The Deadliest Game (Alamo, Chase)

Night Time. Near midnight.

Diana was eager to test her new cyber-ninja suit, using her the nano-technology to adhere to the wall. It was a strange sensation, but she could feel the strength of the adhesion, able to hang most of her weight on a flat wall with one hand. Still, the pace was a bit slow, and she tried the grapple next. It latches onto a fire escape, and pulls Diana up at high speed, a bit shaken from the impact. She'd have to adjust the motor's pull strength later.

She climbs up onto the roof of the penthouse of a uptown building, a classy place called simply, The Velvet Lounge. A large, round upper class club, with an almost entirely glass dome for a ceiling, that served very select and wealthy clientele. Many such clients were dining in full formal dress on the Lounge's public floor, while private booths ringed the mezzanine, affording customers a breathtaking view. Diana had vague memories- flashbacks of this place. Prodigy's intel stated it was very hostile territory to be avoided, with very strong connections to organized crime. And yet an invitation came to her to come there, urgent enough that she had to investigate.

She crawled on the dome undetected, and lowered herself over one booth, in the middle of several bodyguards.

There she came face to face with an older woman, her face made up and wearing a rich, form fitting, backless and sleeveless gown. It was of a thin fabric and left little to the imagination. Her bodyguards, large men in suits, calmly drew their stun batons. There were rules in the Velvet Lounge, and guns were  very prone to disturbing the status quo.

"Blood Sword. An interesting entrance, for a moment I thought you were some... hero." The woman spoke softly, with a self-assured, confident voice. She looked Diana up and down in the suit. "A new look. Not too shabby, trading in your street teen aesthetic into cyberpunk ninja."

Diana looked at her with a confused stare. She had her guards stand down, and allowed her to approach. The gentlemen in the suits comply.

"Is something wrong dear?" The woman in purple asked, wondering if there was something the matter.

"No.... no. You said you needed help?" Diana took out her device to show the letter.

The woman returned Diana's confusion, taking a moment to find the right words to say. It seemed the former assassin's demeanor had changed greatly since their last business.

"Yes. And I am expecting others. This hunt may be too much, even for one of your skill. Please, sit." The Lady in purple said, offering Diana a seat and pouring her a glass of wine.

"Oookaaay..." Diana said, taking a seat on the couch, her suit flexible enough to allow her to sit. She presses a button to remove the mouth guard of her helm, revealing the lower half of her face but keeping her visor- and identity- safe.

Apollo was making it through his daily journey. Currently, his chariot shown brightly, well above the eastern line from where it rises daily but nowhere near the western horizon in which the god allows his gallant steed to take their nightly rest at sundown, waiting to travel again at dawn.

In other words, it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

Chase was at a Wendy's, wearing shaded glasses and holding a cane. One of the perks to being blind? Everyone feels awkward and gets out of the way, letting you make it to the front of the line. Yeah, he definitely missed his sight, but the few perks he got from uncomfortable people really made up for it.

He ordered a baconator--he always does. As he was waiting for his order to come through, he felt a vibration in his pocket. He didn't know who it was, but someone was calling him on his flip phone (which is so much friendlier to blind people than a smartphone). He pulled it out of his pocket, flipping it open while placing it near his ear. "Hello?"

"We know who you are and what you do, Chase. Meet us at the Velvet Lounge tonight.", said a tough, masculine voice.

"Alright", Chase responded while beginning to flip his phone while putting it in his pocket. He caught it right before it completely closed with his thumb, immediately pulling it back to his ear. "Wait, who is this?!" It was too late. They had already hung up.

Later that night, so very close to midnight, he approached the front doors of the lounge. This place was prestigious, only the snobbiest of white folks ever even entering. In all likelihood, this was some elaborate prank, but, after making a few clicks and seeing that practically no one was inside, besides a ninja,  an older woman, and a bunch of bodyguards. Looked like a trap in which Chase was about to get stabbed, but oh well. He opened the front door and walked right in, still wearing his shaded glasses and swinging his cane.

Towards the group of people, he made his way, purposely hitting several chairs and bumping into a few tables along the way. Once he neared, he introduced himself. "Sup. I'm Chase. Why was I called here?"

The day had been sunny, clear skies and all, the time currently was about four o'clock or so. Quite a beautiful day really. Shayne had just exited the courthouse and was making his way to a sleek black car with a driver inside, he entered the back seat and the car began to move. The driver was to drive Shayne back to his house. On the way Shayne gazed at his phone, doing the usual business stuff, sorting through emails and organizing different things, he prefered to do a lot of that stuff on his own, his superior mind allowed him to do and figure things a fraction of the time it would take anyone else. Quite a gift really.

The driver arrived at Shayne's house and he exited the car and began to walk towards his front door, taking the long path through his front lawn. Once inside, he removed his suit jacket and simply hung it on the coat rack where his maid would typically remove it from and bring it to the wash the next morning. Shayne then made it into his private study and sat into his chair that was in front of his desk and opened a laptop that sat there. He then entered a 48 character long password that was encrypted beyond belief. Once inside, he checked a email he received 5 minutes ago and it read, "We heard about you from your.... Union friends.. Come meet us at the Velvet Lounge Mr. Baldwin, tonight, we assure you it will be in your best interest."

With that he stared at the screen for seveal moments before promptly logging off, he stood up and walked into the kitchen to a PDA looking thing on the wall, he then ordered the chef's from downstairs to cook him something quick to eat. With that he left the kitchen and went to the bathroom and showered, afterwards he brushed his teeth and freshened up, and finally got dressed and eat his meal quickly.

He exited his house and entered the garage, getting into his orange McLaren F1 and driving out. Once on the road, it was quite late in the night by the time he left. He made his way to the lounge and drove quickly in his nice suit, he made sure to also bring along his 'suit case'. He then arrived and sighed before exiting the vehicle, he saw as he exited the car, another guy enter the front door with a cane, and proceeded to walk to the entrance as well, and at the same time examined the outside. Once inside he observed the inside as well, while making his way to the group. The group consisted of a few men, clearly body guards, a woman, a overly advocate cosplayer of cyberpunk movies, and the same guy he saw walk in earlier with the cane.

He looked around at the various people and promptly smiled while turning his gaze back at the woman, "I was asked to come here, I do hope you'll make this whole ordeal worth my while, yes?"

The lady took a long sip as she held the gaze of each newcomer. She paused to scrutinize Chase and Alamo before speaking, her piercing gaze seemingly peeling away their outer forms... gazing into their souls.

"Dah'lings." She finally said, shifting in her seat to lean on some large throw pillows, looking at her guest side ways in a carefree manner. It was her distraction tactic, common to the Violet lady. "How nice of you to come."

A waiter came by a tray with wine glasses for the new arrivals, while Violet began explaining.

"I called you all here because you are... talented persons of interest. Several of my... legitimate businesses... have been compromised by the actions of some... new player on the streets." She poured herself another glass. She then twists one of the geometric glass ornaments on the table, to activate a hologram of security footage.

The footage shows one of the Lady's 'legitimate businesses', workers scattering when some costumed metahuman quite literally burst through the wall like the coolaid man. The metahuman was dressed in all black amor, and she was completely immune to the guard's machine guns, ran so fast as to be a blur as she moved took them out, and crushed steel and concrete in her grip and sent foes flying with her punches and kicks. Even when a metahuman guard who looked like a giant Rhinocerous monster came to blows with the intruder, he was floored after a brief struggle. The camera was then destroyed in the battle, no further footage available.

She rewinds the footage, pauses, and zooms in on the meta in black.

"I wish for you to find this trouble maker and see to... convincing him to change his ways. Whatever method you find suitable, as long as no further attacks occur on my... assets. Bring me his mask as a sign of his... understanding. Do this for me... and I will grant each of you a favor if it is within my power. Collectible at any time. What do you say?"

The Lady said with that teasing smirk and playful wink of hers.

Violet Lady was unable to catch Chase's gaze. Her attempt at a chilling stare had no affect on him. Things like that don't work that well when one can't actually see it being done. Through an assortment of small clicks he was usually making to get the most clarity out of his surroundings, he was able tell that she was gazing at him with a harsh stare, but it seemed more like a rude way to look at someone than whatever it was intended to.

He noticed that the man had some kind of metallic suit inside his briefcase after he had clicked a few times. Just great. Between him and the ninja, Chase probably seemed to be the most mediocre.

Nonchalantly, she shifted back on the couch as the waiter walked by, holding a platter for both Chase and whoever this other guy was. While he didn't drink, it seemed rude to decline, though, just in case this was some ploy, he only held it. Better safe than drugged and beaten half to death in an alleyway at two AM in the morning.

When Violet Lady twisted a glass ornament on the table, a series of small but still detectable to Chase clicks and clanks went off. He assumed that this activated some kind of projector or hologram somewhere in the room.

Now came the difficult part. He had to follow along with what was happening through the sounds the speakers were playing, and only that. It seemed like someone busted through a wall, then proceeded to knock some people around. Bullets didn't have an affect on them and they continued with incredible speed, knocking everyone around senseless. Even Rhinoceros Man couldn't hold a candle to her and was quickly put down.

He couldn't continue following when she rewound the footage and paused it. He had very little idea of what the specifics of the image was, but he guessed that it was the chick from before. "You must view her as really dangerous if you're willing to give a reward like that to three people." That kind of raised some alarms on its own. "Still, I think we'll be able to deal with her."

A slight chuckle emerged from Diana as she looked at the hologram of their target.

"Super strong, fast and stupidly durable. But..." Diana paused, the Lady allowing her to scroll back to the fights. She pointed out the mark's preference for kicking over punching.   " ...The style is mostly some advanced boxing and at least 2nd Dan Taekwondo, augmented by our mark's ridiculous attributes. and she isn't comfortable grappling." She emphasized that last part when Rabid Rhino grabbed her, and struggled to free herself with strikes instead of grappling counter moves.

"Still, not going to lie. This is going to be a tough fight. One mistake is all it'll take." Diana said, taking a sip of the wine to try it and- BLEEGH people drink this stuff?! How?! She puts her wine glass down gently.

Diana nodded in agreement with Chase. The Lady looked at Chase to respond to him. "Without my legitimate businesses running, this... person... is causing petty crime to rise in neighborhoods. I am sure everyone would feel safer if such businesses were operating, yes?" She gave him a tangential answer, but it summed up what she wanted: nobody muscles in on her turf.

Skeptical Shayne mentioned he wanted to know more about his teammates.

"Well mister, what you see is what you get with me." She showed off the Black Blade to him for a quick moment. It was a slightly thicker than normal katana, the extra weight useful to give it chopping strength but that was far from all it was. She drew it from the sheathe half way then putting it back in. For the slightest instant there was an ominous whisper from the sword, indistinct, hanging at the edge of one's hearing regardless of super senses.

It was vague, but Chase slightly remembered the girl and her name, Diana, if he wasn't mistaken. Her suit had made it hard to really tell at first, but it eventually came to him. It had been awhile, but he could slightly remember that she was also in Prodigy. At the time, he didn't really get to talk to her much, so he never knew she was so knowledgeable about martial arts.

As if he wasn't worried enough, she had just confirmed his worries, now sounding even worse coming from someone who at least sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Chase didn't stay in this pessimistic state for long as he resisted the urge to let out a quick, little burst of a laugh as her face soured from one sip. He managed not to, since it seemed inappropriate to do so at this time.

Then he started paying attention to the lady's words. Something about her just felt somewhat off, like she had some ulterior motives, but he very well could be wrong. If she was right about the petty crimes this person was doing on the side, taking her down would probably prove to be the best action.

Then the man with the suitcase asked about abilities. What he was about to do most likely wouldn't freak him out if he was anything more than just the armor in the case, but it was an amusing thought to entertain nonetheless, getting two chuckles from Chase. He set his glass down on the table alongside with his glasses, laying his cane on it, as well. "Alakazam", he said before completely disappearing, his absence replaced by a somewhat loud high pitched sound. It ceased half a second later, Chase rematerializing right behind Shayne. He tapped on his shoulder, which was sure to cause a bit of a jolt from surprise. "Now, you wanna showcase the metal suit in your briefcase, tell us what that thing is capable of?" He had been able to contents of the briefcase from earlier, but Shayne didn't know that.

The girl made a point about the meta's fighting style, something Shayne picked up on, a martial art, he suspected Taekwondo as well, but was slightly impressed that the girl was capable of deducing the exact skill level of the individual. Shayne made sure to make note of this and watched around the room, he noticed that the bodyguards were quite silent, as it would be expected, but Shayne would much rather talking bodyguards over the utter silent ones, quite creepy really. The girl then unsheathed a blade and seemingly showed it off as a result of him asking what their abilities were exactly. A good enough answer for now he guessed, she must be good with a sword of course, Shayne had trained with swords, but not enough to be on par with her skill probably as she's probably gotten much more practice than he had.

He heard a sound as the blade unsheathed, odd, yet undistinctive sound the origin wasn't clear, but due to the timing he assumed it was from the sword the girl had. Afterwards he watched as the younger lad placed his glass down and make his remark, disappearing, this made Shayne cautious and he didn't exactly trust this guy, but he went a long with it and within' a few seconds the young lad reappeared behind him and tapped his shoulder, it didn't exactly scare him but it did cause him to turn to see who it was. Shayne made note of this guys abilities and sighed at the lad's question and smiled, "It isn't the suit you should be concerned with.", he then looked at the lads glass and snapped his fingers sending a bolt of electricity at the glass, disintegrating the glass.

(Btw, talking about the glass of wine, not the eye glasses )

The destructive demonstration was a bit unwelcome at the private booth. Glass fragments flew everywhere, Diana reflexively shielding her face... except the particles slowed to a crawl in their trajectories.

The bodyguards moved to help clean up them mess, but the Lady waved them away, back to where they previously stood.

"Gentlemen..." She started but reconsidered what she called them. "Boys. I would appreciate it if you had your... male bonding experience outside of my lounge. The young lady has shown discretion after all, and not drawn her weapon." She said, the exploded glass shards finally stopping midair, not extending beyond the table.

Then exploded wine glass reassembled itself before them, an unexpected demonstration of power coming from the Lady. "I am moving one of my businesses to a more secure location through an easily accessible route- train. I am making it easy for our mark to... cause trouble for it. If he appears, deal with him... and bring me proof that he will disturb us no more."

Wine was poured into the restored glass, and the Lady took a sip, savoring the taste. The table screen lit up and showed the time and places the train would be traveling through. "Well. Go then. And return to me with news of your success... or don't return at all."

She snapped her fingers and the bodyguards return, to escort them to the elevator lounge, to be taken back down. Diana turned to them. "So... anyone got a car, or will I call an Uber?"

Chase was quick to throw his arms up as to make sure no shards, however small, got lodged in his face. That was a bit of a dick move. Yeah, it was a good showcasing of his powers, but that was his glass! Well, he wasn't planning on drinking it, but the gesture itself was still disrespectful to their host.

It wasn't long before he realized that the glass shards weren't flying towards him anymore. He let out an array of small clicks that, in all likelihood, only he could hear and noticed that it was putting itself back together. If this was Shayne's doing, the guy was far more impressive than Chase originally believed.

But alas, it was not. Lady Purple eluded to the showcasing being hers, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance as she somewhat chastised the both of them. All Chase had done was teleport.

He made sure that none of this annoyance was expressed and quickly buried those feelings. Whatever. He would have to work with this guy, so it'd be best if they didn't get off on the wrong foot.

He grabbed his glasses and his cane as the guards escorted them to the elevator. In respone to Diana's question, he said "I'm not allowed to drive, so unless our friend with a limbo here wanted to drive us would be willing to take us there, you should probably be calling that Uber. "

The nondescript Uber car arrived for them, driven by some hipster looking college student. He looked at the ensemble and was tempted to just drive away.

"...So... you guys cosplaying?" He asked innocently. Diana simply ignores him and gets him to drive.

TRAIN STATION

Diana climbs up to the roof of a train car warehouse to get a bird's eye view of the tracks. It was quiet, but not for very long, as the echoing sound of ripping metal rang through the place. At least their target wasn't that difficult to find.

"Looks like our big bad wolf is huffing and puffing." Diana used her helm's night vision to take a safe look at the black armored metahuman who was ripping off train car doors like sheet paper. When the train yielded nothing but empty cars, their mark simply stood still for a few moments, before losing his temper and flipping the car over. Then he remained standing still there once more.

Diana used her grapple to move closer, but staying out of sight. She communicates with her teammates. "So... who wants to go say hi?"