4th Turn [Action/Voice]

[redjacketthief]

[Residents of Community House 5 may have noticed a flurry of activity from a furtive man in red recently, predominantly in the wee hours of the morning or in the dead of night. The sounds of haphazard bumps and thwacks may have woken them up on ocassion, and the lingering scent of gunpowder may have made them wonder what the hell was going on in that room on the sixth level of the building.

Don't worry. It's just the resident master thief, Arsene Lupin III, finally moving out of Inspector Zenigata's apartment and into his own,  conducting a little mad science while in the process.

...and not everything is going as planned for him. A loud explosion bursts from room #30, breaking the peace of the wintery way. Smoke follows, billowing forth from the windows.

There's a lot of swearing in French.

More, smaller booms follow. The sound of doors slamming, bodies falling, and feet running through the corridors can be heard.

...

Sorry, Luceti. Lupin will stop trying to make smoke bombs for a while.]

Voice:

Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm just doing science here...

[A thud--something big has fallen.]

Don't worry--I have it under control. I'm a professional, you know!

...shimatta...

[The feed cuts out with more gratuitous swearing as another large something or other falls over.]

Comments

[daisy023]

[Threat.

The moment the first explosion happen, SPARTAN-023 runs towards the source of it, and of the curses in french. Moments later, a woman in a red jumpsuit and hip-long hair kicks down the door as if it hadn't been there... The lock was bent and broken with her kick, in fact. A feat normal humans don't often pull off without breaching rounds.

Turns out she's 6'9''. And has a huge revolver. The ones that are abominations so big, one would think only someone as big as this angry girl could handle the recoil, in fact.

Unfortunately.]

[redjacketthief]

[The tall, magestic, gun wielding woman is impressive and hot, even amidst the flames. No--the flames make her more impressive. Pardon the thief as he stares up from his place on the ground, soot covered and fire momentarily forgotten.]

Hey babe--I'm not trying to kill anyone. Want to help me put this thing out?

[daisy023]

Your bombs did! Get your hands off the gunpowder before you make things worse.

[The 'babe' falling on deaf ears. And with the very big gun still aimed at them as she approaches the site.]

What were you doing?

[redjacketthief]

[His hands go out and open--no ma'am, no tricks here--but he's still smiling and laying on the ground.]

I was making smoke bombs...things just got out of hand.

[daisy023]

--If you were making smoke bombs to do this, then you shouldn't make any kind of bomb.

[She angrily walks towards the source, quickly seeking for an extinguisher to put the fires out. Somehow she guides herself well despite the apartment being too small for someone her size.]

[redjacketthief]

[He pulls himself up, dusting soot off of his mercifully black dress shirt and likely only making it worse. There'd be hell to pay when he washed his clothes later, but for now...]

If you're looking for an extinguisher, I don't have one. I thought I did...but there wasn't one anywhere I looked. [He shrugged.] And it seemed simple enough--I've counterfeited heirloom rings before, and even made a few off-standard additions myself.

Sucrose, gunpowder, and antimony sulfide shouldn't have made this kinda mess.

[daisy023]

[...

The giant girl turns to him.]

You're dealing with explosives. You didn't measure the amount of chemicals needed in the fabrication of smoke bombs. [In Daisy's mind as the resident EOD know-how: Seriously!?] And you didn't even make sure to have an extinguisher!

[Something works, though. Her frustation is enough to actually holster her very big gun to extinguish the sources of fire with the means available.]

How do you even ruin making a smoke bomb!? A nine-year old can make one with his eyes closed! If you'll keep doing that, I'll have to keep watch on you!

[She actually made way stronger explosives at that age, but that's beside the point.]

[redjacketthief]

[He watches her idly, halfway amused despite the inferno. It's clear to him that, whatever her talents may be, she's never dealt with a restless man that thrives on chaos, whose very existance is defined by freedom and unpredictability. He grins, and starts helping.]

You know that thing that happens in a room with airborn materials and an open flame? I've been up since four this morning, and that happened. [He knew that he just got careless with all of his pent up energy. He didn't regret it.] I will say, though, that I'll try not to light any cigarettes next time that happens.

[A little more sly, with a lot more charm.] You can come and watch any time you like.

1/2

[daisy023]

2/2

[daisy023]

[PUNT!]

[That's the problem with Lupin's action. The Chief Petty Officer learned enough to know from social interactions when is she being flirted at, but for a long time depending on categorizing people as squadmates, superior officers, and threats; not to mention not knowing what to do when people flirt with her; she takes the seemingly logical path.]

YOU KNEW WHAT I MEANT!

[She marks him as a threat.]

1/2

[redjacketthief]

[Though violence wasn't unexpected from the tall woman with a huge gun, he expected a pistol-whip or a smack across the face--not a kick. She had height, her advantage. The blow connects, her foot impacting just below his rib cage and knocking the wind out of him.

He hits the nearby wall with an --oooff! Knees buckle, and he slides to the floor.]

2/2

[redjacketthief]

[His skinny arms are wrapped around his body in an instinctual protective measure, and he looks up at the woman, pained but intrigued. She may have just labeled him as a threat; he just labeled as a person of interest.]

I do now. Wow! That was...you military or something?

[daisy023]

Chief Petty Officer Daisy SPARTAN-023, United Nations Space Command, Naval Special Warfare.

[Training finally stops taking over, and common sense takes its' place.

She just injured someone. Ah, crap.]

Are you alright!?

[redjacketthief]

I've had worse. [It was still neither a confirmation nor denial--at least he could breathe. That was the important part. He pulls himself back up and leans heavily against the wall, a ghost of a smile curling his lips.]

Chief Petty Officer Daisy SPARTAN-023, I dunno what it is you're doing in space, but the mention of the United Nations makes me think you'd get along just fine with Inspector Koichi Zenigata. Another law enforcer. Works for an international policing organization.

[he sighs.] Can I just call you Daisy?

[daisy023]

... Few call me by rank nowadays.

[Her way of saying, "It's not like you will call me otherwise."]

I'm from 2531. It's common where I'm from. And depends if he uses explosives.

[redjacketthief]

[Not so subtle jab there is so noted--and he'd want to ask her about the year 2531 at a later time, provided that she didn't kick him again. It hurt to breathe...]

Arsene Lupin III. Most call me Lupin. [He goes to offer his hand for a friendly shake, but the motion hurt as much as breathing. wincing, more in surprise, he decides it's better to cut his losses and instead nods in acknowledgement.] I'd say it's a pleasure, but...[the fire. the kick. that threatening looking gun.]

[daisy023]

--We put the fires and explosives out, sir, then we get you patched up.

[The amazon holsters her weapon. She just punted someone, but again, better to take care of the more immediate threats first.]

[redjacketthief]

[Simple. Direct. To the point. Oh, how it made him uncomfortable to be called sir!]

Lupin's just fine. [He pushes off, moving to help as best as he could. The pain, while insistent, wasn't terrible. It wasn't the worst injury he's had.]

No doctors. I'm...kind of a criminal by your standards, and doctors are an easy way to get in trouble. I know that's not the case here, but old habits die hard. [It felt like his ribs were bruised or cracked at the worst--there wasn't much a doctor could do.]

[daisy023]

[She looks back only for a brief instant. Why will nobody accept being called "sir"!?

... And, it seems, it's another criminal type. Having befriended and been under the command of pirates, and military being forbidden from doing law enforcement duties, luckily for Lupin, may allow the Chief Petty Officer to give the man some leeway.

Since no doctor may be approached quickly, she just walks towards him with a sigh, and puts her palm over Lupin's midsection, apparently in an open-palmed attack towards his solar plexus--

It's not a strike. It stands there for a moment as Daisy channels Nala to heal him.]

[redjacketthief]

[Magic was something he wasn't used to, didn't have the patience for in this life or any life. While some of his enemies claimed to have magic powers, nine times out of ten they were proven to be just men corrupted by their greed and a hefty amount of tech. The few instances that were legitimate magic were unnerving. It was something he couldn't easily explain.

His gut instinct when she approached was to back away, but he didn't have a lot of room to conduct his escape. All he can do is stare, and try to push her hand away.]

Care to explain what you're doing?

[daisy023]

Hold still. This should at least soothe your pain.

[Her hand attempts to forcibly remain where it is. Eventually, her hand will glow, and the pain in Lupin's chest might reduce.

However much it might have healed, either a little or nothing at all, it's also a good time to be unnerved.]

[redjacketthief]

[She's taller and stronger than he is, and has military training. Compared to his haphazard abilities gained through experience, and his tendency to avoid actual fights, she has an advantage over any of his attempts. Her hand remains despite his attempts.

Then it glows. It was a curious thing, similar to that display that Grune gave him after an offhand comment of wanting to see her definition of magic sometime. Her words held true; the immediate pain was relieved, though he was so high on adrenaline and lack of sleep that he couldn't tell if it was anything further.]

That...is crazy [And unnerving.]

[daisy023]

You haven't seen everything.

[In a resigned tone. Sob, how many bizarre things this world has. Daisy wonders if, by getting used to this, might have gone a little crazier herself.

She walks back, now to deal with the smoke, showing her back to Lupin. The giant girl extends her arms to her sides, athletic body preparing for something else, but asks something first.]

What else do we have to put down the fires?

[It's not all of the magic she knows.]

[redjacketthief]

[He believed her at this point, because Luceti was eternally baffling to him. Enforced cages that break every law of physics didn't do well for his sense of sanity either.

He approaches her, hovering behind her with his hands in his pockets and a sheepish smile on his face. Oh, Daisy. If only you knew...]

I've been trying water and flour, but that obviously hasn't helped much, has it? You have a few ideas?

[daisy023]

[On the other hand, Lupin has a good view of the very tall girl's back. She takes care of her body, and it is tragic she does not know.]

I have one.

[She lifts her arms, and tenses her fingers -- And for a moment, all of the smoke seems to stay too still. Then, she waves her hands towards the fire, as if directing the smoke to control it.

And it obeys.

With little oxygen to burn, the fires begin to die down as the fire suffocates itself with its' own smoke. The giant girl keeps her arms that way until the fires die down, once again thanking Valvalis and Kipinn.]