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Times Square. New York City. It is, perhaps, a night like many of the other nights within this particular time frame. It is, for the most part, as quiet as a night in Times Square can actually be. There may not be as many people and cars as normal but it could have something to do with the current state of affairs. Things have been pretty crazy here on Earth lately.
It almost makes someone want to look up at the starry sky above…
Wait. Did one of those stars just twinkle closer than the others? Weird.
*
Lucy has given up trying to see the stars in New York City. Stars of any sort don't really interest her. Times Square, on the other hand? Busking? Well, that does interest her.
"You should write your own music," she says to Jono as they head for a likely looking corner of the chaos. "I'll sing anything you write — I'd rather that than all the old stuff that people like to pay us for."
She's got his hand in hers and they make a ridiculously mismatched pair: literally night and day. She's pure sunshine and Jono is a cloud of dire midnight in the shape of a young man.
"Not that I mind Peggy Lee," she adds, bouncing a little so her ponytail flips like the excitable tail of a real pony. "People like to hear familiar stuff that makes them happy. Especially now."
*
It's his sister's dog. She made their parents buy the basset hound, named it 'Natn' at Doug's suggestion (Arabic for 'stinky', though the girl assumed it was an abbreviation of Nathan), and then promptly went off to Egypt with the parents leaving Doug holding the poop bag.
Generally he's got a dog walker. Today the walker never showed up. So, on this chilly evening, Douglas Aaron Ramsey, UN translator and only son of the American ambassador to Egypt, is leading a recalcitrant dog through the city and muttering under his breath at the fact the stupid and smelly beast refuses to do its business.
*
A young man bundled up in a very new-looking leather jacket and a scarf wound 'round his chest and neck all the way up to his nose. With his guitar case slung over one shoulder, Jono trails along in Lucy's wake, led by the hand and seeming a touch perplexed by how this has come to pass.
« I 'ave written a few, » Jono admits to her, and his english-accented 'voice' is not spoken aloud. « Nothin' with lyrics in a while, but that's easy 'nuff to fix, if y'really wanted to. Fair warning: me poetry's awful. » Well. At least he admits it.
*
Akihiro has been trying to overcome fear and face his demons, and even if he doesn't know it, the forgotten blood stain from Phobos at his hairline proves he can do it. But he isn't feeling very brave and heroic, mainly jaded. He doesn't say anything as he brushes past the entirely too happy couple, or the grouchy man walking the dog. Tonight's his night dammit, and nothing can ruin that.
*
Up Above The World So High…
"I would just like the record to show that this is not my fault!" The Insufferable Star-Lord is clutching the controls of The McCalla as tightly as he can. He has a very good reason for doing this as the stylish M-Ship is barreling out of control at this exact moment. It has, of course, already started its downward spiraling descent through the atmosphere of Earth and seems to be heading in a direction that is far too familiar. At the rate this ship is moving… it'll be eating the East Coast of the United States within moments.
Not too far behind the likes of The McCalla are a pair of twin alien fighter ships that don't look at all friendly. Likely due to the fact that these things are firing continuous laser blasts at the heroic(?) ship that's hurtling towards New York at this exact moment.
*
Amid the smoke and alarms, Gamora, the galaxy-famous assassin and bounty hunter, is desperately trying to understand the rat's nest of wires composing Quill's guidance system. "What is /wrong/ with you, Quill?" Gamora has to shout to be heard over the roaring all around.
"/NONE/ of this conforms to the standard configuration array for guidance systems! Why would you modify that?" She stiffens briefly as wires short out, sending electricity through her system, but it doesn't slow her down much. She clenches her teeth and twists connections together to bypass the worst of the interference.
With that done, Gamora twines one arm into the crash webbing lining the wall just behind Quill's cockpit so she can watch the ground coming up to meet them. "For what it's worth, I /did/ like seeing their expressions when we took it," she says, her face composed and calm.
*
"I'm good at writing," Lucy says, with uncharacteristic certainty. "I think we could work something out. I promise not to be too cheerful, rea — ooh, doggie!"
Dogs are rare in New York or Jono would be well and thoroughly sick of hearing those two words. Lucy can't help it. Doggie! Apparently Doug's basset hound friend warrants the same amount of enthusiasm as the fluffy poodle earlier and the police dog before that.
"It looks so sad." Lucy gives the owner a mournful look and a pout. "Look at the floppy ears, though!"
*
It was a late night at Nelson and Murdock. Foggy and Matt were preparing to reopen the law office following the terrible events that had gripped Hell's Kitchen. There's beer, carry out Chinese, coffee; everything the body needs for a late night at the office.
At some point, Murdock perked. That's… an incredibly odd sound. Very odd. And it's getting closer.
Abruptly, Matt bolted from the table, earning a grumpy call from Foggy. "What the hell, Matt?"
"Bathroom!"
"Number one or number t-"
The door slammed, and Foggy shook his head. "Well, don't be in there all night!"
A few minutes later, a figure in red is swinging from rooftop to rooftop in an entirely haphazard and dangerous manner. It's a long trip across and up town, which is where those sounds are headed, bouncing off buildings at a volume only one with such heightened senses could hear. "Not good, not good," he grumbles, while scampering across a midrise rooftop and throwing his grappling line at a building across 4th Avenue.
*
Doug blinks in surprise as Natn becomes the center of attention, turning toward the pair — close to his own age, certainly. "You want him?" he asks dryly. "My sister left him with me. If she comes back and he's found a new home, I'm sure she'll just have our parens get her ano…" He trails off, eyes going skyward, brow furrowing. "Did you hear something?"
It is, granted, New York. It's a loud city in general. But Doug is certain he heard something, saw something from the corner of his eyes, something to that effect.
*
« Yeah, I'm not too good at 'cheerful' tunes anyway, » Jono notes in a low, wry voice, even as Lucy's attention moves to Doug and the dog he's walking. He abruptly falls silent — speaking the way he does in mixed company is not something he likes to do.
But then Doug asks the question and his brow furrows. Jono cocks his head to the side before following his gaze skywards, his eyes narrowing. He's not sure what he's looking for, but… wait.
« The bloody hell is that? » So much for keeping quiet in mixed company.
*
Akihiro freezes, not too far from the dog or Lucy. So much for it being his night. "What the fuck is that?" his attention shifts skyward, and after a moment of concentration his eyes go wide.
"Bomb! There's a bomb!" Yes, that's the teen's master plan to get everyone to run away. He pops his claws, gaze moving to the ships falling out of the sky. "That's not gonna be good."
Jono just may recognize Akihiro as the man that stuck that author in the hospital.
*
"I needed room for my poster!" Quill comments with a glance over to one of the many walls where an Irish McCalla Pin-Up Poster has been haphazardly taped up there. He takes a moment to smile at it before a random blast of laser fire rocks the ship and sends him back into focusing on the ground that getting closer all the time. "Hang on!" Quill pulls back on the controls to try and level The McCalla off but it doesn't seem to be going too well. It isn't until Gamora's final statement hits his ears does he forget about trying ot keep the ship from hitting the ground, "Yeah, I got good fingers. I love my job." And then a rocket from one of those alien ships smacks his ship and sends it off in the direction of everyone's favorite hot dog stand… and crashes right into it.
Those alien fighters are right behind but they don't seem like they are going to crash. No, rather, they seem content to keep firing at the crashed ship to make sure that it explodes all the way.
*
Nearly in freefall between the descent and the artificial gravity fritzing on and off, Gamora hauls herself hand over hand to get to the co-pilot's seat and strap herself in. "Wait," she shouts, pointing at a blinking array of lights. "Again. Why isn't there a spaceport on Ter-" But she's cut off by that rocket blast.
The ship spins and hits the ground, throwing up dust and debris everywhere. Fortunately the two occupants are mostly saved by their crash chairs, although Gamora's is in better shape than Quill's since he never replaced that bolt that came loose on the captain's chair.
Suffice to say, Gamora is in one piece when things stop moving. She unstraps from her seat, banged up and hurting, but she can see city lights through the broken front canopy. She gets her feet under her and grabs the back of Quill's chair, hauling it and him out the front of the ship, dragging it through the dirt and broken concrete.
"Quill!" she shouts, probably louder than needed, but she's still half deaf from the impact noise. She looks concerned, staring up at the incoming fighters. "Quill, get up! We have to run!" She produces a wicked looking knife and slices the straps holding Quill in his seat. She doesn't bother supporting him once he's cut free.
*
At least they hit the intersection. And at least New Yorkers are brilliant at getting the hell out of the way. Lucy looks up almost at the last minute but it's enough time to pull off her bracelet and throw up a barely adequate forcefield around the ship as it hits the street. She can't do much about the impact but she manages to soak some of the flying debris. The splash of fire goes skyward instead of washing up onto the sidewalk to catch the fleeing civilians.
Lucy is swearing in her head, she loses the shield almost as fast as it came up — she was startled and unprepared. Stumbling back, she throws a pair of energy blasts skyward out of her palms, aiming at the ships coming down. She's on her way up, whether she knows it or not. Wreathed in light and rainbows, she's either a target or a warning to the pursuers to back off.
*
Daredevil skids to a halt on the high rooftop of a building on the other side of Central Park West. He appears to be watching the crashing ship, even though behind the mask, he's blind as a bat. Then, the grappling club comes out again, and he begins swinging it round and round, faster and faster. Whatever he's planning? It's probably suicidal.
With a heavy, underhanded throw, the club goes soaring across the avenue below. It strikes the high cross beam of a traffic light, spinning about and securing itself with a strong tug. Then, Daredevil jumps.
And counts. From four to one.
With the click of a switch, the grappling line begins recoiling. It catches just in time to swing him in front of a semi truck, his red ass nearly scraping the ground. Up he goes, at breakneck speed, and flicks his wrist once more, releasing the club from its hold on the traffic light. This frees his upward momentum, and sends him soaring up and over Central Park.
Right into the path of one alien fighter.
A ferocious shout comes from the Man in Red, moments before he spins about and activates a series of spikes in the forearms of his uniform. He catches the fighter as it passes by, skidding down its length toward the engines, when suddenly the spikes catch.
*
One palm rises to cover Doug's face. Can't even take the dog for a walk. "Stay here, Stinky," he says, tying the animal to a mailbox and then turning to do the idiotic: he rushes toward the crashed ship, a normal youth in an expensive blue suit and classic fedora. He's no superhero. But aliens are likely to need a translator.
*
Spaceships crashing in the street with others actively firing at it is not what Jono expected to be faced with today, and his wide-eyed stare is understandably fixated on that rather than whoever shouted out 'bomb' to try clearing the streets. « Oh, you have to be bl — wait. Lucy? LUCY, FER PITY'S SAKE — »
Jono peers after her with a very exasperated expression, dragging both of his hands back over his hair. And then Doug's rushing past him as well. Really? Really? This is… fine. FINE.
« I've got yer back, mate, » Jono mumbles. Not to Doug, not to Lucy… but to the dog. He inches back to crouch down next to the mailbox, one hand gripping his scarf.
*
"You might want to get him out of here, hold off until we sort this out." Akihiro says aside to Jono before darting off towards the crashed ship. But as the shield flickers out and the blasts start happening, the teen is caught in a stray blast. He's slammed into the side of the McCalla, half of his face destroyed and his legs thrown off in different directions.
*
One starship does the space equivalent of a Bat Turn with Lucy takes to the Sky and starts blasting away with whatever the hell that is. The ship twists and heads off in the direction of back to space because that's just going to be the safest option right now. Really, there's no reason they can't just come back and get Quill later.
The second starship is getting Daredevil'd at this moment. The engine gets spiked like there's no tomorrow but the creature inside activates some electrical charge to explode out of the hull of the ship. That should clear off any hanger-ons while it tries to get a lock on Quill and his ship.
Speaking of Quill, it takes him a moment to wake up from the craziness. Probably has something to do with Gamora cutting him out of his chair and what not. He lifts his head and glances around at all the madness. "Uhhhhh. This wasn't my fault either." Quill catches sight of what happens to Akihiro and winces. "… I just waxed it! Come on, man!"
*
"We're in the open here," Gamora admonishes Quill, grabbing his shoulder to turn him around. "Do you know this place? We need cover." She seems to take all the oddness of the combatants in stride, though she isn't used to asking for help from strangers. She spies the subway entrance nearby and points. "That bunker! Can we hide in there?" She's already starting to move in that direction.
*
The ship may be leaving but Lucy is about to find out how fast she can fly. What's a sound barrier? She turns into a streak of light as she pursues the retreating ship, firing more energy at it. Part of her is scared that she's going to run out of power before she brings it down, another part of her doesn't know why she wants to bring it down. But she's pissed. Full-out New York City pissed the entire fuck off.
At least you can't put a face to a streak of rainbow light tearing across the sky because she is noticeable. So are those silvery-luminous blasts firing out of her palms. She catches the propulsion system of the escaping ship with one bolt and the ship is encased, briefly, in blinding light. She's not sure if that's her or the ship, but she's not about to stop until she wins this thing. Something in the back of her head says that she's been seen by people not from Earth and that can't happen.
*
Doug does not fly. He generally does not race into laser fire, either. That said, he's trying here. He dodges back when Aki gets hit by fire from one of the attacking ships, and then he's rushing up on Quill's side, opposite Gamora, to help her get the man into the subway. It probably is the safest place, really. "Are you folks alright?" he asks in English. If they need other languages, he's sure he'll find out soon enough.
*
Well, yes. Daredevil can hear the alien ship charging something. Yes, he does have a bad feeling about it, and yeah, he's looking for a way out. Unfortunately, he's got about half a second before-
*ZZZOOMMMMM!*
Daredevil is blown clean off the fighter, smoke trailing behind as he flails around in the air for a grip that isn't there. "Shit!" he cries, and reaches for the billy club on his belt. Listen for it, Matt. Anything. Ground's coming up fast!
He's out in the open. Only trees to latch onto, and besides, his body is tingling and burning from that energy blast.
This could end poorly.
For the ship.
Daredevil spins around mid-air and chucks his other billy club in a beeline toward the fighter's engines. Almost immediately after, he tucks into a ball, slackens his body, and prepares to roll upon hitting the ground. The impact hurts like a mother fucker, and it creates a horrible sound (paired with a grunt of pain) as he goes tumbling end over end in the dirt and grass.
Finally coming to a rest, he pries his head up to see if billy club versus spaceship engine resulted in anything but his favorite club getting vaporized.
*
You know, that big red smear was right — maybe Jono should find some cover. He stares flatly at what remains of Akihiro for about half a heartbeat before he's scrambling to untie the dog's leash from the mailbox.
« Do me two favors. Do not bite me, and do not piss on me, » he says to the dog, scooping it up before he begins sprinting towards the nearest, safest looking place to be… the subway.
*
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought losing my legs would be fun!" Akihiro shouts back down to Quill, slamming those claws of his into the hull. His twisted and burnt face begins to heal and he even starts to regrow his legs. "There better be something left to kill when I'm on my feet again." he grumbles, clearly this isn't his first rodeo.
*
Starship One explodes like there's no tomorrow. In fact, it's more like some sort of explosion that's a mixture of space-age debris, fire and all the colors that Lucy's sporting. It is no more and whatever was inside is definitely no more. One down.
Starship Two is trying to figure out how to stabilize itself due to the billy club working some physics magic on the engine. The thing is sputtering and randomly spinning as it keeps trying to climb up higher towards the atmosphere. It's a struggle but it's a struggle that it might actually be able to handle. As long as nothing else tries to make it end up like Starship One.
"Fine. We're fine." Quill responds to Doug quickly, before looking up and after Gamora. "By the way, you never saw us." Quill looks down, scoops up his satchel with something glowing lightly inside and holds it up. "Or this!" And then he's taking off in the direction of the subway entrance, the satchel getting tossed over him as he goes.
"That trick is the most, daddy-o!" is tossed over his shoulder at Akihiro, even though, Quill's focused on the subway. "That's not a bunker, Gamora. But it's the next best thing. Stay close. It gets weird down here."
*
Gamora tenses when Doug comes up on Quill's other side, but when it's clear he isn't a threat right now, she just rolls with it. Most 'townsfolk' would be concerned with a crash landing in their town, so this isn't that weird. Not as weird as having a codename like 'Star-Lord' anyway.
She tries to keep track of where the other ships are and then realizes none of them are actually shooting at them. She slows to a walk, turns to ask Quill something, and then notices the semi-legless man regrowing his legs and talking while it happens. She's stunned for a moment, and then she looks furious, shoving Quill's shoulder. "Why didn't you /tell/ me Terrans can regenerate? I thought you were in danger!" She stops dragging Quill around and just starts walking quickly toward the subway entrance.
*
For a long moment, Daredevil watches the fighter as it sputters off into the sky. Aliens and spaceships. What next? He blows out a breath of air, then drops his face into the grass with a quiet thud.
Yeah. That shit hurt. Badly. And he's short his favorite club.
And weird people are having weird dialogue.
Decisively, Murdock decides that he's done for the evening. Not gonna chase anyone down, not gonna investigate. Instead, he'll rethink the merits of hopping aboard an alien spaceship.
*
It's cold up here, dark, and kind of frightening the moment that Lucy wins the fight. There's nothing left to chase. She's so high and the air is so thin but some afterthought makes her chase the debris down through the night. She can't hold onto it, but she does wrap it up in a barrier, at least the large, flaming chunks descending at a terrible rate toward — shit, that is the Statue of Liberty getting larger and larger, and oh no, there are people. It's lit up and Lucy is headed for it with a bunch of…spaceship.
Lucy manages to veer off at the last minute, dragging the debris away from the torch and arcing out into the night. She misses Ellis Island — ironically, given her immigration status — and crash lands in the Liberty State Park. It's like a comet hitting Earth — bright and obvious and then gone. In the back of her head, Lucy apologizes to every tree and bush she wrecks before she comes to rest in a little ditch she made all by herself.
Well.
*
Jono catches up with the notables fleeing to the subway and rather insistantly pushes the dog into Doug's arms. « Keep going, » he says firmly — and then blinks. Did someone just say 'daddy-o'? He turns to give Quill a very incredulous look that only grows moreso when he gets a look at Gamora next to him.
Orion slave girls are still a while off, but Jono has heard of the concept of 'little green men' and seen the recent photos in the papers. This is… really? Seriously?
Jono just holds up both hands and stops right where he is, allowing the pair to carry on without him. « I'm not involved in any of this. I'm just. Going. » He thumbs over his shoulder, then turns to hurry back the way he came.
*
Akihiro regrows his legs in record time, managing to hop off the ship and chase down Quill and Gamora, passing Jono once more, "Hold up, would you two mind telling me what the fuck is happening? I'm not sure if I need to kick your asses, or wait around and see if they come back."
*
Quill leads the way to the Subway Entrance and motions for Gamora to head down. "They can't. We can't. It's complicated. Maybe I'll write a book." Quill shrugs and motions harder for Gamora to go before he turns his attention back to Akihiro. "They'll be back. With more. Like, dozens, man." Quill lies through his teeth but is all about making sure that he gets his point across. "Oh. Also." Blame sleight of hand because there's now an alien based adhesive grenade beeping towards an explosion right in the general direction of Akihiro! Just enough to help cover Quill and Gamora's escape! "Gamora! Did you /rip/ my chair out of my ship?! Are you /insane/?!"
*
"Thank you for the help, psychic," Gamora says to Jono, apparently not put off at all by the telepathic words. She seems a little confused by Akihiro's question. Without any threat in her own words, her bemused reply is, "Careful."
Turning, she leads the way down the stairs. "The chair was loose because you never repaired it. It was faster that way," Gamora speaks over her shoulder, but looks forward before Quill can spy her wry grin.
*
Lucy is looking up at the stars now. She's vaguely aware, distantly, that she's hurt herself somehow. She's also freezing cold. And she's surrounded by space ship parts. She really needs to sit up and, and…what do people do with space ship parts after they chased it in what seems to have been a spiralling climb around and around New York City, higher and higher, until shooting it down. She rolls over, spits dirt.
Dirt. Burying the parts is a good idea. She's going to do that as soon as she can get up. At some point, it'll occur to her that she's exhausted, with no way to get home. And it's dark. And she's alone. But you need energy for that kind of thing and the little solar battery is right out of juice.
The sun'll come up — tomorrow. Eventually, someone will write a song about that. Right now, Lucy is — literally — going to have a dirt nap.
*
For someone who is Not Involved In This, Jono is doing a bad job of retreating, instead looking back over his shoulder. Initially, it's to peer after Akihiro with an odd flash of recognition on what's visible of his face, but then? Then he's staring at Gamora and blinking owlishly. Someone, it seems, is not accustomed to being taken in stride or thanked.
« Er. Yer welcome… miss? » Is that the right form of address here? It's more polite than 'gel' so hopefuGRENADE! Right, HE WAS RUNNING AWAY, HOW SILLY OF HIM TO FORGET.
Jono needs to go and find a payphone. Well, and a person with a mouth to use it for him. But. He needs to call home and send for the bloodhound.
"I love it when people try to lie to m- Shit!" Akihiro manages to just barely dodge the explosive. "Alright, I'm gonna kick your ass." It's decided, too late to back out. At least until that device goes off behind him, filling his back with shrapnel and tossing him into a wall.
*
A Galaxy To The Right…
On a holo-screen hovering near the head of an unseen individual is showing everything that is going on down on Earth at this moment. Eventually, a voice can be heard that is as deep as it is ominous.
"Where are they?"
This voice is more sniveling in response, "A waste of resources. A planet called: Earth."
The hooded figure rises from his seat and waves away the hovering screen. "Prepare the fleet. As well as my ship." He holds out a hand and a giant hammer slams into his open palm.
"I'll take care of them myself."