2013.09.13 - The Green Below

Most people don't pay attention to them but over the past few days, a few of the city's homeless mutants that have been expressing dicontent lately. Some have left their camps claiming that monsters have been sighted in the tunnels they call home and others say some of their friends have even gone missing, taken by the mysterious creatures. Those that actually question these unfornuate souls won't get much information. Just some vague directions and stories about the monsters. How they're green and very hostile. The directions lead to an old subway tunnel that's clearly not seen any proper use in a long while. Anyone coming to investigate tonight will hear some odd noises, metal moving against metal. Why is this? Well a certain young hero has come down into the tunnels to investigate as well. Axiom, in uniform and armor, is prying a grating open carefully and will probably be a little startled by anyone else arriving.

Booster Gold likes public visibility, and prefers flying high in the sky; but this is just because he likes attention, and flying is a lot of fun. The truth is, his priority is dealing with people who need help. For his own reasons, Booster always has time to help the poor and disenfranchised.

"Hey, dude," Booster says, letting his glow announce his arrival just before he speaks, lest he cause Axiom to hurt himself. "What's up? Are you going hunting for monsters, or do you just like the ambience down here?"

Elsa Bloodstone has decided to get away from it all for a little while. Rather sick of making repairs to the curio shop, the damage inflicted courtesy of some undead norsemen and an overenthusiastic Asgardian rescue, she has decided to investigate some unpleasant rumours surrounding some disappearances among the underground mutant community. Questioning the locals became a little difficult when they espied how much weaponry she was carrying, but after assuring them they were purely for eliminating dangerous creatures, she's directed towards the old subway tunnel.

The scraping noise prompts her to flick on her shoulder lamp and bring one of her shotguns to bear, frowning. The image she is greeted with is enough to even give her pause. Her expression softens slightly as she recognises Axiom. The other guy? Who knows. "Evening all," she says cordially. "Axiom, isn't it? We've met before under slightly more bizarre circumstances." She looks Booster up and down. "Blimey. Big fan of the Power Rangers growing up, were we?" Elsa notices the flying device not too far behind. "And a flying golden lozenge. Lovely."

Axiom lets out a little squeak and falls backwards. Thankfully he takes the grating with him, pulling open the passage. Tossing it aside, he gets up slowly. "H-hi, Booster," he greets with a smile. "Monster hunting. The p-p-people down here have enough trouble without something making their lives w-woese," he says. Elsa's arrival makes him jump again but he perks up. "Oh, h-hey. I'm glad you g-g-got back from that okay," he says. He just looks confused at the Power Rangers comment ans shrugs. "That's Booster Gold, Ms. Bloodstone."

Booster leans slightly towards Skeets as the little robot flies up and hovers near his shoulder, quietly asking, "What are Power Rangers?"

Equally quietly, the droid tells him, "A super sentai, team, sir."

Regardless of whether this actually answers Booster's question, he straightens up when Axiom introduces him and gives Elsa a thousand-watt smile, and points a finger-gun her way. "Pleased to meet you." He winks at her. "The lozenge is Skeets, my assistant."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintence, Ms. Bloodstone," Skeets pipes politely.

Elsa's expression remains stoic as Axiom struggles a little bit with the metal grating. "I've been in worse scrapes than that dear, but thank you for the concern." As Axiom identifies the other member of the party, Elsa looks a little nonplussed.

She looks at Booster quizzically as he converses with his 'friend'. *Oh bloody marvellous, it talks,* she notes silently. The monster hunter returns Booster's grin with a tight lipped smile of her own, her eyes flicking between the super hero and his assistant. "Charmed, I'm sure. Please, call me Elsa. Since we might be about to suffer horrendously gore splattered and uninsured deaths we may as well be on a first name basis, hmm?" With that, she hefts her shotgun and enters the tunnel proper, her shoulder lamp lighting the way. "Tally ho, boys," she calls back.

"N-not exactly, Skeets. But umm...maybe it's better to save explanation for another time," Axiom chimes. Billy recently gave him a lot of DVDs to watch so he's been learning a lot about Power Rangers, Kamen Riders, and Super Sentai teams. He frowns slightly as Elsa speaks, shaking his head. "We're not g-going to die," he says simply. "We've got an awesome hero like Booster Gold here w-with us," he adds, endless faith and hope shining through. Following Elsa into the tunnel, he doesn't bother with a light for now. It's a quiet walk down the old tunnels and occasionally there's a mark that seems to be drawn onto the wall with chalk. "This tunnel will bring us t-t-to their camp. It'll be a good place to start looking around," he speaks up.

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Axiom." Booster Gold is a big guy by nature and a visible guy by design, so trying to tread quietly is not easy for him. He solves this by floating along instead of walking, with his golden aura snuffed out entirely. No point in prematurely alerting monsters. Skeets follows along, just behind, the red glow from his 'eye' dimmed as well. Booster says, "So, Elsa, do you do this sort of thing often?"

Elsa shoots Axiom a warm smile. "Well of course we're not. Just a touch of gallows humour, something of a Bloodstone calling card." She shoots Booster Gold a less than impressed look as Axiom sings his praises, but refrains from further comment. "Splendid. Just keep us pointed in the right direction, Axiom." Elsa isn't going to any special effort to disguise her approach, preferring to get a good look at any danger under her shoulder lamp than have it catch her off guard. Her eyes are roving the tunnel for any telltale signs that might tip her off to the nature of what they might be hunting. She responds to Booster's question without taking her eyes from the tunnel. "It's my job, darling. There's always been a Bloodstone to take care of the gribblies hiding in the dark for thousands of years. I'm just carrying on the family tradition."

Axiom nods enthusiastically. "Sure thing," he says, checking one of the marks on the wall. He's glad his knowledge of them and the tunnels hasn't been questioned. Eventually the tunnel opens up to a much wider area with various service tunnels leading away from it. Tents and makeshift shacks are set up all around this hub and there are clear signs that people have been living here recently. It's brighter here too, a few makeshift lights still lit to illuminate the area. Axiom steps out from behind Elsa and frowns as he starts examining tents. "It looks like n-no one's home."

"A real monster hunter? Awesome!" Booster seems sincere in his enthusiasm. "We'll follow your lead on this, then, Elsa." As the passageway opens up he flies up a little further to get a better vantage point. "Sad they have to live down here," he opines. "I mean, some of them might like it, but I'd bet not all of them do." He turns in the air, looking thoughtful as he examines the abandoned settlement, his goggles providing him with a view in a variety of wavelengths. "They barely have anything and now something is keeping them from having even that much..."

Elsa nods assent as Axiom displays a bit of zeal. "Jolly good." She manages to keep a surprised look off her face as Booster Gold actually tips her the nod. Maybe she's misjudged this bizarrely dressed man. As the tunnel opens out and reveals the makeshift shanty town, Elsa lowers her weapon, pursing her lips. She eyes Axiom as he starts to examine the tents, staying close to the young man. "Be careful. This has 'giant sodding trap' written all over it," The monster hunter softly calls to the other two. She keeps her lamp illuminated and checks out any shadowy corners as Booster speaks. "Yeah, it's pretty bloody awful all right. Just don't blast any civilians, it creates so much sodding paperwork. That was a joke, Axiom. Honest." Elsa peers around the gathering of tents. "I'm not seeing any obvious monster signs, so far."

"No, Booster. Even if they say they like it...they're j-just putting on an act. Showing w-w-weakness down here is a good way to g-g-get hurt unless you have someone watching your back," Axiom mutters, checking a tent. He's a former homeless kid so he knows how it goes.

There's not a lot on the scan. Lingering energy from a mutant or two that used to live down here and not too much else out of the ordinary. Booster would be able to find the generator running the lights, still humming along because no one turned it off. There's no real obvious signs of 'monster' but there are signs that someone else has been here recently and gone through some of the tents. The spare gas from the generator also seems to be missing judging by stains on the concrete. There's a big scorch mark on one of the walls as well.

Axiom shoots Elsa a little frown at her joke but lets it go. Before he can say more, there's movement from one of the tunnels and the sound of cans being dropped. Standing in that tunnel are a pair of humanoids...that look like they're made of leaves and sticks and mud. Empty gas cans have been dropped at their feet and they seem pretty startled. Booster's suit may reveal they give off heat but the creatures don't stick around, turning and bolting down the tunnel. "H-hey! Get back here!" Axiom calls, starting after them.

"I guess that part of me thought this era was... better for people, but it's the same problems in different forms," Booster comments, not very loudly, as if he were speaking to himself. He points at the scorched wall and starts to say, "The gen--" when the beings show up. "We're not here to hurt you," he calls out, and starts to fly for the tunnel as well when it occurs to him that chasing these humanoids might not convince them that he's not out to punch them. "Skeets, try to catch up and tell them we're here to help."

"Yes, sir," says the droid, who looks as non-threatening as a, well, a golden lozenge. Skeets is fast, though, racing after the fleeing figures, saying, "Excuse me, but if you would please stop running, we would like to discuss the situation!"

At the sound of the cans being dropped, Elsa spins on a booted heel and brings her shotgun up to a ready position. She peers at the creatures for a moment, raising an eyebrow at the gas cans held in their hands. "Arsonist...tree people? Not the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Elsa's eyes narrow as she scrutinises the two figures. The ransacked tents, the pillaged generator... "Hang on a bloody minute people. I think we've been had." As Axiom beings to hare off down the tunnel, Elsa shoulders her firearm and races after him. She is quickly overtaken by Skeets. "Maintain bloody formation!" Elsa yells irritatedly.

It's not hard for for Skeets to catch up to those strange creatures. They don't seem too interested in playing nice though, one swiping at Skeets with a hose.

Axiom slows when Elsa yells, waiting for her and Booster to catch up. "We've b-been had?" he asks, frowning. The tunnels are just as dark and dirty as the others but there's an occasional glowstick dropped to illuminate the area. Monsters don't tend to use those. As they keep going, there's cables on the walls and they'll notice it's getting warmer.

"There's no need to be like that," Skeets says reproachfully, having to do a barrel roll in the air to avoid most of the swipe, which just clips him.

Booster flies up alongside Elsa and keeps pace with her, saying, "Well, they have a heat-signature. You think they're not monsters? Even if they're your average, everyday thieves, they need to be dealt with. Skeets, c'mon back here..." Booster does not raise his voice, but the robot clearly gets the command and flies back to the others.

Elsa offers a quick glance at the two heroes as they regroup. "Yes. Look, there's no spoor, claw marks, slime, half eaten meals...none of the reliable markers that say 'horrible gribbly in residence.' I only got a quick look at them but they look like silly little gits playing dress up. Maybe it's some sort of underground turf war, I don't know." She turns to look at Booster. "Darling, I haven't traipsed through these depressingly gloomy tunnels to back out now, trust me." Elsa flicks an errant curl of hair away from her face with an exhalation, before striding onwards, following the cables.

"No way, you don't start fights like this between camps..." Axiom trails off as they run. "This has to b-be something from outside. Not another homeless group," he says, glancing at Elsa and Booster. Eventually they come to another open area but this one's a lot different. Catwalks, UV lights, irrigation systems, generators...it's all set up around a lot of plants. Plants that might just be recognizable as marijuana plants. Several more of the 'plant men' can be seen tending to the plants among the rows but they're all looking up when their two fellow 'monsters' appear. "We've got capes! Scramble!"

"Er..." Booster looks around, and then asks his robot, "Skeets, is this illegal in this era?"

Skeets does not answer immediately, as he is doing a quick check of current laws. Then, he says, "Yes, sir."

Booster shakes his head, and sighs a little. Since Elsa does not know him, he tells her, "I'm -extremely- bullet-proof." And then he flies up, giving off a faint nimbus of golden light. He announces loudly, "Surrender immediately, and no one has to get hurt. Anyone who does -not- lie face down, hands on head, is going to be -very- sorry."

Elsa looks at Axiom, nodding briefly in approval as he reveals more knowledge of their surroundings. "You *are* handy," she offers with a smile. "Remind me to ask you for advice the next time I find myself mucking about down here." Elsa frowns as it becomes obvious what these men are up to in these abandoned tunnels. "Oh bloody charming, I don't think." She watches as Booster takes the high ground and tries to intimidate the leafy criminals. "You're not the only one darling," she offers to his back with a smirk as he levitates.

"Yeah, what Goldy spanglepants said." Elsa reaches down, grabbing a potted marijuana plant in one hand and aiming her shotgun at it with the other. "One false move and the plant life gets it, savvy?"

It's good Booster is bullet-proof. While some of the 'plant-men' run for various tunnels, others draw weapons. Among them is one of the men on a catwalk that starts shooting at Booster with a semi-automatic. They don't seem bothered by Elsa's warning, rushing her with various tools and a few knives and pipes. Axiom just sighs when the bad guys charge. "These j-jerks..." he trails off, drawing his own weapon and running into the fray.

"Call out if you need anything," Booster says, directed at Elsa and Axiom; otherwise, it seems, he trusts them to handle what they can handle. Even as he is saying this, the bullets strike him, making bright flashes as they hit. The bullets bounce off, although with most of their momentum robbed; ricochets off of his forcefield might sting but are robbed of deadly force. "Skeets, get back," Booster says, raising his fists, which are crackling with translucent golden energy. He extends his arm and fires at the man shooting at him, the bolts mere stunning energy, bathing the gunman and causing him to tumble from the catwalk. Booster actually flies forward to catch the figure so it won't be too injured by the fall, then unceremoniously dumps it onto a bed of lush plants.

Elsa shrugs as Axiom moves to defend himself against the criminal thugs. "Well, can't say we didn't give it the old college try." She gives Booster a quick glance. "Nothing a shower and a cup of tea wouldn't solve," she yells back. Elsa curses as the blunted pistol rounds drop down from on high.

Elsa returns her attention to the drug peddlers as they rush forward with an array of blunt and sharp implements. "Oh please. What you have done there you silly sod, is bring a knife to a gun fight." Elsa flings the pot plant at the nearest attacker, the porcelain container cracking against his skull, showering him with broken crockery and soil, knocking him out cold. A lead pipe is blasted from another thugs hands with a pinpoint shotgun blast from her remington, before he is dispatched with a kick to the groin and a stock strike to the head. The monster hunters blows are carefully weighed to incapacitate, not kill.

Axiom doesn't have Booster's power or the monster hunter's skills...at least not right now since he's not mimicking anyone...but he's pretty good with that staff of his. The sound of metal smacking flesh and plants and tables tumbling can be heard as he wades into the fight. There's a few more guys on the catwalks shooting at Boosting with handguns and several more coming at Elsa. It shouldn't take long to dispatch the lot of them, especially with their lack of skill when it comes to fighting.

"-Listen-," Booster is actually trying to talk to the growers as they shoot at him. The bullets striking him make him seem to glitter, which actually works well with the whole 'gold' motif. "You guys brought this down on yourselves, hassling that encampment... I mean, really? Those people have a hard life already, and then you jerks make it even tougher--" There is something in the set of his jaw, and he stops trying to lecture people who do not want to listen. Booster actually has very good aim, but he does not need it when he just sprays stunning energy blasts in a fan, strafing the figures that are shooting at him. Anyone who takes a dangerous tumble gets caught, but otherwise, these mooks are left to sprawl.

Elsa slips a wooden stake into her free hand and pitches it with all her might at an attackers knife hand, piercing it through his palm and sending the knife skittering into the shadows. Her remington blasts open a nearby pipe, bathing another assailant in steam as she darts forward and lays him out with a solid left cross. She looks around at the diminishing ranks of drug pushers. "Well darlings, it looks like you can handle it from here. Ye olde pot growers aren't really my scene. Axiom, good to see you again. Booster and Lozenge...live long and prosper. Or something." Elsa salutes the two heroes and retreats back to the tunnels to search out some real monsters.

Axiom's leaving the lecture to Booster for this one. He's too focused on the fight. He's not being as careful not to hurt these guys, leaving a few more beaten and in pain than normal. "See ya," he calls to Elsa as she goes. There's not much of a fight left in the mooks and between Booster and Axiom, the last of the men that didn't run falls and things are quiet save for the buzzing lights and other various equipment that survived the fight.

Booster does not fault Elsa for going; this is not a monster battle, after all. "Too bad, I'd like to have talked to her," he comments, turning in mid air to scan the area, dropping down so he is near Axiom, roughly back to back with the younger hero. "Well, this makes more sense now... I guess they didn't want anyone from that encampment to stumble into their operation here. But stealing from them, that's pretty low..."

"You c-could still talk with her," Axiom remarks. When it looks like there's no more enemies, Axiom collapses his staff back to it's compact size. "She's g-g-got a shop in Soho you c-could visit," he says. He hasn't gone in to the shop himself yet but he heard about the Undead Viking Incident. "It's like Scooby Doo," he murmurs after Booster speaks. "It's lower than low," he says. Of course now that the fighting has died down a few new sounds can be heard. Namely a few cries for help. Axiom glances at Booster and takes off running towards the sounds. Crammed into a corner of the area behind a chain-link fence cage that's padlocked shut are those missing homeless mutants looking pretty scared until they see the heroes.

"Oh, really? Maybe I'll do that." Booster's head turns at the cries for help, and he flies after Axiom. "Hi," he tells the caged people, giving them a smile. "We're here to help." He reaches out to grip the padlock, giving it a squeeze and twist, which causes it to open. It is a low-key way of dealing with the lock, at least if one doesn't look too closely; it is crushed and broken. "Pardon me a sec," he then tells them, and turns aside, lightly touching his hand to Axiom's back. He murmurs, "We need to handle this carefully, the cops are going to want to clean this out and I'm worried about how that's going to impact these people... their camp is so close by."

Axiom steps aside to let Booster handle the lock. He's the one with super strength after all. The act is met with all fix of those mutants, all displaying rather obvious mutations, thanking and praising the two heroes. Axiom tries to tell them they don't have to do it and he's thankful for Booster getting them a moment away from it. "Yeah," Axiom takes a deep breath and frowns again. "The cops are only trouble for these camps, especially when it's mutants..." he trails off. "Any ideas?" he asks, trying to come up with a plan himself.

"Hm." Booster looks around, and back at the rescued people, giving them a smile. He says to Axiom, "Let's help them back to their camp. There's a tunnel between here and there, and I think we should close it off, at least for now. When we report this farm to the police, it'll keep them from poking around at their homes. We can always clean it up later." He arches an eyebrow at the younger hero. "What do you think?"

Axiom thinks for a moment, glancing at the tunnel they came through. "That should help. I c-can help keep the cops from poking around too much too...there aren't many people who know these tunnels as well as I d-d-do," he says, nodding. He nods to Booster and then turns to the mutants. "Alright g-guys. You know the way back, right? Head on b-back that way and we'll have your friends come back soon too. Let us handle all this stuff," he says, gesturing around at the drug-growing set up. There's some murmuring among the mutnats before they nod and start to head off. Axiom takes a breath and looks to Booster. "We b-better get to work then."

Once the rescued mutants are headed back down the tunnel, Booster says to Axiom, "I don't think we need to even tell the police about these guys, I mean... they're -really- not involved. They were victims of circumstance." He floats up into the air, and says, "Feel free to borrow my powers, by the way, because I think with both of us flying and super-strong we can get this done pretty quickly. If we can do a careful tunnel cave-in just a little further down the passage... we just want to block it up nicely, not collapse it completely. Good work on this, by the way!" He gives Axiom a big smile and a thumbs-up, before entering the tunnel.

"Of c-course we don't," Axiom agrees. He nods, taking a breath and boosting Booster. A moment later, he mimicks him, costume shifting to a fusion of his own and Booster's. "Thanks,' he says, blushing faintly and following Booster into the tunnel to begin work.