OT3-nanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

I'll tell her they took you up to the countryside, where you could run around on a farm all day, picking locks and getting into mischief.

Then, I'll get her a puppy.

[stealwithit]

I'm a hundred times better than a puppy, but I guess that'll just remain a mystery to you both.

[ And, finally, the elevators come to a grinding halt. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The nice thing about these stupid elevators is that even while they're slow as shit, they're also slow as hell to come to a stop.

... Wait, no, that sucks too. ]

I'll distract 'em while you do your ninja cloaky thing?

[stealwithit]

[ She grins. ]

Just my style. Assuming, of course, Maya hasn't already killed everyone by the time these doors open.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He nods. ]

Watch my back, then. [ A beat. ] But try not to get distracted.

[ The doors open at an abysmal pace, but once they part widely enough, Peter starts firing to more surprised shouts, blasts of flame and electricity sizzling in the air. ]

[phaselocknroll]

[ Maya has not, in fact, managed to kill them all, but she's thinned the crowd significantly. The whole room is in chaos- some of the mercs have tried to find cover of some kind, and Maya does her best to keep them pinned there, taking shots at anyone who pokes their head out.

If anyone gets too brave, she simply pops them up in her phaselock, watching with an amused grin as the rest of the mercs try to scramble away from the explosion of elements.

Which is just what's happening when the elevator doors open- the mercs flee from their hiding places and right into Peter's blaster fire.

Nice. ]

[stealwithit]

Again--you wish.

[ Is what she says as the doors are opening and she fades out of view, making her way over to the goons that Peter's line of fire doesn't quite cover at the moment, reappearing behind one and righteously smiting him with her omni-blade before she turns, depositing a bullet into another square in the chest with her Phalanx and then fading out of view again. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The funny thing about Star-Lord is that despite the guns, despite the fact that he's frequently out-matched strength-wise (because it sucks, sometimes, being a squishy human), is that he likes getting up close and personal with his enemies.

So he takes out a few dudes at range, hidden under cover from Maya's sniper rounds, but then he's wading in, drawing as much attention as possible to keep them focused on him -- instead of, say, the deadly Siren raining death from above, or the thief, darting in and out of existence. He keeps most of the dudes in range of him, shoving and kicking some one or two out of the small crowd he's assembled to fall victim to a phaselock or an omni-blade.

Between the three of them, it's easy work, and pretty soon Peter's shooting what appears to be the last man with a bolt of electricity from his blaster. As the man seizes, Peter waits for the sparks to fade before kicking him aside, sending his head into the ground with a crack. ]

We good, ladies?

[phaselocknroll]

[ Maya gives one last look around from her vantage point before signaling the all-clear and heading for the elevator.

Funny how this ride seems to take like half the time as it did with Kasumi and Peter, because it doesn't take long for her to join them on the lower floor, stepping over bodies as she makes her way over to where Peter is.

Kasumi is, again, presumably around somewhere. ]

That was cathartic.

[stealwithit]

[ She figures she would let them have another moment or something, but in time she reappears atop one of the (few) desks that didn't end up overturned or blown to bits in the firefight. She sits, her legs crossed over the edge of the desk, upper body leaning over to examine the tech on the table. ]

I agree. This isn't over quite yet, though. Dr. Aenisi must be expecting us by now, yeah?

[ And when they're done, she is gonna come back for this thingy that she's looking at. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

With the racket we made at his doorstep?

[ Peter shrugs, holstering one of his blasters. ]

I think he might have a sneaking suspicion, just about now.

[ He pauses when he hears a groan from the floor beside him, and he knocks the guy out with a boot to the head. ]

[phaselocknroll]

Then let's pay the good Doctor a visit. I'm sure he's eager to research what a phaselock is like from the inside.

... I do promise I won't set him on fire, though.

[stealwithit]

[ She hops off the desk, turning on her heel and making for the door at the far end of the room. ]

And I promise that I won't just zap him on sight.

[ She looks back over her shoulder at the two. ] Shall we?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He holds up a hand to interrupt her. ]

-- Wait, no, hang on. Pretty sure I have to swear something.

[ A thoughtful pause, then, ]

And I promise I'm just gonna straight up shoot him if you guys don't.

[ He nods, then waves her on. ] Okay, now we're good.

[phaselocknroll]

[ Promises all around! She grins and falls in-step beside Kasumi ]

By the way, was that elevator busted? It felt like it took you two a year to get down to the first floor.

[stealwithit]

[ Kasumi chuckles and shoots Maya a playful little smile. ]

My dear, sweet Maya, that's just how elevators are. Probably so people inside can have a lovely little chat while inside.

[ And what a lovely little chat it was. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter's expression pinches behind the mask. ]

Mostly, though, the elevators here just suck. [ Words of wisdom, to be entirely frank. ]

We expectin' any more resistance?

[phaselocknroll]

[ Maya arches a brow ] Did you two have a lovely little chat?

[ oh, right. Probably not relevant at the moment. ]

I don't know. Are you getting any more comm chatter, Kasumi?

[stealwithit]

[ She shoots Maya a little look that says, yep, and maybe even a little wink, in response to the Siren's first question, even though the lovely little chat was only really lovely for one of them. In any case, she pulls up her omni-tool once again and opens up the comm channel.

"You're telling me that all of your men are dead out there?! What am I even paying you for?"

"Hey, Doc, you're the one who managed to piss these three off. Why'd you hire all of 'em if you were gonna get so scared they'd come after you?"

Kasumi nods along at this point, as though to say, yeah, he's got a good question.

"Because I didn't think they would team up against me! I figured they would just kill each other if they found out they were out for the same thing!"

--and that's enough information, Kasumi figures, and she shuts off the channel with a rather bemused look on her face. ]

Sounds like it's just Doc and one other person in there. Probably the guy in charge of the mercs?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Kasumi can't see it, but Peter glares at her with the white-hot intensity of five thousand suns. But his annoyance is wiped away when she opens up the comm channel, and Boss Hogg is arguing with the Doc. ]

Probably a safe enough guess.

I also solemnly promise I'll shoot him, too, if you guys don't.

[phaselocknroll]

Well, once we kick the door in, I can make sure our mutual employer doesn't make a break for it if you two want to see if our other friend can be persuaded to walk away.

[stealwithit]

[ It's not hard to miss that Peter's pretty livid at all this, so Kasumi just shrugs in response. ]

You know--whatever you two want to do, I'm on board with? Star-Lord seems pretty set on making sure neither of them walks out of here alive.

After all, if you end up killing both of them, I can still get us the money we were promised.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He sweeps out an arm. ] See? It works out. I get to shoot dudes, and we get paid. Lawlessness at its finest.

'Sides. Talkin' reason to the guy whose lackeys we just murdered. [ He makes a sort of dithering sound, like, "ehhhh." ] You think that's gonna go over well?

[phaselocknroll]

I guess that depends on how much he liked his men and how much he likes being alive.

But if you want to go in guns blazing, take-no-prisoners, then just tell me who to incinerate.

[stealwithit]

Then how about this.

[ She looks over at Peter, ] Star-Lord can shoot the merc in the face. You've got some anger you need to work out, Quill, so have at it. Maya, you can Phaselock the doctor, just in case. He might do something rash or have a final plea.

I'll stand back with my popcorn and watch you two kick ass, and by that I mean I'll slip past and get through to his private terminal before he has the chance to do anything silly like wipe all of his drives on command or trigger some sort of failsafe.