Few battles had drawn out moves, elaborate strategies or twenty-step plans of action to get to the desired result. Sure, all of that could come before. But when the pieces were down conflict was short, brutal and messy. Seconds that changed lifetimes. Too quick to properly react to yet to too important to fail at. Sometimes short moments of inaction sneak in when the unexpected happens, when everyone's minds struggle to catch up to the scene. The moment they did though, all hell would break loose. For the raid on Wired that moment had arrived.

Too much went on for any one person to grasp at the time. Only afterwards through analyzing camera footage and taking witness statements could those climactic moments be pieced together. 

The moment Retsu finished speaking gunfire came her way, plonking off the side of her motorcycle and forcing her to leap off as one hit the gas tank and consumed the vehicle in a blaze. Guardian Valkyrie flinched at the same time at the words entering her ears, her shield's brightness intensifying in response to the perceived threat. It was to no avail, for why would the guardian prevent those under her protection from nearing each other? 

When the drone flew at her its own shield allowed it to slip right through hers, the impact against Guardian Valkyrie's back resounding with a crack not unlike that of the bullets below. She barreled towards the ground, crashing bonelessly with a thud that was lost in the surrounding chaos.

As Retsu rolled to her feet her thoughts moved independently from her actions. She wondered whether her end would come like this too. Unexpectedly from the back, through a chink in her defenses that would only be there through trusting another enough to let them in. Once more she reaffirmed her intent to never let anyone that close.

Another grenade was pulled from her harness mid-roll. As she rose to her feet her other hand moved to remove the pin when she spotted something from the corner of her eye, near a certain alley. A spinning orb flying her way. Her hands were faster. The pin came loose and she pulled it back just before the orb hit, trapping the primed grenade in the palm of her hand. Deadlock's wide eyes met her own as he realized the mistake in his timing. 

If he didn't cancel it she'd lose her hand, if he did she could throw it and even worse if he cancelled it at the wrong time she'd blow up entirely. Retsu wasn't willing to take the risk of him undoing it at the wrong time. She was no stranger to making sacrifices to attain her goals and what was one hand compared to her life? Like a bull spotting a red flag she charged forward, rushing towards Deadlock in the hopes his self-preservation instincts would be stronger than his heroic ones or worse, his spite. Her path would take her in between where Punk Bae was standing and where Guardian Valkyrie had fallen to further skew the odds in her favor. Facing the alley she spotted Ghouligan and Gyrfalcon within.

'Huh, guess he didn't leave after all.'

Retsu wondered if perhaps Deadlock would release the orb if she motioned to throw the grenade away from the conflict. Even if the timing was slightly off and she got caught in the blast she'd likely survive what with Mummy being present. But could she rely on that? Was that not the very thing she'd questioned mere moments before? Perhaps she could. Yeah, just take the risk of potentially dying instead of the guarantee of losing her hand. Her jaw clenched. No, that wasn't in the cards for her. She'd been burned one too many times. Sure, maybe she could take the chance. Maybe she even should.

But she wouldn't.

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Tags: Rui Matsui Shō Matsui Jaida Connor Ghouligan facade

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TL;DR:
-Everything happens all at once in a burst of utter chaos
-Retsu's bike gets shot in the gas tank by Jaida, narrowly allowing her to leap off before it explodes
-Guardian Valkyrie gets hit in the back by Facade's drone, something breaks and she goes down, either dead or unconscious 
-Deadlock returns at the moment it is most inconvenient, trapping a lit grenade in the palm of Retsu's hand (bubble extends roughly halfway up to her forearm with the grenade being the center).
-Retsu charges through the battlefield, running in between Guardian Valkyrie and Punk Bae to ensure the orb isn't undone just in time to blow her up entirely and spots Ghouligan and Gyrfalcon on her way to Deadlock.

"Ah'm fine with either, so long as y'r guy knows where ta bring mah drinks." Retsu replied with a smirk. In truth, she most definitely had a preference. After seeing what his quirk could do and with a lack of understanding as to its full capabilities she'd rather not move anywhere he could get rid of her without witnesses. Not until she figured out a proper way to fight back if he tried anything. Then again she supposed it was a moot point. With nothing but her combat knife on her she couldn't exactly bring her A game.

Not to mention that she'd just seen him get rid of an entire group in the middle of the club. If it came to a fight chances were witnesses mattered less than the fact that it was his people that were all over this place. A more secluded area might actually benefit her more than it'd hinder her. So long as the horned menace stayed on her side, of course. Retsu's gaze briefly flicked to Rui. She didn't quite know what to think of her, nor whether she could rely on her. The blonde's powers would definitely be beneficial on her side but...

Her mind flashed back to the factory, arms stained in blood and heart thumping in her ears as the menacing visage took up her vision. She blinked and was in the club once more, the thumping music all around her and the familiar smile atop Rui's face seeming far less ominous than it was last time. 

Business. That's what she was here for. Business and information. Pushing her thoughts down she continued her spiel and awaited Elias's response, nodding once it came.

"Ah'll keep an ear out den, got som' time ta kill later anyway."

Mentally she took note of his response. Plausible deniability was quite important in their trades yet Retsu was well aware subtlety wasn't one of her fortes -albeit she'd deny it if anyone asked- so she was more than happy to learn from the actions of another -although she'd deny that too-.

"Works fer me, lead the way," She replied with a nod and a wave of her hand. Her eye twitched at Rui's words, right hand clenching unbidden once more. Retsu's teeth grit. Those instinctive responses were really starting to get on her nerves. She hoped they'd pass soon. The last thing she needed was for someone to stop taking her seriously due to her flinching at the wrong time. She couldn't afford to let someone spread word of that and bodies were a pain to hide.

"Fancy place," Retsu continued while taking a sip of her cocktail, only belatedly realizing her white-knuckled grip might have shattered the glass had it been of lesser quality. Her other hand ran over the top of one of the chairs. "Is this Ziricote?"

When it came to types of rare and luxurious wood Retsu was far from an expert. Perhaps if she was lucky the chair actually was made of wood, but even that was far from a guarantee. All she knew came from a few research sessions on what she'd want for her future decor that were little more than getting lost in search engines while high on delusions of grandeur. Still, that had never stopped her from pretending she knew what she was doing and she saw no reason to stop now.

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Tags: Elias Rui Matsui

"Not on our side then!" Lizard-head shouted with a gleeful grin before charging at Ghouligan. "Get him boys, that bounty is ours!"

With a fierce war cry that wasn't compensating for their level of skill in the slightest they rushed at Ghouligan without a care for their own safety, much like how Mummy was fighting the two cops just inside Wired's front door. The wild swings of her knife made it difficult in the extreme for the two officers with rifles to retaliate at close range, one going down before the second managed to line up their barrel enough to fire a burst vaguely in her direction while stepping between his fallen comrade and the threat at hand, he himself leaking blood from several injuries as well.

At the same time Retsu returned from her workshop, dragging a red motorcycle along with her back into the storefront. Witnessing the carnage Mummy wrought within her home and the notable absence of Gyrfalcon her lips curled into a mock smile. Something deep within stung but she ignored it. It was no surprise after all. Were her veins not still filled with cold anger she might have snorted. It was the exact reason she didn't bother to connect to people.

She cast a rueful glance back through her workshop and at the closed door to the part of the building she called home. People always either leave or make a giant mess. Pointedly not thinking about things she pulls off her eyepatch and scrunched it within her left fist, slamming both into the security keypad behind the counter. A blaring noise resounded followed by red lights all throughout the building beginning to flash. It was time to go. Adjusting her bandolier so the ENKI phone was held close enough to her face that Facade could hear her clearly she addressed both him and Rui -should she still be in the building-, a stray thought making her wonder whether he'd patched her through to the rest of their forces as well. When she spoke it was coldly, her voice uncharacteristically empty of emotion.

“Here’s the thing. Ah dunno what the fook’s the cops out dere think they’re doin’ but laws are threats made bah the people that think dey're in charge of the place. It’s a promise a’ violence if ya don’ do as dey say and the pigs ‘re just their occupying army.” She revved her bike and cast a brief glance back before continuing. “Y’all wanna make some bacon?”

---

As Gyrfalcon landed near Ghouligan, Haruka continued to desperately drag Deadlock to safety and 'Punk Bae' put on her show another sound rang out. That of shattering glass as a red motorcycle crashed through the Wired's front window and onto the scene, its purple-haired rider holding onto handle with one hand while her other swung out in a wide arc. On her middle finger was a ring to which a cord had been fastened, said cord in turn having been tied around the pins of more than a dozen grenades. When she swung the pins stayed and the grenades flew off, a veritable cluster of bombs heading for all of the combatants, one even flying so high it was on a collision course with the drone. Light shone from the heavens above.

"Heroes never fall!"

The light condensed into several beams, landing on both the drone, goons, police and Gadget alike and forming into a series of golden, spherical shields. Their effect was almost immediately demonstrated when the first grenade made contact with the shield around Facade's drone, causing it to crackle and incinerate the grenade with a bright ray of light. The proceeding cascade of explosions claimed exactly zero victims, dozens more of the lasers pierced through the ensuing smoke wherever shrapnel made contact with one of the spheres before they dissipated. 

From above the hero responsible descended upon golden wings, adorned in Nordic armor and wielding a spear tipped by a yellow crystal surrounded by four curved bars not unlike the flange of a mace. 

"The Retaliating Hero: Guardian Valkyrie has arrived."

"Three minutes, ey?" Retsu said with a sneer, her eyes passing over 'Punk Bae' and Guardian Valkyrie as she did. She wasn't even going to humor thinking about the latter of the two. Seriously, what manner of mockery was it for someone with a name like that to show up? Unfortunately for Retsu the new arrival took her words as an invitation to continue speaking.

"You villains are not the only ones to have learned from Operation Babel. We know your petty group’s capabilities and can plan around them accordingly. Today we shall capture the head of the snake."

A snort forced its way out of Bakuretsu's throat, booming into mocking laughter that echoed through the surroundings. One hand tightened around the handle of her motorcycle to keep herself steady while the other pulled a grenade free of her harness, ready to be thrown at whoever came at her first. Her lips curled into a maniacal grin once her laughter died down, ridicule clear in her tone when she looked up at the hero.

"You think ah'm in charge?!"

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Tags: Rui Matsui Shō Matsui Jaida Connor Ghouligan facade

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TL;DR: 
-Goons charge at Ghouligan
-One of the cops Rui's fighting goes down, the other's on his last legs
-Retsu activates the self-destruct built into her HQ while explaining things ranting to Facade and Rui
-She then drives her motorcycle through the window while Sho lands near Antoine and Jaida's doing her show, throws a bunch of bombs all over the place.
-Pro Hero Guardian Valkyrie arrives, delaying the inevitable saving the day by shielding everyone in the nick of time.
- GV's quirk is the ability to fire light at people that condenses into hardlight shields that shoot lasers when struck, + flight
- GV explains that heroes learned from Babel too, planned for their ability to hack into police comms and fed them false info about their ETA
-Retsu goes full 'final phase mid-boss'

Retsu would've been really mad about Chuck's comment if she could hear him over the ringing in her ears. Fortunately she was too busy to devote all too much attention to figuring out his words, what with all the shouting, falling and rolling. She did catch his reply to her question however, making her swear under her breath. Seriously, what was up with this guy? A quirk like Rui's, an attitude she had no idea how to handle and the kind of insanity she was very familiar with. The kind that made someone very dangerous. If she didn't know better she'd think there was some kind of big conspiracy going on. How likely was a person to ever run into two people like that?

Even worse, this one seemed far more capable of killing her than Rui was, making the approach of just bombing the lot and being done with it far too risky for her liking. After all, if she doesn't get him with her first one she just might not get a chance to try a second. No, as much as she's not a fan of the approach discretion might be the better part of valor this time. 

"Sure, why naht?" She replied to his shout, confident she'd interpreted the meaning correctly. "Ah'll finish the fooker, if that's whatcha meant." Relatively confident.

Sauntering their way after waiting just long enough to be sure no one was gonna be making any more sudden moves she pulled the collar of her coat down enough the man on the ground could see her mocking smile when she looked from the top of the crane all the way back to him.

"Well, that's one way ta lower y'r heart rate. Don'tcha worry a thing, ah know how stressful life can be." She raised her pistol just enough that the barrel was aimed at his chest. "Ya won't 'ave ta deal with it any more."

As far as final quips go it might not exactly be the best one but Retsu couldn't say she cared. It wasn't like she went for one liners often anyway. If she hadn't been humoring Chuck she probably wouldn't have wasted her breath on it this time either. Oh, she'd tried once upon a time in her youth. Spoke long enough the guy had gotten back up and given her one hell of a black eye before she put him down for good. A dark stain on her history.

Ever since she'd found it best to make sure the enemy wasn't gonna get back up first. With that thought in mind she fired a round through his heart and two more through his heart... head? Either way, she doubted he was gonna get up after that.

Unless there was a third person with a bullshit healing quirk. Just in case she squinted at him for a solid ten seconds to check for signs of accelerated healing. Confident that he wouldn't come back to haunt her -unless he had some kinda ghost quirk, in which case she'd be really pissed but hardly surprised by now- she turned her head to face Chuck.

"Well, this was fun 'n all but ah've gotta get goin'. Work won't get itself done, much as ah'd lahk it to." Retsu said with a shallow nod, making her way out of the junkyard to find a different looting spot unless Chuck had more to say.

"Wonder what this 'hole deal was about anyway. Ah well, ain't mah problem."

On her way out she'd roll her shoulder, flinching at the painful reminders of her tumble down the heap to the point that she began to limp slightly once the adrenaline died down. Her eye narrowed as she looked at the stain on her lower leg that widened a bit further than the rest.

"Y've gotta be fookin' shittin' me." 

The bullet seemed to have ricocheted into her leg after all. It was only later, once she'd managed to find a safe place to sit down and pull out a pair of tweezers that she'd find out the truth. Sure, the bullet's initial ricochet hadn't hit her. Whatever it hit instead had shattered it however, sending several fragments deep into her calf.

"One fookin' outing. Just one where ah don't get fooked over. Is dat too much ta ask?"

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, no one answered.

------

Tags: CHUCK MCCOY

Nodding along to Facade's on their workshop her eye narrows into a squint at his follow-up jest. "What's y'r point?" Retsu coldly replied, her tone containing far more warning than it did questioning. Continuing on in slightly less amicable silence -barring a muted alarm- she stopped dead upon hearing his exasperated question about the traps, freezing for just a moment as she turned to him.

"Y'r tellin' me that this whole thing doesn't feel lahk a trap to ya?" She asked, so flabbergasted she forgot to keep an eye on her surroundings for a moment. Catching herself she couldn't help but wonder how he managed to survive this long. She shrugged. The man probably hasn't been out in the field much.

Even so she trusted the accuracy of his intel -if not entirely the exact timing- and raised a thumb in reply to his ETA, continuing to shove things into her bag with her other hand at the same time. Her eye twitched upon hearing Callisto's comeback.

"Ah'm hearin' a lot a' hot air, that's fer sure!" Retsu shouted back. The absolute nerve of him to question her understanding of how to keep technology working. Slamming another piece of expensive hardware into her bag hard enough that something broke she put the thought aside, what the hells did he know? 

"Ah sure fookin' hope so." She grumbled under her breath in response to Yoshimitsu's clean-up comment. The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with someone else's mess, she made plenty of that on her own why thank you. Especially since they were on a bit of a timer. Continuing her hard work of enriching herself at the expense of others she turned to Callisto once more with a raised brow and let out a mocking snort.

"Would from ta side work as well? Dun' wanna shoot through y'r flimsy arse and hit the merchandise on y'r back by accident."

She was just about to reach max capacity in her duffel bag and have to pull out a foldable travel bag out of one of the pouches on her harness when Kangaroo John landed relatively close to her position.

"Four minutes?" She joked in a tone that was as skeptical as it was unsurprised, side-eyeing Facade the entire time. With a sigh she addressed the walking -jumping?- cartoon character, the level of exhaustion that seeped into said sigh making her act all the more convincing. "Ya know what? Sure. Ah'm too fookin' tired for a foite. Here's everything ah've managed ta get mah hands on 'fore ya got here."

Keeping one hand in the air to signify her submission she reached into her coat with the other, pulling out a sticky grenade and tossing it at Kangaroo John with an underhand(ed) throw, the pin catching on one of the hooks she built into her harness for exactly that purpose ensuring the grenade was primed before it even left her coat. She waited until her throw was halfway to its target trusting the gloom and surprise to slow the Pro's thinking enough that he wouldn't catch on to her trick. Then she turned away once more to continue looting, confident Facade had the rest handled. Especially since a ball of glitter passed her by a moment later. Sure, getting hit by a grenade sucked but glitter? She wouldn't wish that on her worse enemy.

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Tags: Matsu facade King of Hearts Callisto Tengoku Rei Ijuin

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TL;DR:
-Retsu continues bantering with Facade while looting, occasionally firing back at Callisto and Yoshimitsu as well.
-Tosses a grenade at Kangaroo John in an underhanded motion before, ya guessed it, continuing to loot again.

"Oh rlly, dun' wanna have a conversation while they're tossin' fookin' bombs around?!" Retsu shouted back at Chuck, not at all hypocritically given the amount of talking she did while tossing bombs around on a day-to-day basis. It seemed like the angle she chose to fire from was a good one, something she'd definitely need to remember. She actually hit more than one person unloading her entire magazine this time. Unlike her own performance however the goon atop the crane chose to scream loudly before returning fire, nicely drawing attention to himself to allow her plenty of time to dodge out of his line of fire.

With a slick feat of agility she hopped to the side, felt the piece of metal she put her foot down on come loose and rolled down the rest of the junk heap in an avalanche of scrap. Her sole saving grace was that the direction she tumbled in didn't allow for a clear shot, the goon's bullet clinking off scrap metal and luckily not ricocheting her way. Keeping her head low she peered over the side of a fridge just in time to see the guy she'd seen charging up the crane earlier rush the heartheaded prick and send them both crashing to the ground. Wait, was he talking to her? 

No normal person would survive a fall from that height, not without an insane amount of luck? Was he suicidal? Or worse, like Rui?

"Fook, what da fook? Fookin' shit, gods dangit."

 Raising herself to a crouch she fired back up at the crane, the majority of her bullets hitting steel but with some luck one or two impacting with whatever would-be shooters were still on there. Repeating the maneuver of letting her magazine drop and slamming home another she swore. She'd only brought three, this was her final one. Well, she still had her bombs. Unzipping her duffel bag she shouted at Chuck while pulling out one of her frag grenades.

"Oy! D'ya got some kinda bullshit healing goin' on?"

Probably not. How likely was it that she'd meet two people like that? Just in case though she asked anyway, if only to get a reply. If he answered he was still well enough to continue the fight. If he didn't she could just throw a grenade and be done with it. If their opponent answered instead, well, same deal. Staying low enough that only the top of her head stuck out above the side of the fridge she kept her eye open for any movement whatsoever while she pulled the pin on her grenade, ready to duck back down and throw it at a moment's notice.

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Tags: CHUCK MCCOY