ic Public Service (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

"Let's," agreed Avenger. A few more harsh words got Walter's Cox's address out of Positron, who seemed absolutely terrified of the two men leaning over him. "Start with minion. Break him. Make him talk. Meet you there," he suggested, already rising to his feet as one more whack with the crowbar sent Positron down solidly. "Midtown."

[Gizmo]

"Woah, hey!" Jack moved to block Avenger's access to Positron's prone form, holding up a hand without actually touching the vampire. "Ease up, Admiral Scarypants," he insisted in a hushed tone. "I don't think we're going to get anything else out of this guy, right? Leave something for the cops to scrape off the street, already." He eyed the black clad vigilante warily. Jack really didn't know just how much of Avenger's violent persona was an act and how much was genuine.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Scum selling poison to children. Using his powers to make life a little easier for his bosses." If Avenger's violent behavior was a persona, his anger certainly seemed very real to the fearless swordsman. "Do not deserve to live. Is a sign of own humanity that I allow him to do so." He shook his head. "Bring down the man at top. Stop the poison at source. Make argument irrelevant."

[Gizmo]

"Make complete sentence structure irrelevant too, apparently," Jack drawled, covering how taken aback he was by Avenger's smouldering fury. If the swordsman hadn't been there, just how far would the vampire have truly gone? The vehement outburst put Jack's own outrage into perspective; as upset as he was to see such garbage being peddled on his streets, he knew there were lines he couldn't cross, even in the service of righteous retribution. He certainly couldn't in good conscience leave the violent vigilante to exact his particular brand of vengeance unchaperoned. "Let's just get going; I'm a busy guy, y'know." Even Avenger could tell that the swashbuckler's heart just wasn't in the irreverent jest.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Generally their teeth too broken to question my grammar. Will take your suggestion under advisement." He named a street corner near the address they'd been given for Walter Cox, and then was simply gone, disappearing into the night with only a faint suggestion of where he'd gone. As he moved, Avenger thought about his own anger, the curling bile and spite he felt at the drug dealers poisoning legions of children, turning girls into whores and boys into hoodlums, all for the sake of their smack. Was he wrong to want to break their bones and leave them shattered, pathetic wrecks of men begging for mercy? Standing in the alley by Cox's apartment, he decided not.

[Gizmo]

Jack had his mouth opened to reply before he realized that Avenger had completely disappeared. "...dammit," he grumbled to himself suddenly alone with the dazed, crumpled form of Positron. The swordsman glanced down at the hired thug before looking back up and clucking his tongue irritably. "I know what you're thinking," he began idly. "The stuff you helped these guys do to this neighbourhood, to kids, and they'll put you away for, what, couple of years? If you don't get broken out by some wannabe crime lord, of course." Turning back to the electrical villain, he crouched down. "So how dumb do I have to be to leave you alive, right? You gotta be asking yourself that." Positron didn't look capable of stringing together a coherent thought, but Jack wasn't really talking to him anyway. "Here's the thing, though. You get out? I'll be waiting to put you right back it. No matter how many times it takes. I'm always going to be there, and I'm always going to be better than you."

Standing back up, he gave the persistent rain a vague glare before taking out his grapple and speeding off toward the street Avenger had named. It took the acrobat considerably longer than the vampire to arrive, but he was soon perched atop a flagpole on the side of the building adjacent to their target's place of business, scanning the area for some sign of his brooding compatriot for the evening.

[Avenger Assembled]

The address belonged to a high-rise apartment building overlooking a nearby city park, quiet now this late in the evening. The building soared some thirty floors from the street, a sleek pillar of glass and steel. A doorman and some discreet private security in the lobby, just visible as Jack of Blades peered in from his perch down the street, were supposed to keep out any unwanted visitors, but it was a safe bet they weren't paid enough to deal with the likes of Jack of all Blades and Avenger. Speaking of which, where was the gritty avenger of evil?

"Jack." Avenger gripped the flagpole, looking up with no awkwardness at the man perched above him. "Good timing."

[Gizmo]

"Uh... yeah," Jack replied in greeting, looking down at the hanging vampire, startled bemusement playing on his face. The swashbuckler knocked on the side of his head with the butt of one hand while perching easily atop the flagpole. "Man, how do you do that? Didn't feel anything..." The dark clad vigilante's apparent immunity to his extra, metahuman senses unnerved Jack more than he cared to admit, but he managed to keep it from his expression. "So," he continued smoothly. "How do we do this? I'm not usually so much for the subtle, y'know?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"With style.." Avenger replied, his gravely, scratchy voice deadpan. "As for the building, recommend you talk your way past the guards?" He doubted Jack of Blades would be up for his usual strategy in those rare occasions when he simply couldn't sneak his way into a place: beat the security guards unconscious so fast that they couldn't react. "Will meet you inside in any event. Best if not seen together."

[Gizmo]

"Talk my way...?!" Jack started before realizing that Avenger had disappeared. "Right. Tch, this is gonna be interesting..." the swordsman groused, gracefully flipping off of the flagpost, shooting off his grapple to slow his decent to the alleyway below.

Looking around the corner of the building to the guards stationed outside the doors, the athletic young man considered his options. 'Hi, I'm selling cookies for my Sword Scouts troop'? Hum. As he leaned forward, a piece of the brick wall he was leaning against came off in his fingers. Looking at the uneven red chunk, a thought occurred to him. Oh, that's classic, he grinned inwardly before chucking it at the garbage cans sitting at the lip of the alley on the building's other side.

At the sudden sound, the guards gave a start, looking around and exchanging a few words. Inevitably, they both moved off to investigate, giving Jack the chance to slip through the front door while their backs were turned. Heh, this is not the swashbuckler you're looking for.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Excellent." Avenger was behind Jack of all Blades with no sign of how he'd got there, though Jack was certainly appreciative of how efficiently his counterpart had gotten past the opposition. "Suggest we take the elevator. Best if not winded on 14th floor. Can make sure no one comes in." They both got in, and Avenger pushed the button, letting his leather gloves hide fingerprints. Cheesy Musak played as they rose. "Nice mask. Store-bought?"

[Gizmo]

Jack of all Blades adjusted the collar of the bodysuit beneath his greatcoat absently as he stood next to the vampire in the elevator. "Custom sewn, actually. Started off just cutting holes in bandannas but they never really tied properly. Ended up being cheaper buying the fabric outright anyway." There was an awkward pause filled by faint music from the elevator's speakers. "Nice, ah, chains. Thought they'd rattle more than they do."

[Avenger Assembled]

"No. Made by the best." Once they reached the 14th floor, Avenger made a beeline for their destination. He wasn't used to operating as part of a pair on missions like this, but here he was willing to try and cooperate with his evidently able counterpart. "Man of his wealth likely to have ample security system. Think you can talk your way in? Or best if I enter in my own fashion?"

[Gizmo]

"Well, if it's just guards, sure," the fencer replied with consummate confidence. Considering the caliber of hireling placed on the building's entrance, Jack of all Blades had no doubt he could outwit any minions their quarry might be hiding behind. "Motion sensors and cameras and stuff? Little harder to game, y'know?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Tell you what, you deal with the electronics, and I'll handle the human element. Soft touch, huh?"