2014-02-08 - Kidnapped Again

When Sawyer woke up this morning, she had to drag herself out of bed. It felt like she hadn't slept a wink last night.. and the oddest thing, she wasn't wearing what she had worn to bed. Still, duty calls, and she showered and dressed, heading down to the bookstore. She dressed down today, not thinking she'd make much of an appearance in the main store.. planning on getting some paperwork done, and looking at the books.. though she wondered how she was going to make it through the day. Her first stop was the cafe to grab a large, double caf, with loads of cream and sugar.

It was about midday, and she found her head drooping, and coming to rest on her folded arms on her desk.

The next she remembered, she was heading for the soup kitchen, feeling even more tired than she had when she woke up.. but having promised to help with the preparations for dinner, she couldn't not show up.

Arriving at the soup kitchen, she found Trevor looking concerned. Some of the volunteers hadn't shown up.. and they weren't the type not to show up, and not call to let him know they wouldn't be able to make it. One even just up and left midday, with no word.

It all sounded a little fishy to Sawyer, so she decided to head out back - where the one volunteer headed to take out the trash, while dialing the phone. "Hey.. Kara. Something strange is going on down a the soup kitchen. I'm checking.." She is cut short, the line going dead without giving her the opportunity for any further explanation.

On her end.. too tired to even notice what was going on around her, Sawyer didn't pick up on the approaching pair, both looking homeless.. but something was odd about them she should have picked up on, if she'd been more astute. One slipped up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist, while the other hand covered her mouth with a rag soaked in cloroform.

When she wakes up, Sawyer finds herself in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse, sitting in a chair, with her hands tied behind her back, and her feet tied each to a leg of the chair. As she looks around, the other missing volunteers are much in the same position.

Kara Zor-El comes down to the soup kitchena little later in the day. She'd had some free time. The Titans had beaten Dr. Light earlier today, then there were a few bank robberies in Chicago, Trenton, and Oklahoma City, a forest fire in Oregon, those animals that escaped from the zoo in Moscow, the terrorists who took over the Eiffel Tower and were threateing to destroy it and the hostages, 2 people falling out of buildings or rooftops in Ontario and in London, an ocean liner that had hit an iceberg, 2 planes that had engine failure (the 787 over the Atlantic and the single engine cessna in Alaska), one case of road rage in Los Angeles, 5 muggings around the Western hemisphere, the human traffickers she stopped in North Korea, the dirty bomb she contained in Tel Aviv, and that cat that was stuck in the tree in Boulder, Colorado.

Not too crazy a day so far.

She heads into the soup kitchen, figuring maybe Sawyer would be there since she wasnt at the bookstore and Marcus had told her where Sawyer had gone - after the obligatory 2 minutes of him smiling goofily at her. It was no longer awkward, just cute.

Kara walks in and looks around, waving a little at people, then knocks on Trevor's office door. "Hey Trevor? Is Sawyer around?" she asks, even though she can't see her, which probably meant she wasnt here. Maybe she was doing an errand for the kitchen.

MEANWHILE:

In an abandonned warehouse, in a darkened room, beyond a labyrinth if stacked crates and armed thugs, Sawyer is tied to a chair in a room. A man walks over to her and puts his thick finger under her chin. "You people have been a real problem... We tried to be nice about it, just ruin some of your crappy food for the dregs, but you just didn't get the message. So maybe after we ruin some pretty faces and send some of you volunteers back in bodybags, that Trevor guy will get the message." Another guy walks over to Sawyer, moving her head from left to right. "Shame, she's pretty hot."

The first guy look at the second guy. "Told you, no touchin the bartering chips unless the guy doesn't deal. Go check on the others and send Trevor our 'message'

The second guy grumbles and heads out of the room into another one, where Sawyer hears a man's scream.

The first guy snickers at Sawyer. "Shoulda just written checks for yer 'charitable contributions huh?" before walking out of the room as well, leaving Sawyer in the dark.

When you come to Trevor's office, he looks a little haggard. He looks up when you call his name. "Oh, Kara. Hey.. she was here earlier, but went out back to check into Roger's sudden decision to leave after taking out the garbage.. and I haven't seen her since. She went out back.. and that's really not like her to take off and not say goodbye." He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on it a little. "Things just aren't going very well.. and we have so few volunteers right now to help with the dinner.. I don't know what we're going to do when everyone shows up to eat."

At the warehouse:

Really, Sawyer would love to just crawl back in her bed.. but now is not the time. As she starts to come to, she begins to wish she hadn't. She looks up as the guy lifts her chin. "Who the bloody hell are you?" She growls. "And what do you want with a simple soup kitchen. They weren't hurting anyone.. just helping make sure people were off the street, and getting a hot meal three times a day."

Sawyer jerks her head away from the second guy, snapping at his fingers with her teeth. She may be tired, but she's still feisty. 'Keep your calm.' She tells herself, looking around to gauge the area as best as she can.. size up the man in front of her, and the other one leaving the room. When she hears the scream, she struggles against her bonds. "What's going on out there?"

Kara Zor-El hrms. "Did you try calling her maybe?" Kara asks, taking out her phone. She pauses. "I can help with the volunteering - maybe I can get a few people to help also - what happened with your regular volunteers? Last time I was here you seemed to have quite a few." she asks as she dials Sawyer's number and lets it ring. No answer.

At the warehouse:

Guy 1 was obviously 'in charge' of this group of thugs, though he didnt seem like the person 'in charge of everything.' For one thing, he was huge, and the other guy seemed to acknowledge his orders. Though after he leaves the room, Guy 2 comes in with a third guy (Shade). If Guy 1 was huge, Shade is gi-normous - like almost 8 feet of what looks like pure muscle. Guy 2 (Bruno) looks at Shade. "Keep a watch outside, and give this to Pete." which Shade nods to and heads out after taking what looks like... a finger?

Bruno heads over to Sawyer and she can see he has a knife in his hand. And there's some blood on it too. He makes a 'shush' sound, and says in a semi-hushed voice so 'Pete' can't hear outside, "You know, it would be a shame to cut you up and send you back if your friend don't close down.' He takes the knife and lightly runs it along Sawyer's shoulder. "Would hat to have to mess up that face or remove anything. He then leans over. "But if you be nice to me, maybe I'll be nice to you. If ya know what I mean. Maybe I won't do any DEEP cuts or won't send back one of YOUR fingers when Pete wants us to send another one."

BACK AT THE SOUP KITCHEN:

Trevor shrugs. "We had a few not come in, and Roger seemed to take off after putting out the trash. I'm not sure what's going on." He gets up from his chair, and walks around his desk to lean back against it. "I'm not sure what's going on, but.." He lets the sentence trail off when you take out your phone to try and call Sawyer.

At the warehouse:

Even tired, Sawyer is wise enough to play down any of her strengths. She listens carefully, though she keeps her head down, looking as if she's snoozing. She peers at the others from the corner of her eye. She breathes evenly, continuing the facade that she might have drifted off.

When Bruno approaches, and he 'shushes', she lifts her head, her hair falling like a curtain on either side of her head. Her tongue flicks across the surface of her lips, keeping them slightly parted as she breathes slowly.. purposefully accentuating her chest - always wise to play up your assets, especially if your adversary is already interested. "Play nice?" She asks, her voice low, as if she's beyond tired.

Bruno, being a letch, takes the bait of Sawyer being out of it. "Yeah..." he says as he gets really close, leaning close to Sawyer. He moves the knife away from Sawyer so he can stroke her cheek. "Wuzzat accent anyway, you like australian or somethin?"

It should be noted, Bruno's also an idiot.

Fortunately for Sawyer, he's an idiot who skimped on the knots when tying Sawyer's feet to the chair as he leans forward to her, like he's going to kiss her. "Maybe, if you're REALLY good I might take you outta here after this is done, you know.... in case your boy don't get the message and we have to burn his place down."

At that point, Sawyer's phone rings

Sawyer has to call on all her reserves, not to retch as Bruno leans closer... and she struggles not to flinch away from the touch. She swallows hard, taking a slow, unsteady breath. "It's.. this is all so.." She tries to add a touch of waivering to her voice, hoping to add to the appearance of her being scared.

She looks up, biting her lower lip. "It's British.. I'm originally from England." She dips her head slightly, adopting more of a shy demeanor, but she's really gauging how far the knife is away from her hands. "I.." She bites her lower lip again. ".. I have to use the loo." Might as well test to see just how dumb the guy really is.

When her phone rings, she startles, glancing over to the nearby surface where it was set after it was taken away from her.

Bruno smirks a bit and starts cutting the rope on one of her bound wrists. Then stops, getting an idea. Which probably doesn't come to this guy often. "Hey... you think I'm stupid or somethin'? You thinkin' of escaping? Cause if you are, you've got another thing coming to ya."

Sawyer tenses. So close. She holds her hands still when he starts to cut the rope. When he stops, she's quick to shake her head. "No.. no.. why would I? Where could I go? I don't even know where I am." She begins to squirm on the chair, attempting to cross her legs, without actually 'freeing' her feet. "I just really need to go." She looks up at Bruno, a pleading expression on her face. All the while, she tests the rope to see if it was loosened enough to free her hand.

Bruno puts his hand on her wrist, which he had almost cut free, loosening the rope enough taht she'd be able to slip it out if Bruno hadnt had a rare glimpse of semi-intelligence. Meanwhile, the rope around her legs ARE loose enough that she might just be able to slip her foot out of it. "I dunno...." He looks at the door, then at Sawyer and leans up to her again. "What'll you gimme if I letcha?"

Even as Bruno is talking to her.. his hand on her wrist, she begins to work a foot free. That split second when Bruno looks toward the door, Sawyer takes her chance. Surely he's not expecting her to try and pull it free. "I just can't wait for you to make up your mind. If you'd worked a little faster.. you might have gotten a kiss. As it is.. you'll just have to settle for this." She twists and tugs her arm, she simultaneously brings her knee up to connect with his groin, with as hard a thrust as she can manage.

Bruno nnfs as Bruno does get something from Sawyer. A knee right up into his groin, letting go of the knife to grab himself as he falls over. That must've hurt. Amazingly enough (probably even amazing to Sawyer herself) is that she manages to pull her hand out of the bond AND catch the knife before it hits the ground. Sawyer might also notice that Bruno is packing a gun while he's huddled over on the ground for the moment, pretty absorbed in his two best friends' pain - and we're not talking Shade and Pete outside.

Sawyer doesn't have the luxury to marvel at the fact she was able to snatch the knife before it falls to the ground, and she's quick to cut her other hand free, then free her other leg from its binding. Her legs are a little stiff, but she scrambles over to where Bruno is curled up on the floor, and grabs the gun.. checking to make sure the safety is on before tucking it into the waistband of her jeans at the middle fo her back. "Just be glad it wasn't my boot, dearie. You'll recover soon enough.. but I can't leave you to follow me.. so.." She reaches for the rope used to tie her legs, and uses them to tie his wrists tight behind his back, and his feet together at the ankles. She's much better at tying than Bruno was, and he's not getting free by himself. "Now.. try not to miss me too much." She touches her fingertips to her lips, kising them, and touching her fingertips to Bruno's cheek before investigating the room to look for a way to 'higher ground'.

As she scopes the room, she swings by to grab her phone, taking a quick glimpse at who the call was from.

Sawyer manages to tie Bruno up and get her phone. There are some crates stacked on the corner, and rafters higher up, though it would be a lucky jump. There's also two doors - one from where Bruno came out where you heard the scream, and the other out which Shade, and earlier, Pete, had gone.

Sawyer is a pretty athletic person, and she sizes up the crates. It might be worth at least trying. Higher ground is much better for reconnaissance, and trying to get the advantage, especially when you don't know what all you're up against. She crosses the room as quietly as she can.. her heeled boots not the best for sneaking. She tucks her phone into her back pocket so she can use both hands to climb the crates. When she reaches the top, she gauges the distance, pulling on all the training HYDRA put her through.. she takes a slow breath.. if she doesn't make this.. she's likely to bring who knows how many in after her.

With intense concentration, she crouches, then makes the leap, reaching out for the nearest rafter. She barely catches hold, her fingers almost slipping before she gets her grip and pulls herself up with some effort.

Her heart is racing, and her gaze flits to the doors.. but at least she's now up, and out of sight. She creeps carefully toward the area of the warehouse where Bruno came from, hoping to at least get a good view of what she's up against. At the same time, she pulls her phone out of her pocket and hits redial. Hopefully, Kara will be somewhere she can pick up the phone.

Sawyer manages to make it to the rafter, just as Pete comes in. And then comes all the swearing, and he calls in a bunch of guys, yelling at them how they need to find Sawyer. It's seeming to be heavily implied that her use as a hostage is not very necessary, from when Pete says "And when you find her, just kill her. We have 5 others anyway." Then he says to Shade. "And you - watch the front just in case any capes are in the area."

One of the men says to Pete, "What about Bruno?"

To which Pete just goes over to Bruno as he's tied up on the ground and takes out his gun as Sawyer is making her way through the dark rafters to the main warehouse. A muffled shot can be heard.

When Sawyer dials on the phone, Shade comes back in and murmurs something to one of the men, who murmurs to othrs. Then several men are climbing on the crates!

Bugger and bollocks. Sawyer thinks to herself. She really /hadn't/ wanted anything to happen to Bruno.. and if she'd not tied him, maybe he'd be alive.. then again.. he probably would have followed her and /she/ would have had to do something to him. She turns the phone so the microphone is up as she tucks it back in her pocket.. so the mouthpiece is just shy of being hidden. Hopefully, Kara will pick up and hear something.. maybe be able to /do/ something.

She pulls the gun from her waitband, taking the safety off as she repositions herself to focus. She's thankful for all the training she had under pressure, otherwise her hand might be shaking. She takes her aim on the guy in the lead. She takes a deep breath, holding it for half a second as she begins to squeeze the trigger, slowly exhaling as she completes the motion.. aiming for his knee. If she hits.. she takes aim for the second in line.. and the third, in succession.

Sawyer starts firing the gun as the men start climbing up the crates to the rafters high above, causing most of them to scatter behind said crates and firing at the rafters in response. A few men, however, keep climbing to try to get up to the rafters. "She's up in the rafters!" and "She has a gun!" and "Shoot her down! You! You! You! And You! Try to get up there and grab her, she can't have many bullets!"

Back at the soup kitchen:

Kara hrms. "So she just left and hasnt been heard from at all?" She looks over at Trevor. "I'm going to go look around the neighborhood - see if maybe she's just doing something." She heads out the back. Then her phone rings again. It's Sawyer's number. Kara picks up the phone. "Sawyer? Where are you? Trevor said you just disappeared on him, and I was getting a little worried myself." To which she hears the sound of gunfire. One, two, three shots, followed by a barrage of return gunfire. "Sawyer?" she says urgently before blurring out of there. The next thing - Kara's flying in the sky in her Supergirl costume, looking at the city below from a birds eye view to try to see or hear where her friend might be!

Back at the warehouse:

Sawyer can hear Kara's voice on the phone barely, saying "SAWYER?!" Though it's sort of overshadowed by the hail of gunfire being fired at her. She managed to shoot one thug in the arm, though the second one got behind a crate in time, and the third one - Sawyer shot in the leg, causing him to fall off the crates with an "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

Up in the rafters is pretty precarious, and thankfully the shadows up there help to make her less of a target, but she manages to inch along another foot or so while keeping an eye on the one she missed. Hearing Kara's voice is reassuring, because at least the girl will hear she's in a tight spot. She's trying /not/ to actually kill anyone. She doesn't like the idea of taking a life.. but if it comes down to self defense, and it's what she has to do..

She casts a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure she doesn't step wrong, and inches a little further as she turns her attention back towards the crates, waiting for the guy to try and come after her.

The remaining guy (Bud) who makes it to the rafter is joined by the other guy (Jim) who managed to get behind the crate in time as they both get onto the rafter and try to edge closer to Sawyer. One of them calls out to her "Okay girl, just give up and maybe you won't get shot!" with a menacing tone. Meanwhile, the other thugs on the ground are firing up at the rafters, which prompts Jim to yell, "Hey, we're up here too yknow!" Then.... out of nowhere, a huge crate is thrown up at the rafters like it was a baseball, narrowly missing Sawyer. It was thrown by Shade.

Sawyer snorts. "You think I'm some stupid git?" She keeps herself in a crouch. Now that he's up on the rafters with her, he's in almost as much trouble as she is with the men on the ground. "I'm starting to think you're all plonkers." She takes a shot herself, but it's way off. She flattens herself against the rafter beneath her as it wizzes over her head. "Bugger and bollocks." She growls, crawling back a bit before getting her feet back under her.

Bullets are flying all over the place, two men are on the rafters coming for her, and some superstrong guy is throwing crates that must weigh a ton! How can it get any worse?

And that's when the rafter beam starts to give way.

Sawyer has a choice.. scramble away, or face off with the men coming along the rafters after her. She could only flee so long, and really, she doesn't know her way around this place, or how to get out.. or even what's waiting for her if she does. Best thing to do is deal with what you know. "Then come on wally.." And the way she says it, it sounds more like an insult, rather than her thinking it's his name. ".. let's see what you're made of." She waits for him to get close enough, then takes a good hold of the rafter with her hands as she balances, swinging her leg to swipe at the closest man's legs, and aiming for the nearest crates below the rafters, and on the other side of the rafter from those firing at her.

To Sawyer's credit, it's becoming a proof that she's an incredibly hard person to have as a hostage. Jim tries to rush at Sawyer on the rafters, but winds up getting a kick to his leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall, hitting into one of the crates with a CRASH! Bud then fires at Sawyer, a bullet whizzing less than an inch from her arm, causing her to almost lose balance as well! But she manages to jump and relatively aim for where she's jumping before Bud has a second chance to fire, landing on one of the crates. Bud aims his gun down at Sawyer and snickers. "Nice acrobatics, dodge this though!" And he starts to pull the trigger.... but is interrupted by the rafters collapsing on him from the damage done from the crate. Good thing Sawyer HAD jumped off! The rafters collapse into the crates, causing Sawyer to fall further to the ground in one of the maze parts of the crates.

"She's down that way!"

Sawyer looks up at Bud, staring down the barrel of the gun, a million things running through her mind. One of which, can Kara find her before the others catch up to her? It's then the rafter collapses, and she has to scramble a bit to keep her feet under her as Bud has his own predicament to deal with. At least this takes her out of the line of sight of the other thugs, and gives her a little time to try and plan.

Cursing can be heard but Shade doesn't seem to be too bothered as he takes the lead in hunting for Sawyer. He has a much better chance, what with his calculating mind, in locating her more quickly.. while a few of the others stumble over each other as they all try to crowd forward.

Sawyer finds good cover, keeping her eye on Bud. She puts the safety back on the firearm and tucks it back into her waistband at the small of her back as she begins to climb another crate a little further down.

Bud falls into a crate with a crash, groaning as he lies there in rubble as the remaining 10 thugs, Pete, and Shade start coming out looking for Sawyer. Every time she thinks she found a way around, a thug appears around the corner to fire at her and narrowly miss. Then Shade gets the idea of just shoving crates aside like they were made of styrofoam, opening a pat to Sawyer as she finds herself at a dead end of crates - nowhere to climb, nowhere to dodge, and one bullet left in her gun. Five of the thugs manage to see where she went and they all raise their guns at her...

Meanwhile, in the skies over New York, Kara's urgently scanning the city with x-ray vision and telescopic vision to look for her friend, ever since she heard gunfire on the phone. Unfortunately, the warehouse district has a lot of warehouses which have lead composites in their frames.

However, all the gunfire and shouting - that can't be stopped by lead. And Kara's making a beeline towards the sounds of gunfire.

Meanwhile, in the warehouse:

The armed thugs aim their guns at Sawyer and begin to squeeze the triggers when suddenly, a figure breaks through the ceiling and slams into the groud in front of Sawyer and in the way of the guns and herself. It's looks like it's a blonde girl in a blue midriff shirt and skirt, sporting a cape as well. In other words...

Supergirl.

The bullets fire and hit her instead of their intended target, Sawyer - some flattening when they strike her body, others ricocheting into nearby crates. Kara does NOT look pleased at all. She says, "Got her as soon as I could figure out where you are. Are you okay?" she says, turning her head slightly to Sawyer, making sure she was safe.

The odds are not good, but even so, Sawyer manages a flippant smile. She hasn't mastered the other heroes carefree, witty banter, but she can manage the smile, even as her mind searches for another option. "Don't know what you're smiling for, girlie. From the looks of things, you're not making it out of this alive."

"Hey.. I've died once already. It didn't keep me down." Okay, so not the wittiest.. but hey.

As the ceiling shatters, Sawyer automatically assumes it's the gunfire, and hits the ground, flattening herself against the cold, concrete floor. If nothing else, maybe they'll just graze her, and not hit anything vital.. but when nothing hits her, Sawyer blinks, looking up from her place on the ground. "You're a sight for sore eyes, my friend." She pushes herself up to her feet, dusting herself off.

At least half of the mob are checking their firearms, not quite believing they didn't hit something. They /had/ to have missed.. because that girl is still standing there, unharmed. whispers can be heard. "Hey.. isn't that.."

It's Shade that doesn't look impressed, or phased. After all, he's got size.. strength.. and he's quite a bit smarter than the rest of the lot. While Kara's distracted by checking on Sawyer, he begins moving forward, but at a cautious pace, looking for the best way to deal with the new variable.

A few decide to try again, lifting their firearms to take aim at the blonde girl.. being a little more careful about their aim. They're not smart enough to realize they /did/ hit the first time, and let off another round of fire.

Kara Zor-El frowns sternly as they start firing their guns at her again. "Stay behind me, Sawyer..." she says as the bullets have about as much effect as spitalls would have. Maybe less so. Kara crosses her arms until they stop firing. Now it's pretty clear they ARE hitting the blonde girl - the bullets are just flattening agains her and falling to the ground, or ricocheting all over the place rather than give so much as a mark on her skin.

"Okay, I think weve had more than enougo of the gunplay..." she says as her eyes glow red and she fires heat vision at the gun held by one thug, then another, then another, each one's gun quickly turning red hot in their hands.

All too soon, a chorus of 'Ow'.. 'What the hell'.. and 'Son of a bitch'.. can be heard, as well as a clattering of guns hitting the concrete floor. more than one thug are holding their gun hand, feeling the burn. Another one can be heard saying, "Get the bitch." Others, are staying back, smart enough to realize that if bullets richochet off the girl's skin, there's not much they can do to her.. physically.

Shade comes in closer, his steely gaze narrowed as he continues to study Kara, making an attempt to come around at a different angle.. but at his size, there's no way he's going to surprise her, at least not when Sawyer calls out, "On your right." Having lost /any/ measure of surprise, Shade takes a swing at Kara, aiming for the side of her head. With the strength behind his punch, it would send any ordinary girl flying into the stack of crates.

A few of the thugs have gotten pretty smart, at least smarter than the others trying to take on Kara by brute force. One run's back to get another rag, or two, of cloroform, and tries to make a circuitous route to sneak up on both girls.

By now, Sawyer's gotten back on her feet, and is considering trying to find her way back to that room.. the screaming still pretty fresh in her mind. She doesn't get very far, before two of the thugs, one with the cloroform, are standing right in front of her, blocking her way. She tsks softly, shaking her head as she reaches behind her back to pull the gun from her waist band. She prefers a little more time to aim.. but time isn't on her side at the moment. In one motion, she tugs the gun from her waistband, and flicks off the safety, swinging her arm around to take aim at the thug's knee - the one with the cloroform. Her shot hits, and the guy goes down with a cry.. but that was her last bullet. Even so, she points the barrel at the other thug, slowly advancing on him. He's not afraid of a slip of a girl.. though he has developed a healthy respect for her aim.

"You've taken a lot of shots there, girlie.. you got anymore left?" He continues to advance on her, and she has to think quickly. As he reaches for her, she reaches up to put a hand on his shoulder, raising the gun up and bringing it back down against the side of his head... the guy crumpling to the floor.

Sawyer winces, looking down at her handiwork. "I hope he wakes up from that."

Yes, it would send any normal girl flying into a stack of crates, or maybe make them a red splotch on those crates. Luckily - Kara's not a normal girl. And when Shade's fist meets the sid of he head, she doesnt even give him the satisfaction of letting her head move with the punch. Normally she might have, but she could already see with her x-ray vision - Shade was a robot. Not as much need to play with 'kid gloves.'

The expression on her face doesn't even flicker as Shade busts his fist against the pretty blonde girl's head. If some of the men there were hesitant to attack Kara after the bullets didn't do jack to her, the damage done to Shade's fist probably has engendered some genuine intimidation - at least to the humans in the warehouse.

Unfortunately, it's too late for the one thug who thought it would be a good idea to try to sneak up on her from the side. She grabs the guy, saying, "I'm sort of hard to sneak up on - your heartbeat is pounding." Then throws him at the other three men who were standing there, knocking them all over like bowling pins with the guy she threw as the bowling ball.

Kara looks up at Shade. "Hope that wasnt your best shot, big guy." she says with a smile, putting her hands on her hips.

Shade looks more angry than worried, but he has a few moments to consider as Kara throws the guy attempting to sneak up on her into three others, who fall into a heap with each other, from the force of the throw. That's only six of ten. Where did the other four go?

Perhaps he doesn't have as much sense as he gives himself credit for, because this time he throws himself at Kara in an attempt to get her off her feet. He's got a sizable mass, and more than human strength to push off with. Add to that, the confidence of a man who.. until now.. has never met his match.

Speaking of the other four, they've been working with a contraption.. a net, with ropes at the four corners, that they get into place with, while Shade has Kara distracted. The net is tossed, and it comes down over Kara and Shade together.. each thug taking a rope at a corner, and trying to wrap up the two.. drawing the net snug around the combative pair.

Sawyer takes one last look at the thug with the cloroform, lying on the floor with his knee shot. "Hopefully your guys will look after you.. but until then, use your belt as a tourniquet." With those words, she heads off to the room with the hostages, having confidence in Kara to be able to handle herself.

When Shade lunges at Kara, it would be expected that an 8 foot behemoth like him, using leverage and superhuman strength and superior mass would definitely be able to tackle some 120 lb girl just standing there with her hands on her hips.

Shade should have read how successful that attack idea was with Abomination.

There's a loud 'THUD as he barrels into her and the blonde teenager doesn't budge an inch.

Literally.

Not creative interpretation of what happens - Kara doesn't budge so much as an inch. She quirks an eyebrow even when Shade hits into her - probably damaging his (its) shoulder from the impact. "That would be strike two." she says, before taking her hand and pushing him up, before her other hand hits into his chest open-handed, sending the 8 foot ganger slamming against and through several crates.

Then they find Supergirl's greatest weakness! A net!

Actually, no - it's not her greatest weakness, though she looks up at the thugs who threw it on her.

"Seriously?... no really.... SERIOUSLY?" she says, looking at the netwhich has been thorwn over her and the men pull on the ropes at the corner. She can only assume the plan was to be able to drag her forward onceshe was 'trapped' in the net.

It would be a wonderful plan, if Kara was going along with it be... you know... letting herself be moved.

Not for lack of trying. The men start circling her like a maypole, using their ropes to try and tangle her up in the net and make her movements more difficult. They completely underestimate her talents. Even so, they manage to try.

Sawyer, on the other hand, has found her way to the room where the hostages are being held. They've been left alone, the thugs heading off to hunt down Sawyer, and deal with Supergirl. It leaves Sawyer free to unbind them. She can't help but wince when she sees the man whose finger has been severed. She rips a portion of her shirt off to wrap/bind the wound. "Hopefully it hasn't been too long and we can get you to a hospital so your hand doesn't get infected."

Kara Zor-El rubs the bridge of her nose as these guys try. And try. And try. It's sort of getting a little pathetic, actually, given she just sent the 8 foot guy flying through crates with a push after taking both a punch and tackle without batting an eye. But no, a net would work. She watches as they tangle the net around her. "Hope you boys have a tight grip on those ropes..." which they do, considering they're TRYING to contain her.

Then she spins around,faster and faster, causing each of the four men to be yanked off their feet if they're dumb enough to be trying to hold on to keep her 'trapped.'

Then she suddenly stops spinning around.

Meanwhile Sawyer sees the hostages and takes care of him. Fortunately, Pete, the guy she shot with her last bullet, had the finger on him still. There's a mini fridge in the corner.

A few of the four start to experience a bit of doubt, and their grip loosens, so that when Kara begins to spin, the rope is torn from their hands, leaving a significant rope burn on their hands. They cry out, and fall back, just in time to get smacked by their mates being whipped around.. having refused to let go. They're just not smart enough. One begins to slip, and he looses his grip, flying into yet another stack of crates. The one is still holding on, but that comes to a quick end when he hits the wall. By the time Kara stops spinning, there are a litter of bodies lying around her.

Sawyer managed to find the finger, and quickly wraps it and has it in the refrigerator, and remembers her phone in her back pocket. At least it's still there, but the battery is getting low. She has just enough juice to put in a call to 911, asking for an ambulance.

Kara Zor-El reaches up and rips the net off her. She looks around to see who's still standing, if anyone, and takes special care to look to see if Shade's still standing. She note to herself that at least the 'normal badguys' seem to be permanently down. She walks over to the crate where she gave Shade the shove into and through. Then looks at the crate behind that. And the one behind that. And the wall way behind that. There he is. Kara calls to Sawyer. "Everything okay there Sawyer?" as she checks to see if Shade is still functioning.

Being inhuman, Shade is kind of difficult to take down, and though he's down, he's still moving. His body twitches, and as Kara steps closer, he tries to reach up and close his meaty hand around her throat. He just doesn't know when to give up. Think... Terminator. Though not all of his body is functioning, what is, continues to try and take down Kara. At least he's determined.

Sawyer gathers the volunteers together, hanging on the line for as long as her battery allows. She mutes it briefly. "They all appear to be fine.. except one whose finger.. well.. it's on ice right now. I'm on the phone with 911 right now." With that update, she unmutes the phone, and puts one of the volunteers in charge of taking care of the others, while she sees about wiping her prints off the gun, and 'giving' it back to one of the unconscious thugs.

Kara Zor-El grabs Shade's hand when he tries to grip her throat. "And that's strike three." Kara squeezes the metallic wrist untl there's a crunch, removing it from her neck. She does a quick scan of the robot as it flails to try to beat her - still. Then sees where the power connects to the rest of the servos. Her eyes glow red and, like a laser scalpel, she severs the power source from the mechanisms that let Shade move. If anyone decides later to reconnect him in order to try to ... who knows... interrogate a robot? - they'd be able to.

"You're out." Kara unceremoniously lets go of Shade's broken arm and turns to fly over to the room where Sawyer is, along with Pete, who was shot in the leg, and the hostages. She seems confused when she notices the gun that Sawyer had is now on one of the unsconscious thugs, "You know... you didntdo anything wrong, right?" she says carefully to Sawyer.

Sawyer startles when Kara appears, spinning around on her heel. Her heart is thumping hard in her chest. "You scared me." Even so, she glances toward the thug where she 'disposed' of the gun. "Yes.. well.. considering my history, it probably wouldn't look very good me shooting up a few thugs.. even if they were trying to kill me first." She glances at her shoes. "Guess I'm still dealing with things."

Kara Zor-El lands lightly on the floor and pats Sawyer on the shoulder. "It's okay. It'll be okay." She looks at the man with the severed finger and looks off in the distance. Then says, "The ambulance will be here in a minute." She peers at the injury. "It's a clean cut.... they'll be able to reattach it." Well... she hopes, anyway. She bites her lip, then looks at Sawyer. "Can you keep taking care of him until the ambulance comes?" She walks over to Pete who's on the ground with a bullet in his leg. "Me and this guy need to talk." she says as she grabs him by the shirt and lifts him off the ground like a rag doll.

Sawyer nods, pausing to give Kara a hug. "Not a problem." She turns and heads back to the man with the severed finger, leaving you alone with Pete.

Pete yelps when he's lifted off the ground, and he grabs for Kara's hand, trying to pry her fingers free.

He might as well be trying to bend titanium as pry her fingers. She doesnt even seem to acknowledge the attempt as she looks up, then looks at him. "Lets talk in private." Then she flies straight up, through the ceiling, making sure to bear the brunt of the impact with the ceiling of the warehouse. Kara zooms up until she's about 3,000 feet over the the city, still holding Pete by the shirt with one hand.

"I'm getting REALLY tired of what you people are doing with my friends." She looks down, prompting Pete to look down as well.

"Incidentally, that was one of my friends you guys were shooting at. I don't like that." she says without a hint of a smile. "So I want to know, who are you working for. I want a name."

Pete's futile grabbing only becomes more desperate when Kara says they need to talk in private. The man cringes, preparing for impact when she flies for the ceiling.. and he can actually be heard screaming as she takes him higher. He begins to hyperventilate, and changes his tactic from trying to dislodge her hand, to trying to grab hold of her.. wanting to cling to keep from falling. His heart is beating fast within his chest, and considering his age, the risks of him having a heart attack increase exponentially. "Please.. please.. bring me back?" It's not hard to tell, he's afraid of heights. "All I know.. my orders were coming from.. the Roman family... now please.." Seriously.. the guy has wet his pants.

Kara Zor-El stays there, floating in the air, with the city far, far below. "Funny how everything looks so tiny down there. Long way down." She peers at Pete. "This Roman family... what do they want with the soup kitchen?" Batman was definitely right. Scaring criminals works if you have a good way to scare them. "You know, my cousin says that I get a little unfocused. He's probably right. When I don't find out things I want, my mind sometimes wanders into hypotheticals. For example..." She then idly says, "... if I dropped you, think I'd be fast enough to catch you before you hit?"

Pete tries gripping your arm, hoping to reach your neck and cling to you, much like a child would his mother. "I don't know.. I don't know. They didn't tell me." His legs are swinging, and he begins to sound more and more desperate. "A need to know basis.. and they told me I didn't need to know."

Kara Zor-El tilts her head. "Maybe if I let go then wait... how long do you think I can wait and still manage to catch you?" she says, ignoring him trying to cling to her. "You know... I can tell when people are lying." Which is normally true, except there's a problem with scaring someone this much - their heartrate is ALL wrong. So she's bluffing on this. "Who specifically gave you the orders in this Roman family?"

Tears being to fall down his cheeks.. a grown man crying. "No.. no.. please. I've told you what I know." He begins to tremble, his heart beginning to experience some erratic beats as his fear becomes nearly overwhelming. "I'm not lying.. honest.." Then your question about the specific deliverance of the order. "Vincenzo Roman.. Vincenzo.."

Kara Zor-El flies back down to the warehouse. Her ability to tell when humans are lying might be off, but the whole tears and urination does really strike as accurate. Plus that heartrate is getting worrisome. She doesnt want to give the guy a heart attack for REAL. Even if he is a heartless, torturing thug. "Okay..... okay..." She flies back down, down, down, through the hole in the warehouse and into the warehouse. The Ambulance has already arrived.

Kara drops him on the ground, making sure not to drop him on the shot leg. Kara looks over at Sawyer, then at the EMTs. "Um... after you take care of him, this guy also probably needs attention. Oh and also call the police for him, since he's guilty of kidnapping and cutting off that man's finger. And attempted murder. She looks down at Pete, then at Sawyer. "I found out who's behind all this..."

When the ambulance arrived, Sawyer did her best to help, giving everyone blankets, and keeping them calm while the EMT's addressed the worst case first and got him, and the severed finger on the ambulance. Another one had been right on the heels of the first, and Sawyer kept things in hand until they arrived, and guided the EMT's to all the wounded, including the thugs. The police were called too, and arrived shortly after Kara returned with Pete.

When Kara returns, Sawyer comes over to her, leaving the EMT's and police in charge. "You did? Who?"

Pete is trembling, and the EMT's come over to attend to him immediately, working to get his heartrate back under control.

Kara Zor-El looks at Pete. She wishes she didnt feel bad that she terrified some would-be killer but after what they did here, she just didnt want to see it happen again. She looks at Sawyer. "The Roman Family... some guy named Vincenzo Roman? He didnt say why though. I don't think he knows why." She crosses her arms. "I should give this Roman family a visit though."

Sawyer furrows her brow. "By yourself?" Yes, Kara's invulnerable, but Sawyer can't help but worry about her. "They sound dangerous, especially if they put this whole thing in motion." Sawyer bites her lower lip, glancing around at the volunteers being treated for shock, and the thugs for other injuries.. before being arrested and carted off to prison.

Kara Zor-El smiles a little when Sawyer seems to worry about her safety. "I'm pretty sure I'll b e able to handle it if the best they had was that big guy and those others. They tried using a net on me." She looks outside at the people who are still unconscious on the floor of the warehouse. I got hit by a nuclear bomb a few months ago and they were trying to take me out with a net." She thinks "I mean..." She looks at Sawyer. "Do you think I should ask for help from others maybe?" Sawyer's protective nature of her being really nice, actually. Makes Kara feel like she's a normal girl.

A faint blush colors Sawyer's cheeks. "Right.. I'm sure you'll be fine.. I just think.. sometimes.. even if they can't hurt you, it's good to have some sort of backup." She slips her arm through Kara's, hoping to guide her toward the exit, waving off any EMT's wanting to check her out. "I know it couldn't hurt.. if you have someone you know you wouldn't mind coming with you?"

Kara Zor-El nods a little. "I'll think about doing something like that, yeah. Hey... let me take you home, okay?" She pauses. "Um.... unless you still can't deal with the flying thing..."

Sawyer is quick to shake her head. "No.. no flying, but maybe we can catch a cab." Now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off, her exhaustion is more telling. Not to mention, now that you can really look at her, you can see the dark circles under her eyes.

Kara Zor-El nods a little and waits with Sawyer outside after Sawyer calls for a cab. Kara honestly would like to fly her home. She could get her back in no time. But Sawyer's initial reaction made Kara decide to not even try to insist. "Call me when you get home, okay? So I know you're okay? I mean... I can probably just.... check but... privacy and all that." Then she gives Sawyer a hug when the cab arrives.

"Thank you Kara. I will." Sawyer slips into the cab after the hug, closing the door behind her. She waves through the window as the cab driver pulls away, then slumps back into the seat, closing her eyes until the cab pulls up in front of the Nook & Cranny. The cabbie needs to wake her up, and she has to search for the money to pay him.. and hunt for her keys... than goodness they weren't lost in the warehouse. She finally gets up to her room, and crawls into her bed without changing. At the last minute, she sends Kara a quick text to let her know she got home safely, then passes out.

High overhead, Kara's in the air looking down at where Sawyer got out of the cab and went into her place. Just because she wanted to make extra sure that Sawyer got home okay. She takes out her phone and text back, 'nini' before she flies off.