16312/Sapphire and Moonlight

Sapphire and Moonlight
Date of Scene:	28 May 2024
Location:	Upper East Side, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Catwoman runs into both unexpected trouble and unexpected help after a heist.
Cast of Characters:	Catwoman, Jacen Masters

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Catwoman has posed:
Two nights only, the Ecliptic Star Sapphire is on display at the Sterling & Harrow Auction House before it's to be sold -- it's anticipated value?

12 million dollars.

Too juicy a target for someone like Selina Kyle -- Catwoman -- to pass up, that much money could go a long way towards helping her charities... and getting her some much needed replacement gear.

It was supposed to be a relatively easy job for her, all things considered. She knew where it was being kept. She knew how to get in. She knew how to get out.

But the night brings out so many things that love to prowl in the dark.

Not just cats.

The sirens alerted her before she saw what was going on. She knew she hadn't tripped any alarms, but when she finally made it back up onto the roof of the auction house (sapphire in pocket), the street below was chaos.

A car was on its side. There was fire. A gunman shouting, waving it around, shouting something about the Avengers.

The cops were just pulling up. Fire and ambulance were just behind them, waiting for the scene to clear before they could do anything, but ready to move with a moment's notice.

She was going to leave. She had what she came for. There were cops on scene. Hell, there was an Avenger's Mansion not far away.

She was going to leave until she saw the child start to crawl out of the car that had been flipped up onto its side. Then she couldn't. She flipped down into the darkness, hopping her way ledge to ledge until she reached the ground, making her way through the shadows until she emerged into the light just behind him.

There's a flash of black catsuit. A swirl of dark hair. A high kick. He didn't even see her, but he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Then Catwoman was moving to that child, kneeling, picking her up, cradling her close. And she was running -- not towards the cops, who would surely _love_ the opportunity to catch _the_ Catwoman (and would surely fail after a long and useless battle) -- but away from the vehicle, getting just out of the blast radius as it explodes.

Jacen Masters has posed:
While he was off duty and just driving by, Jacen hears the expolosion and turns his truck that direction. He doesn't see the assault on the officer, but he does notice Catwoman and the injured child.

He slips the truck into a parking space, grabs his trauma pack, and starts after the legendary burglar.

From the medicine pouch on his belt, he takes something that looks like a large canine tooth. To those that can see the spirit realm, a ghostly mountain lion appears before him, screaming into silent oblivion.

His speed and reflexes boosted, he falls into a tracking pattern, but making sure she doesn't get too far ahead of him. He clicks something on the bag that makes no sound, but blinks once.

Catwoman has posed:
In hindsight, it's a good thing Selina didn't choose to run the child toward the ambulances -- the blast threw them both to the ground, though she rolled to absorb the impact, rather than collapsing on the little girl.

The other thing she took, more than just an impact, was a shard of metal shrapnel in her side.

"PUT HER DOWN! GET DOWN! HANDS OUT!"

The police were already barking orders as they ran towards them.

Catwoman's mind was still ringing from the explosion, but there was no time. She shook her head to try to clear it, pushed herself up, and ran.

They would chase her -- of course they would try -- but even with a shard of metal in her side, they were no match for her.

Around a corner, into an alley, up a fire escape... true to her name, she moves like a cat, leaping with such grace and surety that her sleek black form appears absolutely feline.

The last jump, though.

She lets out a strangled cry as she hits the ledge, fighting through the pain to claw herself up onto the rooftop and flip up over the edge.

And there she sprawls, on her back, breathing heavily as she stares up at the stars, one hand tentatively touching the piece of metal with a sharp hiss.

"This never happens... in Gotham..." she hisses to herself.

Jacen Masters has posed:
Running to the side of the injured child, Jacen clicks a radio, identifying himself and putting a call out for more ambulances. He looks at the cops chasing her and he shouts,"You gotta child down, prolly more nearby. You guys're supposed ta serve'n protect. Right now you're doin' neither chasin' a burglar ta sate y'r damned egos."

He goes back to tending the child, his municipal badge in plain sight. He lets the power of the moutain lion free for now and goes to attending to the child. The sound of ambulances sirens aren't long to be heard.

Was he protecting the burglar, no. He was trying to get help for the child. He touches the medicine pouch on his side and turns his head towards the building she jumped to. A spirit wolf howls at the moon in the same silence.

Catwoman has posed:
"Owww.."

Selina winces. She has no 'healing factor.' No super strength. No damage resistance. No magic. No super powers of any kind other than raw will and tenacity.

At least Bruce had his fancy armored suits made out of bullet-proof poly-carbon-nano-military-whatever-technology. She only had what she sewed herself. And right now, both her skin _and_ her suit had a piece of metal sticking out of it.

There's another wince when she tries to pull it out, but it barely budges.

"This is _not_ how I go out," she growls, getting back to her feet and moving to look over the edge of the building. The lights were still flashing.

Her motorcycle was still down there, too. All she had to do was get to it.

Jacen Masters has posed:
The cops might be still looking for her, but at least they aren't chasing her for now. A big cowboy with a medics badge and kit stands out in the city for sure.

He stabilizes the child as the ambulance arrives. He flags them over and then clicks something on his bag again.

When on duty takes over, he tests the air again. Sure he should stay, but he's off duty. He'll have to talk to the hospital in the morning.

He goes back to his truck and tests the air again. Tossing the heavy bag into the truck, he takes a few bandages and wound packing options and slips down another alley.

He knows where she was last he saw and he makes sure he isn't followed. Touching the tooth again, he races away a few blocks at a speed that would make all but the speedsters nod in approval.

Making his way back around and to the opposite side of the building, he starts up the fire escaped,"Y'r a moron Masters. Shouldn' be climin' up ta help a burglar, but here I am doin' it anyway."

Catwoman has posed:
For a few seconds, Selina's pacing like a caged tiger.

She could jump. If her life depended on it, she could probably even survive it if she used her whip and caught all the fire escape just right.

But after a few seconds, that option seems even worse than the one she didn't want to think about -- calling for help.

So, once more, she slides down to sit on the roof, taking a moment to actually inspect the damage. It was deep. She had no idea how deep.. or how much more blood she would loose by taking it out. And passing out from blood loss didn't seem like a viable option.

That, of course, is when she hears someone climbing the fire escape, so she tries to push herself up -- and instead, she lets out another strangled cry of pain. It was getting worse. So, with that no longer being the best idea, darkness was her only friend, and she slide herself as far as she could back into a shadow, trying to hide.

Jacen Masters has posed:
"I ain' a cop, I don' care 'bout y'r crimes, an' y'r bleedin' enough I c'n smell it fr'm th' streets." he mutters softly.

His hands go up ahead of him and then he rises to the rooftop. He walks right towards where she is hiding and he tells her,"Ah'ight. So th's goes one o' two ways. I c'n close th' wound, patch ya up, and get you outa here ta someplace inconspicuous ta heal. That'r I c'n leave ya ta bleed ta death. What's y'r pleasure?"

Catwoman has posed:
Bleeding or not, Catwoman was still plenty dangerous -- even with some portion of a car sticking out of her side. But there was something about him that stilled her hand as she reached for her whip.

She could no longer help the way that one hand was going to her tummy, clutching at her side just above the wound like she was somehow trying to block the pain from radiating outward, and that's how Jacen found her as he crossed right to her... even in the dark.

Through her mask, she looked up at him towering over her, her whole body tense from the unexpected wound and the equally unexpected savior... if that's really what he was.

"I think the first option sounds a lot better than the second," she hisses, the strain in her voice obvious, but she _wasn't_ happy about it.