First Little Mouse [Nina]

[Nina Stenet]

Not even looking at the agent, Nina gets no warning at all that he's pulled out his gun until it fires. A pained cry escapes from her lips as she twists a little in her seat, but it's nearly reflexive how quick she is to find the nerve in her leg to cut off the pain. Not two seconds pass before before she suddenly gasps in relief - unable and uncaring at how odd her reaction would seem because of her overwhelming need to remove the pain as quickly as possible, but confident that he wouldn't have the slightest idea what's really going on.

Instead she takes a moment to check the damage - even a shot not meant to be lethal can very well be if it hits the wrong structures, but the only thing really serious about that wound is the pain and she's already taken care of that. Gasping partly because of anger and partly because of shock, her eyes shift to look at him as she says angrily, "Congratulations - you've gone down to their level. I hope that you're proud of yourself." And that's all that she says; if she was unwilling to talk to him before, he's just increased that ten fold.

Now she watches him, her eyes full of a mixture of distrust and contempt - more angered by the idea that he did that at all than the fact that he specifically did it to her. As she watches him, she moves what attention she can spare to try to ease some of the worst of the damage to her leg. Sooner or later she's going to have to restore the feeling to the limb and she wants it as far along in healing as possible.

Though she privately comforts herself that he really won't be getting anything from her. If he manages to get Edward it won't be because of anything she said or left in either the lab or her apartment - she suspected that either might be searched sometime, so kept both free from any sign of him. It was only the smart thing to do, after all. But there wouldn't even be anything of Mr. Freeze to find - perhaps there was a note or two among some of the papers that she'd made that an expert could read and say that Nina knows more than a little about cryogenics now, but it's not like she'd write down his address or anything like that. Though it's a bit frustrating for her because the ball is in her court with that now: Nora won't be cured any time soon without her help. And she can't do that if she's in Gitmo.

[fbi]

He heard the cry of pain he expected, but the quick silence and concise words was something he had yet to see. Her affiliation with the costume creatures and the devil himself must have made her immune to pain in some ways. She must have sold her soul to have such a power.

He walked over to her and looked down at her with even more disgust. "The end will always justify the means," he stated, "If you did not believe in that then you would wish September 11th on the United States again and again," he added, thinking over all the military methods in containing terrorism. The extremes each organization in the government went to to protect people. He wanted his country safe. He wanted the innocent safe and if he had to fight the devil in such a way he would do so.

"I am glad you are still able to speak because it means you can answer the one and only question I have for you," he said clearly as if trying to shake the very creature out of her.

"Where is he?" he brought the barrel of his pistol at the entrance of the wound. He pushed it hard so it opened the wound up as he twisted it, causing more blood to escape.

[Nina Stenet]

It only takes a moment or two for Nina to bring her ragged breathing back into strong, steady breaths. "If we become just like them how are we any better then they are? How can we claim that we're right and they're wrong when we're exactly the same? The terrorists believe that they're protecting the innocent, killing the infidels - how are we different?" she asks. She doesn't know about him, but she's nothing like them. That's why she's not going to use her power.

Not going to use it, not going to do it, she repeats to herself like a mantra even as he brings the gun to the wound in her leg. It would probably be excruciating if she hadn't completely numbed it. In her haste to be rid of the pain she'd severed that part of the nerve completely, not knowing how long she'd want it numbed but knowing that eventually she'd be able to repair it. And she doesn't want to be distracted by the need to numb it again before then.

Which is why she's able to look him steadily in the eyes and say, "I don't know where he is; you've shot an innocent woman for nothing." Which is the real truth: if they raided all of his places, she can't be completely where he'd be. She does have a few guesses of where to start looking, but she's not about to give Agent Tiff even that much - especially not now.

[fbi]

"God is on our side," he stated then pulled the trigger again with no warning. With how close the gun was in the leg her blood spattered back on him, landing across his face. He had no time to debate philosophy with her, especially when she was wrong. The people she talked about were creatures. He was a human because he followed the law of lord and situated himself higher then animal tendencies. She could never understand his statement because she had turned her back. She had fallen into the arms of a demon, and she would be granted the fate given to her. The comment of her innocence was a sheer lie. If she wanted to help she would. Anyone would, but she stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

"I will ask you again. Where is the Riddler?" he stated in the same calm monotone voice he had had the entire conversation. He glanced at the blood. He would not be surprised if he clipped in artery, but her life was little concern to him. She had lost it long ago when she decided to betray them. But maybe her soul could be saved with one last sign that she wanted to help.

(OOC: Since you never trained your power on my nerve I assumed I could do this. If I'm wrong just tell me and I'll fix it ^^)

[question]

Question had always been ever curious about most things, so when he was waiting to talk to Nina about some things she had said before hand. An was lead out out of her place of work in cuffs an placed in a black van. He had to pursue it. Vic had been waiting above the roof tops on an adjacent building when they first arrived an there he remained unseen when the men in black lead her from the building.

Victor wasn't a man to break promises, an he made one to her about keeping an eye on her. He knew she had done nothing wrong to warrant this, being arrested.

Or was it something more?

Always more questions to be asked. Needless to say that the F.B.I. were involved, he had a sort of personal vendetta against them, sleepless nights an what not worrying over government spy bugs an what not.

Within a matter of moments he was in his dark purple 69 Pontiac GTO Judge following the vans at a loose distance. He already had several plans laid out about getting her out of the grasps of the possible former Skull an Bones members, they did control the federal bureau of investigations. All of them involved the portable plasma torch in the trunk of the car. Just one of those things that always seemed to come in handy in his line of work. then Again so would wearing body armor but if he didn't get hit then waht was the point in having it. Besides, body armor wouldn't help a head shot, an other wounds healed.

An the other option was to stop the van himself. good thing he was noted for being of a slightly unsound mind. An that the front end on his car had been re-enforced. Perhaps he would be more inclined to ram the back bumper had Q had known what was taking place inside the van. The roar from the several engines was surely part of the blame for drowning out such noise as gun shots.

[Nina Stenet]

Nina grimaces as another bullet goes into her knee. Not because of pain since the signal never reaches her brain, but because of the sheer amount of damage. Probably not more than she can fix with her gift - she's yet to find the injury she couldn't fix with it - but something this severe would take some serious time. And not only that, it is possible to die from being shot in the knee - even more so the second time. She grits her teeth as she assesses the additional damage, now having to use her power to repair some of it so that neither her leg nor her life are at risk, and asking herself how long she can keep this up.

She really doesn't care much for herself beyond what she can have that also benefits others. But without her life she can't help anyone and however long she doesn't have a fully functioning leg she'd be considerably slowed down. That's really what bothers her the most about this: she's being treated like a terrorist while she's sitting here, honestly more concerned about the effect that her being hurt will have on other people. It's so grotesquely unfair! "God?" she asks harshly, shaking her head at that answer. Nina is a solid agnostic: she's not sure whether or not she believes that there's a God, and doesn't particularly care to spend any time or effort finding out. Life's too short to dive that deeply into philosophy. But she does know if there's a divine being out there that lives up to the hype, He's not on Agent Tiff's side.

Instead she's pondering upon whether or not she ought to fight back against Agent Tiff, if so then how, and whether or not she'd be able to resist the temptation to go too far given just how angry she is with him right at the moment. The latter is of particular concern when it comes to deciding the former: she'd never forgive herself for using her gift improperly, and even beyond that she doesn't want the government to know that she's a metahuman - for many different reasons, actually. But then she hits upon the idea of allowing the 'how' to solve that problem for her.

Diverting her attention from her knee for just a moment, Nina's attention shifts to one of the rear wheels of the van. It isn't difficult to tell where they are from the inside, nor is it difficult to locate a grain of sand stuck in the wheel-well. Nor, as it turns out, is it really all that difficult to throw that grain of sand into the side of the tire at about Mach 2. What is difficult is for a car tire to maintain pressure for long when the force of the impact creates a hole quite a bit larger than the grain of sand itself. It's also probably difficult to implicate the woman handcuffed in the back of the van for damage to a tire that will probably cause anyone who looks at it carefully to scratch their heads and guess that it was shot out by some unknown type of weapon. Not even bothering to either assess the results or answer Agent Tiff's repeated question, Nina's attention goes right back to her knee. Nina figures he'll have something else to worry about.

Standing in a moving vehicle is a very stupid idea.

[fbi]

Tiffany watches as the woman doesn't even scream in pain. She had definitely made a deal with satan to acquire such a power. It was disgusting and her mere mention of the Lord made him inwardly flinch. He did not appreciate those touched by evil to mention his name. He also was irritated in the fact that she still had not answered his question. He hadn't even gotten to Mr. Freeze, and he only the short car ride to determine both locations.

Before he could make another cold threat, he heard a loud pop and then felt the force of momentum pulling him away from his planted direction. He was flung against the front wall as the car swayed back and forth. Tiffany barely kept hold of his gun as he grabbed one of the side walls to help him balance. He banged on the wall near the driver's seat. "Agent, keep the car in control," he said in a loud stern voice as the car began to slow to a stop.

Something had popped the tire. A gunshot. No, he hadn't heard any shot from outside. He glanced down at the woman sitting on the bench as Tiffany brushed himself off. He was sure to have a good set of bruises for that. The one benefit of a tire popping meant he had a longer time with the woman in front of him. The Lord truly was on his side. He touched his cross just barely with a smile before bringing his hand back to his side and walking to the woman.

He felt sore, but he was too motivated at this point. "There is a reason you are not giving me any information. By the face you are making it is partially because of your pride. Have you ever read Macbeth?" he asked as he finally stopped in front of her. The van came to a halt. "But i know pride is not the only reason. Is it greed? But the money you have gained from him has been very little. Lust? Women have always fallen to lust. Is that what happened? I can't say I care for your sins that have now wrapped around you like a blanket, but you can be forgiven of them if you were to admit fault and take initiative to fix them. If you would rather let your sins lead the way then I and humanity have no use for you. Why should I keep your sinful life on this Earth?" His mind only saw an evil creature and if the creature did not seek forgiveness why should he keep it on the planet. It would be quite counter productive to send her to one of the bases if she would only continue to be uncooperative. She also had a demon in her. How could he allow a demon to live if he had a chance to kill it? He could bring her to an exorcist.

[question]

The tire popped, What luck was on his side just a fraction today. Vic would rather not have to spend the money to rent the equipment to touch up his front end after the possible damage that could have been done to it.

He was all to aware of the steps needed to be taken to fix a flat. Pulling over was the only one that needed to be taken for him to act. The GTO was a few car lengths back from the van as it caught its lovely little flat tire like common cold. Question didn't bother to pull over behind them, it would only raise suspicion. So he proceeded to pass the van on the road an pull the muscle car into a alley way out of the view of the downed van.

Possibly two maybe three guys he would need to dispose of before pulling Nina to safety. this was if they were Armed. It was the F.B.I. , of course they were.

Question killed the engine an pocketed the keys before he got out of his car. He stepped to the back of it as to retrieve the plasma torch. If he played his cards right he might be able to just cut the side open an sneak off. Such things were wishful thinking though. He closed the trunk an walked to the edge of the alley way to peek around the corner.

He mentally ran the possible scenarios over in his head. He had to be patient, he had to wait until they came out to fix the tire.

[Nina Stenet]

It's difficult for Nina to remain stationary as the van reacts to the popped tire with her arms bound behind her and only one good leg to help keep her stable, but she has the advantages of doing so while seated and having known beforehand that it was going to happen. While Agent Tiff gets tossed around, she only sways and slides around in her seat, ducking a little so as to be out of his way. A part of her gets a certain guilty pleasure in knowing he didn't get through that unharmed - but then her real sin at the moment is wrath.

As he complains to the driver and collects himself, Nina uses the time to finish with her knee. While she knows she's not about to get anywhere near the amount of time required to fix it, for now she's satisfied with simply stopping the bleeding enough to be certain that she's in no danger of bleeding out while her hands remain unusable and Agent Tiff doesn't seem to be at all worried about her well-being.

In fact, he seems quite content to go on with the questioning even as the van pulls over. Though she listens to his words, she doesn't respond to any of them. At least, not until he finishes with that final ridiculous question, which she calmly answers without missing a beat, "Thou shalt not kill." A rule that she seems to care a lot more about than he does, and not just because she seems to be the one in more immediate danger here. She is, after all, in possession of something far more potent than a gun but is also obviously far more reluctant to use it.

Like now, for instance: since she's pulled his attention away from abusing her knee even further, she wants to at least attempt to convince him not to harm her more before she'll resort to using her gift again. "And beyond that, believe me when I say that I've taken a particular dislike to you. Just because I won't talk to you doesn't mean I won't talk to somebody else. So just because I, as you put it, have no use to you doesn't mean that I have no use to humanity," she adds, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes as she wonders to herself if, were it possible to measure egos, whether he or Edward would win. Though at least in Edward's case it's mostly justified, whereas Agent Tiff's seems to be based on hypocrisy.

[fbi]

"In wartime the lord will honor those who fight for his name," he responded to her comment. He had read the bible many times, and saw how God honored those who killed to protect his word. Tiffany was but a soldier of God. While killing was frowned upon it was expected.

He heard the front door open as the two men up front went to change the tire. He did not glance at the noise. His focus was on the woman who felt no pain. "If you valued humanity you would not sit and wait for people like Mr. Freeze and the Riddler to kill them," he stated coldly. He did not care if the woman disliked him. He would feel uncomfortable if she did. He was not seeking compassion from a person who had signed her soul away. His goal was to protect those who protected their souls. His job was not to comfort those who were already lost. "I have read your file Dr. Stenet. You once possessed such potential to bring help to others and now you throw it away," he responded. He stepped closer as he reached out to her throat with his free hand. He gripped around it tightly as he pressed her back against the wall. He then slowly pulled her up into a standing possession as he continued to choke her. "You might dislike me, but to overlook helping innocent people just for personal feelings is what tells me you lack kindness," he stated as he stepped even closer. He enjoyed the fact that this evil within her only held on by a string and if he kept breath from it, it would die. But as he stated his words he realized what truly kept her tongue silent. "You are putting a higher value on one persons life even though every life is equal," he said his conclusion out loud. He frowned. It was so much easier to believe she had given way to evil, but with this new found conclusion it meant she was human. "You love him, don't you?" he stated as his frown deepened. It explained why she left everything. It wasn't for money or pride. Many times women had fallen to the charms of satan. It was why they were the weaker species. He wished he could punish her for such an offense, but she was still innocent. She merely had too big of a heart. She was weak and therefore was manipulated. The true villain was still the man. He let go of her throat and stepped away. She wasn't evil, but how do you pull a good person away from their manipulated choice? He couldn't allow her to rome freely. She would only continue with her decision.

"You do realize that he doesn't love you back," he stated coldly, hoping some sense would be put into the woman's mind, and she would help him.

[question]

The vantage point of the coroner was amazing, it allowed him to see with out being seen.

Two men He noted mentally, as he tilted his faceless visage to look at the ground before he exited the alley. He was less likely to draw attention with a weaker looking posture, but it was all a ruse. It only had to by him enough time to get in close enough to strike, retrieve Nina an run. His pace was brisk, as he walked towards the van along the side walk.

Question didn't even so much as bother to look at the two men who were now deciding how to fix the rear flat tire. He passed the van an set the bag carrying the portable torch down. Vic turned on his heel, an pounced. taking full advantage of the placement of the van an the wall of the adjacent building.

He snatched one by the back of his collar an slammed him face first into the side of the van. For once this may just be a bit of revenge seeping though. It felt rather good to be smashing a federal agent's face into metal. That man wasn't getting up any time soon. He turned, snapping a kick to the side of the others head, while he was trying to draw a weapon. A pistol more than likely.

As the agent meet the pavement, Vic turned back to his bag an pulled the box that powered the torch from it. He flipped the switch on with his gloved finger an pulled a set of welder's glassed out of the bag an slid them over the space where his eyes should have been.

Question could only imagine how silly this looked, but better this then eye damage.

He lit the torch an gave it a moment to roar to life, the blueish white flame like plasma shot forth like a switch blade knife.

Maybe he should have waited to see if any one else was going to come out before pulling out the torch but too late for that now.


(OOC: If you guys would like me to change any of this let me know. feels kinda funky to take out someone else's NPCs)

[Nina Stenet]

Though most of Nina's attention stays on Agent Tiff, she follows the sounds of the two agents leaving the van as best as she can with her ears for a moment. The thought of escape crosses her mind again for a brief moment - for the first time since she was first shot in the knee, actually. The problem is that injury would make it difficult to run, and she can't be completely sure what she'd run into after leaving the van. She might be better off waiting until she has a chance to heal - assuming that Agent Tiff doesn't try to kill her, of course.

Almost as if on cue, his hand goes to her throat and all other thoughts are banished from her mind as her focus turns to the necessity of preserving her life. And yet, even as she feels her lungs start to burn she doesn't panic. Instead she simply wills her mind to go to the nerve in his arm that allows him that grip (and not the nerves in his neck - she doesn't quite trust herself there right now), but she knows that it takes time to suffocate and she wants to give him what she can just in case it's merely a threat.

Instead she finds herself released for another reason, and she slumps back onto the bench, coughing now that she can breathe freely again. Her eyes by now are scornful as she clears her throat - what kind of man chokes a handcuffed, injured woman who isn't fighting back? If she believed in such things in the first place, she wouldn't be surprised if he had a demon in him. "You're right that I value one person's life over others," she says finally in a rush, "My own. Not because I care for myself, but because nobody can do what I do. Nobody can save so many lives. And I'm not the one throwing that away, it's you. Because if I talk I'm dead. If I don't, I might live. And if I live, I might be able to work again." And that's all that she says, partly because she knows it's useless saying it to Agent Tiff - he won't listen.

The other part is because it's then that she hears something bang against the side of the van - a federal agent's face, as it happens, though she doesn't know that. Why would something hit the side of the van that hard? Having resigned herself to the fact that she was alone in this, the thought that she'd actually be rescued hasn't crossed her mind. But after a surprisingly long moment, she realizes that it could very well be what's happening. After all, she knows that both Batman and the Question have been keeping an eye on her. Not to mention that she's now critical to curing Mr. Freeze's wife.

Then again, there's a fourth if very, very unlikely possibility... Please don't be Edward, she finds herself thinking, Anyone but Edward: please! It would be an extremely stupid thing for him to do, but she has noted a few instances in the past where his feelings for her got in the way of his good sense. She hopes that he's gotten used to the idea that she doesn't always need his help all the time, but she's by no means completely sure that he wouldn't anyway.

[fbi]

He listened to her proclamation. It was a lie. If she spoke she would not be dead. She would have the protection of the United States Government. If she didn't speak however, she would be dead, and she would experience a large amount of pain before meeting that death (if she hadn't made that deal to prevent the feeling of pain). He was about to call her out on her lie when he heard a loud noise against the wall.

Tiffany knew what the sound was immediately and frowned at the fact that his men were so easily incapacitated. He pulled out his radio and brought it to his mouth. "Interruption on Bay of Pigs," he stated the code into the radio. Since he was enclosed in protective truck he couldn't see his exact location, but the Bay of Pigs held the same meaning to all federal agents. It was code for the journey traveled to the unknown prison. He might not know his exact location, but his men at Stenet labs will know the roads they planned to take to the outskirts of Gotham.

He glanced back at Nina with a cold glare. Whoever was breaking in was obviously coming for her. It also explains the tire blow out. They must have been involved in that. His previous thought of her actions had been based on her feelings, but if someone was coming for her it meant that whoever it was had use for her. Maybe, she wasn't as innocent as she appeared. His mind jumped to the Riddler and Mr. Freeze. If it were the Riddler, he would not have to worry about physical force. He would have to worry about any hidden traps. If it were Freeze, he would have to worry about the freeze gun. He inwardly noted the pouch near his holster that held a few secret tools just in case. Though he doubted it was Mr. Freeze because the man would have stopped their car with ice. He mentally went over his basic combat skills so he was prepared for action.

He saw a blue flame and heard the sizzling of metal coming from the wall across from him. Whoever it was came prepared. "You still believe are innocent," he remarked in a cold tone as he grabbed her forearm. He yanked her hard in the direction towards the back door. He knew how loud a torch could be, especially when it was cutting through metal. He was going to use this to his advantage. He looked at the door, and moved the necessary locks before opening it. Both doors swung open, and he quickly jumped out, dragging Nina behind him. He used the swung out door as protection as he pointed his gun back at the man holding the torch.

He was somewhat surprised to see that it wasn't a rogue, and for that reason alone, he didn't fire immediately. "Drop your weapon," he stated.

(ooc: any problems just pm me)

[question]

Vic kept his head tilted towards the ground, an slowly reached back tot he box an cut the power supply off. He placed the handle to the ground an stood slowly. Hopefully Nina was outside of the van, it would assist his plan greatly.

"Technically, a Plasma torch is not a weapon" He said in a calm tone, hopefully the sarcasm was not missed. So this agent had a hand gun. He could work around that. Question turned around an Faced the man. He saw Nina, If anything he could barter Himself for her to go for now, but that was an extreme last resort.

Too bad Nina could not see his eyes, or her would be trying to signal her to run. That however wasn't even considered a plan. Though taking advantage of the possible shock from Questions Lack of a face was, but he knew he was going to be in a crunch for time. Surely other units had been notified.

However Question could use the door to his advantage. He quickly placed his foot into the base of the door causing it so swing violently in on the two of them. Nina could be Pissed at him once Vic got her out of This.

[Nina Stenet]

Nina ignores the glare Agent Tiff sends in her direction. She hardly cares about what he thinks about her - especially if someone's come to rescue her. If it's anyone on her shortlist then she has her doubts that Agent Tiff will succeed in holding onto her. Especially since she may get the opportunity to help them; she certainly doesn't want to stay with this man so willing to put her life on the line.

When he grabs her arm, and comments on her innocence, she clamps her teeth shut and says nothing. And she proves quite difficult to drag - a combination of the fact that her hands are still cuffed behind her, she's hardly able to use one of her legs, and she puts up as much passive resistance as she's able to blame on the other two problems. She's all too happy to hamper him as much as she can. Following the agent out of the van is the most difficult part, but she manages to get her good leg underneath her quickly and doesn't resist quite so much in that detail: there are very few scenarios where trying to remain in the van is the better option, after all.

Being behind Agent Tiff, who is behind the door, it's difficult for her to see all the way around him to who he's threatening, but she recognizes his voice easily. She breaths a small sigh of relief that it isn't Edward even as she leans away from Agent Tiff as much as she can without being obvious about it - though she can't read his expression and even if she could she'd be doubtful that she could run with her knee so injured, she doesn't believe for a second that the Question is going to take Agent Tiff's gun seriously. People who have to take a single handgun seriously just don't become vigilantes. Well, those that live for very long anyway. And that means that she wants to be as out of the way as she can be.

That insight proves valuable a moment later when the door is kicked and knocks into them both - being further from the hinge of the door means that Agent Tiff got the worst of it. She stumbles and ends up having to catch herself by pushing her shoulder against the van's rear bumper. But even as she does so, her mind hits upon an idea of how she might make this fight just as one-sided as anyone could ask for. Within the inner ear is a series of small, fluid filled loops called the vestibular system that is critical for balance and spatial orientation. Reaching into Agent Tiff's disgustingly hypocritical head, she goes through each of them, pushing the fluid in each around in a random direction. The result of which can be summed up in three words: dizzy as hell. And hopefully now that Agent Tiff has the Question to worry about, the exact cause of that gets misplaced.

Only pausing for a moment to push herself back to standing, Nina turns her mental attention to the handcuffs - specifically the lock of the one on the right. Shouldn't take her too long to break the thing, no matter how well it's made, and she'd really like to have the use of her hands again. Especially when she notes that either being dragged out of the van or getting knocked by the door jarred her knee enough for it to start bleeding again - just what she needs, more blood loss.