2010-07-25 - No Soup For You!

From Four Color Comics MUX

No Soup For You!
Summary: The Shade, Glory, Tao, and Wyatt attempt to capture Patricia Delaney and her accomplice Tad. A rather large fight breaks out, and the streets RUN WITH BLOOD. Okay, maybe not. There's some, though. But they do run with rats...
Who: The Shade, Glory, Tao, and Wyatt with emits by Liv When: July 25, 2010, evening Where: A soup kitchen in Queens, NYC

It's not such a large kitchen, really. But then, this area of Queens is fairly affluent. And it's summer; not as many indigents are forced indoors from inclement weather. But the structure still stands, put up by some of those generous affluent types who got a nice tax writeoff. It's not a bad place to beat the heat, except there's the pungent aroma of sweat and unwashed human, a ripe tang beneath the chill of air conditioning. It's Sunday evening, and the meal is not a hot one: salad, wedge of cheese, luncheon meats. Beggars cannot be choosers, and more expensive cooked food was not really an option when the place is sparsely populated anyway. Some raggedly clothed folk play cards or just chat; some have tucked themselves away to wolf down their food quickly while others are determined to draw out the meal and savor each bite.

Tad fits right in, if it can be said that he 'fits' anywhere. Apart from his size, he's one of these guys: slovenly, disheveled. The girl across from him dresses in dark colors unappropriate for summer, but it cannot be said that Tish didn't make an effort to fit in: her clothing is rumpled, it's not the fine quality seen before, and she's lost her jewelry and make-up. She is /not/, however, about to let her hair get messed up. Not by thinly 'disguising' herself, not by this humidity. She slips Tad her wedge of cheese.

Getting to the shelter, by the by? Annoying. It's been storming.

Geez, this sucks. Tao arrived on foot. He's in costume, but you can't tell, because he's wearing a dark green slicker with hood, and carrying an umbrella. No lovely slippers today...try rubber boots. All of all the days to try and make the 'big score', it's got to open up like God's pissed at the world again, and somebody better start building a damn ark.

Tao huddles outside, alongside the shelter, scanning cautiously, waiting for the others to show.

Its been storming. It matches the young Ninja's mood. After having his dreams offered, then shattered, and KILLING his mother, even if it was an illusion, Shade has not been... Himself. A little more serious, and a little more.. Violent. He tried talking to Trish, and Tad, and got Cracked ribs.

The Ribs are on fire as far as they are concerned, but he meditates on a rooftop, even in the storm to forget the pain. Then he calls Stacy. Asking if it she was going to work at this one soup kitchen and how ti would be a "Glory" if it was in the "Shade". Using the hidden meanings she had asked him too. Now he crouches on a fire escape, watching for the arrival of Tao and Glory.

When Tao shows up he hops down and crouches for a second longer then normal. The meditation helped, but the sudden movement of high ground to leaped to low ground causes the ribs to move, and he winces. He stands and walks to Tao. "This is where the info I gathered, and Wyatt confirmed it, said they like to hang out. We talk to them. If she doesn't go with it, I say we drag her tight pretty ass to the cops and make her confess." His eyes are narrowed. The Ninja is pissed. Probably more so then any of them have seen him.

Glory is in her 'secret civilian' disguise, which basically consists of a small fedora, trenchcoat, and huge sunglasses over her super costume. She'd actually worked at this kitchen before ironically enough. Not lately, 'lately' being since she aquired her powers. Frowning at the implications of that particular thought, she approaches the other two, frowning even harder at Shade's words. "We are not fighting in there. It's hard enough to get people to pitch in and help at these places without turning it into a warzone" she informs him severely.

Thunder rumbles overhead. Surely the trio doesn't dare fight in there. Blessed are the poor...

Tao has to double-take at Glory, but since Shade seems cool with her, he doesn't say anything about it. Yet. "Glory's got a point. Much as I want to just lay the smack down, we need to do this smart. Also, we can't underestimate Gothtart. Her mindscrewing potential shouldn't be discounted." He hmms. "If we knocked out the power, Shade, d'ya think you could get in there and, I dunno, knock her out or something? Under cover of darkness, I mean?"

"It won't be a fight. It'll be the big guy falling face first in his soup and Tish wondering why she can't move." Shade states evenly. He takes a deep breath. OUCH. He looks to Tao and nods. "I could do it without the power out. But the risk is too great. Glory is right. If it comes to a fight, we gotta get them outside. And in this storm they'd never see me coming." He gestures with a shrug. "The problem is Gothtart can Teleport, like Flicker. I've seen it twice now." He takes another deep breath. Really. Ow. He's gotta stop doing that. He's trying hard not to let it show. Especially in front of Tao who was present when he was injured as Tatsuya. Shade isn't injured. That wouldn't make sense. "Alright. You two talk. I'll hide. If she tries something I'll try to paralyze her and then lead Fatty outside."

The door to the shelter opens; a scraggly-bearded man shuffles out into the rain, muttering to himself. There's the sound of conversation -- at least until the door swings shut.

Rain continues to patter down; little bits of debris sweep along the street parallel to and right against the curb.

Glory offers Tao a smirk and a wink that you can feel through the sunglasses before her frown returns full force. "No violence at all in there. This is a refuge for people with /no where else to go/. If they're too afraid to come here they could die." she reiterates through gritted teeth. "Are you feeling ok Shade? You don't seem like yourself. Maybe you should stay outside as look out while Tao and I go in." she asks the ninja worriedly, doing her best to ignore the rain.

"If it's covert violence, nobody'll be any more the wiser," Tao points out. "That's what Ninjas do, right? Anyhow, if we go in there, and Gothtart recognizes us? Well...if she recognizes me. I imagine there's gonna be violence."

The Shade pauses looking in Glory's eyes through the sunglasses. He softens a little but its evident he's still upset. "I'm fine. Just ... She worries me." He states evenly. "But we have to confront her. We have to get her to turn herself in, or we have to bring her in."

A car splashes by. Most people aren't interested in driving in this, though.

Glory sighs, she really doesn't like doing this here, but if she left now the other two would probably tear the place down. Boys. "Fine we go in and we confront them. But if things go bad our priorities are the innocents inside, the building, then catching these two. Agreed?" she finally offers, her tone coming across a little more annoyed than she intended because she's starting to feel like a drowned cat.

Tao considers. He frowns slightly. "Well, hold a second. Glory...have you had any skirmishes with Gothtart yet? I mean...if she doesn't have a reason to hate you yet...maybe she'll listen to you if you want to, you know...parley. It's a gamble, though, because she might just decide to go poof. Part of why I favor the suckerpunch-in-the-dark approach. But if you wanna give diplomacy a last shot...well...at least they can't say we went in fists flying and...microwaves blazing."

The Shade listens to Tao and then looks to Glory waiting for her answer. He adds however, "I can follow in the Shadows. That way you arn't alone. Give a code word and I can be at your side."

"No, I haven't even seen her in person yet" Glory admits, "Fine, let's go in. The code phrase can be... 'I'm late for my tennis lesson'. Anything else?"

"Got an angle for what you want to say?" Tao asks Glory. "I dunno, maybe you're better talking to Goth types than I am. Maybe she'll listen to it coming from a girl, since she seems to have a hate-on for the jock-types. I dunno. Anyhow, I'm thinking you go in first. I'll slouch in a few moments later, trying my best to look like a deranged bum -- I don't wanna hear it, I know you're thinkin' it -- and Shade will obviously go in there all secret-like. If anything hits the fan, we'll be there with you."

Nearby, a stray cat, miserable with its fur plastered to its too-lean frame, races across the street to find shelter elsewhere (ironically). The observant will note that an equally fur-plastered rat, albeit a somewhat large one, has scared it off. Ugh.

The Shade repeats the code phrase and steps back against a wall. There's a small shadow there and he's gone. Fading from sight. "I promise to not move in until I hear it." He is crouched, and he is in pain. He is miserable and wet, and he is less then thrilled. But he cannot for the life of him refuse Glory anything. His eyes scan around him, in his trianed ninja way. Looking for anything that might be out of place or just not quite right. His eyes watch the cat and the rat. Yeah. That's... Not normal.

"Well it'll probably help that I'm not trying to talk to her and hit her at the same time" Glory remarks casually, "I'll just.. talk to her I guess. Find out what's wrong, try to convince her that it's a better idea to turn herself in then get caught, people will help her. You know, the truth." she pauses a moment to scope out the inside of the building with her x-ray vision before heading in.

"Hi, Patricia right?" Glory asks cautiously with a smile, taking off her hat as she approaches the other girl.

Tish and Tad. The former has a jacket next to her on the bench that goes along with that long folding table; the latter is simply damp from coming in from the rain. His bulk takes up... a large portion of that table. He really is huge. Wisely, he sits near the center to avoid tipping it over. Tish probably advised him.

The two are quietly talking as Glory approaches; they don't know her, so how is she notable? Until she makes herself noteworthy, though. Tad blinks guilelessly and bobs his huge head in greeting, his triple chin quivering. Tish merely arches an elegant eyebrow, and then tries out a faint smile. She can't afford to be /quite/ so haughty with run-of-the-mill types, these days. Even if she's running away from... stuff. Several other homeless turn a bit to watch the newcomer -- the newcomer who /didn't/ immediately go for the food. And who wears shades indoors. While it's raining. Hunh.

"Yes?" Tish asks expectantly.

Tao watches Glory go into the building and then folds and ditches his umbrella, hoping he can find it later. After all, his mom's gonna miss it. He pulls his hood down as far over his face as he can and adopts a forward-pitched, hunched over, shambling gait as he walks towards the door, dragging one foot slightly. Think old, he tells himself, decrepit. Looney. Tom Waits. Yeah...gotta be like Tom Waits. He shuffles inside and moves slowly around the perimeter, as if he were ashamed of his very existence.

The rafters are really the only method of hiding in a crowded Soup Kitchen. He come sin through a higher window, and then leaps at an oppertune moment for the nearest rafter. He almost screams when he catches the rafter and pulls himslef into the shadow. Instead a soft escape of air is all he allows. He moves silently form then. Slinking where he can along the shadows. His eyes always moving. Watching both Glory and the people around her. The sword whispers in his ear; << Kill the big one first. He hurt you, and can do so again. The woman is dangerous, but if you drop from the shadows, both will be dead before they can fight back. >>

He ignores the sword. He won't kill if he can help it. Not again. Shade watches the exchange while silently meditating, trying to ignore the pain.

Glory, honestly, is so used to being stared at by now she doesn't really notice. "I'm Anne" she offers and it's not exactly a lie, "I've heard you've had some problems recently and gotten into some trouble. I was wondering if we could talk for a bit? Maybe I can help you."

A few veterans of the streets give the other newcomer, the guy, the hairy eyeball. These are perhaps the most suspicious types. That or they are opportunistic and just... notice stuff. But if they notice anything, it's just the quality of the poncho. It's a nice poncho. They might not mind having a nice poncho...

Of course, they might not mind having a nice sword that validates the whole 'I hear voices' thing, but they don't know it's there.

Fedoras and long coats and shades, in the meanwhile, do not inspire trust; Tish looks neither thrilled nor affable, although her expression can't be said to be the /opposite/. She's just... blankly guarded. And then she requests, "Show me some ID."

Tad blinks, then slowly frowns.

Tao shambles over to a table that's close enough to where he can see both parties, but (hopefully) not close enough to be too obvious. He pulls a chair out and sits down, just sitting there, rocking slowly from side to side, muttering to himself about, "...what's he building in there...gotta right to know..."

The shadows hide the narrowed eyes and sweating skin that cna be seen. Metitation helps, but it is NOT a pain killer. Shade silently tells himself maybe he will go see a doctor after this. The sword continues it's ramblings until he whispers near silently, "Shut the FUCK up." The blade actually does, likely surprised by the young ninja's words. He focuses on the conversation below him.

Sensing that something may be wrong Glory raises her (gloved)hands in a 'I mean you no hamr' gesture. "I... don't have any on me" which is completely true, if only because she wasn't expecting to get carded by a runaway supervillain. "I'm not here in any official capacity, I heard about your situation from some friends and thought I could help."

The young Goth -- although she doesn't look so Gothic today -- pushes her tray away; Tad, after an inquiring look, snatches the food that's on it and starts packing it away. Even if it's only salad. He could stand to eat a little more salad, probably.

"Really," says Tish, her voice mild for all there's a slight crease on her brow. "And what friends would these be?"

Wait, which one's supposed to be the interrogator, again?

"...sixteen shells from a thirty ought six..." Tao's 'nonsensical' mutterings under his breath continue. Internally, though, he's steeling himself as he watches the conversation unfold. If it gets ugly, he doesn't intend to be caught sleeping.

The Shade tenses as Tish changes it around on Glory. He remains where he is though, but doesn't move quite yet, as he hasn't heard the code words yet.

"Just a couple of boys" Glory replies with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. She doesn't actually say 'annoying' but its explicity implied. "And yes /really/. Why else would I be out in this terrible weather?"

"Why indeed," Tish murmurs, watching Glory closely. Here, staring is the norm. "I'm afraid I'm not a great admirer of boys, lately." She is quick to amend: "Except for Tad." She spares him an amiable, quick smile.

He smiles back, then offers his own guess to 'Anne.' "Th'food?" He talks around crunching lettuce leaves.

As a point of possible interest for anyone watching closely enough: at a nearby table, a lean, hunched-over figure secrets bits of bread and cheese to his pocket.

Tao don't see nuffink. Well, outside of what he's watching. "Hey little bird," he mumbles to himself, "fly away home."

The Shade's eyes dart to the man taking food. He notes it. He has suspicions but doesn't move on it yet. His eyes then go back to the trio below him.

Glory finally spares Tad a glance and...

Wow. He's big. Huge...

Shaking off her nervousness by reminding herself that she could throw him into the sun(not that she would, but she could. And just knowing that made her feel better) spares him a strained smile. "They do seem to be more trouble than they're worth" Glory agrees heartily, "Except Tad I'm sure" she adds airily, finally taking a seat at their little table. "So, I've heard several versions of what you can do, what you've done, and what happened from pretty much everyone else. Why don't you tell me your side of the story and we can figure out how to fix this mess and get the two of you home?"

Tad offers his smile to Glory, now, before scarfing more salad. Tish watches him somewhat indulgently, but subtley stiffens as Glory keeps talking.

"I don't want to go 'home.' Tad doesn't have one anyway. Besides, I've fixed whatever I've come across. I'm glad you're a fan; I can sign an autograph. But I just want some space."

So much for little girl lost. Tao glances around beneath his hood. He drops the monologue for now. He feels wet. Humid. Sticky. Wants a shower. Wants to be chillin' on the couch watching crappy DVDs. He almost wishes it'd just hit the fan so they could kick ass and go home. He forces himself to relax...and wait.

The Shade hangs form his spot, crouched in the darkness from the shadow of a rafter. The sitting is aggrivating his injury, but he continues to meditate while he watches and listens from his hiding place.

"I would just /love/ an autograph!" Glory replies energetically, pulling out a pen and a small notebook, offering both to Tish. "Really? Was it that bad at home? Your family seems really worried about you."

"What's left of it, anyway," the not-so-Gothy Goth mutters. "It's easier on everyone this way." She writes, with somewhat of a defiant attitude: 'Patricia Delaney.' It's nice handwriting; a signature with a flourish. Here we have an artist. At least she hasn't mind-controlled people to buy anything she's made. Honor among mentalists, or something like that. After a moment she adds a little note: 'I did it.' It's what people have been asking her, you see. She's no fool.

The pen is offered back with a tiny smile.

Tad belches. Loudly. He mumbles an excuse-me somewhat belatedly.

The guy who was 'feeding his pocket' stands and paces a little near his table. For those that notice, he seems worried.

Up in the rafters, a rat crawls. They have incredible balance, you know. Ninja could learn a thing or two from them.

Tao just watches the exchange with the signature and all. He obviously isn't noticing any rats.

The Shade eyes the rat. Its always a rodent. Some ninjas bring cats with them to handle the rats. Shade has a kitten now. At home. Likely meowing his small head off. He'll have to do something about that before the Dormitory Heads find out he has an illegal cat in his dorm. However that is not what he has to deal with now. He moves out of the rat's way, and continues to watch the exchange. The man pacing has him nervous. Something isn't right.

"Well, why don't I take you both out to eat?" Glory offers as she pockets the notepad and pen. She might not have daddy's credit cards with her while in this getup, but she does have a couple hundred dollars in emergency pocket money. "Anywhere you want to go, as much as you want. My treat." She eyes tad as she debates offering to call a cab as well but eventually decides against it.

Up top: the rat pauses, whiskers twitching. It scurries a little closer, then simply sits up on its haunches. Right. Near. Shade.

Down below: the slight figure darts over to Tad/Tish/Glory's table, and sets his hands upon the surface. They, too, are gloved. His clothes hang off his frame and he has a baseball cap pulled low, though not low enough it hides a very pale complexion -- naturally, unlike Gothmakeup; he's no Goth. Or his overbite. Small dark eyes fix on Tish.

"Don'tgo," he says nervously, stringing words together. "Youreallyshouldn'tgo. They're/everywhere/. AllaroundyouImeanus."

Tad reaches out with a big hand and lightly thumps the slight kid's shoulder; he sways, nearly knocked over by the blow which isn't really a blow. "Chit. Relax."

"Nonono. Yougottago. Butnotwithher."

The Goth's guarded facade cracks a little; she looks puzzled. And for once turns to Tad for information.

"S'okay," he rumbles. "Chit's good people. Nice pets too." He begins to lever himself to his feet. "Maybe it stopped raining."

Chit shakes his head vigorously.

From where he's hunched beneath his hood, Tao narrows his eyes. Who the hell is this 'Chit' fellow, and why's he acting all whacked? Maybe just another vagrant looney? Tao turns his gaze to the big man as he starts to get up. C'mon big fellow, take your girlfriend and get out into the open...

The Shade looks to the rat when he hears Chit and his eyes go wide. 'Oh Shit. He's the goddamned Pipe Piper.' The young Ninja thinks to himself. He shakes his head at the rat and takes out his cell phone. He types words into the dispaly and holds it up for the rat. It Reads:

She hurt a kid. Please do the right thing, and don't Tell her about me. We don't want trouble/ We want to help her. Please...

He looks tot eh rat hopeful that his guess is right. It could be that the man can't read, or that the man can't read through his rat. But he has to try. Or its all about to go south.

Glory doesn't scoot away when Chit arrives and starts freaking out, but it's a close thing. "It's just dinner!" she protests at the crazy man, "Like I said, my treat and /you/ pick the place. It's not a trick or a trap or anything. I'm sure Tad would love some /real/ food."

The rat watches Shade with its beady little eyes; it then skitters closer, sits up again and examines the phone by touch (with whiskers) and smell; no telling if it's transmitting somehow to Chit down there.

Speaking of Chit down there, he shifts from foot to foot nervously, eyes darting back and forth and back and forth between the trio at the table. He favors Glory with a frown, then jumps back when she protests. "Yelling!" he himself protests. "Whyyougottayellhuh? Noneedtoyell!"

Tish squeezes the bridge of her nose, then gets to her own feet, reaching for her jacket. "A kind offer," she says, diplomatically. "But I -- we -- decline." Tad is sad. But he doesn't argue. Chit said go. "Evening." She starts to sling her jacket into place; Tad, being a gentleman, helps her out. She pats his arm, and... it seems like they're about to go.

Chit remains twitchy; he resumes pacing.

"Check this strange beverage..." Tao mutters, watching them, preparing to get up soon. "Falls out from the sky..."

Letting the rat do his thing, Shade keeps one eye on the rat, and one eye on the situation below him. Both ears listening to the conversation as it evolves.

Glory frowns in disappointment, but shrugs. They're leaving just like she wanted and she's entirely too confident that she can follow them, despite the boys failing at it(probably because they're boys). "What you're doing isn't going to end well." she remarks as she stands up herself, "It'll go better for you /and/ Tad if you turn yourself in, trust me."

Pulling out a roll of twenties she puts them on the table in front of Tish, along with a card sporting a phone number on it "Here, it's not much but think over what I said and try not to steal anything for a couple days. If you change your mind, call this number and leave a place for us to meet" with that she quickly heads out the door, putting her hat back on. Once outside she quickly ducks around the corner of the building, lifting up into the air about 10 feet and watches Tish/Tad with her X-ray vision.

Tish eyes the cash, then shakes her head, pulling up the hood of her light coat. It's summer, but it won't always be. And it's raining. "Leave it," she says, when Tad starts to reach for it. "Better yet... give it to, uhm, Chit." The Goth will keep the card, though. Tad tosses the money over to Chit, who juggles it a little before catching it. He sniffs at it, then spirits it away to one of many pockets. He's sewn more onto his jeans, inside his coat, too.

"Stillshouldgo," he advises. "They'restillaround. Icanescortyou." He offers this bravely; it's not usually in him to stick out his neck for someone. But he knows Tad, at least.

Tish kind of eyes him. "That's, uh, very generous of you. O...kay? Thanks."

"Chit knows all the good spots," Tad offers helpfully. And maybe a little wistfully. He adds, "Even if I can't fit there."

The trio intends to leave; Tish is vaguely nervous and Chit is probably /always/ paranoid. Tad ambles wherever led. Up in the rafters, meanwhile, the rat peers down to the exiting threesome, peers back at Shade, back down to the three, and then begins to skitter off.

Tao intends to follow the trio, but he knows he can't just get up and walk after. He waits, giving them some time to make their way out. Hopefully, Shade and Glory will be on 'em too. "Inside a broken clock...splashing the wine...with all the rain dogs..."

Growling silently, Shade watches as the little Gothtart gians a SECOND minion. However Glory did not give the code words and he promised not to attack inside the Soup Kitchen. He clears the message and sends another to Glory that says: "Time for Tennis Lesson after we get outside?" He then moves to follow quickly fading into a shadow to evade the damned rodents. Its a difficult thing, but he is the heir of the Shunjuri Clan, which means he has THE best ninja trianing. So now, he is even further gone. He follows the young Goth girl keeping the phone on silent, and checking the screen for a response form Glory.

'Play it by ear, wait for them to get outside' Glory texts back, doing her best to keep an eye on the trio, whom she fully intends to follow.

The trio move along in the rain quickly, although it is not speed born of guilt or even suspicion: it's raining, dammit. Storming. This might aid in regards to stealth a bit, but even Tad -- Tad, for goodness' sake -- will notice Tao within a block's travel, and recall him from the shelter; he frowns.

Chit tweaks onto Glory's presence pretty quickly, as well, hissing a warning and pointing a forefinger. Nobody seems to notice The Shade, but then, ninja.

"Please stop following us," Tish says, turning; her tone is reasonable, bordering on weary. She does, however, add with a little more iron: "You really don't want to follow us."

Well...crap. That didn't work. With nothing else to do, Tao decides to just...stall. He just sort of stands there, slouchy-like. Not saying anything, but he continues muttering. "God used me as a hammer boys...to beat his weary drum...today."

His ribs are literally a wall of fire on Shade's left side right now. Its almost all he can think about. All the crouching, all the slinking, all the pulling. It has aggrivated his side to no end. If it wasn't raining, one would be able to see the beads of sweat on his forhead. Instead as he remains hidden he listens to the exchange and then his eyes go wide. She's going to attack. Or worse. Mind Control Tao. He jumps from the shadows, the words of his sword still fresh in his mind. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" He calls out. His hands lashing quickly along Tish's back. Form the bottom of the spin to the nape of the neck his hands knife out at her. Then he turns and jabs a knife hand to Tad's jagular. He rolls to the side and to his feet pulling his blade as he does. But he stumbles. The Normalls perfectly balanced ninja stumbles and cries out in pain. This time the pain clearly evident in his eyes for the briefest of moments.

"Shade no!" Glory yells, assuming the stumble was simply a slip thanks to the rain. But it's too late, the lines have been drawn and talking wasn't really working out anyway. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt any more people or let an innocent woman sit in jail any longer." she informs Tish resolutley.

Although typically an effective shield for Tish, Tad has no idea what's coming; there's a reason ninja have their reputation. So when Tish staggers for the second time (the last time being a few days ago), dismay flickers over his broad face. He reaches to catch before she can fall even as the Shade overextends to launch an attack at the corpulent protector. Although the strike itself is true, it just cannot penetrate the rolls of fat to affect the blood flow or nerve cluster or whatever the martial artist was aiming for.

Tish cries out and leans heavily for a moment, but then shakily pushes herself back to her feet with Tad to steady her. She breathes heavily for a moment, and then glares in The Shade's direction; he's near enough for her to sense even if stealth still cloaked him. "Did /you/ fail history, too?" she says, ire edging each word. "I guess it likes to repeat itself."

Slowly, Tad releases her, and sets himself up as a bulwark beside her. He does not look pleased. And everyone here -- thanks to the news -- should know how he gets when he's displeased. When people hurt Tish.

Chit looks wide-eyed, which is odd because he has such tiny, beady little eyes. But then he hunches over in something like an aggressive stance. Motion flows from his pocket: a rat that flops to the ground and takes a somewhat similar stance. Very intimidating, that pair, eh?

Tao settles back into a...relaxed stance. He looks at Chit and the Rat. "First time I have seen vermin-style," he remarks.

It's been a very long night for Wyatt. No sleep, no shower.. and that's the least of his issues. He's been sitting in an alley near the area dressed in a garbage bag and ratty plastic slicker hood for some time, blending in with the street crowd. Yes, without his trademark hat, dressed like a bum, and dirty, he's an awful sight and an even worse smell. It's possible he was here on stakeout, since he's within eyeshot of the street the shelter is on.

"Youthinkthisisfunny! It'snotfunny! I'llshowyou!" Chit protested yelling before, but he all but shrieks this; then again, to be heard over wind and rain and occasional thunder, one's gotta be loud now and then. The spiralling of his voice, however, serves another effect: the pitch rises, and turns into a squeak, a keen of sorts, an ear-scratching and annoying chittering.

Shadows at the edges of vision move: from the gutters, from the nearby houses, from several public garbage cans, come the rats. A handful are as large as the cat that was chased off earlier; none are tiny. They form a dark brown-and-grey river, eeling along and glistening in the wet weather. Creepy. Nearly a half dozen fling themselves at Tao; some actually get through, although a few more are batted to the ground, two knocked unconscious from the fall. Their teeth cannot penetrate.

Almost a baker's dozen -- maybe even more -- swarm over The Shade, biting and leaving tiny holes in that costume. Some of those teeth even get through, and bite sharply enough to draw blood. That one rat in particular hangs on, dangling even as the ninja tries to rid himself of it, it naked tail swinging like a grotesque pendulum.

Yrrrgh.

More pain. Shade is not sure if his mother has EVER caused this much pain to him. He narrows his eyes and begins to draw energy toward him Using the Chi of all the living things around him. Chi broils off him, making his aura visible as a blue bonfire of energy. He brings everything between his two hands. Drawing the energy into a ball. The energy there sparking and arcing off the metal around him as lightning bolts. Then he slams his fist into the ground. Sending out an wave of Chi that fries rats in all directions. He nearly falls over again from the exertion. As the wave of Chi rolls forward and shields Tish, the energy burning the edges of his clothing but nothing more. Meanwhile Chit leaps over the wave landing in a rat like hiss toward the man who jsut burned away a fourth of his rat freinds.

Rats /everywhere/. There is no way Glory is going to wade into that, even if she does claim to love all animals, fur is murder, etc. Fortunately, she doesn't have to! Taking off her sunglasses reveals... a domino mask(there's no way that was comfortable). Assuming her martial-arts inclined allies can handle some rats(double ew), she eyebeams Tish, leaving the other girl scorched and slightly worse for wear.

Tad roars; how the hell did Glory hit Tish so easily?! Even /he/ knows that the rats are a distraction; it could be he's even familiar with Chit's weird sway over his 'element.' Reaching out, the huge fellow snatches up a towering lamppost, its light diffused by the rain. He attacks with surprisingly unerring accuracy, connecting with Glory with a swing that would do Alex Rodriguez proud. It's just a shame that he doesn't knock this one out of the park, although Glory will bleed from the blunt trauma somewhat. She is just made of sterner stuff than was that little Japanese kid he swatted the other day -- and a good thing, too.

Speaking of Japanese kids: Tish keeps her gaze steady upon the Shade, and he will feel the insinuating grasp of a mind trying to seize his own. It takes a painful redoubling of effort, but he is able to throw off the mentalist's attempt... this time.

"You idiots!" she shouts above the rain. "Roth got a cut on the hand! That bitch, Miss Smythe, a little embarrassment, boohoo. You only /wish/ you could have broken that asshole's arm at the park, and that wasn't even me! People /ran/, I made them /run/. Leave me alone!"

Wyatt looks out from the alley he's in, and sighs, closing his eyes for a few moments. He takes a deep breath and bounds out, landing before Tad. He frowns at the behemoth, and speaks loudly enough to carry. "That's enough." He scowls then, and lifts a hand to jab a finger at Tad's face. "That's enough!"

"Dude, your Kung-Fu is...disgusting..." Tao manages to shake off enough rats to make enough space to move in. He sets his face, raises his hands, turns and brings them in and then out as he steps forward, pushing a burst of chi outwards to slam into Chit, sending him reeling. "If only I'd studied Cat style..."

Several rats climb up on Chit, squeaking anxiously as they check on their master. Some are singed from The Shade's attack; a few carry scraps of fabric torn from heroes' costumes. Taking comfort in them, Chit shakes himself out of his daze.

"Disgustinghuh? Youknowwhat'sdisgusting? Rustedmetal!"

He bristles, and swipes a switchblade going unhealthy-orange from a pocket. He flips it out, and although he's not the most frightening thing out there, he is /fast/: he darts forward, then back; then to the side. Then he lunges in and back out all without touching. His feet are a blur, adding to the hypnotic, dizzying swirl of moving rodent bodies. He even tumbles over them, even leaps /over/ Tao at one point. And even as the martial artist turns, he rolls right between the deflector's legs, coming up behind him and slashing behind the knee. He's not immensely strong like Tad; the knife is just a knife. But he chose a weak point, and blood will be drawn.

During that mano-a-mano battle, a portion of the swarm launches itself at the ninja, sensitive to the ill will the others bear toward the instigator of the attack. Most leap and miss; some connect but cannot hold on, the ninja's twisting and weaving making them drop. They /are/ just rats. But a trio hang on, and again the sharp teeth nip. Two more deep punctures; one gnawed-upon belt.

More rats! Shade leaps and spins in the air drawing energy toward him as he does. He lands behind the large for of Tad, with that same ball of Energy broiling between his hands He slams his fist down with a yelled "NINPO CHI!!!" The blast catches the big man full on in the back burning and singing clothing, but not affecting the skin beneath. More rats squeel as the energy fries them and they fall over smoking. He stays crouchined cluthing his side and breathing heavily.

Opting to fly down into melee, because both the rats are gone and using her eye lasers makes her eyes all bloodshot the next day, Glory swoops down, intent on knocking out Tish with a gentle(for someone who can throw cars) tap on the head. Unforrtunately, Tad's speed belies his bulk and blocks the hit with himself, leaving him reeling.

Wyatt narrows his eyes when the blast hits Tad. He steps forward and clocks the huge youth once across the jaw, snapping his other arm out to clamp it down and trap him in a headlock. The young ranch hand turns to regard Chit for a moment, and his features chill into genuine anger, now. His free hand flexes before clenching tightly into a fist.

"Hrnngh?" Tad asks intelligently. By the time he /can/ answer Wyatt, he's taken a blast up close and personal and a fierce blow to his cranium in the name of protecting Tish. Very devoted, is he. That devotion, however, is rewarded with with a continued pummeling and even a bearhug to add insult to injury. Too dazed to resist, he is recovering yet.

Tish, in the meanwhile, is trying to shake off her own malaise, nerves still affire from the initial attack whith The Shade had launched. She steps away from the melee-embroiled Tad, now, and, biting her lip to realize she's in the open, and that the advantage the rats had given her has been whittled down, she decides she needs another defender. A hand lifts, and she makes a grasp-and-twist motion.

"You!" she says, and beckons Tao -- /forces/ him to become her next 'minion,' as it were. "My loyal knight." Just a little irony dripping, there. Then she snaps: "Defend!"

Tao stops. His eyes glow red and he disengages from his sparring with Chit to move directly in front of Tish, protectively, in a defensive stance. "None shall harm her," he declares, "while I'm alive to prevent it."

Chit stares in astonishment as Tao breaks off the engagement. He seems about to leap on the other's back when he realizes what game he's up to. Or rather, what game Tish is up to. He laughs -- which is also high-pitched -- but quickly sobers. His rats are dying for him, for Tad, for Tish. Some fling themselves at each of the remaining targets, although none are able to do anything this time around. They drop; some are still. He won't even get to revive the injured ones or bury the dead properly, because...

"Weneedtogetouttahere," he says urgently. This urgency carries him forward, darting low. The switchblade is passed nervously from hand to hand, and he slips in toward the Shade. Did he notice the otehr favoring his side? Perhaps. He targets that area, and the rusty knife jaggedly tears across skin and the underlying cracked ribs, laying open flesh and driving the ninja to his knees as blood is spilled.

The indigent 'pied piper' keeps moving forward, and only once he half-crouches behind Tish (who is herself behind Tao) does he look back to see the damage. He allows a pleased little chitter-like sound. And then he shakes his head at his folly. "Gottagogottagoc'monIknowtheway..."

Falling to his knees, Shade drops his sword that clatters on the ground next to him. He clutches the side with the broken/cracked/stabbed ribs and tries to take deep breaths to steady himself. It is very painful to even breath. He tries to get to his feet, and then falls forward again closing his eyes as he concentrates on just staying conscious.

"Argh! What is /wrong/ with you?! Do you know how perverted what you're doing to people is?!" Glory practically screams at Tish as she floats a little higher, eyes crackling with power as they unleash another blast that twists and bends like a snake, dodging around anyone who would try to block it to slam into the gothtart, leaving her singed and smoking. "Wyatt! Help Shade!" she calls over the storm, though whether it's to bandage him up or take care of Chit is unclear. Knowing her, probably both.

Wyatt blinks when he sees someone go down in a spray of blood. He twitches, and Tad is able to pull free of him without much effort. Wyatt barely seems to notice, though. The youth roars a bestial, almost stentorian bellow of pure rage and vaults at Chit. He claws at the knife-wielding youth and manages to grab a fistful of collarbone with one hand, though the enraged slamming of Chit into the ground doesn't seem to hurt the other boy much. Wyatt bares his teeth at Chit and doesn't speak -- he snarls like an animal.

Somehow wresting himself free as Wyatt switches tactics and targets, Tad's gaze follows the flight, the landing, the grab of Chit, the brutally efficient takedown. His ire rises again. Hoisting himself fully upright, his face is red -- red like the blood that spills from Shade before the rain dilutes it. The rain does not soften the tint in the big guy's face, however. Enraged -- he's known Chit even longer than he's known Tish -- he reaches for Wyatt while the other's back is turned, attention directed elsewhere. He snags him, steadying him while a massive fist lands squarely /right/ at the temple. It's enough to shake Wyatt's hold; then Tad flings /him/ to the ground face first... and drives downward with an elbow to the other's spine. It's... a lot of weight, a lot of punishment, to take. The breath, and consciousness, will be driven from the powerhouse cowboy. He's been taken down by a powerhouse of a blob.

Breathing heavily, face purpled, Tad rights himself to stagger over to Tish and near the somewhat dazed Chit, loyal guard dog alongside Tao.

"Should go," he mumbles, panting.

"Huh? Wh-what? What??! Holy shit, you BITCH!" Tao somehow manages to wrench his mind free and shakes his head to clear it, then launches himself at the antogonists, hands flying as he goes for vital nerve clusters. Unfortunately, only Tad seems affected.

"C'monc'monc'mon!" Chit says, plucking at Tish now that she seems to have recovered. He also swats at speedy Tao, but isn't affected by the nerve strikes anyway. "Wegottagooooooo. Folloooooow." And because he is, well, a rat, he has two orders of business: get stuff, and get away. First order of business: he plucks Shade's sword up from the ground. And then he skitters off, hunching over to make himself a smaller target. He's faster than most might give him credit for, and quickly disappears through the wavery rain and rounds a bend. From there, he knows the warren of streets, backstreets and alleys best...

Glory continues to float high up in the stormy night sky, raining golden lightning bolts down on the gothtart like some sort of vengeful, beardless deity.

Unfortunately said gothtart seems to be taking it pretty well.

Managing to push himself to his feet, Shade is just in time to see The Resplendent Plum-Blossom Ghost Blade be snatched and run off with. He looks at Wyatt, knocked down by Tad. Wyatt. Who went toe to toe with /Terror/. More importantly he is also his freind. "I'm sorry Sensei." He says softly in Japanese. "I'll find you." He stands and run forward, blood dripping as he goes. He leaps at the last second and screams with a loud "KIA!" His foot lashing out to crack the big man in the side of the house. He lands and stands up and gives a series of vicious knife hands to the big man's kidneys and then spins giving a back hand to the large man's face with a resounding CRACK. He can barely stand. But Wyatt is his freind. He stands tall and narrows his eyes as he says in a deadly tone. "Stand down Tad. Stand down or I will be forced to hurt you more." He wavers. His COnstume is torn to shreds, though his scarf is still covering his face. Blood drips in the rain from his many cuts, not to mention the stabbing.

Tad takes a few steps back with the onslaught from the ninja; and rubs at those new bruises a bit. He still breathes heavily, but he has breath enough to snort. "No. She needs me. Until I'm done, I'm here for her." He also has time enough, now that the Shade seems spent and Wyatt is down for the count, to pick his target. Glory has been a threat; he takes a few more steps aside, and hoists a minivan from its parking spot. It gets a spin as though he were throwing something as innocuous as a discus... and then it flies straight and true toward Glory. It crumples upon impact, but with such strength behind it that it may well knock the woman out of the air. There is a CRASH as the vehicle itself falls.

And then Tad rests his hands upon his thighs, doubled over.

Tish has finally -- finally! -- recovered, except for a few bruises and minor burns. She turns to flee, then pauses. "C'mon, Tad," she mutters. She thinks to buy him time, but her effect does not take with everyone. What everyone /can/ feel is a sharp jerk in their minds, a weird twist in the brain. It's a manipulation of the way memory and perception works; it does strange things, where Tish is successful. Glory and Tao can shake this off, although they might have strange phantom visions for a few moments.

The poor, beleaguered Shade, however, essentially hallucinates. To his mind, the nearest ally resembles Tad, while the corpulent bruiser takes on the appearance of allies -- and the ninja is not even aware of the switch.

And then Tish runs.

"It's not that easy, Gothtart!" Tao growls. "You're not getting away!" He closes the distance between himself and her and performs what almost seems like a slow motion slap...but when it lands, it definitely rocks her fairly well. So yeah, Tao hit a girl. But it was with an open palm...so that's okay, right? Maybe not.

As Tad throws the car that impacts Glory, Shade's eyes go wide. "GLORY! NOO!" Then The Mental attack hits and Shade stumbles again. Replacing in his eyes Tad With Glory. He snarls at the percieved Tad. "You hit her." He states evenly. "You. Hit. HER!" does a fast round house that connects with the side of Glory's head. Then he punches with a knife hand to her jugular. As she falls, Shade still thinks he hit Tad. He kneels down and cocks back a fist ready to drop the hammer on him. "You. Will. NOT, hurt her or ANYBODY Else again! Do you understand me?!" Then he blinks his muddled brian begining to clear. He stares with wide eyes terror. "Oh Kami..." He says in Japanese before switching back to English. "Stacy," he whispers softly falling to his knees beside her. "I'm... I'm so sorry. Oh God. Oh God..."

Glory was so busy staring down Tish(with eyebeams) to notice the mini-van sailing through the air right towards her. So it's pretty surprising when it hits her with the telltale 'crunch' of bending steel and breaking glass. She must have blacked out, because the next thing she knows, she's lying in a puddle, her super secret I.D. coat is ruined. Then /a certain ninja who shall remain nameless, but likes to pretend he can surf/ proceeds to beat the snot out of her. All she can do is groan and weakly try to push her assailant(Shade) away.

Tish very nearly takes a knee. She then straightens with all the dignity she can muster in the rain... and looks Tao straight in the eye. "I think you might want to tend to your friends," she murmurs as water streams down her face. "They're attacking each other. All powers that be strike me down if I lie." Of course she's not lying. She's the one that set them at each other's throats. Tao knows she can do it; /he/ was about to do it.

As for the real Tad? He is a bit wide-eyed at the carnage. Really, /he/ doesn't know the full extend of Tish's powers and he's never seen /that/ before. A psycho-switcheroo. For one lucid moment it makes him ponder. And then he grunts.

"Good... going," he taunts the ninja, panting, absolutely exhausted. He totally spent his strength. But still he tosses a smirk Shade's way.

All the better to distract and give Tish some time to get away.

"Lying won't save you now you bi-" Tao begins, already raising his hand for the next blow...but he looks...and his mouth hangs open. "Shade?! Shade! Glory! What the hell?" He forgets about Tish and dives into the midst of his allies, "What the hell is going on here?!" He adopts a full defensive pose daring anybody to attack again.

As Glory pushes him away, Shade rips his scarf off and drop it on Glory. He walks right past Tao with his eyes narrowed, "Make sure she's comfortable.." He states. Yeah Tao, Shade is that Surfer dude from the mall. He walks right up to Tad and John Wayne Punches him. He laughs, at the little Ninja, but Shade doesn't stop. He jsut keeps punching. Even once Tad falls over, blood pouring from his nose and mouth, the Ninja is just pummeling the man. A few kicks are launched in the process. Then he falls to his knees and looks at the blood soaked ground being washed by the rain. He looks at his hands and then over his shoulder and the pain throbbing form the broken ribs and knife wound. And he screams REALLY loud in rage.

Lightning splits the sky; thunder growls.

What's left, here? Wounds. Injured allies. Many rats. An unconscious Tad.

The rain continues to fall.