What was I thinking? [Felicity]

[symkarian_princess]

After returning from the solo mission that had gone upside down thanks to HYDRA, Nika had gone to a medical professional to check how bad her wounds were stitched. She had all the confidence in Felicity while in the plane, but she wanted a professional opinion about possible scarring. She was sure some of the amazed invectives while examining her wounds would be useful later.

Since then she had kept herself busy until the day rolled around for getting coffee with Felicity. The Symkarian wasn't sure how this would go or if she should be even doing it. She could almost hear her mother's lecture moving along to the cadence of the elder Sable's pacing. Nika was sure there was no one else on the planet as good at frustrating her mother like herself.

Opting not to go to coffee in a tactical corset, Nika rummaged through her closet to find something suitable. It took the third outfit choice for her to realize she was distracted. She tried to focus on one color with some accents. And no animal prints. Why did she have tiger-striped pants?

She smoothed down her tight pencil skirt outside of the coffee shop. Then she adjusted her fitted jacket. It was possibly a tad too dressy for a casual coffee... date, but it made Nika feel better. Particularly as the jacket was tailored to hide the weapons she had hidden about her torso. She took a breath and pushed the door open.

Comments

[ngm_villains]

The barista bustled over, a stiff smile on her lips that never quite made it up to her eyes. She stood at the table, tray in hand, and watched the two women speak for a moment.

And then, bored by the direction the conversation was taking, she flipped the tray of coffee onto the two women and produced two very, very sharp knives from underneath her sleeves.

"Do. Not. Move," she said darkly. "Or do. It'll be easier for me to collect your blood that way."

[symkarian_princess]

There was a startled shriek at hot coffee ending up on her. As well as some flailing. She had been intent on Felicity and not her surroundings. She glowered up at the knife-wielding barista.

"Your mistake." She kicked the table at the woman as she moved to get some distance to get one of the non-guns she had hidden on her body out from under her jacket.

[pussyfootaround]

Felicity shrieked as well, mortified that there was coffee all over her iPad. Thank god she'd uploaded her schematics to her cloud database!

She flicked her wrist, unfurling the bracelets she wore on one of her arms into a thin, cable-like whip.

"Meow," she muttered lashing out with the whip.

[ngm_villains]

Kraven the Huntress glowered. This was not how she expected this to go, she thought to herself as she sidestepped the whip...and stepped directly into the table.

"Hrrrk!" she growled underneath her breath and threw one of the knives at Nika. She wanted the Sable-child first. She'd be more of a challenge, anyway.

[symkarian_princess]

Thank goodness for Hong Shan's old collapsible tactical baton. Nika had it out and in hand with a flick of the wrist. Another flick extended the rod to its full length. Just in time to block the knife coming at her.

The Symkarian tried to smack the bladed weapon away but not into people. Nika was best with a pistol in her hand, but she'd at least had enough hand-to-hand training to make Mother happy with her ability to fight.

[ngm_villains]

Anastasia Tatiana Kravinoff roared with anger - actually, honestly roared and took off after Nika.

Clearly, she was really living up to the tiger-patterned leggings she was wearing that day. She ripped off her barista apron and yanked two small guns out of her belt. Her father had always said that it was better to stab the prey than shoot it - it left fewer distinguishing marks that way - but Ana didn't care. She needed blood.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika's eyes widened at the guns. Well, what better way to ruin the date but with mass casualties? Except she wouldn't let that happen. Oh, was she going to hear about this from Lisa...

She turned heel and ran. Mostly to get out of the coffee shop since her pursuer was intent on her. She chucked her baton toward the loony's face when she got by the door.

It would give her a few precious seconds to get out the door. Nika ripped open her jacket and grabbed at whatever weapon came to hand.

[pussyfootaround]

Felicity leapt to her feet, glad that her mother had taught her how to fight in heels, and lashed out with her whip again, snagging Nika's tossed-aside baton.

She'd want that for later.

Then she moved to give chase to the psycho barista...only to be stopped by two very undead tigers that were growling at her, all zombie-like.

Gah!

"Uh. Good kitties?"

[ngm_villains]

Whatever weapon came to hand wouldn't matter. Ana would take Nika's hands first. By shooting them off.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika was not running a straight line to give her pursuer a good bead on her. Also, she kept shoving New Yorkers out of the way.

"Gun! Get down!" She body checked a woman into the interior of a cab and ran off. She finally came up with one of her weapons. Small, compact, and not a lot of rounds.

She may regret this but... she fired a round into the air. That should get people to scatter.

Then she ran serpentine toward a corner. If she could get around it, she could have a few more seconds to come back around at her attacker.

[ngm_villains]

People were scattering.

And they were getting in Ana's way.

She growled and let another shot loose in the air. So that people would scatter away from her.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika whipped around the corner and skidded to a stop. Date shoes were not the best for ceasing forward momentum on a dime. She backed up to the wall of the building and took a breath.

She couldn't go too far. She wasn't sure where Felicity was in all this mess. So, back toward the coffee shop at some point.

The Symkarian adjusted her grip on her small pistol. She went back around the corner to face her pursuer. Except she was crouched low to the ground.

She didn't care if anyone could see up her skirt as she did it. She cared more about having her center of mass low enough to not get shot and to have a chance of blowing this wacko's knees away.

[ngm_villains]

Felicity would have her hands full with two zombie tigers, raised by Calypso and commanded by Ana.

Ana, on the other hand, was vicious, but not stupid. She wasn't just going to round a corner. She was already scaling the building that the Symkarian was crouching behind. She'd take her from the top.

Just how she liked them.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika whipped around the corner and... no pursuer.

"Well, shit." Her eyes scanned the street. Not on the street. No shots fired from behind cars. People scattering away.

The woman wasn't in front. She hadn't passed the corner. Hoping this was not a subterranean woman, Nika pushed from a crouch to a sprint. She ran back the way she came. She tried to keep store front awnings above as momentary cover.

[pussyfootaround]

Felicity, meanwhile, was outside the cafe, a broken chair in one hand, her special whip in the other, trying to tame the two zombie tigers.

She grimaced. Next time she had a date? She was bringing all of her Black Cat gear.

[ngm_villains]

For her part, Ana pounced down...and found no one there.

She did, of course, see Nika's retreating figure.

Okay, fine. She wanted to run? She could run. But she wouldn't run far.

Ana aimed straight for Nika and fired.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika wasn't swerving this time. Which left her easier to aim and shoot at. She saw Felicity outside the cafe and opened her mouth to shout something.

The bullet slammed into her back with a metallic ptang!

It caught her in midstride and sent Nika tumbling to the ground.

[pussyfootaround]

That ptang! would have been difficult not to hear.

Sirens blared in the background as Felicity whirled around. A yell escaped her lips as Nika went down...and Ana approached.

Infuriated, and ignoring the tigers, Felicity charged straight for Ana Kravinoff.

[ngm_villains]

Ana caught her tigers' attention and commanded them to stay down. They were ineffectual, it seemed. Scary at first, but slow and shambling. They couldn't even take down someone as insipid as the the Black Cat. That was fine. Ana had knives and bullets for both the cat and the sable.

She struck out this time at Felicity.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika gasped for breath, but it wasn't coming right away. The bullet had hit one of the knives she had hidden under her jacket. While she wasn't bleeding, she had the air knocked out of her.

She rolled onto her back and aimed her gun at the approaching woman. Her hand was shaky, but she squeezed the trigger.

She just hoped the bullet hit the hunting weirdo and not some innocent bystander.

[ngm_villains]

Ana saw the gun pointed to her and leapt aside, anticipating the shot. She was a huntress. She was the daughter of the greatest Hunter who had ever lived. Of course she would be ready for this.

Another poison-tipped knife went whizzing towards Nika.

Only to be whipped out of the way by Felicity, who went after Ana with a stiff uppercut. Ana brought a heavily gauntleted hand up and blocked the attack, smacking an open palm into Felicity's face.

Having distracted the Black Cat, she went after Nika once more.

[symkarian_princess]

Nika didn't care who this woman was or who this woman's parents were. She had finally relaxed enough around someone to not be the boss all the time. And then this bitch came along with hot coffee and murderous attitude.

The Symkarian was not going to take it lying on the pavement.

While Felicity bought her a few precious seconds, Nika scrambled to her feet. She tossed the empty small gun aside and reached inside of her jacket to grab another weapon. Her hand came out with a silken scarf with weighted ends.

She hoped her improvisational weapons classes were going to come in handy. She grabbed one end and started twirling the other.

"Touch my date again, you're going to be eating your hand."

[ngm_villains]

"What are you going to do?" Ana asked. "Slice it off with a scarf?" She threw a knife, aiming for the scarf. "This doesn't need to be difficult, little Sabling. I don't want to skin you. I don't want your life. Just some of your blood. Work with me and you can walk away alive. Fight me and...well. I don't need you alive in the long run."

[symkarian_princess]

"Villains are all the same," Nika commented. She adjusted the twirl of the scarf to whip the weighted end up to knock the knife harmlessly out of the way. It was a satisfying ting of connection.

"You don't understand the danger of soft, and you likely have a bounty on your head. That massive ego has to know, how much is the price for your capture?"

Nika was so not into blood play at all, and definitely not with a belligerent stranger.

[ngm_villains]

"I am not a villain!" Ana scoffed. "I am Kraven the Huntress, and I am here to ave..." Well, no. She wasn't here to avenger her father's death. "I am here to take your blood!" That was going to have to do, really. "I have no price on my head save the wealth in my bank accounts!" Of which there really was none, but no one needed to know that.

Except everyone who already did.