[hider=A Chance for Rain]
[center][b][h2] [TITANS FALL//THE UNDERCITY//NORTHBRIDGE OUTSKIRTS] [/h2][/b][/center]

[hr]

Thunder rumbled above Northbridge and its general surroundings. Thick clouds had gathered, fat with the promise of a somewhat rare phenomenon.
Rain. Heavy rain. It had already begun to sprinkle by the time the clouds had really billowed over the settlement. The wind was sharp, cold and ripping. It fluttered in fits, blowing for three, maybe five minutes at a time, before stopping.
And starting again.

The air itself, billowing in great gulps and sighs. The dust it kicked up from the south was sandy brown, obscuring the horizon ever so.
Enough that the additional clouds being quite literally [i]blown[/i] into the air were… largely ignored. 
For thirty minutes, perhaps more, the sky filled with a rapidly darkening column of thunder and rain.


Meanwhile, panting in the foliage on the outermost outskirts, [i]Cassia’s Gale[/i] did their best to catch their breath and note the changes. Their throat and chest [i]burned[/i], and the strangest sensation filled the nerves of their diaphragm. Like someone was trying to tickle the muscles, with feathers made of hot needles.
Yay.

“[i][color=#8281CF]Weather is… Optimal. Wind… Optimal. Distance… Acceptable. Alright… Let’s get this started. Setting the timer for… two hours.[/color][/i]”
Kaeyara nodded, frowning some as they took another shaky breath. The strain from using their power would take another minute or so to fade, maybe more… Definitely more. Oh well. They had started the process already, there was no guarantee the storm wouldn’t fade by the time they were primed up again. They still hadn’t figured out how to make the clouds really [i]stick[/i].

[i]Manuballista[/i] was raised to their shoulder, the rifle taking no small amount of effort to heft. Kaeyara shifted some, moving to perch behind the hunched back of her exo-suit. A pupil dilated before blowing wide. The world brightened significantly, colors deepened before having their saturation reduced. 

[X8 MAGNIFICATION//RODS ENHANCED//COLOR CORRECTIONS ENGAGED]. 
[WARNING! “Catch your breath.” PROTOCOL ENGAGED//NEW MARKER ESTABLISHED: 00:30 SECONDS//“Don’t push it further.”]

Kaeyara blinked, wincing somewhat as the words blazed against their HUD, before sighing in relief as they faded. A new record for their Deviancy. Nice.
She shook her head and focused again, staring into Northbridge from her vantage point. They spent time marking civilians, those who were armed and those who weren’t, TFPD, their vehicles, and “enemy combatants.” Civilians glowed a deep [BLUE], while Titan’s Fall’s finest took on a brilliant [GREEN]. Anyone who was clearly associated with JAHANNAM was outlined in glorious [YELLOW]. 
Her targets moved closer, thankfully. Three outlined in [YELLOW], one in [BLUE]. The deal was going south, if the trickle of black-red fluid from the civvies mouth was anything to go by. 

The two humans from JAHANNAM were shoving the … Man. The cyber-animal at their heels was snapping its teeth at the man, and the two clearly didn't care as to whether or not he got nicked.
Hm.
Well then. Kaeyara nodded, slipping once again into Gale’s mindset as Manuballista came up once more. They sighted through the incorporated scope, taking a long, deep, breath as they focused.

One… Two… Flash of lightning, [b]BOOM[/b] of thunder to cover up the deep [b]thump[/b] of the coil-rifle in her hands. Brace against the mild recoil, switch target, focus, brace against the recoil again.
Repeat an additional time.
Watch the woman drop with an eight inch hole in her sternum, the man drops as one leg finds that it has no support from the shin down.
The cyber-animal, flung against the street at its feet, slammed into the earth by kinetic force unmatched.

And [i]Cassia’s Gale[/i] is already moving, sprinting like their life depends on it. From their calves and shins, siphons open, and pressurized air only lends to their speed. They’d not yet outrun a car, but they’d certainly outpace any possible reinforcement for the [YELLOWS]. 
It’s time to begin. 

… Ah. There’s the heavy rain. Even better. 

[/hider]


[hider=Louder than…]
[center][b][h2] [TITANS FALL//THE UNDERCITY//NORTHBRIDGE SLUMS] [/h2][/b][/center]

[hr]

It took Kaeyara little more than five minutes to get to the fallen JAHANNAM member. By that point he was clearly able to call for assistance, though, if his panicked expression was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be arriving soon. The weather was god-awful, with an onslaught of rain rendering the streets into lanes of water more akin to shallow rivers. Gutters and drains worked overtime, receiving more water in the past few minutes of the storm than in years, probably. 
Research into weather phenomena wasn’t all that high on Kaeyara’s to-do list.

Kaeyara slid to a stop not but twenty feet from the downed man, watching in silence as he did his best to drag himself to a nearby wall. He was casting his gaze about, speaking frantically into a communications array of some sort.
“[b]…No! I don’t know! We were jus’ fine, jus’ gettin’ Moreau to cough up the dough he owed for his monthly— No! I don’t KNOW! I TOLD YOU![/b]”

Hm. He sounded… panicked. Frustrated, even. Desperate, one could say.
“[b]Jus’ get someone over here already! Kinsing is probably fuckin’ flatlined, and I’m gettin drowned by th’fuckin’ sky! … How long will HE take to get out here?! … That’s too long! I’m fuckin’ bleedin’ here![/b]” He exclaimed, throwing a hand out to the side. “[b]I can barely fuckin’ SEE, and the stims’re only gon’do so much! Hurry up! Fuck![/b]”

He slumped down after his tirade, panting and flinching at a crack of thunder. Kaeyara sighed, pulling the half-mask that her undersuit provided up over her nose as she stalked closer. 
They looked up and to their left, jogging over to the two story— seemingly a residence— before kicking off its wall. Her legs pushed against one wall, then the other, sharp ‘PSSHT’s of air accompanying each leap. 

Then they were up on the roof, striding over to the ledge above the ganger. He was already looking about again, clearly having heard [KATYDID]’s siphons. Oh well. Time to get his attention.
Their voice was sharp, oozing with disgust and malice in equal measure, as they called out to him through the din of rainfall. “[b][color=#8281CF]Oy, buddy. How’s th’leg? You gonna bleed out soon? Hm?[/color][/b]”

The man jerked, flicking his head in their direction as he squinted through the rain. “[b]Oy! Fuck’off, you! I ain’t no easy pickin’! Fuck ‘ith me, and you fuck ‘ith JAHANNAM![/b]” came his responding shout. Kaeyara sighed, shifting and stowing [MANUBALLISTA] away as they instead reached for [PLUMBATAE]. Their thumb pulled the hammer into firing position with a satisfying ‘c-click’, as they called down once more.

“[b][color=#8281CF]Don’t be uncharitable now, I only have a question for you. Or … More, questions, I suppose! You still got an active link?[/color][/b]” They questioned.

“[b]… Maybe! Why? Picked a bad time to join up, if tha’s what you’re ‘ere for. Whatchu want dammit?![/b]” He shouted, squinting up at the vaguely defined shadow above him.

Their voice came again, harder now, colder than the rainfall. “[b][color=#8281CF]I’m lookin’ for a chick, if you’ve gotta know. Runs with your crew, last I heard. Got a real nasty smile? Katrina. Ringin’ bells?[/color][/b]”

“[b]An’ you think I’m jus’ gonna TELL you where she is?! What if I don’even know how t’find her? Hm?![/b]” Cried the wounded man, reaching for the sidearm on his hip.

His question was solid, and fair… Hm. 
“[b][color=#8281CF]If y’know, an’ tell me, I’ll drop you an additional stim for your leg. If y’don’t, I’ll drop you the stim, an take your link. If y’do, but you DON’T tell me… well…[/color][/b] They trailed off, abruptly leaning away from the edge of the roof.

The man’s arm had whipped up, holdout pistol in hand.
There was a bark, and the subsequent sizzling-crack of a bullet whizzing through the air made them snort. He had missed. 

Well, at least he wasn’t in shock, somehow. … As evidenced by him holding a ‘conversation’ so easily. Those stims must’ve really been something. Hm.

Well. If he wanted to be like that! 

“[b][color=#8281CF]’See that you’ve gone with option three, alright then, you made your choice.[/color][/b] They shouted, before seemingly vanishing.
The man, cold, nervous, and hopped up on combat stims as he was, immediately began checking all his possible directions. The rain, the dark from the clouds above, and the intermittent flashes of lightning all set about to make his sight as unreliable as possible.
He may have been surprised by the sudden appearance of a weight on his good leg. And the sudden pain in his gun hand. 

[i]Cassia’s Gale[/i] dropped from the roof, [PLUMBATAE] barking only once on the way down. [KATYDID] made sure that their descent wouldn’t harm them in the slightest, alongside their nearly perfect crouch. They felt the knee ‘sna-CRACK’ under them. Watched as the ganger’s holdout pistol exploded into plastic and metal scraps, along with his hand.

His scream, agonized as it was, got cut short, as [i]Cassia’s Gale[/i] abruptly stood and planted a foot on his throat. They flexed, and [KATYDID] responded. Razor sharp spurs appeared on heel, toe, and knee, while Cassia leaned in. 

“[b][color=#8281CF]N’uh uh. No yellin’ this time. Gimme th’slate phone now. C’mon, be a good boy.[/color][/b]” They growled, eyes illuminating in the dark as they hauled a deep breath in. 
The man, thankfully, acquiesced after only a moments hesitation. His working hand slid to his right pocket, removing the desired device as he held it out to them.
It was taken unceremoniously, snatched really, and the spurs left.

Then [i]Cassia’s Gale[/i] was spinning in place, a perfect 360 kick lashing out. His head jolted sideways, eyes rolled up, and he was [i]out.[/i] Finally. They shuffled about in their pockets, deeply lined as they were with this coat, and dropped an ‘advanced’ stim into his unconscious lap.
Hm.

They turned, striding away and deeper into Northbridge. They even took the time to jump up onto the rooftops again, blinking slowly at each crack and boom of thunder. 
They tapped the slate in their hands, watching its screen light up, before reaching for the small of their back. A datajack was retrieved, part of the [J0VE] spinal-ports, and slotted into the side of the slate.

It’d take them some time to break past its defenses but, well… Oh well! Time to work. 
[/hider]