Ironmonger

Yeah, yeah, I get it. The world's so mean and you're basically just a hurt puppy. Now will you hurry up and pull the fucking trigger?

[sparepcrts]

Of course Avi had heard about the Violet Messengers. She was fairly active in Citizen Uprising, and it was hard not to know about the offshoot group that usually went too far. As punk as she was, Avi still struggled to cross the line into the Violet Messengers, even when she herself had to admit that they got more results.

They were struggling to find the words. How did you know if you had it coming? What if that included them one day? They didn't like thinking about that.

"Bad people," well, it was better than nothing. "You.... don't just kill anyone." It was like she was just parroting back what Amara had told her, but she felt like her brain was sludge. "But not... just because they won't... join the Messengers... right?" Reeling, Avi suddenly had a fearful thought that Amara had been trying to recruit her, and if it didn't go the way she wanted, Avi would be disposed of. "How - it doesn't bother you?"

[conquerthroughfear]

"Whole point of me doin' this shit is so others don't have to, love," Amara stepped forward, wanting to reach out, wanting Avi to at least understand that. Understand that getting others to join the Messengers is literally the last thing she'd ever use her skills for.

"Get my hands dirty so others getta stay clean. So others don't have t'go through any of that fucked up shit."

She sighed, shrugging at the other question. It was becoming easier and easier to talk again. It hurt to admit all of it, sure. But she couldn't just fucking lie or keep quiet now either.

"Of course it bothers me," she answered in a mutter. "I'm a monster who's good for one thing only. World's better off moment my face catches a bullet."

[sparepcrts]

"The tip is nice, but like, damn dude, I just dance here, I can't actually help you," Lacey chuckled. "But, you know, I still sleep just fine at the end of the night. No one's confessed murders or anything like that. Yet, at least."

Lacey quirked an eyebrow at Amara's comment. "Well, usually if something costs extra I'll say so before, but you didn't seem like the average clientele. Usually only the real first timers need a run down, or a reminder that if they want something that's a little more 'out there', they gotta fork over more cash."

[conquerthroughfear]

Amara grimaced at the comment about confessing murders, even if it was probably meant only as a joke. It wasn't like Amara was exactly planning on telling Lacey about any of her crimes either, of course. But the fact that she could felt a bit... Weird.

At least what followed made her laugh. "I was kidding!"

She tilted her head then, realizing something. She gave Lacey a curious look. "Whatchu mean I don't seem like your, uh, average clientele, love?"

[chaosandcrimson]

"Hey, new is relative," Cinder replied with an amused grin as she snapped the box shut and started making her way back to the other side of the room. "Not all of us grew up around flashy corporate tech. Some of us grew up committing multiple felonies."

Looking over her shoulder, she flashed another grin before reaching for her grappling gun and making her way to the window. "Alright, let's put some distance between us first. I'll meet you down at the car later." Climbing out the window, she shot the gun and managed to rappel up to the roof without much issue, securing herself at her perch before tapping the earpiece to check the functionality. "Testing, testing."

[conquerthroughfear]

"Not mutually exclusive, love," she muttered, stowing away one of her blades, only to draw another. She watched as Cinder walked off, shooting a grin and a wink as she looked over her shoulder, before continuing to work on her own gear.

She waited for Cinder's voice to come in, before tapping her own earpiece. Then, in her best radio announcer voice, "hot felons in your area lookin' for love!"

[everyxthingxisxredx]

"You think they're hunting you down to keep you? If they so much as get their hands on you. You're done. What makes you think if Cai some how went rouge they wouldn't do the same to them?" She rolled her eyes.

"Can't hurt someone you can't find..." She rose a brow at her and shrugged. There was a reason Sadie Laid Low.

"Then we keep them protected. We treat them like we treat you. You'd both be viable assets to us, as you already are. Wouldn't you'd like to have someone that could keep up with you in the field?"

"I don't think so....I think there's more too to it." She had seen Cai they weren't one to conform. Even before they were a bloodhound. "Its only a matter of time before a dog wants off their leash"

[conquerthroughfear]

"It is. That's why they like synths so fucking much. Just fuckin'," she raised a hand and made a counter-clockwise circle with her finger, "rewind that shit. Reprogram."

Not all the bloodhounds were synths, of course. But they had different ways of keeping them in check. Just like they'd had their ways of keeping Amara in check.

She snorted. "It's why I'm done for when I'm found. No fixing this shit," she tapped a finger against the side of her head. "They'd hand my corpse over to R&D to do some wear tests to confirm their hypotheses or some bullshit."

She sighed. "And that is a matter of 'when', not 'if', love. Same'd ring true for Cai. Unless we managed to wipe Vanguard off the map, which, y'know," she snorted, "doubt."

[everyxthingxisxredx]

"I could finish you right here if I wanted too" they interjected pushing her against the wall again. They made a mental note of the blade she had out and how close it was to them. A smile pulling at their lips "Oh, how cute..."

"I'm not always at their beck and call, If I was you would already be dead or worse in Vangaurd custody"

[conquerthroughfear]

"Glad you brought that up," Amara grinned wolfishly.

Maybe this had been her plan all along. Maybe it for fucking sure hadn't been her plan, and she'd just gotten good at winging shit. The world might never know. Regardless, the reason she was following Mordecai surprised even Ironmonger.

"How'd you, uh, like it not to be at their beck and call? At all. Forever."

In a way that was equally teasing and challenging, she tilted her head forward and flicked her eyebrow at Cai.

[cyberneticatoms]

Neptune leaned back eyes flickering down, briefly grimacing, "You'd be surprised how tight that fine print is," he grumbled. Taking a second to rub at his temples, it was an ongoing thing that half the time felt like they'd taken two steps forward only to get shoved 12 steps back. "But we can follow up for sure, see who's willing to talk and who's not drowing in 20 different types of NDA's."

Taking the USB and zipping it up into an inner pocket in his jacket just for the extra security for himself. "I'll be honest, they usually just sack a CEO or a whole department whenever bad press rears around. We got slow cases we're working on, most of what we got ends with people settling out of court either cause they get too tired to fight or too spooked. So stuff like this? We appreciate a lot, let's us know not everyone is just willing to sit back and take it."

[conquerthroughfear]

She snickered at the PI's grumbling. All too used to corpo bullshit too. There was a reason she'd chosen Neptune of all people to hand this info to, and that reason had started with him being down with Uprising. The Messengers were more up to her usual speed, but... Well. They weren't the ones to hand it to for the same reasons that it wasn't all that useful to herself.

"Do what I can," she shrugged. It felt a little weird to get told what she did was appreciated.

"And at least someone's payin' for that shit then, eh? Rather have the whole lot of 'em die in a fire, but take what I can get."

Then again, whoever got sacked from a corp also lost their corpo protection. Made for easy pickings for Ironmonger.

[chaosandcrimson]

Scarlette blinked for a couple of seconds as she processed what had been said, before running her hand through her hair and letting out a soft, sheepish chuckle. "Oh, well, I'm flattered, but even if it had been a cheesy pick-up line, I'm very taken," she replied, keeping her tone light as she held up her hand to show off the engagement ring.

Lowering her hand, she kept the smile on her face but settled into a slightly more serious expression. "I'm a photojournalist by trade, so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with dealing with risk, or confidential sources, for that matter." She put her camera back into her camera bag. "Got a place off the beaten path we can sit down and talk."

[conquerthroughfear]

"Hey, congrats," she nodded at the ring with a snicker. She'd noticed it earlier already, and her half-flirting hadn't really been done with any hope of Scarlette taking her up on it. It was just kind of... The way Amara tended to exist around other women once she felt somewhat comfortable around them. Yet another result of just how cruel her time at Vanguard had been to her, of course, even if Amara wouldn't be able to tell you why she did it other than that she liked it.

Regardless, she pursed her lips and nodded a bit. If Scarlette insisted she knew what she was getting into...

"If you're sure? Fuck it, I'm down," she snorted with a shrug. "Lead the way, love."

[mercurysunstar]

grayson pulled out his phone and opened up the notes app to type in what she was saying, though he was about to ask what for until she said for maintenance. "so you want something that climbs instead of flies?" he asked just to specify. "that makes sense though, need something that's easier to maneuver and get closer look at things without risking it running into anything."

[conquerthroughfear]

"Exactly," she grins. "You get me, pal."

Amara folds her arms, tapping her foot. It's not meant to come across impatiently, and Amara's barely even aware she's doing it. Just her response to feeling the urge to grab a knife and twirl it around in her hand.

Someone should probably buy her a fidget spinner, even if she might stab them for it.

She's glad the maintenance lie worked, even if she feels kind of bad about it. Also glad the robotics expert here agrees it makes sense she'd need a different kind of drone for this sort of work.

"So..." She raises an eyebrow, tilting her head a bit. "Think ya could, uh, manage that?"

[sparepcrts]

The tension in the alleyway was incredibly thick, and Avi felt like she was choking on it. Amara had mentioned having implants before; that was a topic that was almost hard to avoid with how intimate and in each others spaces they had gotten since knowing each other. However, Avi had no idea how far it went. Training? For what?

"What you do?" They wanted their voice to be shrill and angry, but it felt like the small voice of a frighten child that was coming out of their mouth. "What do you mean? You just.... kill people?" She hadn't moved from her spot; she hadn't jerked back when Amara came to check on her, but she couldn't move even if she wanted to. It felt like Avi was a deer in the headlights, and if she wanted to, Amara could have been the oncoming car. "Why?"

[conquerthroughfear]

Amara felt... Defeated. By her own selfishness, more than anything else. How could she ever have thought Avi would never find out? How could she ever have thought it'd be alright to drag them down with her?

How the hell could she have done this to her?

"I, uh... It's not..." She tries, stammering a bit, head hanging low. "I don't... Just kill people. Like... Not for no reason."

Right. Real solid fucking explanation Amara. She took a deep breath and mustered the courage to look Avi in the eyes. Eyes she'd looked into longingly on too many nights, dreaming of things she knew, even back then, could never be hers.

"I'm a Violet Messenger. And, like, a vigilante," she begins, her tone curt, militaristic even, as she violently pushes down any and all of her own emotions. She needs to give Avi a straight answer. At the very least she owes her that much.

"Long and short of it is that I... Kill people who have it coming. So they can't hurt anyone else. And so others," people like you, flashes through her mind, "don't gotta get their hands dirty."

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Know it sounds cool when i say it ;) Iron: Idk picked it up sometime and it kinda stuck Iron: Just use it when talkin to pretty girls Iron: And cool Iron: Badass name tbh

[sparepcrts]

Misery: Oh so you show anyone that magnificent pussy cat huh? And here I thought I was special. Misery: And what should I be calling you? Misery: Thanks some days I really hate my parents for giving me a name that basically guaranteed I'd be miserable, but, you know, you win some you lose some

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: U overestimate the amount of women i flirt with over text Iron: Ngl thought misery d be like a name u chose urself Iron: And names amara

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Dope Iron: Ngl finding out im a swamp wtich wasnt on my todo list for today Iron: Whats ur name anyways love?

[sparepcrts]

Misery: There's more of us than you think! Misery: Are you British or do you think it makes you sound cool saying love? Misery: You can believe me or not it doesn't effect me either way, but it's Misery

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Know it sounds cool when i say it ;) Iron: Idk picked it up sometime and it kinda stuck Iron: Just use it when talkin to pretty girls Iron: And cool Iron: Badass name tbh

[sparepcrts]

Misery: A witch who lives in the swamp. Misery: Or rather, a witch who has big swamp energy because I do not literally live in a swamp. Misery: Think sort of mmm.... spooky and removed from people because they all think you're a freak of nature.

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Dope Iron: Ngl finding out im a swamp wtich wasnt on my todo list for today Iron: Whats ur name anyways love?

[sparepcrts]

Misery: I was not I am, for all intents and purposes, a swamp witch. Misery: Yeah! Misery:

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Cute Iron: Ok so Iron: The fucks a swamp witch love

[sparepcrts]

Misery: Now THAT'S what I call a pussy cat. Misery: If only cats liked me.... they can feel the swampy nature of my magic and say no fucking thank you. Misery: I do have an owl that made it's home in the tree outside my window though.

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron: Wait you werent kiddin with the witch thing Iron: Is the owl thing legit??

[sparepcrts]

"Amara!" Esmeray protested. "Please! I meant they know what they're doing but probably don't charge for it yet! I'm trying to work strategically here," she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "I'd be a worse choice; I've never tried to do makeup on anyone else."

"Sure, but it depends on how you wear it." She pointed. "Right now, that tshirt is wearing you." She took a few steps forward to show off her outfit. "See how my tshirt is more form fitting than yours? It's not so tight that it restricts movement, but there's a way to get tighter clothes that don't hinder your job. Some of my tighter, longer sleeved shirts feel almost like a second skin when I'm working."

[conquerthroughfear]

"Okay there's a fucking shitton of kinda dirty and incredibly gay jokes just waiting to be made with what ya just said," Amara teased with a grin. "But I'll spare ya this once."

She looked Esme up and down, raising an eyebrow. "And can see you look, uh, hot in that. But," she popped her lips to emphasize the word, "you do realize, like, all the shit in my size is men's clothes, right?"

[sparepcrts]

Misery: If you want to be added to the blacklist folder you can be my guest but that's definitely a new one for me! Misery: You hopped on that real fast for someone who was skeptical about a random number messaging you. Misery: Unless you're secretly working undercover or something and trying to get me to spill some beans. Misery: I should warn you though I AM a witch and I CAN curse you.

[conquerthroughfear]

Iron:

Iron: Feel like theres a witch n black cat joke in there somewhere

[sparepcrts]

Something seemed to have finally shifted, and while Lacey was still technically working, she also felt like she was just hanging out with another girl around her age, just shooting the shit about their lives.

"It's so wild - like, I'm not naive enough to think that everyone who comes to see me is single, but also, I feel like if you're gonna cry to me about your life, seeing a therapist regularly might help with that guilt instead of over tipping your thirty year old stripper because I'm just a listening ear and not someone who's qualified to tell you how to fix your life." Lacey shook her head. "They do just want me to smile and nod, so usually I do. Some of them are freaky and want me to berate them - though that costs extra."

[conquerthroughfear]

"I'd say the fat tips must be nice, but, ugh..." She cringed, making a face. "Don't imagine they really make up for..."

She chuckled, gesturing into the air with her hands, "all that."

"Though," she tutted, grinning teasingly. "Can't believe I didn't get a rundown of all the optional packages when we walked in here," Amara quipped with a soft little chuckle.