2012-09-21 Poor Luke

Early evening. Pepper was asked to sit in on a meeting of the Stark Music head honcho types. Alison 'Dazzler' Blaire was also asked to be there, and it was a tediously boring meeting for anyone not seriously business savvy. But, it's finally over and most everyone is packing up to depart.

Pepper is amongst those on their way out, though she's moving more slowly than others to give the rush of management types room to thin out. She's talking on her Sphone while standing out of the way. "...where were the reservations for, Happy?" She sighs and rubs at her forehead. "And what did Tony say he was doing that is more important than eating? ... All right. I'll cancel the reservation. Yes, we're done here. See you then." She hangs up the phone and shakes her head as she tucks it into her shoulder bag.

It took /every iota/ of Alison's willpower not to put her head down on the desk and sleep. Because DEAR GOD are the legal types a snooze; just because she understood everything they said and COULD follow it doesn't mean she even REMOTELY wanted to. But she did and she was good.

Which pretty much means there's no decorum left; only enough for Dazzler to at LEAST wait until they're out of ear-shot of any predefined bigwigs or important types to VISIBLY yawn and stretch her arms and say "OH my GOD."

Shaking her head a little as they head on towards the exit. "You know, I wonder if being his real girlfriend is anywhere near as frustrating as being his celebrity girlfriend is. I don't know HOW you do it -- any of it! I'm beginning to think you're the one person in this crazy Universe who has /actual superpowers/, Pepper!"

By sheer coincidence, Heroes for Hire has been using one of the subsidiary marketing firms in this building to drum up attention for the burgeoning business. Luke doesn't care much for the business chatter either, but on the other hand, the degree to which HoH does well, is the degree to which he can help out around the city. So it was worth it, at least. We find him now trudging for the exit this evening, looking worn out, and just a little ways ahead of the ladies as they all leave the building together.

Also by sheer coincidence, Luke has been out kicking over a lot of hornet nests lately in the search of some leads on a particular drug dealer. And certain interested parties seem to be less than pleased about it. And apparently they've done their homework.

When Cage steps onto the sidewalk, he's visible to Pepper and Dazzler through the glass when a 'fan' approaches him, looking like he wants an autograph. When Luke summons all his reserve strength to put on a smile and reach for the man's pen, the man clicks the head of it, and Luke's hands fly up to clap over his ears. Electronic earbuds of some kind are glowing blue in the assailants ears, while Cage is on his knees in obvious agony. He is hauled into a van that screeches to a halt, and then roars away again as soon as he's inside.

Pepper Potts looks over at Alison then looks back down at the floor with a slightly embarrassed smile. "No. I just ... am really well organized and stubborn at the same time." She looks at the finally clear hallway and sees Cage get kidnapped in a manner that she recognizes. The glowing blue earpieces. That's supposed to be shelved Stark technology. "Oh, god, not that." She starts out the door in a hurry, digging for her phone and hitting a speed dial. "Happy! Did you just see that?" When the driver responds to the affirmative and the Rolls abruptly appears just outside, Pepper keeps running, Alison forgotten. She'll apologize later. Really.

%r "What?" Pepper just /took off/ and there... ear pieces and a 'not that' and Alison gets this look of consternation on her face. "Oh no you don't!" Like HELL Ali's gonna get left behind on /this/ caper! She may not have the powers of 'Short Skirt, Long Jacket' - but today her fingernails DO shine like Justice and her feet are quick -- when Pepper dives into the car, Alison is /right there behind her/ and pushing her way on in too.

No one's gonna say it? Ugh, fine. "FOLLOW THAT VAN!"

And the van tears off through late evening traffic, leaving not much resistance. They probably don't even realize they're being followed yet. And in the meantime, Limpy McNobones is rolling around in the back, helpless to make his 300 lb body move, and yet still fully conscious. "Ffff. Uhhh," he manages, indignantly.

Pepper Potts startles as Ali shoves into the Rolls after her, but doesn't argue. "Happy, go!" She's already on the phone calling the police as the Rolls tears out in a manner that it was never designed for. ... "What? I'm on HOLD?" She looks at her phone incredulously.

"/What/ are those thingies exactly?" Alison decides to ask before, you know, they get there and then she has to do stuff as the person with on-record visible super-powers tends to do. "I mean, it dropped /Power Man/ so whatever it is... it's out on the street /why/ exactly? You /recognized/ it and everything..."

Unfortunately for the van, the Rolls is packing at least twice as many cylinders under the hood. Once they realize that Happy is closing on them, and none to subtly, they floor it. To not much effect. They van accelerates none too impressively. Apparently they weren't counting on needing to make a quick getaway. The windows are all blacked out, but inside, Cage is rolling less because two of the goons are securing him now. It wouldn't do to have him tumble back and pops the doors open just from his bulk! That leaves the driver, and a fourth guy with a bright idea. Leaning out the passenger window, he starts taking potshots at the Rolls with a hand gun.

Pepper Potts answers Alison as quickly and concisely as she can. "Experimental Stark Tech. High frequency sonic burst that causes temporary paralysis in anyone within three feet of the emitter if they're not wearing the filtration earpieces. And I don't know WHY they're loose, they shouldn't be!"

When the gunfire starts, Pepper yelps and hangs onto the door she's seated next to as Happy starts all of those nifty evasive maneuvers that he's surprisingly good at. Even so, the Rolls' windshield spiderwebs in the bottom right corner from a bullet.

"Sonic? Awesome. Nothing to worry about for /me/ then, at least," Dazzler sums up - and then there's GUNSHOTS AND SWERVING before she can enjoy being even a little smug for that. "Hot lead, not so much," she grouses aloud. Oh, now she's had it. "TWO can play THAT game!"

The window on her side of the car goes /down/, and she actually... LEANS OUT. Pointing her finger like a gun. She aims /carefully/, though, trying to gauge a good window for blowing out a tire with a bright green laser! *ZARK!*

The gunman leaning out of the passenger side eagerly engages when he sees Dazzler lean out too. Her body language and everything else tricks him into thinking she's armed too, which makes her instantly more interesting to him. He actually gets off several shots before Dazzler's laser slices clean through the back right tire of the van, causing it to thump down and swerve hard to the right, slamming smaller cars out of the way to take an impromptu hard right turn to barrel down an alleyway. The van can't get far, but if Happy misses that turn, they may have an opportunity to get away before he pulls around again. Fwump, goes the lump in the back of the van.

The van's sudden swerve into an alley is far more maneuverability than a Rolls Royce was designed for, and Happy curses rather colorfully while gunning the engine to take the next turn and catch back up with the kidnappers. For her part, Pepper just keeps hanging on and trying to get the police, or get Tony to answer, or anything.

JARVIS' voice suddenly comes out of her phone. "I'm sorry, Miss Potts, Mr. Stark said specifically nothing short of a direct attack on the Tower would justify disturbing hi..." "JARVIS, for God's sake, just PUT ME THROUGH!" A split second later, her phone is all but SHRIEKING out Motley Crue.

Power? Helloooo Power. "Maybe I'll hire Catwoman to break me into that bad boy's lab while he's working sometime," Dazzler muses to herself out loud - since hell, she's hanging out the window trying to not get shot while Happy Careens and the Crue is singing.

OHO! Actually, Ali ducks back in for a moment, "Hey Pepper if you could /crank that up/ as loud as you can get it I would be much obliged thank you!" -- it's practically all one word it's so fast and then she's back out the window.

Angles, angles... she's a musician not a mathematician! But Dazzler DOES figure at least maybe the van will spin out if she can manage to get the front tire on the opposite side of the van than the one she got before. "STEP ON IT, HAPPY!" *ZARK!*

And that about does it. Already missing the back right tire and some of the wheel, the van should be limping to a stop and not careening out of the other end of the alley, but that's what it's doing. Apparently the driver thinks he's some kind of Evel Knievel and wants to take his chances. Bad move. Bricks fly as the van clips the edge of the alley on its exit, and the whole thing wobbles precariously. When Dazzler snips the front left tire, the whole thing goes to hell. Pedestrians scatter and cars swerve as the vans rolls over several times, coming to an upside down rest up against the building on the far side of the street.

Pepper Potts continues hanging on for dear life (or at least that's how it feels) while Happy keeps doing his stunt driver stuff, Motley Crue pounds out of the stereo, Alison takes out another of the van's tires, and ... Tony still doesn't answer the call. Though by now, Pepper figures, if he hasn't answered he's not going to. At least his penchant for bombastic rock 'n' roll is turning out to be useful for a change.

When the van rolls and stops on its roof, the Rolls comes to a very rapid yet still very tidy stop near it, angled so the bulk of the vehicle is between Pepper and the people inside and their quarry. Even in this insane situation, Happy knows where his priorities are.

More math - though it's less actually mathematical this time; Dazzler keeps her 'gun-finger' raised, but gets back inside the car while they're stopped so she can think out loud. "Armed guys. They have a sonic thingy that can knock out people who aren't me. Cage is bullet-proof but I'm not..."

It's a LOUSY equation, but there's only one solution she can think of. Ali turns quickly to Pepper, "If I get shot, I'll need help picking a new dress for that party to hide any extant wounds." Because priorities! And then she /leaps out of the car/, a shimmering shield of shifting-colored light forming ahead of her and then /running/ for the tipped over van so that she can get close enough to it so as to absorb any DANGER SOUNDS as they happen - Because Luke's /totally/ had enough time to recover, right?

It definitely should have been time for Luke's second dose of 'Hey, does this sound funny to you?' but the bad guys have been a little preoccupied. And indeed, from the inside, some massive thumps can be heard, along with a lot of gunfire, that seems to directed inside the van, and not out at Dazzler. The gunfire and the sound of heavy impacts are certainly quite noisy though.

And then the van door is flying off, revealing Cage's foot, quickly followed by the rest of him, staggering out onto the street, looking like someone who's been artificially disconnected from their body, and then reconnect with all the wires the wrong way. He's shaking extremities like they went to sleep, and also seems to have forgotten the minion he's carrying in his hand. The rest look pretty well knocked out. His head wobbles and he works to focus his eyes as he tries to figure out what happened.

Pepper Potts stares after Alison incredulously as she bolts out of the car TOWARD the van, then has the presence of mind to cut the music off. 'Cause yeah, her ears will be ringing for an hour after this. And she finally gets through to the police, hastily telling them what's happened. Though the dispatcher makes it sound like she's heard it about a dozen times already.

When Luke Cage suddenly frees HIMSELF from the van, Happy looks ready to hightail it away from here and get Pepper home (probably something Tony demanded he do on pain of losing his job). Of course, that's foiled when Pepper scrambles out of the car after Alison and looks at the still discombobulated Power Man with wide eyes. "Um, are you all right?" Wait, the stolen tech. She needs to confiscate that.

"It's 'too close to the speakers' look," Dazzler diagnoses very medically. "His brain is probably still kinda scrambled, but he's too hardy to just stay the hell down," she adds, and then adds again "Thank god." Not that Luke can probably really /hear/ anything yet, anyway.

Her shield sparkling away into nothing, Dazzler looks back over in Pepper

"It's 'too close to the speakers' look," Dazzler diagnoses very medically. "His brain is probably still kinda scrambled, but he's too hardy to just stay the hell down," she adds, and then adds again "Thank god." Not that Luke can probably really /hear/ anything yet, anyway.

Her shield sparkling away into nothing, Dazzler looks back over in Pepper's direction; "There might be a few people hurt on the road the way we came, too; these bozos weren't exactly careful and I'm SURE they hit at LEAST three or four people after I took out that first tire."

"Un frr hah." Cage blinks and shakes his head. Apparently his body recovers faster than his brain can unscramble. His expression says he /knows/ he's not making any sense, but he's doesn't understand why. He scowls at the ground, like maybe his brain will get the hint and pull itself together, but he's never responded well to threats, even from himself.

Frustrated, he finally just holds the limp minion out to Pepper when it looks like she wants something from them. "Guh." He says, helpfully. He turns and tries to smile at Dazzler as well, but only gets half of his face under control, managing a crooked smile. "Anks." Hey! That was most of word! Good job!

Pepper Potts looks at Cage, then at the man he's holding up as if wondering what to do with a HORRID gift given by a well-meaning child. She then tries to see if the man is still wearing the blue-glowing earpieces, and hastily confiscates them when she sees them. "Thank you," she says to Cage, even if she's not sure he can hear her. Then she turns as sirens signal the arrival of multiple police cars and ambulances.

Dazzler to the rescue! Standing in front of Cage while Pepper goes into 'Handle Cops and Med-Techs and Such-Mode', Dazzler helpfully enunciates and pantomimes to him!

"YOUR BRAINS!" Ali points both fingers at her ears, "ARE THBBBT!" and then she makes the swirly motion with the fingers. "BUT YOU'LL BE OKAY SOON!" See? She's helping!