Endgame

*Kane raises his arms to shield his face & is knocked over with an "oof!"*
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*That's when the assistant comes back out.*

<What are you doing?!>
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<Why that fool?>

E"He saw the Chief with his own eyes. I swear, I would never lie to you."

<They always say that.>

E"But this is different. I...I still...."

<Still WHAT?>

*Euryale looks back at everyone, growing increasingly flustered. She puts a hand to her mouth & tries to whisper.*

E"(You'll always be a hero to me. I'm sorry, I have to go. Thanks for everything.)"

*And so she hangs up & remains staring at the wall. Even with her face hidden, her body language, & temperature which the Firebenders are acutely aware of, give away her embarrassment. Roatha snickers a bit.*

R"(Uh oh, Mortal, looks like you have some competition. Our little Euryale is star-struck.)"
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*The dummy isn't as heavy as it could have been, but is still several dozen pounds. The nearest uncovered hole is about halfway across the dojo.*

Mortal leans in towards Roatha and whispers, "I'm not going to fault her for a childhood crush. Besides, I don't think I'm anywhere near a step down."

Noctis just snickered at Mortal, being close enough to overhear Mortal's admittedly poor attempt at a whisper, "Uh huh."

"Got something to say?" Mortal asked, crossing her arms.

"Hm, oh, no," Noct said, unable to remove the smirk, "Just find the comment a bit funny. You've garnered a bit of fame when you took down Senthose, and there are some surface similarities, so you're kind of right, not that much of a step down at all."

Mortal shrugged, "Oh, I guess so."

"Guess what?" Gabe asked, causing Mortal to flinch.

"I'm being complimented," Mortal answered, "I think..."

"What's gotten into Euryale?" Gabe asked, noticing the body temperature.

Tirea:<Do you need some water?>

Astarte is a weakling, so she heaves it across the room and curses it for being heavy before putting it in place.

Hector turned and looked at the assistant, putting a hand on the back of his neck and trying a smile, "Gardening?"
Eduj quietly fixed the ground he had shifted.

Dalia moved as quick as she could and dashed for the door.

*Roatha puts an arm around Gabe's shoulders & snickers, whispering again.*

R"(Look's like our little Euryale is star struck, & Mortal's got some competition.)"

*Since half of these people aren't even bothering to disguise their conversation, Euryale grows hotter & hotter.*

E"No, I'm fine, uh--where is Astarte?"

*She bumps into the telephone, knocking it back off the receiver. After fumbling with it for a bit, she finally gets it back on & awkwardly shuffles off.*
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<Look at what you did!>

*She runs her foot across a patch of ripped up grass, then grabs some broken, burnt grape vines.*

<Keter's going to kill me & you! In that order!>
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*She manages to get out only to find cop cars at either end of the alley. Kane gets up & follows her.*

<A perimeter. Did you really think you were going to get away?>

*He holds his hand out to a nearby fire escape, folding up the ladder.*

Tirea:<Noct, you were with her last...>

Astarte backed off from the dummy and looked it up and down. Not entirely sure what she planned to do next, she chose to start by hitting it as hard as she could with her chunk of ice.

"I figured she was some big-shot rich lady," Stefan grumbled.
"We didn't damage it too much," Hector said. "Does she have any gardening tools? We could try fixing it."

Dalia looked up and down the alley ground for openings to the underground.

Gabe giggled, "Keter?"

Mortal nodded.

"She's in the training room," Noct replied to Euryale.

"Called it," Mortal said with a smile. She then walked over to Euryale and put an arm around her, whispering, "Sorry for making you more embarrassed."

<No! Just go somewhere else, & try not to break anything!>
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R"(I know, right? I bet she had little Keter dolls as a kid. And probably dressed them up like cops, come to think of it....)"

*Euryale grows even warmer.*

E"I'm--ee--I am NOT embarrassed. What makes you think I'm embarrassed? Wut--what would I even have to be embarrassed ABOUT?"

*The ice goes whizzing right past the dummy's head & I guess the others barge into the training room. Roatha quickly lets go of Gabe.*
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<Don't bother. Even if you did find an exit, I could easily close it with my Earthbending. Just get on the ground & don't move.>

Monu:<Come on people, leave her alone.>

*Monu grins*

Noctis and Gabe let out another small giggle, though Mortal now feels like she just made everything worse.

"Oh, well, then there is nothing to worry about," Mortal said.

Astarte looked from her ice to the people coming into the room with a sheepish smile, "Hello."

"Well, okay. Out," Hector gestured sharply at Stefan and Eduj, who walked out into the hall. Hector followed, picking up the pot of water, and turned to apologize before he left.

Dalia sighed and dropped to her knees.

E"Damn right!"

R"Heheh...haaaah...so, are we just going to practice in here?"

*With a wave of her hand, Euryale sends the dummy flying back. Before it even hits the ground, she stomps, & it goes right back into place.*

E"Don't really think I need to. I'm going to switch the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. We should probably be listening to the news."

*And so she heads back out. Ven is flailing her arms randomly in the air, for some odd reason.*
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*He points his hand at her.*

<Just for the record? One wrong move, & I graduate to lethal force.>

*And so he fires a cable out of his hand.*
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*The assistant doesn't respond, & remains standing in the garden.*

Astarte rubbed the back of her neck and avoided eye contact of any kind, trying to hold up her smile.

The trio found a dining room and sat down, Hector placing the pot of water down and sighing, "Well, I don't know by how much we can improve our technique in battle before it counts. But that might be enough."
"We aren't cripples yet. Grand."
Hector looked over his shoulders for eavesdroppers.

Dalia did nothing to stop this.

Noct smiled and asked, "How's the ice training coming along?"

Mortal felt bad, wondering if Euryale was upset with her. Not wanting to be a bother she just leaned against a wall, and let her go do her thing.

Gabe raised an eyebrow at Ven, "Um, what are you doing?"

Tirea:<Yeah. Do you, like, need something?>

*Ven scowls. Outside, the radio changes, & grows louder.*

"I'm trying to metal bend, but it's not working."

<...ublic City firefighters responded to a call to an apartment complex at the north end of the city, near Harmony Tower. Police say that the fire was started by a lone Agni Kai assailant....>
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*Meanwhile, Eve hears a noise on the roof.*

*Eve goes over to the room where the cops are*

<I heard something on the roof.>

"I don't know, I only just got that dummy up," Astarte shrugged. "Not sure what to do with it besides practice my swings."

Hector closed the door and sat back down once he was fairly confident that nobody was snooping, "All we have to do is keep our heads down, throw fire at cops when appropriate and try to keep in their good graces. So long as we aren't playing heroes we can see when the tide turns and act according."
He looked at Stefan, "We're a team and we could be the only Triple Threats left active. Nobody acts without the other two knowing or we might all get fucked. Proper fucked."

Noct shrugged, "Ah, well, uh, keep at it I suppose."

Gabe nodded, "Oh, I apologize. Keep at it. You're incredibly talented, so I'm sure you'll get it if you keep trying."

V"Well, not if it's not going to do anything."

*She folds her arms.*

<...similar attacks have been made by various Benders on Su's Sewing, Dao Donuts, Narook's, & a slew of police-contracted....>

*The radio switches off as Euryale comes back in.*

R"You're not going to listen to the rest?"

E"I've heard all I need. Zolt's out of town, so Senthose must be ordering hits on small businesses that serve the police."

R"...I can't tell if that's good or bad."

E"Most of them are probably innocent. Senthose just wants to weaken Kane, bit by bit, by picking off his weak points. Things like accountants, & benefactors."
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*One opens the door, revealing that most are clustered around a coffee table drinking wine & playing some kind of card game. Yuans are in a pile on the table.*

<It's just a wolfbat.>

Eve:<Ether way, do you mind if I join you? I'm more than a bit shaken up.>

"Smart strategy," Noct said with a small nod.

"So, we have Senthose being a nuisance to him, but what's our next move?" Gabe asked.

Astarte shivered, unhappy to be reminded that Senthose was a bad guy too. She brought her ice back and formed a sharp disc which she flung at the dummy again.

Stefan rose to his feet, "So long as you're sure those asshats won't leave us to the dogs."
He made for the door and let himself out, setting off to wander the halls alone.

*It also misses. Euryale looks at Noctis, unsettled, before turning back to Gabe.*

E"We can't let him keep doing that. We're going to have to find him & take him down."
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*They look at each other & make faces.*

<...I...guess....>