2014.11.24 - Clubbing With Unexpected Results

It took some work, but Nate managed to find some clean clothes and a trench coat. He has been talking to Kendra, so he knows when her cab is about to arrive, and they have even agreed to the club. That part was easy. Interesting how Kendra tastes align with some other ladies he used to hang on with. Illyana and Rose are also in hard rock and punk. They taught him how and where to go clubbing (dragged him would be more appropriate) and although Nate's tastes are very eclectic, he knows the places to go.

It is well past sunset and it is raining. He does a cursory telepathic scan before leaving Halo through a side entrance, but he needs to be visible to the cabbie, so there is no psychic cloak this time. That is his first mistake. He is seen by the cabbie, yes. But he was not the only one watching.

Once Nate is within the confines of the cab, he'll find Kendra ready for clubbing. She's wearing a pair of dark pants, likely leather, and a black shirt. Along the shirt are strategically placed slashes to allow a small mount of red to peep through. Upon the shirt is a ghostly looking owl done in grays and whites, with only the eyes tying back into that red color.

"Hey, Nate. How's it going? Ready for some fun?" She'll ask as she leans back against the seat, "Glad to see you know what to wear to a club." She adds with a grin, and unlike Nate she hasn't brought a coat with her. Simply a dark scarf that's wrapped around her neck, and a pair of dark gloves over her hands. Clearly she doesn't expect to be outside for any real length of time.

Nate laughs and shakes his head, "I miss the ability to change my clothes with telekinesis. Don't mock, it was very handy!" He looks at her outfit and grins, "you do look good, lady." He leans forward to give the cabbie directions. Then back to the seat, "always ready," he states with a smirk. The club is not far, but the rain slows New York traffic to a crawl.

"Hm." Says Kendra with a grin, "I do believe I'm mocking you. Mock. Mock. Mock. It must be so hard to physically change out of clothes." At his compliment she'll give a little nod of her hand and a genuine smile, "Thanks. You're not too shabby yourself." Once the cabbie is on the move to their destination, Kendra will idly glance out the window to the rain dampened streets and people they pass.

"I take it you don't have any type of curfew? Or time limit? I don't. No classes tomorrow." Kendra says for small talk, as th etwo are transported to their destination of choice.

"Hell, no," Nate seems amused at the idea of curfews. He doesn't keep a regular schedule at all. No studies, no 'real' job, nothing but training and crime-fighting. Crime-fighting used to be more frequent before Halo's support structure was smashed. "I am free until Saturday. So we can go on until we get kicked out or you are too tired."

"That sounds like a challenge." Kendra says to Nate's last words about being kicked out, or leaving from being too tired. "Challenge accepted." She says good-naturedly and when the cabbie finally pulls up to their club of choice, Kendra is fishing out her wallet. "I got this one, you get the cab going home." She flashes a smile, before extending the cab fare and a nice tip towards the cabbie in the front of the car.

"Thanks for the ride." She tells the driver, before turning towards Nate and nodding for him to exit first, "Ready? I think the first round of drinks are on you, too." And no, Kendra has no problems with the fact that she's technically underage to be drinking alcohol.

"That is because you folks of nice, hi-tech America have no stamina," remarks Nate. Of course it is a challenge! "I'll pay the drinks, since you are this struggling college student and I am allegedly the high-pay corporate executive." Also, his fake id card says he is 22. A bit of telepathic trickery will prevent anyone to card Kendra if she wants anything with alcohol.

Inside it is all flashing lights and shadows. Loud music, only slightly less loud at the bars at the sides. The place is pretty full even though it is a weekday night. Perfect.

"Oo. Touche." She says to Nate's friendly jab about her being a struggling and poor College Student. "But I'm not stupid, I will gladly play the starving artist card." Another grin will be flashed towards Nate, even as the two enter into the club.

Her eyes will roam around the club for a few seconds, before she gives Nate a thumbs up. "I approved." She yells, not even thinking that he's a telepath and they don't really need to yell-speak to one another. "Come on lets go to the bar and scope out a good spot on the dance floor. It's been a minute since I've been here." And with that, Kendra dips into the crowd of bodies. She's pretty good at weaving her way through the press of people. It also doesn't help that she'll occasionally employ an elbow to get her way through, either.

"Wait, you are an artist?" For some reason Nate assumed Kendra was studying something boring and serious like most other people. But since she wants to dance, he will ask later.

Now, Nate was doing a general scan of the club, with his eyes and other senses. Because even after two years his survival training and instincts remain sharp. Kendra hurries onwards, though, and he laughs and follows. And this is his second mistake. Just a minute after them a thin woman with a tattooed face slips into the club. "Oooh, funfun," she murmurs, barely restraining a giggle.

The cyborg Killjoy will certainly live up her name tonight.

And Nate will definitely have to ask his question later as the general noise of the club washes it away, not to mention the fact that Kendra is definitely immersing herself in the crowd. Clubbing, listening to music, all of this allows her a moment to forget, to wash away her problems, both daily and much more, and forget for a second or more. It's almost like when she's flying - for those seconds, minutes, hours that she's flying she can almost forget all of the sadness all her troubles, that she's seen and had. This is the same thing. The beats and rhythm washes it away.

Kendra will take a pass at the bar, but only to eye the various sweet spots before moving onward. Then with a glance over her shoulder to make sure Nate is with her, she'll point towards the outward edge of the dance floor. There seems to be an open spot there the two could call their own, "Come on, let's make a splash on the dance floor."

Nate could make the crowd part with his telepathy. But where is the fun of that? He comes to clubs to meet people, feel happy minds and dance. That often involves some degree of elbowing; it is part of the fun.

So Kendra is an artist on top of everything else. Can this girl be hotter? No. She would melt the club's floor if she was.

"Right behind you, Hawk Lady," he replies, just loud enough for her to hear. Edge of the dance floor? Nooo, they have to be in the middle of it. Nate laughs and takes her hand, trying to drag her into the crowd. It might involve some more elbowing.

Her amused snort at her 'nickname' being said is lost in the general noise of the crown and when Nate grabs her hand, Kendra momentarily tenses at the contact. Thankfully that tension soon melts as she forces herself to relax, and go with the flow. It's been too long since she's had real friends, most of her former friends were not the best for her.

Either way, when Nate starts to pull her towards the middle of the crowd, Kendra follows. It's definitely not hard to convince her and when the two find a spot, Kendra will lean forward and shout good-naturedly, "Okay show me what you got." And then she'll straighten back and settle her hands upon her hips with a rather expectant look upon her features.

Nate, on the other hand, has many friends. But he exists in a weird world of mutants, danger, impossible responsibilities and dark memories. His human friends don't get the whole mutant thing; his friends from mutant town don't understand what drives him to fight. Some of the X-Men would understand, but they isolate themselves in the fairy land called the Xavier school.

True friends help you move the corpses, and all that. He thinks Kendra would be one of those.

And Nate can dance, too. It is easy for him to synch his mind with the crowd, and the music, and just let go. It is easy for him to pull Kendra into it if she lets him. He certainly tries to. "Show me yours, Hawky."

Her head tilts slightly at his dance moves and with a lopsided grin, Kendra says, "Well, at least you didn't lie. You definitely have rhythm, Telepath Boy." And when he attempts to pull her into dancing, she'll let him.

She's pretty good herself, easily following the rhythm without the aid of telepathy unlike some others on the floor. When the song seamlessly flows into another one, Kendra will lean towards Nate, "This is a great song." Her gaze scans the crowd, not for security, or anything of that sort, no, instead she's looking towards the other people. The single dancers, the groups of friends, the couples, all of it. It's nice to see people acting carefree and happy.

Speaking of carefree and happy. The tattooed woman is now very close. She has been dancing too, because she is all about fun, really. And they rarely let her loose in a club. The body count tends to get too high. It is all about the Joy, and the Kill.

Fortunately for Nate the 'kill' part is not normal in the club. That gives him a fraction of a second before Killjoy strikes. Kendra would hear the metallic sound of razor claws spreading, but Nate is already pushing her and diving out of the way. Instead of tearing off his spine, Killjoy claws shred his armoured jacket and cut deep on his back, but miss vital organs.

Kendra, and several other dancers, get splattered with Nate's blood, and of course the screaming begins right away. "Heeeey!"Shouts Killjoy. "Is it true you lost your TK, Nateboy? I wanted some challenge." But not too much challenge. Nate feels the room fill with psi-static as she brings up cybernetic psychic defenses. His first mind bolt bounces off the shields, and he is forced to crawl away to avoid another swipe of her claws.

The sound of metal scraping does give Kendra pause, but it's not enough for her to realize that they're under attack. In fact, it's only when Nate shoves her out of the way and she's slamming into the floor, that she understands what's going on. "What the hell?" Kendra exclaims and while she was about to say something even wittier, those words freeze in her mouth.

When Nate's blood splatters upon her face, Kendra's form goes completely still. A memory tries to break through and it's enough that Kendra whispers, "Mama." It's almost to the forefront of her brain, something with a gun, and police ... but before it can fully form, one of the many club goers that are fleeing runs directly into her, jarring her from those hidden memories.

With a startled blink, Kendra comes back to herself (with only seconds having truly passed) and upon seeing Nate on the ground crawling, Hawkgirl says, "Oh hell no." It doesn't matter that she doesn't have her wings, or her mace, Kendra immediately rolls to a crouch and as soon as she has her balance she sweeps her leg out to try and trip the crazy cyborg woman up.

The crazy cyborg woman has turned her fingers into foot long claws. But her right one returns to normal to pull a handgun directly from her (now revealed robotic) thigh. She points at Nate, and the people around him scatter clumsily. Fear and confusion making aiming difficult.

But Killjoy does not care. She fires the handgun and hits a couple innocent bystanders, clearing the way to the retreating Nate. He snarls at the woman, but covers his head with an arm as she shoots. At least two bullets hit his chest before Kendra kicks Killjoy, spoiling her aim and making her stumble.

Only briefly, she is too strong and dexterous to fall. The cyborg glances down, grabs Kendra's ankle with her clawed hand, which feels like razors and iron even through the leather, and casually tosses her into the fleeing crowd. Then turns back to Nate just to see him jumping over the bar and into cover. Her next few shots break a lot of glass, but miss him.

"Gotcha!" Exclaims Kendra when her leg sweep connects, but that sound of triumph soon ends in a yelp of both pain and startlement, as her ankle is snagged and she dangles there for a minute. "Dammit!" She shouts in angry pain, as she struggles to free herself, her free foot and leg lashing out towards the cyborg woman, but sadly it doesn't connect. Instead Hawkgirl is seemingly casually tossed back into the crowd, as if she's not a threat.

Landing with an oomph that is masked by the stampede of the crowd, Kendra lays there a second, before she's popping back to her feet.

"Okay. This is going to be tougher than I thought." She mutters to herself, as she cranes her neck above the heads of the other bystanders, trying to see where the Cyborg Woman is. When she finally sets sights upon her, Kendra looks for Nate as well. Good, he's getting behind cover as well. Fighting her away against the fleeing crowd, Kendra will snag a fallen over bar stool and moving as quickly as her injured ankle with allow her to, Kendra will try to approach Killjoy from behind. And if successful she will try to bash her over the head with the bar stool.

For now, Kendra is unaware just how injured Nate is, but she does know he's injured.

Killjoy spares a couple seconds to eviscerating a brave club bouncer, then leans on the bar. "Nateeee... come here. You are wasting your time, boy. I am shielded from telepathy, you are unarmed and I am ten times faster than you. The more you delay this the more likely I kill a lot of people. Oh... well, I am lying. I am going to kill a lot of people anyway."

Lightning fast, she turns and grabs Kendra's stool before it hits her skull. "I am going to start with your date. Where is Rosie, anyway? Did she dumped you?" She grins at Kendra, showing off many sharp teeth. "Hi. They call me Killjoy. Guess why?"

Someone has finally turned off the music, and most people have run away, although are still screaming as they try to reach the exits out. Still, it is quiet enough both women can hear Nate's pained voice. "Real name of the bitch is Brenda." Judging by how Killjoy's eyes widen, and then narrow, that was something she didn't like hearing.

"Let me guess why. Because you're the Debbie Downer of the party?" Kendra snaps, not showing much surprise when Killjoy whirls about and intercepts her attack. That doesn't stop Kendra from following up with another attack, this time a one-two punch. A punch aimed for Killjoy's solar plexus (not that she likely needs to breathe) and then a punch towards her jaw/face. Most likely she's going with trying to distract the woman - this seems like a fight the two of them might need to retreat from. There's nothing wrong with a strategic retreat, afterall. Kendra has learned that particular lesson recently enough, that it doesn't ruffle her feathers to think about retreating.

"Nate, you okay?" Kendra will call out to her friend., making sure he's at least alive.

Killjoy steps back lightly, but fast... definitely too fast for human. Then she tosses the stool to Kendra's chest with bone-crunching strength. A second later she is on her, the handgun an inch from her head. "Stop."

That wasn't Killjoy's voice, though. That is Nate, leaning on the bar, panting and his left eye glowing brightly. And Killjoy stops. "You know what? Telepathic shielding? Just. Fried." Killjoy drops her gun and falls back, howling in pain for a few seconds, then she seems to faint.

Nate smirks to Kendra, blood running from his eyes and ears. "Hey. I'm fine. Yourself?"

The bar stool coming her way is just narrowly avoided, but in order to get away from it, Kendra all but threw herself to the ground. And so, it's not surprising that Killjoy is right ontop of her, that gun pressed closed to her head. Even with a gun so close to her head, Kendra still bares her teeth in furious anger. Anger at getting caught without her wings, anger at having an evening ruined, and anger at the dead innocent bystanders, as well.

And while Kendra was just about to try and goad Killjoy into acting, Nate's voice is heard. When Killjoy withers in pain, Kendra can't help but say, "Bitch." Then she's rolling to her feet and giving the other woman a disdainful look. "Did you kill her?" She asks, though knowing the answer is likely no. Still, once she sees Nate's injuries, she drops the subject of Killjoy, "Damn, Nate. We either better get you to a hospital, or if you have a medbay for your team, get you there." Already, she's moving over to his side, to offer support if he needs it.

Nate is badly wounded, bleeding from deep cuts in his back and left side. A lot of stitches will be needed. Surprisingly, the bullets didn't go through his shirt, it is armored. But they hit hard enough to crack ribs, he is breathing shallowly.

"I can call for aid," he comments, fumbling for his Halophone. "Killjoy is alive, I guess. Couldn't fry her completely," not for lack of trying. But some assholes are just too evil to die easily. "With a bit of luck she will wake up in a SHIELD cell, a week from now."

Phone, now. "Jules. Its Nate. I just met Killjoy... no... well, I am alive, need some patching up." Nate looks at Kendra, and her ankle, and winces. Then he gives the address to the person at the other side of the line. "Lets get out of here." This time he is not going to explain to the cops. Chances are high Killjoy had some handler or backup.

An injured ankle seems quite light, compared to Nate's injuries and to show that, Kendra will lean in to loop an arm underneath Nate's and help to get him outside. "Dammit, wish I had my wings. I'd get you back home faster."

And while she is limping, yes, it's clear the ankle isn't broken. Perhaps badly bruised, but definitely not broken and once Nate is off the phone, the questions begin. "So, what's her story?" Asks the short-haired woman, as she focuses on getting Nate and herself out of the club, before the cops arrive or anyone else for that matter. "Why'd she have the hots to take you down?"

"She is one of Cyberdata's mutant cyborgs," explains Nate, limping out with Kendra's help. "In fact, she was their top killer. Super-speed and reflexes and most of her body made of metal." No one is paying attention to them, which is weird because the place is still packed with terrified civilians, and now curious and some cops. Police cars and ambulances can be heard coming.

"Sorry about this..." he adds, "she came for me, and you got caught in the crossfire. We were going to finish this Cyberdata business soon. Now we know where they are, all we needed was to go there."

It's clear that Cyberdata means nothing to Kendra, as Nate gets a blank look from her, but she does not at his other information. "Yeah, I kind of got the picture she was not quite human." She'll cast a furtive look towards the cops and the others, before she says, "Are you shielding us from their prying eyes?"

His apology is waved away, as she says, "You know that's part and parcel of the package of the whole hero'ing gig. At least I'm a hero and understand it and it wasn't some non-hero, that'd have been worse." She says, as she continues to help prop Nate up and keep him mobile. "You owe me an outfit, however. That I definitely want some compensation for." She says with a good-natured, albeit pained smile.

Nate nods. "I don't want to get taken to a normal hospital. It could get attacked. So I am keeping us invisible." He is getting pale, though, from blood loss. "Halo... Jules... will send a couple security guys and take us to a safehouse. I'll explain about Cyberdata along the way." He definitely owes her an outfit. Killjoy would have killed him if not for her.

Noticing how pale he's getting, Kendra will say, "No fainting on me, Nate. I don't have my wings, might not be able to carry you." She jokes, before she drags him all the way outside.

"What's the ETA on our ride?" She asks, trying to keep him talking so he doesn't faint from the blood loss. "Do they have a medkit with them? We need to stop the bleeding before you need a ton of transfusions."

Nate frowns, reaching for the men. "Eight to ten minutes. And yes, they would have a medkit." It is still drizzling outside, and cold. There is not much to do but wait, but Nate opens and mind-link to Kendra to give her information about Cyberdata. It will help pass time, and keep him awake.

"Medkits are good." Kendra says, even as she angles her body to try and shield Nate from the majority of the cold drizzling rain. There's only the slightest noise of startlement from Kendra, when the link is established, but after those first few seconds her surprise fades away. "Next time, give a girl a little warning?" She says dryly toward Nate, "Not all of us are used to mental links being established quite so freely."

"Huh. They don't seem to be the nicest of people." She says after a few minutes once the information starts flowing from Nate.

Finished