***
After entering Perez Park, it only took two groups of Skulls, one Circle of Thorns sacrifice group, and a run in with a friendly Hydra before they were pointed
in the direction of Broken Femur, who currently had about a dozen fellow gang members with him, and were entertaining themselves with some tied up Clockwork
and power tools. The Bone Daddy in question was standing back from the fun and watching, hands in his pockets and no real expression on what part of his face
wasn't hidden by the Skull mask he was wearing.
He wasn't a pleasant sight. After years of worshiping dark forces and tapping into realms of darkness, his soul had begun to wither and fail, taking his
body with it. His skin was pale and pulled tight over his thin, half-starved body, and they could actually see his ribs under his open jacket. It was a sight
that made people wonder why the violent youth of Paragon would see the Skulls as a gang worth joining.
Right now though, the two heroes had different questions. "Where did those idiots get a MIG welder?" Leon wondered.
"Why can't Babbage ever seem to rampage in Perez?" Robin added. "We should probably go beat them up before the King sends backup."
"You sure? I mean, they'd deserve Dukes stomping on them."
"We need to talk to Femur," Robin pointed out.
Frowning, Leon stood there for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "I just wanted to see them squirm." Unslinging his rifle, he
stepped out from behind a corner and walked towards the Skulls. "Yo! Femur!" he snapped. "Got some questions for you!"
The Skulls jumped, one of them dropping the Gear he was holding, which dived behind an old trash can in the gutter. Several of the gang members went for their
guns, before Broken Femur raised a hand to stop them. "Wait," he rasped, before turning towards the two Heroes. "You want something from
me?" he asked, voice dry and dusty. "Police officer with a cape... and the catgirl Knight. You've changed... but thrived. You embrace live, try
to draw strength from it. Such a futile effort for so short a thing-"
Robin rolled her eyes. "Blah blah blah, life is fleeting, death is eternal, I know, I've heard it before. Let's focus on your life for a few
minutes. Kerosene Kenneth. Word is you had a grudge with him."
"Once, I hated him," Femur whispered. "When the simple pleasures of mortal life still help an appeal to me. That is like a distant memory now. I
have been freed from such simple concerns as I prepare for the wonder of death."
"From what I hear, he got your sister pregnant, then got cold feet and ran," Leon snorted. "That doesn't bother you?"
Femur paused, considering. "At the time, it did," he admitted. "But such concerns are matters of the living world-"
"You are so full of it," the police officer said, noting with some satisfaction the other Skulls tensing as he insulted their boss. "If you were
so 'disconnected' from the real world, you wouldn't be out here, playing with Clockwork."
"Perhaps," Femur said softly, conceding the point. "Still, it does not matter. The fool killed himself with his own fire, cooked and
suffocated." A weak smirk appeared. "Let his body remain buried and forgotten. I have no intention of paying tribute to fools."
For a long moment, Leon looked at Femur, studying him. When he opened his mouth again, whatever he was planning to say was cut off by a new voice coming from
further down the street. "Hey, Skull-fucker!" The gang members spun to see a small group of Hellions emerging out of the darkness, most of them
carrying crude weapons of some sort. "What'd you do with Ken's head?" the Damned at the front of the pack demanded.
"Ohhh crap," Robin said quietly as Femur turned back to Leon.
"Just what I was getting to," Leon replied with a smirk to hide his annoyance. "Someone dug him up and took his head." He shrugged.
"Doesn't take a genius to work out the main suspects."
One of the Hellions spotted the catgirl standing behind the Skulls and yelled. "Capes!" The others raised their weapons. The Skulls, being between
the Hellions and Knight of the Peace, aimed their own weapons at the Hellions.
"Boys, boys," Robin called out with a soft laugh. "There's no need for us to fight here. We've all got questions to ask, so let's
ask them and act like grownups for a while, hmm?" The smile widened as the Skulls looked back at her, blinking.
Femur laughed bitterly, turning back to the Hellions. "As I was just telling the detective, I have no intention of paying tribute to fools. Kerosene
Kenneth was an idiot and a coward, who rotted his brain from inhaling too much smoke and got caught in his own fire. Let him rot in the ground,
forgotten."
"You don't get to talk about a Hellion like that, grave robber," the Damned spat. Flames began to flicker into existence along his bare arms.
In response, the Bone Daddies smirk merely widened. "Then make me stop," he taunted, proving that he was hardly the walking dead he claimed to be.
Growling, the Damned unleashed his flame, the Bone Daddy wrapped himself in darkness, and a brawl broke out.
For a moment, Leon and Robin found themselves totally ignored, the two gangs paying more attention to their usual rivals and old grudges. Sighing, Leon brushed
a hand through his hair and turned to Robin. "I'll take the Hellions?" he offered. Robin merely smiled and popped her claws. Raising his rifle,
the police officer opened fire as Robin charged in, breaking up the brawl by the time honored method of putting everyone on the ground.
"Stay out of this capes!" the Damned growled as he set a Gravedigger on fire. "This is between us and the death-lovers!" Leon snorted,
ducking under a baseball bat, tapped the ammo selector on his multi-rifle, and nailed the Hellion boss in the face with a rubber bullet. "Mah teef!"
he yelped, clutching at his shattered mouth. "Mah tee-" He shut up as Leon stepped up and clubbed him in the face, dropping him to the ground.
Grumbling, Leon turned, then swore and brought his rifle around to block a baseball bat. Twisting it around, he unloaded another slug into the Hellions
stomach, who promptly dropped to his knees and tried to get his breath back. "Idiots..."
Nearby, the Clockwork used the chance to escape... after grabbing the power tools, of course.
***
"Word leaked out on a newsblog," Nene said, frowning as she looked over her computer screen. "The details are kinda flimsy, whoever the reporter
has for a source inside the PPD must not be too close to the case. But... Kennys head stolen, Skulls the main suspects."
"That's enough to get the Hellions moving," Priss replied, her voice crackling slightly over Nene's headset. "Tam and I have checked
with the usual snitches in the Row, and a few other goons for good measure. Not one of them mentioned the robbery before half an hour ago."
"Yeah well, when the news broke the Hellions started hunting fast," Leon said. "Rob and I just trashed a third party out for blood here in
Perez." There was a brief crash that left static over the comms. "And Robin just found another," he added wryly.
"Well, at least someone's having fun," Nene mused, before fighting back a yawn.
"Romanova, what time did you get in today?" Leon wondered.
Nene blinked. "Um... seven am," she said, before checking her watch. "Holy crap!" she added at seeing 2:39am displayed on the front.
Priss snorted. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Nene frowned, wishing she could transmit glares over the radio.
"And with that said," Leon chuckled. "We've got officers and capes running interferance, and we've running all over the place all day.
Everyone go home and get some sleep. We'll regroup at... eight am. Not much sleep, I'll admit, but enough for now." He chuckled. "And warn
your signifigant others that you may be bunking at the base a lot for the next few days..."
"So, enjoy our own beds while we can?" Priss asked.
"Bingo."
Nene chuckled, before logging out, picking up her bag and heading for the teleporters, waving to Naoko, who seemed to have been stuck with the night shift
again.
***
After entering Perez Park, it only took two groups of Skulls, one Circle of Thorns sacrifice group, and a run in with a friendly Hydra before they were pointed
in the direction of Broken Femur, who currently had about a dozen fellow gang members with him, and were entertaining themselves with some tied up Clockwork
and power tools. The Bone Daddy in question was standing back from the fun and watching, hands in his pockets and no real expression on what part of his face
wasn't hidden by the Skull mask he was wearing.
He wasn't a pleasant sight. After years of worshiping dark forces and tapping into realms of darkness, his soul had begun to wither and fail, taking his
body with it. His skin was pale and pulled tight over his thin, half-starved body, and they could actually see his ribs under his open jacket. It was a sight
that made people wonder why the violent youth of Paragon would see the Skulls as a gang worth joining.
Right now though, the two heroes had different questions. "Where did those idiots get a MIG welder?" Leon wondered.
"Why can't Babbage ever seem to rampage in Perez?" Robin added. "We should probably go beat them up before the King sends backup."
"You sure? I mean, they'd deserve Dukes stomping on them."
"We need to talk to Femur," Robin pointed out.
Frowning, Leon stood there for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "I just wanted to see them squirm." Unslinging his rifle, he
stepped out from behind a corner and walked towards the Skulls. "Yo! Femur!" he snapped. "Got some questions for you!"
The Skulls jumped, one of them dropping the Gear he was holding, which dived behind an old trash can in the gutter. Several of the gang members went for their
guns, before Broken Femur raised a hand to stop them. "Wait," he rasped, before turning towards the two Heroes. "You want something from
me?" he asked, voice dry and dusty. "Police officer with a cape... and the catgirl Knight. You've changed... but thrived. You embrace live, try
to draw strength from it. Such a futile effort for so short a thing-"
Robin rolled her eyes. "Blah blah blah, life is fleeting, death is eternal, I know, I've heard it before. Let's focus on your life for a few
minutes. Kerosene Kenneth. Word is you had a grudge with him."
"Once, I hated him," Femur whispered. "When the simple pleasures of mortal life still help an appeal to me. That is like a distant memory now. I
have been freed from such simple concerns as I prepare for the wonder of death."
"From what I hear, he got your sister pregnant, then got cold feet and ran," Leon snorted. "That doesn't bother you?"
Femur paused, considering. "At the time, it did," he admitted. "But such concerns are matters of the living world-"
"You are so full of it," the police officer said, noting with some satisfaction the other Skulls tensing as he insulted their boss. "If you were
so 'disconnected' from the real world, you wouldn't be out here, playing with Clockwork."
"Perhaps," Femur said softly, conceding the point. "Still, it does not matter. The fool killed himself with his own fire, cooked and
suffocated." A weak smirk appeared. "Let his body remain buried and forgotten. I have no intention of paying tribute to fools."
For a long moment, Leon looked at Femur, studying him. When he opened his mouth again, whatever he was planning to say was cut off by a new voice coming from
further down the street. "Hey, Skull-fucker!" The gang members spun to see a small group of Hellions emerging out of the darkness, most of them
carrying crude weapons of some sort. "What'd you do with Ken's head?" the Damned at the front of the pack demanded.
"Ohhh crap," Robin said quietly as Femur turned back to Leon.
"Just what I was getting to," Leon replied with a smirk to hide his annoyance. "Someone dug him up and took his head." He shrugged.
"Doesn't take a genius to work out the main suspects."
One of the Hellions spotted the catgirl standing behind the Skulls and yelled. "Capes!" The others raised their weapons. The Skulls, being between
the Hellions and Knight of the Peace, aimed their own weapons at the Hellions.
"Boys, boys," Robin called out with a soft laugh. "There's no need for us to fight here. We've all got questions to ask, so let's
ask them and act like grownups for a while, hmm?" The smile widened as the Skulls looked back at her, blinking.
Femur laughed bitterly, turning back to the Hellions. "As I was just telling the detective, I have no intention of paying tribute to fools. Kerosene
Kenneth was an idiot and a coward, who rotted his brain from inhaling too much smoke and got caught in his own fire. Let him rot in the ground,
forgotten."
"You don't get to talk about a Hellion like that, grave robber," the Damned spat. Flames began to flicker into existence along his bare arms.
In response, the Bone Daddies smirk merely widened. "Then make me stop," he taunted, proving that he was hardly the walking dead he claimed to be.
Growling, the Damned unleashed his flame, the Bone Daddy wrapped himself in darkness, and a brawl broke out.
For a moment, Leon and Robin found themselves totally ignored, the two gangs paying more attention to their usual rivals and old grudges. Sighing, Leon brushed
a hand through his hair and turned to Robin. "I'll take the Hellions?" he offered. Robin merely smiled and popped her claws. Raising his rifle,
the police officer opened fire as Robin charged in, breaking up the brawl by the time honored method of putting everyone on the ground.
"Stay out of this capes!" the Damned growled as he set a Gravedigger on fire. "This is between us and the death-lovers!" Leon snorted,
ducking under a baseball bat, tapped the ammo selector on his multi-rifle, and nailed the Hellion boss in the face with a rubber bullet. "Mah teef!"
he yelped, clutching at his shattered mouth. "Mah tee-" He shut up as Leon stepped up and clubbed him in the face, dropping him to the ground.
Grumbling, Leon turned, then swore and brought his rifle around to block a baseball bat. Twisting it around, he unloaded another slug into the Hellions
stomach, who promptly dropped to his knees and tried to get his breath back. "Idiots..."
Nearby, the Clockwork used the chance to escape... after grabbing the power tools, of course.
***
"Word leaked out on a newsblog," Nene said, frowning as she looked over her computer screen. "The details are kinda flimsy, whoever the reporter
has for a source inside the PPD must not be too close to the case. But... Kennys head stolen, Skulls the main suspects."
"That's enough to get the Hellions moving," Priss replied, her voice crackling slightly over Nene's headset. "Tam and I have checked
with the usual snitches in the Row, and a few other goons for good measure. Not one of them mentioned the robbery before half an hour ago."
"Yeah well, when the news broke the Hellions started hunting fast," Leon said. "Rob and I just trashed a third party out for blood here in
Perez." There was a brief crash that left static over the comms. "And Robin just found another," he added wryly.
"Well, at least someone's having fun," Nene mused, before fighting back a yawn.
"Romanova, what time did you get in today?" Leon wondered.
Nene blinked. "Um... seven am," she said, before checking her watch. "Holy crap!" she added at seeing 2:39am displayed on the front.
Priss snorted. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Nene frowned, wishing she could transmit glares over the radio.
"And with that said," Leon chuckled. "We've got officers and capes running interferance, and we've running all over the place all day.
Everyone go home and get some sleep. We'll regroup at... eight am. Not much sleep, I'll admit, but enough for now." He chuckled. "And warn
your signifigant others that you may be bunking at the base a lot for the next few days..."
"So, enjoy our own beds while we can?" Priss asked.
"Bingo."
Nene chuckled, before logging out, picking up her bag and heading for the teleporters, waving to Naoko, who seemed to have been stuck with the night shift
again.
***