2013-01-11 Please hammer don't hurt 'em

It's a normal late afternoon in Queens. People are moving down the streets, cars are moving down the streets, neither one meeting in any particularly gruesome fashion. It's not the best part of town, but it's not the worst, and someone at least cares enough to have set up a long line of construction across one of the roads and several building faces. Which, of course, means that traffic is basically at a standstill. Norman just happens to be one of the men still at work, driving a wheelbarrow back and forth along the sidewalk with his huge arm-claw-things.

Of course, while that's kind of weird, there's something else to worry everyone else soon enough. It's a truck! An armored vehicle bearing one of the local security company logos. It's also apparently in a hurry. Since it plows right through the construction zone, over a few potholes, and promptly flips over. Everyone honks in jaded, New York annoyance.

Among the pedestrians today is Diana, Ambassador and Princess of Themyscira. In a civilian guise, no less. Which... really doesn't help much, despite the different clothing style and hairdo. She still attracts attention, though thankfully not as much as she would were she in her normal clothes. Still, she weaves around the gawkers, making her way to the edge of the street in time to see the security vehicle barrel through the construction zone. "That's... not going to be good," she notes mainly to herself. She vanishes into an alley, mere moments passing before she reappears in the air in her Wonder Woman garb, chasing down the vehicle from the air.

Norm's day probably got a lot more interesting. The man, busy flailing his arms around when while the car skidded to a stop, now seems to be attempting to shoo the remaining workers from the immediate area. Nobody even cares enough to cat-call at flying women, it's a tragedy.

As for the truck itself, it comes to rest with it's front planted in a ditch, half on its side, and unmoving. Then come the police sirens in the background. Of course, they have to make it through traffic, so it might take a bit of time.

Hey, most people are too busy running from trouble to bother catcalling at Wonder Woman. That's fine by her. She leans just outside the ditch. "Hello? Are you all right in there?" is just her opening call. She then lifts herself to move briefly through the air, peeking through the driver's side door. She's hoping nobody's seriously hurt.

The flipping truck is seen from far above. A streak of red light descends, revealing itself to be mostly orange, and mostly woman -- the rest is just crimson hair and contrail. Starfire lands next to Wonder Woman: "Is anyone injured?" Her hands rest on the truck, ready to peel away a layer if need be.

It takes several seconds for the answer to come. When it does, it's kind of weird. The back doors of the truck are slammed open with a clang, and the insiders are revealed. It's kind of like a clown car with how many men are packed in there, though the one at the front is the most interesting. He's...King Tut? Well, he has the hat. Looking less ridiculous are the submachine guns everyone else has. Fire is immediately opened on anyone near the vehicle. In the background Norm, adhering to OSHA regulation, puts on his hardhat in this dangerous situation.

"I don't know," Wonder Woman admits. She starts to turn towards Starfire, but movement catches her eye. People. Guns. Then the shower of bullets and the Amazon lifts her arms, using her bracelets to deflect one after the other into the ground. "I have a feeling these men may have some answers for us, however!"

Starfire is about to introduce herself, possibly, when the doors open, and gunfire explodes. The alien heroine lets out an honest-to-gosh /gasp/, the kind someone would make when their favorite Secret Circle character is subjected to an unfair plot twist, et cetera. Her own bracers are far less bullet-spanging -- instead, after lifting into the air to keep their fire up that-a-way instead of bystander-ground-level, her fists extend and pink starbolts pulse out, toward the truck. "There are /citizens/ around!" she admonishes the thugs in disbelief.

The goons, remorseless monsters that they are, refuse to be chided. They also seem pretty surprised to be firing upon at least two genuine superhero. It does not do good things for moral. They all scramble and kick their way out of the trick, beginning to scatter in different directions, all of them hauling rather large looking duffel bags filled with things that probably don't belong to them. The man in the weird hat is the first away, and everyone fires into the air occasionally to keep people at bay.

And then two of them get slammed backward by a cracking yellow wall of energy. Which seems to be coming from Norm. "Uh, hi," The construction worker calls in the direction of the two women, "I'm just helping!" He doesn't know about super hero etiquette, but he figures he should make people aware. It's only polite.

"I don't think they care about the public!" More bullets get deflected into the ground. Diana's not risking sending them anywhere else. She nods when Norm jumps in to help. "Appreciated!" she calls out, deflecting a high bullet into one of the wheels of the truck. Bad angle. She didn't have any other choice.

"Hello, Just Helping! I'm Starfire! But we can introduce ourselves more later -- someone's got to catch these crooks!" As the men try to run away, Starfire gives chase, whizzing around bullets -- her huge hair, it turns out, is as effective a distractor as any around. She slings starbolts here and there, not so much trying to peg the criminals straightaway as corral them into a more easily followed direction.

The crowd is kept relatively safe by Wonder Woman's efforts, and most of them have the sense to run in another direction or get behind cover. The crooks themselves soon all kind of get bunched up in a big group, stampeding toward one of the alleyways in attempt to avoid the bolts hitting the street around them. And the hair, god there's so much hair! Where do you shoot!? Diana's job is soon made a bit easier by another forcefield popping to life between the criminals and the street, keeping bullets at bay. "I really don't get paid to do this. It's not my job!" Norm laments. At least Wonder Woman has a bit taken off her plate.

Thank goodness for help! When there's a pause in the spray of bullets Diana reaches for her lasso, sending it sailing through the air at two of the men, whom she yanks it back on. If her aim is true, when she tightens the lasso it should force the gun arms down, effectively disarming two of the men for the moment.

Starfire continues to chase her new best pals into the alley, in the worst and most unfair game of tag there ever could be. She zips ahead, in front of them, and once they're deep enough in the alley, she touches down -- more or less leaving them with the option of 'running back out, toward Wonder Woman.' "Halt! Go no further!" the Tamaranean cries, and at this point, option two might become obvious, which is 'shoot bullets, from guns, at a woman who is wearing a metal discokini.'

Guns are quickly becoming a rare commodity on the street. The two disarmed men just throw their hands up and surrender, while the remaining two and the man in the hat are faced with Starfire in the alleyway. Her fashion sense probably only helps to terrify them, in addition to throwing energy bolts and flying around. The two with the guns hesitate. The last man, the one in the hat, demands, "You dare interfere with the Pharaoh!?" And then he pulls out a hammer. It's large, spray painted gold, and has faux-egyptian characters scrawled onto it. "It's hammer time!" The weapon, strangely enough, begins to glow with a vibrant yellow light after that.

And Norm is sneaking along toward the Alleyway, dropping his shield now that all the bullets have stopped flying around for the time being.

With the two men safely en-lasso'd, Diana follows Norman towards the alley, in time to see the Man With The Hat brandish his gun. With her lasso keeping two of them tied up, she has few options... and so goes for what's left, given the tiny space in the alley. She removes her tiara and throws it through the air. Yes, it even makes a bizarre noise and it sails along. She's aiming for the back of the man's head. If it doesn't knock him down outright, hopefully it will provide enough of a distraction.

Diana and Norm are en route, but Starfire isn't focused on them -- instead, her eyes are drawn to that long, hard, gleaming, golden... hammer. "'Hammer time?'" the alien asks incredulously. "I assume that you mean some kind of combat ritual! Then, Pharaoh, give me your best!" The two other guys with guns, she doesn't even regard. Ritual combat, royal vs. royal. This is what the universe is about.

The Pharoah is ready! For Starfire, not so much for Wonder Woman's jewelry. It conks him in the back of the head, and mid-way through his swing at Starfire he goes tumbling to the ground, the hammer skidding out of his hand and to the ground. The two gunmen hesitate for a moment, and then are promptly encased into another glwoing sphere of energy and lifted up into the air, our of the way. Norm sort of directs it along as he walts, hands swaying back and forth like he's doing the wave at a football game. "I think we won? Maybe?" Probably.

The tiara flies back after hitting the Pharaoh in the head, and Diana neatly catches it in her hand, replacing it on her brow. "I think so," she answers with a smile. "Thank you both for being there. It was lucky you were around." Very lucky. Deflecting bullets is one thing, but she's not sure she could have rounded them all up without someone getting hurt.

The Pharaoh and his hammer fall, the tiara returns to Wonder Woman's hand, and Starfire -- stands there, in her combat-ready stance, looking puzzled. "...huh," she says, after a moment to process, and then immediately shifts back into her usual happy helper self: "No, thank you! I doubt any of us could have handled such a crowd on our own, individually!"

"Uh. Sure. I'm happy to help." Norm slides up to the edge of the alleyway, peering briefly at the downed man and his hammer before he adds, "I didn't do much. Uh. So, do we tie them up now? I'm sorry, I'm new at this." He almost sounds embaressed about it. Thankfully, most of the men probably won't be going anywhere, tied or not. "Is it like a citizens arrest? I have no idea how those work."

"Something of that sort," Diana says with a nod. "When the police arrive, we explain what we saw, that these men had guns, and we stopped them rom harming the others in the area." She considers. "We don't have to add that you displayed some kind of superhuman ability.. if that would make you more comfortable." Although there may be no option to do that, if Norm needs to keep using powers to keep the men restrained. Belatedly too, as she realizes Starfire introduced herself, "I am Diana of Themyscira," she says, "Wonder Woman, as the media have decided to call me."

Starfire nods to Diana's explanation. "I thank you again, Diana of Themyscira, and... Just Helping, I believe your name was. I am Koriand'r of Tamaran, but as a hero I usually use the name Starfire of the Titans. But you can both call me Kory." Big grin.

"Yeah, I'd rather not talk a lot to the police. It makes me uncomfortable." Which is an awkward excuse, but it's the easist one Norm has. "I'll just, like, put these guys on a roof or something." After that he smiles politely between the two women, adding, "Ah, no, I'm just Norm." He looks appropriately sheepish as the person posessing the least impressive name in the vacinity. Wonder Woman! Starfire! And...Norm. "Um. It's lovely to meet you both, but I should go check on the workers. Thanks a lot for keeping everyone, you know, not filled with bullets!" Another grateful smile, and then he skitters away.

"Very well, Just Norm," Starfire says happily and with zero irony.