[b][u]3:06 A.M. Aquarius Apartments, Bazar Quarter, Poseidonis[/u][/b] Orin stared blankly at the scene of unfolding chaos in front of him, mentally facepalming as the crowd devolved into panic. Well, if Malcolm wanted to go loud, Cuttlefish could get very [i]very[/i] loud. Slipping a new disk into his palm, Orin took a second to deactivate the cloaking field on his suit, leaving him perfectly visible in the armored plating and the twisted tentacle mask. He threw the disk to the floor which erupted in a show of bright and conflicting colors, catching the attention of every terrified party-goer in the area. [color=LightSeaGreen]”EVERYBODY [b]FREEZE[/b], ATLANTEAN ARGONAUTS. STAND DOWN, THIS IS A SPECIAL FORCES OPERATION. DROP ANY WEAPONS, RAISE YOUR HANDS, AND GET ON THE GROUND.”[/color] The gambit seemed to work… For a moment. The stunned crowd was beginning to slow, some of the nearer guests were holding their hands up and squinting through the invasive lightshow, it was going better than expected to be honest. Then the remaining guards in the room charged, knocking people to the ground and sparking the panic again. Orin leapt into action, meeting them halfway with his magically enhanced aqua-blades. This would be no trouble at all, even discounting Orin’s own magically enhanced abilities. The regent of Atlantis had spent many of his formative years learning multiple fighting styles and strategies, and these were mostly mooks. Though some of them showed startlingly competent training, most of them fell without incident. The few smart ones had managed to pull their pistols out and had begun firing before Orin could close the distance, but between the plated armor and his own naturally resilient skin, the magically-enhanced bullets were leaving little more than welts. During the commotion, it almost seemed quieter without the unwelcome assistance of a third party member. In the scuffle and shuffle, Static had moved out with some of the fleeing guests. The earpiece had been friend to bits and left on the floor. Three words told him all he needed to know about one of the Argonauts, and Malcolm was completely right. He didn’t feel like leaving was a bad idea. They had things under control without him, and they’d wrap things up in the same way. Though it wasn’t perfect, Virgil did put effort into masking his energy output as he left the building. He was a distraction, and obstacle, an idiot, and an asshole. It was the same mistake in a new environment. Nothing had changed. Orin remained focused on the fighting happening around him. He and Malcolm had worked together quite closely in the aftermath of the Atlantean Civil War, close enough that the king trusted the young man’s judgement and skill in situations like this. He could focus on this seemingly endless onslaught of roided out bodyguards, and they would sort through all of them later to find out who knew what. Lashing out with unnatural speed, Cuttlefish gripped one of the nearby enemies by the shoulder and shoved him backwards. Orin’s enhanced strength sent the man flying into his compatriots behind him, clearing a path through them for just long enough that the armored king caught a glimpse of a shady figure lurking in the corners of the room, snaking towards the exit. An Atlantean obviously, most likely Tritonian judging by his dress. That would make sense considering the weaponry this group had. If anybody was in charge here, it was that man. Keying on his earpiece again, Orin spoke surprisingly clearly, the battle having heightened his senses. [color=LightSeaGreen]”Mako, I have eyes on what I believe is the leader. Taking snapshots now and sending them to your headset. Moving in to intercept. Are you and our little wizard still with me?”[/color] A low snarl escaped the armoured boy in question, already caught between checking Karen over [i]and[/i] keeping an eye out for any more armed goons coming their way… well, now that he’d been snapped back to reality that is. Probably not a good idea to dwell on [i]that.[/i] He didn’t particularly have the time. This was just not his day. [color=orangered]”Image received. Just gimme a second, Our [i]Little Wizard[/i] is in a bit of rough shape.”[/color] Mal replied with a little grunt as a little chime sounded off in his ear, a translucent image of a man he’d spied Karen and Ophelia talking to earlier coming into existence in the top left corner of his visor [color=orangered]”Static, you’re still at the exit, right?”[/color] Silence followed that. Followed by a violent churning of something in his gut. [color=orangered]”Static?”[/color] Again, nothing. Malcolm could almost [i]hear[/i] his blood pressure rising as his head snapped back to the suddenly quiet (or rather, what he suddenly [i]noticed[/i] was quiet) doorway to the penthouse… and the fried, trampled upon remains of a communicator laying on the floor… and the statically charged furniture and scattered objects his eyes registered forming a path down the stairwell and generally [i]away[/i] from all the mayhem they had found themselves in with it’s source a retreating, but faded humanoid shape that was still well within the five mile range of his vision. Even for Mal’s computer-like brain, that took a hot minute to process. Virgil had bailed. Virgil had [i]bailed.[/i] Virgil had caused [i]all this shit and then [b]bailed.[/b][/i] To the sometimes Argonaut’s credit, the primal scream that built in his throat only came out as a little ‘hiss’ that visibly shook his whole frame as he turned back to his sister, a slight flicker of light making itself known from beneath his visor again as he spoke in a… surprisingly quiet, almost [i]hesitant[/i] tone. [color=orangered]”Karen, I need to know- Can you handle yourself right now?”[/color] Karen had placed her hand on the wall, working to regain her sense of balance. Her head was still spinning a bit from the right hook she’d taken from the drug pusher. Her back and neck were killing her. Still, that wasn’t what she was focused on right now. No, her eyes remained squarely on her little brother. [color=orchid]”Can [i]you[/i] handle yourself right now?”[/color] she asked pointedly. [color=orchid]”If I leave this to you, will you be able to control yourself? You nearly killed that man.”[/color] It didn’t help that she knew he had did so for her sake; that made her feel at least partially responsible for what happened. [color=orangered][i]”Answer the damned question, Karen!”[/i][/color] Mal shot back quickly. Perhaps a bit harsher than he’d intended. She frowned back at him, but did her best to straighten up—this elicited a few additional pops from her back, and quite a few jolts of pain to accompany them. Nevertheless, she maintained her posture. [color=orchid]”I’m not going to die, no,”[/color] she finally replied. [color=orchid]”So yes. I’ll be fine.”[/color] For a few seconds, Mal just stared at the blonde in silence. Caught somewhere between the anger at the situation they now found themselves in, the necessary harshness his years of experience and training had all but programmed into his brain to [i]deal[/i] with these situations and, quietly, a profound tinge of shame for his lapse in self-control that he [i]really[/i] didn’t have time to deal with right now. He also didn’t like yelling at Karen. Despite how often he’d done so today. [color=orangered]”Alright.”[/color] The boy finally affirmed with a quick nod, handily burying whatever was going on in his head and getting back to the task at hand, head snapping back to the action and scanning over the room for a few seconds before finally locking onto the familiar shape. [color=orangered]”He’s headed for the doors, got anything left that’d make that difficult for ‘im?”[/color] Karen traced Mal’s gaze to the retreating image of Herod, the man that had greeted her at the entrance when she and Ophelia had first arrived. What did she have that could stop him in his tracks? He was an Atlantean, and probably the leader of this whole operation. She doubted that her sleeping spell would be able to overcome his will. Still, there were [i]other[/i] things she could try. Extending her hand in the direction of Herod’s feet, she muttered quietly, [color=orchid]“Pleko….”[/color] The laces of his shoes immediately untied themselves, and then intertwined with each other to bind his feet together. With a startled gasp, the man fell forward onto his hands, his eyes staring in confusion at his footwear’s spontaneous rebellion. It took him only a moment to use his superior strength to rip said laces free, but it had bought them a few precious seconds. [color=orangered]”Well, that’ll do it…”[/color] Mal stated with a half shrug and [i]something[/i] approaching humour, before keying in his communicator and addressing the King of the Ocean in that same harsh, militaristic tone as before [color=orangered]”Big Boss, Tango’s on the ground. Let’s grab him.”[/color] Cuttlefish began moving as soon as he got confirmation from Mal, shoving another pair of bodyguards into a nearby wall and descending on the struggling Tritonian like a leopard seal on an injured crab. [color=LightSeaGreen]”Cover our backs Mako. I’m hoping grabbing this one will take the fight out of the others, but we may need to cover our retreat.”[/color] Orin said before planting a boot on the well-dressed Atlanteans chest, kicking him back to the ground before bending over and grabbing him by the collar of his well-fitted suit and hauling him upright, pinning him against the doorframe. [color=LightSeaGreen]”Everyone stand down!”[/color] the Argonaut said, deliberately speaking in English. Orin had a sneaking suspicion there were ties to Tritonian extremists at play here, and bridging the gap between Atlantis and the surface would only help Orin’s cause. [color=LightSeaGreen]”You are under arrest by the Atlantean Argonaut Civil Forces for possession and distribution of magically-enhanced narcotics. This apartment will be seized by Atlantean authorities and searched thoroughly. Everyone here will be questioned and the innocent among you will be released quickly. Any further resistance will be met with the same.”[/color] [hr] Those who had escaped the chaos that Static created were on the ground at this point, rushing and fleeing the scene before the police showed up and started cuffing people. Static, being apart of the group on the way down, hung his head low and stayed in the back. He didn’t utter a word until he was outside. Many of the college students who were scrambled all over the entrance of the building seemed lost and turned around. Static could easily understand why. After everything that happened, their minds were in a tizzy. The least he could do before heading off the grid was to guide them back home safely. [color=8882be]”Hey.”[/color] He tapped one fearful student on the shoulder and pointed towards the university. [color=8882be]”Head down that way, University ain’t that far from here.”[/color] “Yeah, thanks.” The young adult nodded nervously and took a friend by the shoulders, leading them away from the scene. Static made sure to let as many people as he could know how to get back to the university. His instructions weren’t perfectly detailed since he did fly, but they were just enough to help people get back safely. Others caught on to his conversations, listening in and following the groups. There weren’t many left after he was done talking to people, which, if he could do anything right tonight, it would have been the one thing where he wasn’t actually doing much of anything. Turning around, his eyes moved skywards to the penthouse. With a silent curse under his breath, he closed up his open jacket, took off his hat, gloves, and goggles, and headed away. He couldn’t bear to think about what he had done tonight, he couldn’t even face Mal. Maybe the next time he went AWOL, nobody would actually find him. He let out a hollow chuckle at the thought. Someone always found him, whether he wanted it or not. Richie, Mal, Grim that one time, he really couldn’t escape people. But if anything about this night told him something, it was that maybe the hero life wasn’t for him. [hr] To Orin’s credit, namedropping the goddamn [i]Tagmata Argonávtis[/i] for a second time in ten minutes seemed to drive home the point that keeping up the fight against them was [i]probably not going to end well.[/i] The splayed piles of limp, unconscious men lying about the place only served to enforce this notion. As did the fact that it took only [i]two[/i] (maybe three) of them to do it. For his part, Mal remained mostly silent as he went about the room, zip-tying together the wrists and ankles of all the unconscious people who’d been trying to kill him, his ‘sister’ and the King of the Goddamned Ocean in cosplay naught but a few moments earlier so that they wouldn’t make a go for round two when they woke up. All the while trying his level best [i]not[/i] to look in Karen’s direction. Still, with everything that had transpired tonight, he [i]did[/i] need to let off [i]some[/i] steam now that no one was trying to kill them. [color=orangered]””[/color] The younger Argonaut addressed the elder with something that sounded like a particularly [i]exhausted[/i] mind attempting humour. Making a point to speak in Atlantean, so Karen’s non-Shazam’d ears wouldn’t understand it [color=orangered]””[/i][/color]