sim turned and looked at the woman with eyes that shone like jewels set into her face. She raised two open hands up to show she had no weapons and meant no harm. The woman asked for I.D., but of course Sim had none. She was still an alien in the country, to an extreme extent. "I am called Sim." She said simply. "and I have no taste for violence, and mean you no threat." She looked down at the unconscious girl. "However, the safety of this girl has become my priority. I can not allow her to escape from an illegal jail to a legal one." She said, wary to trust anyone pointing a gun at her. "She needs medical attention quickly, more than I am qualified to give her."

(deleted for Glint's post)

((You skipped my turn ))

((Oh. post then and I'll move the above post.))

Fortune was on their side and the dragon did not attempt to attack the Meta Human who was attempting to calm it down. It was then that something unexpected happened, the dragon morphed into that of a girl. Given all the time in the world, Jade doubted that she would understand the process in which this girl... dragon creature was able to switch in between forms. But that was not important right now, at the time being, the girl needed help- and from the looks of things, she needed quite a bit of it. She attempted to step towards the girl, but stopped when a woman with a gun came to her side, brandishing a gun in the direction of the two Meta Humans.

Just my luck, Jade sighed. Why did she keep helping people? It seemed as though every time she tried helping someone, she ended up being attacked. Though perhaps they would be able to solve the situation without being dragged into another fight? Should they be in one however... Jade assessed the situation she was in. The gun was some distance away from her, far enough for her to erect a stable enough barrier to stop the bullet and with the use of the nearby crates, she could make sure her escape; yet in doing so, she would be leaving the dragon-girl in the hands of the government, and goodness knew that government custody was not the best place for Meta Humans to be at the moment. Live to fight another day, Jade thought, justifying her choice to save herself if it came to. For now though...

"My name is Jade Tran," the Vietnamese woman called from her position, her gloved hands were raised in the air much like her Meta Human ally. She faintly made out the speech of more people somewhere along the docks and her body tensed. "I would listen to the girl," Jade called out, referring to Sim, "she needs help, and from the fight she gave, she is confused and scared, and my companion seems to be the only one that can calm her down. I fear to think of how she will react when she awakes to unfamiliar faces."

Agent Wong took a long, hard look at Sim, Jade and the unconscious girl. Not only was this dragon girl an illegal alien, she was also a Meta human- a dangerous one, that the bigots in Dominus would no doubt send back into a cage. Ellie would not suffer such a travesty of justice.

She pressed her ear piece, and spoke in a less hostile tone, lowering her firearm but keeping her shade covered eyes on them. “All surviving teams proceed to the next dock. Dragon and Meta human subjects last sighted heading east. Initial combat zone is clear. ” With that, the FBI takes an alternate route away from the encounter site with the dragon.

She looked at the two super powered beings before her, “Come with me then. We shouldn’t be out in the open. The L.A.P.D. and the fire department are on their way.”

She looked about the docks, her high tech spectacles feeding her information that would make her decisions easier. She settles on a warehouse nearby, and gestures them to follow. The warehouse’s service entrance was electronically locked, but with a swipe of her hack card, she opens the door, the hack electronically repeating the last authorized entry. She gestures them inside.

Once within the warehouse, Ellie cleared the warehouse officer’s table of the papers on it- neatly. She raids the first aid kit on the wall, wanting to help as much as she could with the girl. She quickly sets up a thermal blanket on the table for Sim to work on, and then begins mixing a powdered electrolyte beverage with a liter- bottle of water taken from the office’s kitchenette. She sets it next to the blanket and lets them work. She didn't bring her own medi-kit, and she didn't know if she could treat her.

While they were at it, Ellie took a step back to use her glasses. A holographic screen on the wall materialized, and she looked up their names on the national database, wanting to know about them via Government... before asking them personally.

The one who took stock of the girl's injuries would discover she was foremost, starved and dehydrated, her skin displaying the burn marks of high-powered cattle prods. She had only a few bruises, as it took large amounts of punishment to injure her. She also had an infection in her mouth, and skin rashes.

Sim waited anxiously. More anxiously before, when she was in reach of a raging dragon. She was presented with something of a moral dilemma. She was honorbound to respect this land's authority, but she had also made a vow to this girl. In the end, she knew what she would have to do. She could not let someone suffer like she had. Even if it meant throwing away her honor and becoming a fugitive, she knew there was only one choice to make.

Fortunately, the human woman made a compassionate choice. Putting herself at risk no doubt, and her strength of character did not go unnoticed by Sim. She gave a nod to show she understood the situation. Sim put her hands down and followed the woman as she led them to an empty warehouse. "You have made an honorable decision human. I will aid however I am able." she remarked in an odd, lilting accent.

Inside the warehouse office Sim looked over the unconscious girl. "I am no healer, such magicks take centuries of dedicated study." She said in a flat tone "but from what I can tell she suffers from no serious injuries. If she truly shares the blood of a dragon, she is likely much less frail than she would appear." She hovered a clawed finger over the girl's skin as she examined it in detail. With her short stature, she did not even need to kneel to examine her closely. "This poor girl..." She quietly muttered to no one in particular. "Yours is truly a fearsome race." She then looked back to the human woman. "She is not in immediate danger, but she is in poor health. She has definitely not seen proper nourishment or sanitation in some time. She will need nourishment when she wakes, though for now the most I'm qualified to do is clean her wounds." As she spoke she looked around the office, hoping to find something to sanitize her rashes and infections. She took a moment to look back at the girl, her heart overflowing with a mix of sadness and rage. She wanted desperately to take leave of this place at once and hunt down those responsible, but she was no avenger. She was a guardian, and she couldn't let her emotions control her. "Though, it is not her physicals scars that worry me...I know all too well how damaging such treatment can be to the mind and soul."