Open RP Post

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Want a scene? Go ahead and drop a prompt, starter, text, anything.

Also for probably inevitable TFLN overflow.

Comments

[valr]

[aarpdiscount]

It hadn't been an easy fight. In the air, the Blackhawks had been outnumbered 4-to-1, while below them, on the ground, another battle raged on.
The flying squadron managed prevent any of the enemy planes from opening fire or dropping explosives on the Allied forces- and they did it without any casualties of their own.

It was a victory for the Allied troops, but not an easy one.

Lady Blackhawk had been forced to land, rather than turn and head back to their home base, her plane having sustained too much damage to make the flight.

There were the usual shouts of surprise when she climbed out of the cockpit, revealing herself to be a woman. Some, though, were shouts of recognition- Zinda Blake had appeared in a handful of recruitment posters, and even showed up at the occasional USO event.

After a dogfight like that, her adrenaline is pumping, but she knows people have died, so she keeps her usual boisterous demeanor dialed back.

"Looks like I'll be with y'all for a while, gentlemen," she said in greeting. She hasn't spotted any other women- yet.

[valr]

Sometimes, people are willing to turn a blind eye when it's to their benefit. Kara didn't sign up for the war, nor was she conscripted, she simply turned up in the trenches one day wearing an American soldier's uniform and making no secret of the fact she was a woman. At first, she'd gotten a few questioning looks, until a troop of German soldiers spilled into the trench and Kara killed half of them without firing her gun.

She never stays in on place long, drifting across the battlefield like the ravens searching for carrion, but she only feasts on German death.

Today, there's a squadron overhead, Blackhawks, as the troops on the ground fight and bleed until the battleground goes still.

Kara knows, vaguely, of Zinda Blake, the only woman to join the ranks of Blackhawks, but her main focus has been the war on the ground. Valkyries might provide air support in normal situations, but she can't stand up to anti-aircraft fire.

When the plane lands and Zinda steps out, Kara can't help but smile a little.

"You're better off staying in your plane, these guys ain't seen a woman for months," Kara doesn't count, not when she's as dirty and bloody as the men, not when she's been sleeping beside them in trenches for weeks.

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Zinda just plain grins when she's greeted by a female voice. It's not so rare, usually- she's known many a WASP, or a WREN and met her share of ladies in combat on the Russian front. But it's been a while, her squadmates have practically been her only company for the last couple months while flying missions deep into enemy territory, or providing aerial support in battles like this.

"Sister, believe me when I say I've dealt with my share of love starved soldiers and sailors. A pistol butt to their faces is usually enough to remind 'em how to treat a lady." She grins as she says that.

Her drawl is Dustbowl-Southern- Oklahoma, most likely, and she's got her share of dried blood and engine grease marring her clothes and skin. Despite her recruitment posters making her out to be some pinup, this is no dainty Southern Belle, but someone who grew up hard, and is used to being dirty.

@deadthenred

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Just tell me where I need to be. You want air evac or ground?

[deadthenred]

Ground.
This one I gotta keep discreet.

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You're in luck, my current skipper specializes in discreet.

[ Zinda didn't really need that much of an adjustment period when she got to the future- she jokes that she'd been ahead of her time for so long, the time travel just made sense. The way she deftly maneuvers her car through Gotham traffic, balancing the tight time with the potential need for random turns to shake potential tails comes as natural to her as any dogfight on the war front ever did.

When he comes out of the building, she's waiting with the passenger door open and the sounds of peppy jazz music echo faintly into the street from inside. She's also got one of her .45s in hand, ready to be a little more than a getaway driver if need be.

She's in uniform, but there's a 50/50 chance she'd started the night that way before clocking off and back on for this. ]

[deadthenred]

[ Bucky is also in uniform, but he takes off his mask as he walks out of the building. The shadows provide enough cover, this time of night, and all the security cameras in this part of town are just for show.

He's carrying a suitcase in his left hand, one of the hard-shelled, metal affairs. He takes it through the open passenger door. ]

Right on time. [ And there's a smile in his voice, even if it doesn't reach his face. He didn't expect anything less. ] The cops'll be here in five minutes.

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We'll be a rumor by then. [Being a passenger of one Zinda Blake during a pressing situation is always an Experience, even if the road limits the directions she can hurl unsecured passengers about. She taps something on her dashboard, pausing the music and turning the touchscreen display green and black as the pixels rearrange themselves into Oracle's mask-themed avatar.]

Hey, Skipper, reckon you can help me out with the traffic lights, let me know if anyone's comin' up on my six I ain't seein'.

[The tinny, disguised voice of the information broker responds after a moment]

You know Zinda, when you said "picking up an old war buddy," I probably should have expected something like this. Give me a second.

Okay, take the next exit on your left and try to stay at least somewhere close to the speed limit. No one's spotted your car, so try to keep your profile low.

[The way the last bit of that advice is emphasized, even through the electronic filter, says that this is a conversation she's had with her employer before.]

sorry, i apparently forgot to hit post

[deadthenred]

[ Bucky always liked flash a little too much for a trained sneak. When he wasn't himself, that impulse was bled out of him, and he learned how to follow orders to the period at the end of them. Now that he's himself, again, well.

He keeps his hand on his mysterious box, and stretches to see out the rear view mirror. ]

There won't be anyone comin' out of there, but they might have backup somewhere nearby.

[ Maybe the info broker has a bead on that. ]

I have done that more times than I would like to admit

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[Even with the reassurance, she takes a lot of nonsensical, repeating turns to watch for any tails. She grins when he mentions the possibility of running into backup.

Every single one of the Blackhawks had been adrenaline junkies, and Zinda wasn't any different. She'd just been the adrenaline junkie with something to prove. She's more or less exactly the same person she'd been then- with slightly less to prove now. Maybe it's that, or the new team and leadership that have her seeming a touch less reckless.]

It really is nice gettin' to catch up with old friends. [Given the chipper tone in her voice, she really does mean that- and that she'd probably pick this over a movie night any day of the week.] Skipper, can you gimme a clear route back to that safehouse I just left? It's a good as a nest as any to lead any stragglers back to if we gotta.

[Blackhawk or Bird of Prey, she will never give up the avian metaphors.

The screen goes from the Oracle avatar to a street view map with the requested route, a few hacked traffic and security camera feeds and some red dots on the map to indicate the cars and people Zinda's boss has helpfully labeled as "suspicious."]

I don't got any idea how any of this works, [Zinda admits in a low tone, as if the comm link isn't picking her words up anyway] but damn if I still don't love it. [She affectionately pats her dashboard the way she used to do with the instrument panel in her plane's cockpit. It's the kind of touch normally reserved for dogs or horses.]

[deadthenred]

Everything's got a touch screen these days. [ He's mostly gotten used to them, same as the rest of it, but sometimes he'll see something out of the corner of his eye— the curve of a windshield or a phone without wires— and he'll wonder how he ever gets through a day without staring. Time is a funny thing; even though it's always there, you can't always see it. ]

They're hard to work with a fake hand, if you were wondering.

[ There are three of those red dots clumped together up ahead. Are they stopped at a traffic light, or lying in wait? ]

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Bet it's great for openin' bottles though.

[She'd turn to smile at him if she were willing to take her eyes off the road right now.]

Skipper, I'm goin' dark for a second. Remember what we agreed to when I signed on.

[She pushes a button. All the screens darken, and her voice does a touch too.]

I'm willin' to play outside Oracle's rulebook, but give me the heads up now if that's how things are goin'. The inside of this car's completely secure an' free of anyone's ears but mine until I hit that button again. Unless I shouldn't hit it again.