Unwanted Heroics - for Harley (from Nexus Crossings)

[termineur]

[From here]

The portal opens into what looks like a long-abandoned warehouse. There's an office on the second floor, with windows that would usually overlook the rest of the warehouse floor. Right now they're all covered with blinds. But there is the occasional shine of light thrown against them, so there's clearly something up there. Sylar walks up the creaky metal staircase and heads towards the door to the office. "Home sweet home, for the moment," he explains, with a gesture. "I know it's not much, but we've been on the move and trying to stay 'off the grid'."

The door itself opens a crack, then all the way, revealing a shorter man with dark hair and a handsome face. He frowns at Harley, concerned. "Sylar, what-"

"This is Harley," he says. "She's a friend. She's from that place I keep disappearing to."

The other man stares at the two of them- particularly Harley's glittery weapon- and then shakes his head. "We don't have time for this," he says, sounding frustrated. "I just got info from Ma. I have to go get Claire."

Sylar scrunches his nose in displeasure. "From Angela," he says flatly. "And you're going alone, Peter? No, don't think so. C'mon, Harley and I will back you up." He gestures towards Harley, as if trying to display a game show prize. Maybe Peter will listen and not just run off and do his own thing for once??

Comments

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley definitely is one that calls attention to herself. To her current outfit of the bright yellow jumpsuit and neon bra that shoes, and the pale chalky white skin decorated with colorful tattoos, and the equally pale white hair that has bright streaks of pink and blue in it. Then there is the fact that when she walked through the portal -- so did Bruce -- so there is a hyena at her side right now.

She swings her hammer up to her shoulders. The glitter covered revolver at her side in a weapons belt. The larger glitter-covered bazooka in an easy-to-access back strap.

"You know what would be better than going alone?" Her voice is bright and chipper. "Let me go in and call all the attention to myself, as I do, and then you go in alone. No one would be worried about you, when they are going to be busy with me."

[termineur]

Peter looks back and forth- between the extremely bright and colorful Harley and the muted dress of Sylar- and finds grins on both their faces. He is not sure what to do with this- he'd spent the past hour packing up his things and making sure his telekinesis (Sylar's TK really, but he'd been practicing with it) was up to this job. And now- this.

He hadn't even noticed the hyena until just now. He gapes at it for a few moments, until he realizes that's exactly the point she's making. With a frustrated grunt and a sigh Sylar is very used to hearing by now, Peter relents. "Okay, come up and- let's get on the same page. She's an Evo?"

"Not quite," Sylar replies. "I don't know if she'll 'count' for whatever blockers they have." He grabs Peter by the shoulder and turns him back around toward the office, giving him a meaningful 'trust me' look. Peter relents and heads up the stairs.

Behind the rusty-looking door is an actual 'inside' area, and a much larger office than first appeared. This is a space for maybe fifteen or twenty office workers, although most of the desks have been shoved to one side. Sylar walks past a makeshift bedding area- two futon mattresses set up in the near corner- and over to the one desk with an actual computer on it.

Peter, meanwhile, lingers behind. "I'm Peter Petrelli, by the way," he says to Harley, offering his hand to shake. "Sorry if Sylar dragged you into this. Did he tell you who we're trying to rescue?" He sounds concerned, despite Harley seeming very ready to go. He also keeps looking back to the Harley's pet because- well, it's a hyena.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Harley Quinn." She accepts the offered hand with a bright smile. "His ex-girlfriend, right? I told him that it might not be a great idea for him to show up all knight in shining armor deal, as it might end up being the worst thing for her right now. And offered my assistance and expertise."

Bruce meanwhile wanders up to the makeshift bedding area, and jumps up to make himself right at him on the futon mattresses. He glances around and gives a hyena chuckle to himself, content with the territory he has temporarily claimed.

"It might be the best thing for ya'all for me not to have a damn clue about how things work in your world. That way I can break all the rules, without even caring about what they are in the first place."

[termineur]

Peter's in the middle of shaking Harley's hand when she mentions Sylar's ex, and his wide eyes immediately look up in Sylar's direction. Sylar is equally wide-eyed and holds up his hands in a 'surrender' position, shaking his head a little. Peter still looks rather put-out as he finishes up the shake, turning to Harley while letting out a deep breath.

"Okay, first of all- not Sylar's ex. More like 'person he's terrorized over and over'." He looks at Sylar as he says this, rather accusingly.

"That's what I said," Sylar whines back at him. But he doesn't push it any more than that. Otherwise, it might turn into a fight with Peter, and Sylar would rather not show that side to Harley.

Peter continues. "Secondly, it's my niece, Claire. She heals everything, right? So they're going to be using real bullets, not the tranq crap they've pulled out in the protests. And they're not going to be shy in using it, either. So, just be ready for that. We've got an updated position- exact coordinates- and we can fly you in, but we'll have to leave...uh, your pet here. Will he be okay?"

"Don't need to fly," Sylar contributes, pulling out his PINpoint. "I'll explain later, but these things will let us teleport." Peter raises an eyebrow, but decides not to interject. Sylar continues. "Still, yeah. Don't want to deal with any pet deaths on this trip. Do we need to get something for your buddy to eat there?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"And I told him... that whatever he terrorized her over... would not be as bad as I went through with my ex. And talked him out of going to her rescue..." Harley points out.

When Peter talks about them using real bullets, Harley gives him a 'gosh really' look, followed by a shake of her head. "Don't talk to me, like I ain't got shot before."

She lifts the glitter bazooka off her back, and loads in a glitter bomb casing. She glances over to Bruce. "Brucey... you going to guard the base?" The hyena laughs. "Good boi. I will give you treats later."

"He will keep your place rat free while he is here." Harley grins at Sylar's offer.

[termineur]

"Nice," Sylar says, smiling in Bruce's direction. He really approves of Harley's strange choice of pet, as he seems pretty low maintenance (and affable) at the moment. "Oh, and- I decided I will come, just not as myself."

His skin ripples and the noise of cracking bones and creaking tendons starts up. By the time he's finished, he looks like a bland military guy, with a square chin and a buzzcut. His voice is different, too- he sounds like a heavy smoker. "We've seen some of the detail there before, thankfully. Oh- and that guy who can possess people? His name's Harry Esposito. Short, fat, bald. Probably not a lot of those on this ship, so watch out for him."

Peter still looks rather unhappy, so Sylar pats his shoulder. "You two work on freeing Claire, calling attention to yourself, all of that. I'll be causing problems on the other end of the ship, okay?" He's going to try to avoid her, which is all Peter wanted to know.

Sylar grabs his PINpoint and consults the computer, then sends coordinates to Harley's PINpoint. "You should have where we're going- as long as we leave in the next couple minutes it should take us to the flight deck. I sent you the coords for here, too. And if we really need to regroup, we can fall back to the Nexus."

They didn't have much else they knew for this trip, so it wasn't long until they were on their way via PINpoint. Peter looks a little wide-eyed as the portal appears, but- well, this is not the craziest thing he's seen in his life. He steps through the portal and onto the wet concrete of the flight deck.

Unfortunately, the portal has been seen. The couple of guys topside are confused at the moment, but will probably be pretty unfriendly soon. Sylar winks at Harley and says, "Good luck," before walking over to the men.

Peter grabs her shoulder and tries tugging her the opposite direction. "C'mon, let's try to get inside first. He's got this." He looks over to where Sylar is barking something at the other men. "Probably."

[sweetcandygirl]

There is little reaction from Harley to Sylar's transformation. It more speaks to the freaks and geeks on the Suicide Squad, and their abilities, that this does not phase her. She should introduce him to Clayface some day, she thinks to herself. The ability to transform their appearance is something they have in common.

"I doubt he would want to get in my head. But I will keep an eye out..." Harley grins.

She loads and readies her glizzer bazooka, as she heads through the PINpoint portal. She immediately takes a quick look around the flight deck to get her bearings.

She falls into place behind Peter when he grabs her shoulder, and nods to his suggestion. "Lead the way."

[myowndestiny]

Peter's fast and careful, running to the other edge of the deck as quickly as possible. On the way to a pillar that would've served as cover, he sees a door and hurries over. It's more of a hatch, really. Peter uses his right hand to gesture, and the door swings open as they run to it.

Unfortunately, that's when the gunfire starts up on the side of the deck Sylar's on. Peter avoids glancing that way. It's not really coming their direction. The gunfire cuts off just as quickly, too, so that's probably fine...he has to trust that Sylar knows what he's doing.

The hallway is empty when they get into it. It's a little wider than a normal boat's hallway, but not by much. Peter looks down both ends and then seems to choose, jerking a thumb in that direction. "I'm thinking they'd probably have Claire up towards the front of the place. You wanna take point? I've got telekinesis, I'll back you up." He feels bad asking, but he wants to make sure he gets to Claire, and Sylar made him realize he should be smarter about this.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley is pretty fast herself. He might note that she moves gracefully as she runs. Careful to duck and weave for cover when it is presented. Years of gymnastic training make her light on her toes.

When they get into the hallway, Harley tilts her head. And places a piece of gum in her mouth. She has fought in several hallway situations before.

This is where her glitter bazooka can come in handy, and she gets it ready.

"Neat." She smiles at the offer of Peter using his telekinesis. She heads up the hallway, her glitter cannon aimed and ready to fire.

[myowndestiny]

Peter can't help but smile back when Harley calls his telekinesis 'neat'. After all that's happened the past year, it's a nice surprise to reveal a special ability to someone and have them actually be positive about it.

It only lasts a moment, though, and then he's following her with focused eyes. As they turn down another hallway, he spots the dome of a surveillance camera. He reaches up and pulls down, as if tugging a fruit off a tree. The entire dome and its contents- crackling and broken electronics- come crashing to the ground. "Damn it, I probably missed one at the door in," he notes, in a mutter. But hey, this'll help for getting out.

Unsurprisingly, there's the sound of booted feet pounding on the floor in multiple directions within a few more seconds. The moment that two soldiers appear in the hallway across from them, they begin shooting. Peter holds up a hand palm-flat towards them, and the burst of bullets all stop and freeze in the air about ten feet from Harley.

"Petrelli!!" the soldier in front shouts back to his squad.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley has to resist the temptation to step forward and touch one of the frozen bullets, that have stopped in front of her.

She smiles at the two soldiers. "Candy-gram! Someone special was thinking of both of you."

And with that, she fires a glitter bomb that hits the soldier that yelled out. He is knocked back by the force of the impact. Plus, it explodes into a burst of glitter spray, that is going to make it very hard for the other solider beside him to see anything.

Harley is quick to reload, and shoots the second guy with a paint bomb. He too will get knocked back by the force of the impact. Anyone who has ever been hit by a small paintgun pellet knows how much those hurts. This is ten times as bad, and covers the man with sticky bright pink paint from his head to his toes.

[myowndestiny]

Peter finally drops the bullets as Harley starts shooting. He saw the data his mother had sent over to him- most of these guys worked with Building 26. They'd already spent plenty of time rounding all his friends up and putting them in comas...or worse. He knew what they had to be doing to Claire in here, and he was so done with it.

But- no, he'd lecture Sylar for going overboard, and Peter really needed to stay focused. So he doesn't end up sending the bullets back at them. Instead, he just chuckles when Harley's glitter bomb goes off, and gets ready to play makeshift shield some more. He's been practicing this ability, he's pretty damn good at it by now.

Glitter Bomb Man is currently flailing, but the Pink Paint Man got knocked back a bit further and also hit his head on the wall behind them. He's not immediately getting up.

Suffice it to say, Harley has made an impression. "Go! Go! Go!" comes a yell from behind them, and Peter sees them first this time. He shoves out a wave of telekinesis and knocks the group of four back into each other. They're so tightly grouped that they go down like dominoes.

There's an equal amount of yelling in front of them, but whoever's beyond the two guards in front had to deal with all the confusion of the glitter attack. It's hard to tell just how many, but it sounds chaotic.

"I don't think they liked the candygram," he notes dryly to Harley, gesturing to continue. He's still ready to head that direction, back up Harley, and try whatever doors seem promising. There's got to be a guard on Claire- she's enough of a troublemaker that it'd be necessary.

[sweetcandygirl]

"I could draw their attention... and get them chasing me, while you make more headway." Harley suggestion. She fires another glitter bomb into the hallway behind them, just to create more smoke cover than anything else.

[myowndestiny]

"Go for it," Peter replies, watching the glitter bomb hit. "Huh, that's just- satisfying," he adds, about the glitter. He sounds a little surprised about that.

That'll give them some time, and Peter heads towards the original Glitter Bomb Man. He pushes him back down to the ground with telekinesis, twitching his fingers to flip him over to his back. Nothing useful...

Further on is the Pink Paint Man. He's where the hallway splits into two directions, and Peter notes a keycard sticking out of his front pocket. But before they get to him, the soldiers seem to get their act together. There's five on the right, one on the left, and they're staggered to all be able to shoot. As soon as they stick their head into that corridor, it begins. They both take cover around the corner.

"You get them to follow you off to the left, I'll go right?" he asks. "That's clearly the way they don't want us going."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Gotcha. Let me give you a little cover so more of them follow me." Harley moves so she can shoot her glitter cannon down the hallway again (without even looking and risking getting shot at this time). And nods to him to head to the right, once their vision is blocked by the glitter smoke bomb.

Then she stands and makes an obvious 'you can't catch me, nah nah' face at the guards, and runs to the left. She drops a couple of smoke grenades behind her, as she runs, to create more confusion and chaos. It will be difficult for the guards to keep their eyes on both of them.

Harley hopes there is some cover in this section of the hallway. She will need to switch weapons soon.

[termineur]

Peter nods at her, his expression serious. "Thanks." He then jumps in the air- it seems like he's aiming to hit his head on the ceiling. In one smooth motion, his body evens out in a horizontal position, as if he's flying. But he does wait for Harley to provoke the guards. After most of them have passed, he shoots off, actually flying through the hallway to the right while buzzing over the heads of the couple of remaining guards. The hallway's tight enough that they have a hard time turning around- by the time they do, he's used telekinesis to shove them both to the ground. He hasn't forgotten that keycard, either- it zips to his hands as he passes.

And then he's gone, having found some other direction to pursue. He disappears into the smoke. This leave Harley with a reasonably large number of guards and an unfortunate lack of cover. These ship hallways are unfortunately bare- nothing is here that's not built into the wall. However, there are a couple of doors that are partially open that could maybe be used?

As Harley approaches one of them, a small hand reaches out to pull her into the room, which turns out to be fairly small. The hand that closes the door belongs to a petite teenage girl with long, blond hair. "Hey, love the uproar," she says, with a smirk on her face that doesn't really fit. "Those guys are falling apart. And there I go, heading in the wrong direction. Oh- I'm Sylar, by the way."

The men outside are gathering around the door, and it sounds like they're getting ready to try and breach it. The apparent girl next to Harley looks unconcerned.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Well I called us a nice big party of fan boys." Harley grins. And she nods in appreciation to Sylar's current disguise, when the girl make the notation of who she is.

"What is the plan?"

[termineur]

Sylar looks up at Harley as the pounding against the door begins. He smiles. "I'll open the door up in their faces and go running- this is what Claire looks like-" He does a little twirl in the jeans and sweater he has on. "-so they'll start shooting. Has Peter done that trick for you yet? I stop 'em and then you come in and charge. They don't got anything else. I checked."

The lazy jerks would've done well with tranq guns or tasers, but nope. Apparently, they thought everything could be solved with bullets. "I'll go running- you can let them by after you give 'me some trouble. I'd like to get a bunch towards the back of the boat, if possible." If he could bunch them up, he'd take out a bunch with his electrokinesis. If they're lucky, they'll survive- he's at the point where he doesn't care too much.

Of course, nothing can go completely to plan. He makes sure Harley's ready before he makes a small shoving motion with his hand. The door bursts open on the soldiers crowding around it, knocking at least a couple pretty hard. Sylar goes running and hears yells about "the Asset!" as he was expecting. He stops some fired bullets in the air as expected, and they drop to the ground before reaching their previous hidey-hole.

What he isn't expecting is a short, fat, bald man standing right in front of him. And then the man disappears. And then Sylar stops moving, standing stock still in the hall.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley follows behind Sylar with his plan, for a moment thinking everything is going great. They are following him, thinking he is 'The Asset' (she will have questions on that terminology later). And she is ready to charge them and try to drive them towards the back of the boat with the last of her glitter grenades.

Then she sees the short, fat, bald man standing in front of Peter.

Esposito. The one they warned her could possess other people.

Harley doesn't even want to think about how bad this can get twisted if he is able to possess Sylar. So she immediately brings out her large mallet, flips up the wall, and over the heads of the guards with some kickass gymnastic moves. And lands right in front of the short, fat, bald man before he can get too much distance.

"Candygram!" She aims a hard hitting mallet whoop at his head.

[termineur]

Esposito was in the middle of staring very hard at the wall. It's an odd action, but he had to concentrate in order to use his special ability. He'd been trying to get enough distance, but he really hadn't counted on Harley moving like she did.

He also hadn't been expecting the mallet. It lands solidly and his legs immediately give out from under him. He groans with what might've been annoyance- it's covered with too much pain to really tell.

Sylar had been busy trying to decide which way to play it, and he let out a relieved breath when he realized how badly that could've gone. "Thanks, Harl!" he said.

It might be overtaken by the sound of more bullets being fired at them, but he holds them at bay using his telekinesis once again. "Oh, give it up, already!" he finally yells at the guards. He closes his hand then opens it again, and the bullets in the air fling wildly back in the guards' direction. The yells of pain indicate at least one of them got hit, and Sylar frowns with a lot of teeth and a look of 'oops' on his face.

He looks up at Harley and bites his lip. "If Peter asks, they were already like that?"

[ooc: Sorry for the delay!]

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley leans down and grabs Esposito by the collar. She pulls an item that looks like a little stuffed toy out of her pocket and shakes it at him.

"This is a highly toxic poison. And unless you agree to work with us, I am going to stuff it down your mouth."

She smiles at Sylar. "I won't say a thing about what you did... if you agree to do the same with what I just did." She winks.

[No worries]

[termineur]

Sylar winks back with a grin. They've got an agreement.

Esposito, meanwhile, is pulling himself back from near unconsciousness. The mallet hit was a doozy, and he gives Harley an ugly frown as he looks at the stuffed toy in disbelief.

But it's not something he really wants to push. He doesn't have loyalty to this organization beyond what they're paying him, and he can't spend it if he's dead.

His eyes dart to who he thinks is Claire, and then to the guards that aren't coming down the hall to save him for some reason, and then he looks back up at Harley. "Can I just stay out of your way?" he asks, keeping his voice down. His hands weakly come up into a 'surrender' position. "You seem to have this settled already. I'll just pretend to be knocked out, all right?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"You got a great gift. Betcha it is all based in your noogin'..." She reached out and taps Esposito on his head. "I would hate to see it get affected by this Joker Toxin."

"It makes one go mad. Laughing mad." Harley leans in and grins with Cheshire Cat manner.

"So you would have to pretend really good. Cause I would hate to have to use this."

[termineur]

Esposito is not entirely cowed, regardless of his cowardly display. However, the fact that this poison is actually labelled as a toxin? Well, it's a word that sticks in his mind. He looks frustrated, but sighs and nods- and then falls back to the floor, letting his body go limp as he closes his eyes.

Sylar seems all right with this, but does make a flicking motion towards him, which results in telekinesis thumping Esposito's head harshly against the floor. "I'll head out while he's dazed. It's about time for the party, after all. Huh, fellas?" he says loudly to the guards down the hall.

Said guards have done their best to regroup. He runs at them, but then disappears into a doorway, bullets hitting the hatch-like door in his wake.

Most of the guards disappear after Sylar, but one very large man passes the door on his way to Harley. His eyes are sharp and determined as he glares at her. "On the ground, now!" he shouts, gesturing with his assault rifle. If this woman took out their Evo (and plenty of their men), he's going to take her seriously. "You are in violation of Accordance Nine-Fifteen B of the UN Evolved Humans Pact, and as such I am authorized to shoot you. And you won't come back like Miss Petrelli. So I suggest you comply."

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley watches with approval as Sylar thumped Esposito to a dazed state. It will help their situation. She watches him run at them, and disappear into a doorway.

Leaving her alone with a very determined guard.

"Oh oh!" Harley raises her hands, the stuffed toy still in her hand. She steps forward, and drops to her knees for a second.

"That sounds serious..." She snaps her fingers. And grins. "But just like my ex would like to say... you too serious... you should laugh more."

She pulls a pin on the stuffed toy and throws it at the man. A greenish-purple mist starts coming out of it as it lands at his feet. Harley is pretty sure that these guards have never had to deal with something like the neurological effects of the Joker Toxin. It will start with a giggle. Then he will start laughing and laughing. And he will find everything so funny... he will kill himself with a smile on his face.

[termineur]

Any plans that the short, fat, bald man on the floor might've had disappeared when he started hearing O'Dell start giggling. Esposito had been gathering his courage, figuring he could jump into someone's body once he wasn't the center of attention. He could fix the situation pretty quickly from there.

But one of the most hardened ex-military men on the ship was now laughing- not just laughing, he was howling like a maniac. Esposito watches as the guard seizes, falling to the ground not too far from where the fat man was playing dead. In horror, Esposito scrambles backwards a few feet on his hands and knees.

His watery, terrified eyes meet Harley's, and it's safe to say he's now taking her fully seriously. This is not the sort of shit he signed up for on this job. He drops back to the floor and pretends to be knocked out like his life depends on it.

There's a loud shriek down the hallway, a woman's voice yelling at the top of her lungs. "Leave him alone, you bastards! Just leave us alone!!" It's opposite the direction Sylar went, so it's probably not him.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley only uses the Joker Toxin when absolutely necessary. And when her life is on the line, she considers it necessary. She gives a side-glance to how Esposito scrambled backwards, and drops back to the floor.

"Good boy. Stay." She grins at him.

Harley reaches for her mallet again, steps pass the laughing guard, and sprints down the hallway towards where she hears the woman screaming.

Sounds like trouble. And hopefully she can solve the issue.

[termineur]

The noise is down a couple corridors and must be against the side of the boat- there's actually the occasional porthole to show the waters outside. There's the sound of bullets pinging against the walls and of meaty 'thwacks' as Harley approaches.

The blonde woman almost knocks directly into Harley as she runs around a corner. She looks pretty much exactly like Sylar had, except she's wearing a full pajama set- or it used to be full long-sleeved pajamas. Now they were tattered and bloody, although the woman didn't seem any worse for wear. Regardless, this is clearly Claire Petrelli. She has a determined snarl on her face as she assesses the situation.

Claire takes one look at Harley and decides not to waste this chance. Steading herself by holding onto Harley's shoulder, she says, "You came here with Peter, right? He needs our help. We've got to go back."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Back through the stupid goons firing at you? Okay?" Harley grins. She gently places Claire up against the wall, where she can take a moment to heal. If anyone knows the pain of being shot, and then healing, and then being shot again, it is Harley Quinn.

"Take a breather, Claire. I gotcha."

"Oh!" Harley glances back for a second, "Harley Quinn, by the way."

And she heads down the hall where she fully expects more guards with guns. She is going to head right towards them, ignoring any shots that hit her, and start aiming her mallet at the heads of guards. She has done this plenty of times before, tapped into the adrenaline of the fight, and letting herself get shot at. Her enhanced healing is pretty good. And if Claire can get this far.... Harley can help clear the way.

"Hey! Stupid heads. You all are charged with breaking the Stupidity Law 567.890. And for that... Mr Mallet would like a word with you..." She screams, as she charges towards her first target.

[termineur]

Claire is clearly ready to argue, used to being told she's stupid for wanting to jump into (or back into) danger. But Harley tells her to take a breather, and that gets through her beginning of an argument. She steps lightly on the leg that's currently less shot and leans against the wall.

She doesn't really understand until Harley heads down the hall to deal with the problem, and then she lets out a disbelieving laugh and says, "Well, okay. Thanks, Harley." Of course, Harley is busy quoting Stupidity Laws at the soldiers right now, but that's more than okay.

Harley will find she's being shot at, which is probably not the most surprising thing ever. The soldiers, meanwhile, are really not expecting someone other than Claire. The first couple soldiers get thoroughly bludgeoned with Mr. Mallet. Peter is not too hard to find. He's behind a couple of others, crumpled on the floor and clearly unconscious. They've left him on the floor while they focus on Harley.

[sweetcandygirl]

The guards might not expect that ... much like Claire herself... Harley has enhanced abilities. So when she is shot -- she just ignores the pain for the moment. She channels the pain into adrenaline and uses it as rage to attack the guards who are trying to hurt her. She is a woman unchained right now. Fury herself, as bullets do draw blood, but do not seem to stall or deter Harley from her goal.

She won't rest until she can free Peter from the guards surrounding him.

And for that ... the guards might be out of their element right now.

This is madness at its purest.

[termineur]

The guards definitely don't expect Harley to be shrugging off bullet wounds. This team doesn't immediately let up. They've gotten reports of 'an army or something' of Evos blowing through the carrier, so they're ready for a fight. They just figured it was going to be more than this one woman.

Joke's on them, though- they can't handle this at all. And the remaining guards start to panic as she knocks her way through them. Someone's bones crack as he's thrown against the wall, another crumples into his own little pile on the floor, not all that far from Peter.

It might be a little surprising to Harley, but Claire is right behind her by the time she makes it to Peter. She'd spent the whole fight cursing that her regen was taking as long as it was to expel all those bullets. As soon as her legs would both support her, Claire run after Harley. "Is he-? Peter!" She falls to her knees in front of him, and he still isn't moving. Face down on the floor, a small pool of blood leaks out from his torso- it seems that he managed to get shot, as well. Claire is frantic, grabbing and squeezing his hand. "Peter, goddamn it. Take my power, take it. I'm not- I can't leave without you, you asshole. I won't."

After a long delay, he finally coughs out a breath. Claire squeezes her eyes shut, forcing herself not to cry in relief. She'd thought she'd gotten him killed.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley is still riding that adrenaline high for a moment, and just stands there, ready for any other guards who might come their way -- leaving that moment for Claire and Peter. It will take her a moment to collect her mind -- and tap into her doctor skills to help with the injured Peter.

She leans down, blows a strand of hair out of her face, as she checks over Peter for any other injuries she can help with.

He might be a bigger man himself. But Harley has enhanced strength -- and it might seem out of place for a small framed woman like herself to just kneel down, and pick him up in her arms. But she does it.

"Okay Claire. Keep focused here. We ain't out of trouble yet."

"We have to get out of here."

[termineur]

Claire continues to hold onto Peter's hand for a few seconds as Harley checks him over. There's nothing else obviously wrong with him- in fact, a bullet slides out of the hole in his chest and clinks on the floor as Harley goes to pick him up.

Claire nods at Harley's declaration, refocusing. There's something in her that's trying to be serious, as they need to be, but a smile keeps peeking through. This is the most hope she's had in a long time.

"Right. Right, so- did you both come here in a boat or something? Or do we need to steal our escape plan? I'm pretty sure they've got lifeboats in the back, and sometimes there's helicopters..." She wishes she could give Harley more information, but the guard that chatted with her was always too careful to mention arrivals and departures.

[sweetcandygirl]

"We actually came through a inter-dimensional portal." Harley grins. She carefully nods to her back pocket, where a large glittery phone-shaped object rests.

"We can activate a portal to get back to Peter's base."

Harley knows that Sylar is still somewhere out on the ship. And knows that from what they discussed, he really didn't want Claire to know he was here.

"If you can manage to get Peter through, I can open it for you. Brucie... my hyena... will keep you company. I just have one loose end to tie."

[termineur]

There is so much about all that which Claire doesn't understand. She gets the feeling she can't hope to understand. Portals? Hyena? And what loose ends? But when it comes down to it, Claire is absolutely desperate to get off this ship. And equally as desperate to get Peter off the ship. So after a little bit of gaping and staring, she vehemently nods.

"Yeah- yeah, I can totally do that. Go ahead and...portal, or whatever. And thank you," she adds, because she doesn't want to leave Harley without at least getting that across.

Claire reaches out to grab Peter from Harley, and has to balance him over her shoulder carefully. But she manages without too much trouble. She has (unfortunately) had a lot of experience escaping things with other people, who may or may not be injured. She's used to making things work.

She also doesn't waste time when Harley does open the portal. She's through it like a shot, betraying her enthusiasm to get out of there.

Shortly after Claire and Peter are safely away, there's a thunderous boom coming from behind and above Harley. The aircraft carrier shakes and- is it tilting a bit?

[sweetcandygirl]

Claire and Peter will be welcomed by Bruce, who has been guarding the hangout diligently.

Harley looks up to the boom and steadies herself by placing a hand against the wall. "Well well well... what did Sylar get himself into?"

"No fair destroying the place without me!" She calls out, and runs down the hallway, trying to find her ally.

[termineur]

Sylar is where he'd mentioned he'd be- that is to say, he's all the way on the other side of the small-town-sized craft, way in the back. His second attempt to get as far away from Claire as possible appears to have been successful.

Maybe Harley will appreciate the fact that the hallways are far more clear than they had been before. She'll come across the odd person every once in awhile, but it's mostly techies running from place to place. These people are not interested in taking on Harley. She can take them on unawares or leave them to whatever they're attempting to do.

As Harley approaches the back of the aircraft carrier, she'll hear an alarm that blares at even intervals, getting louder as she approaches. After turning one corner, she'll find Sylar, now back in his own body. He's staring at a door as he eats from a chocolate pudding cup. The door has a few signs, including "RESTRICTED", "CAUTION: RADIATION AREA," "DLR and SRD (ED) Required for Entry," and "No eating, drinking, or chewing." A few bodies litter the area- it's unclear whether they're dead or unconscious.

He sees Harley as he finishes his pudding cup and tosses it on the ground (away from her, at least?). "Oh, hey," he says with a small smile, speaking in between the blaring alarm. "I might've overdone the distraction. How're we doing?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"No pudding cup for me?" Harley kneels down beside him.

"Claire and Peter are safe. I used my PINpoint to put them back in Peter's safehouse."

Harley places a piece of bubblegum in her mouth. "So we can leave anytime?"

[termineur]

Sylar considers, then crooks a finger down the hallway. A pudding cup floats through a door and over to him, and then a spoon follows it. They stop in front of Harley before he thinks anything else about it. "Oh, you might not want to, though- this stuff's probably radioactive by now." Tasty, though.

There's something in his face that relaxes when Harley tells him that Claire and Peter are back in the safehouse. He tries to keep it to that, but he can't help the grateful smile that then spreads across his face. "Okay, so we should probably get out, then. Let's head back to the Nexus? I can pay you and then you can go get Bruce. I guarantee you that Claire will be pampering him until you're reunited."

Of course, Claire shouldn't see Sylar, but he's also not sure if Peter's going to be mad at him for the accidental meltdown. He doesn't even want to sneak back over there until things have died down a little. So he pulls out his PINpoint, already planning on heading Nexus-bound. He opens up the portal and gestures with a bow towards it. Ladies first, apparently.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Radioactive pudding. Neat-o!" Harley does not seem to be concerned to the threat. And digs into the pudding cup as she stays by Sylar.

"As long as you say so, I trust Bruce to be in good hands. Maybe she will put bows in his fur... he likes that."

"I didn't let on that you were part of the rescue team. So unless Peter says anything..." Harley shrugs. That is out of her hands.

She offers her arm to him, so they can go through the portal together.

[termineur]

Sylar laughs happily as Harley digs into the pudding cup. Okay, then. Guess he's not the only one that doesn't have to worry about radiation.

He snorts when hearing about Peter maybe saying something, because...yeah, Peter's like that sometimes. But they all did their best in keeping Claire from having to be extra traumatized. It feels satisfying in a way that Sylar can't really describe.

He takes her arm and heads through the portal. Once they're out of the imminently melting ship and back to the slightly safer chaos of the Nexus, Sylar tugs her into a bit of a twirl. He's feeling both pleased and dramatic right now. "Okay, that? Was perfect," he says, his smile not looking like it'll leave anytime soon. "And you were amazing, Harley. So if you ever need any help, call me up. Anytime. Now-"

He holds up a finger, then picks a small daisy growing out the ground. As he holds it, the stem is covered with a golden sheen, one that climbs up and covers every petal. After only a few seconds, he's now holding a solid gold daisy, which he holds out to Harley. "The only thing left is payment. What would you like made out of solid gold? Any special requests?"

It is cheating, a bit, paying with something that he can make effectively an infinite amount of. But she'll still be able to use it, and it's fun, isn't it?

[sweetcandygirl]

"Tsk tsk tsk... I have a friend who would be very sad to see you turning flowers into pure gold. She likes to think they are perfect the way they are..." Harley grins at Sylar. She is sure he would love to meet Pamela some day. Most men do.

She does take the golden daisy, and tucks it into one of her braids.

"Sy... Sy... Sweet Sy... if I wanted gold, I would just go steal it."

"I am just glad that we are friends now."

[termineur]

Sylar gives Harley a shrug (combined with his most innocent-looking face) when she takes him to task for the gold flower. Or apparently, one of her friends would take him to task for it. He'll have to remember that.

But hey, at least Harley doesn't seem to mind! He's glad she does take it, at least. And...friends? He seems as excited as an awkward teenager to hear that, standing just a little bit taller.

"Me, too," he replies, grinning ear-to-ear. "And- seriously. You ever feel a whim for a gold plunger or something, just let me know." He winks. "Okay, I"ll let you get back to your Very Important Hyena, then. Tell him he's adorable for me?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Maybe I will get you to immortalize my mallet, when I am ready to stop wielding it." Harley promises. She leans in, on tip-toes, to press a chaste kiss to his forehead. (More to see if she can make him blush like an awkward teenager at the same time).

"He knows he is adorable. That is why I hang out with him."

"It is one of the top qualifiers for friends." She winks.

[termineur]

Sylar can be ridiculously comfortable in the most inappropriate situations, but when it comes to something sweet and (dare we even say, considering these two?) innocent like this? He has no idea how to handle it. He manages to not blush, at least, even if just barely.

However, he is smiling a small, private, proud smile. It's the same smile that he used to get when he was finishing a particularly tough timepiece, and it doesn't exactly come out a lot anymore. Combined with the way his shoulders hunch a little, he seems almost like a different person for a moment.

He clears his throat before chuckling. "Is it, now? Well. Guess I'll make sure to hang onto this face for awhile, then."

[sweetcandygirl]

[Good place to end]

[termineur]

[ Yep! Thanks so much for the scene. I had so much fun with it! ]