Forums » General Roleplay » A Hero Stands... Stumbles (open)

Rubbing her eyes, AJ stopped, leaning back against the wall of the library. Today was not a good day. Worse than normal. She pulled out her compact from her pocket, looking in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, but it was meant to look that way (at least she told herself that). She put her bag down, feeling a familiar tingling rush up her spine.

She looked around. There were no cars rushing towards her, no one seemed to be following her. She wasn't bursting into flames. Maybe it hadn't gone through, maybe she would keep her non-luck for now.

She smiled and picked up her bag, just as the contents rushed to the ground, a rip appearing in the bottom of her bag. Her costume, wallet and several bags of candy rushed onto the side-walk, "Oh god damn it all!" She screeched at the sky, "Really!?"

(ooc: you totally made my day with that.)

Cody had near about given up his search for the woman and was heading out of the library rolling up blueprints of a certain building, when a commotion to the left grabbed his attention.

He spotted the costume at once--recognizing the mask and boots, he scowled. He hurried over to "help", and made a point of picking up the mask to hand it to her.

"They say you can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse." Cody said. "But seriously, what's with the costume?" He was getting that nervous, twitchy feeling that meant something was off--and he glanced around for cops.

Snatching the mask, she felt ill, "It's not a purse, it's a backpack." She didn't know if he recognized her, but wasn't about to mention it. Of course it would be hard to miss the oh-so-subtle mask, boots and entire outfit.

She glared at him, her contacts making her eyes look emerald green, reaching for her cellphone, "Leave me alone, creep. I'm gunna call the cops." She felt a rush coming up her spine and she tried to keep her face calm as she aimed the luck at him.

(if I roll 9 or 10, he gets bad luck, 2-8 is something good for him, and 1 is something HORRIBLE for her. Like the spontaneously catches fire. )

(I should have warned you--dice really hate me. And especially Cody. )

Cody growled something under his breath about cops sticking their nose into no one's business, and then stood up to fetch some other item that had rolled towards him. As he bent to pick it up, the blueprints he'd tucked under his arm suddenly fell and unravelled.

"Shit-" he dove for his blueprints abandoning the item he'd gone for initially, and hastily rolled them up--hoping, praying, she hadn't recognized one of the more central government buildings. At least he hadn't marked where he intended to strike first.

Holding the bag by the bottom this time, AJ shoved the contents back in. She glanced at his predicament, grinning. For a moment she studied the blue prints, trying to place, "They say you can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse."

Why, oh why did she open her mouth? Surely she should have known something like that would tumble out, "Err..." she countered herself, trying to think of something less offensive to say.

Cody actually turned pale, mostly because if she placed the building--she would have more than enough on him to get him arrested; at the very least, held until such a time as the intended attack was scheduled to go off. And it would go off--whether he was there or not.

He acted on instinct, grabbing her arm and driving her back to the wall. "How much did you see?" he demanded.

The air rushed out of her lungs and she whimpered, eyes huge. Why did she want to be a hero again? She opened her mouth when her chest filled with sweet oxygen, "Do I look smart enough to read blue prints?" She winced, "Besides, now you've just told me that whatever they're for is bad - are you an idiot!?"

"No, just looking for an opportunity. And you've just provided one." Though it was entirely possible she hadn't seen what was on the blueprint, or leastwise recognized it, he wasn't keen on letting her go. But otherwise he'd be abducting her in plain sight.

"Let's go get a coffee, shall we?" His question wasn't exactly a suggestion, as his grip on her arm never let up.

She winced, "I'll go with you, but I warn, I'm more of a tea person." She put on her best puppy-dog face, "Can you atleast loosen your grip or maybe y'know give me something for my ankle? I presume you're gunna toss me in the back of a car? What sort of knot ya gunna use?" She was trying to stall, running out of questions to ask while she waited for another bolt.

"Nothing like that," said Cody, making a face. "I don't dri-" he cut himself off, not wanting to make it too easy to locate him--which he would have if he said he didn't drive cars. "We'll walk."

And by walk, he meant drag. He loosened his grip enough to let blood circulate again, but kept his hand locked around her wrist as he started down the sidewalk, away from the cops. "How'd you hurt your ankle?"

"Slipped on a banana peel." She mumbled, struggling to keep up, "So, where we heading?" She didn't yell, knowing if she did, he'd find a way to keep her quiet. She needed to wait until she saw someone to ask for help - that was a good plan.

"Like I said, a coffeeshop." He'd been serious about taking her there after all and he glanced at his watch. The meeting would be starting soon, which was why he had the blueprints with him.

And there would be more Resistance members there to keep an eye on her for him, while he went over the details. He just needed to detain her for a day, maybe two. "There's one not far from here. It's three blocks away." Located just far enough from the police that they would never suspect it would be used as a meeting place by the very criminals they sought.

AJ sighed softly, it looked like there wouldn't be enough time to scream for help and be heard, "So, um. What's your name?" She smiled lightly, like being kidnapped was something she was used it. Which, honestly, she was. This was getting ridiculous. When was she going to be a real hero and not someone to be saved.

At least she usually got away in the end, a bolt of good luck letting her wiggle out of ropes.

Cody glanced at her. Unlike other criminals, he didn't mind if his name got leaked. He just didn't want to get caught; and that was why he travelled a lot. "My name is Cody Wesson. What's yours?"

He recognized a few of the people they encountered now--his people on the lookout for cops and trouble. They looked vaguely surprised that he had company, but knew better than to intervene.

"Maria." She was good at lying. Slowing her pace, she attempted to keep him near the people. She wasn't sure they were good people, but she wanted to be closer to them, "My ankle really hurts, Cody."

"Really?" he stopped to look down at her ankle. He wouldn't know if it were injured or not by looking at it, and he wasn't about to open himself up for an attack either.

"You can rest here." He gestured at someone who was walking by. The man looked about the same age as Cody, though he was taller and black. "Roosevelt, keep an eye on her." He waved the rolled up blueprints briefly. "I gotta take care of something real quick."

He glanced back at "Maria". "I won't be long."

Being pawned off wasn't a part of the plan, but it might work out for her. She smiled at the stranger, "Hey, how's it going?" She sat down and pulled off her shoe and sock, looking at her swollen ankle, "Any way I could get a tensor bandage or anything? Normally I have one with me, but I lost it last week." She gingerly touches the tender flesh, wondering how bad it's going to be, "Not to be a bother or anything, since y'know, I'm being kidnapped and all, I thought maybe I could have some hospitality."

Seeing that everything looked alright, Cody sprinted for the coffee place--intending to come back ASAP, though he had full confidence in Roosevelt.

Roosevelt grinned, a flash of white against his dark skin. "You take it much better than the others, being kidnapped I mean."

He knelt down to look at her ankle and winced. "That's pretty swollen." He reached into a side pocket and produced a roll. "Gotcha covered. What happened?"

"What's the point of being upset. Until I can find a way to escape, I should stay calm." She flashed a smile - she was a pretty girl with a good smile.

She held out her ankle, looking at it, "Well, I slipped in a puddle and your buddy there was a jerk and pretty much dragged me out this way. I was heading to the hospital to, y'know, get it fixed up when he freaked out."

"You, ah, ran into Cody? On purpose?" Roosevelt quirked an eyebrow, as he wrapped the bandage around her ankle. "Where was this puddle located?"