Club Risqué, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Thursday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

That morning, under the guise of calling her family to wish them a Happy Lunar New Year, Kathy had asked her sister, Sarah, about all-ages clubs in LA. After Sarah had spent ten minutes explaining that no one over the age of fifteen went to an all-ages club gawd, sis, seriously? Kathy'd asked if she knew about any dance clubs that weren't too keen on looking at IDs. Sarah had been so excited at the idea of her nerdy big sister wanting to go clubbing that she hadn't even questioned why Kathy was looking into places on the other side of the country from where she went to school.

Fortunately for Kathy, Sarah knew just the place. Situated in Hollywood, just a few blocks away from Paramount Pictures, was Club Risqué. It was technically meant to be 21-and-over, but the bouncers were well-known for ignoring IDs in favor of Grants. Or, better yet, Benjamins. While the age limit wasn't enforced, the dress code definitely was: dress to impress only, losers need not apply. There were rumors of the owners being a little shady, but even if that were true, there were no ties with the South Seventeens.

That was good enough for Kathy. After getting back from Selkie Peak with Edward and taking a long shower (a warm one this time!), she made a few more calls to let everyone know that they were good to go tonight.

***

Coming to LA had been the perfect choice, Kathy decided. Rather than freezing on the walk from their portal to the club and the following wait in line, they got to enjoy temperatures in the mid-50s. Maybe it was appreciation for the lack of shivering, but one of the bouncers noticed them right off and gestured them forward. They even got a break on their entrance fee; for an extra $200 he waved them all inside without even mentioning the need for identification. Once the heavily soundproofed doors were open, they could hear the loud hip-hop/dance-pop playing over the club's speakers. Even without that, the heavy beat was palpable, the floor almost vibrating with it.

A huge bar took up one section of the club, and across from it was the DJ's island. Along the walls were plenty of tables and padded booths for people to sit in, if they wanted to--or more than sit, as they could see when the brightly-colored lights would flash over them, illuminating couples making out like LA had been filled with pollen, too. More bouncers held positions inside the club, scattered in little pockets of isolation, keeping careful watch over the club-goers, occasionally touching their ears to hear information relayed through their headsets. Several doors dotted the walls, leading to the coat-check, a back room area in the bar, bathrooms, and a VIP area, where small 'champagne rooms' could be rented for the hour, or enjoyed by high-profile guests and friends of the owners. The rest of the space was dominated by the dance floor, filled with writhing bodies, while bubbles and even foam occasionally rained down to roars of approval.

"This is it!" Kathy yelled, trying to be heard above the din. So long as they stood close and shouted, they could carry on a conversation. "We ready to dance?"

[For the LA clubbers, please, and NFB! Up early for timezones and great SP]

Comments

Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

...For after all hell breaks loose!

Oh, hey, you weren't using that cover, were you?

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

The girls had huddled around Sparkle and make excellent plans on how to get him (and themselves) to safety. Unfortunately, before they could implement any of them, they were rudely interrupted by a handful of men: the bartender, a few bouncers, and Sparkle's lackluster Romeo.

Anyone who could read lips would see the bartender mouth Cell jammers in place, presumably into a small microphone attached to his collar. The bouncers touched their ears and nodded, practically in unison, as he said so.

"Ladies," 'Iván' said, stepping forward and smiling at them. "I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding here. Why don't we all head into the back room with your friend here and get it sorted out, hmm?"

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[giveherahand]

Mara opened her big green eyes comically wide. "I don't think that's a good idea," she said, putting a little nudge of the Force behind her words.

He looked weak-minded.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

And suddenly, Minako was really really glad for the powers boost the sex pollen had been giving her all week.

"We don't want to take up any more of your time," Minako demurred, practically radiating sunshine and joy and happiness and love and all the feel-good smiles she could channel without actually transforming. "But thank you for such a lovely evening."

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[kenselvren]

Jalian just rolled her eyes, spun, and kicked out Iván's kneecap.

What?

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

Iván had been nodding at Mara and Minako, eyes growing heavy-lidded and confused as Venusian magic and the Force worked on their minds. "Sure," he'd started to say. "That sounds--"

"Waitaminnit," the bartender said, looking confused. "Paulie, what are you--"

And then Jalian's foot snapped forward and Iván/Paulie went down, clutching his kneecap and screaming.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[kenselvren]

Jalian followed him just far enough to grab the gun from his back. Then the one from his ankle when she saw him reaching there. She tossed the small one to the nearest girl and aimed the other at the bartender.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy caught the gun, shoving the safety on and removing the clip. "Anyone here no how to use this?" she hissed. If not, it was better to let them bluff with an empty gun than flail with a loaded one.

Which--oh right, the one in the chamber! Kathy slid open the top of the gun and let the bullet fall to the ground.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Well, so much for trying to get out cleanly. Minako moved; a smooth, swift motion that resulted in her popping up almost underneath the gaze of a startled bouncer.

"Sorry," she apologized, even as she threw a kick to his ribs that was gonna hurt like a bitch if it connected.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[justwantedfriends]

Kira was also apologetic as she snuck up behind one of the bouncers and swept his feet out from under him. At least these guys had it coming, sort of.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely they did. The first bouncer doubled over, incapable of breathing as Minako's foot slammed into his solar plexus. As the others gaped at him, the second toppled to the ground, completely unaware of what Kira was doing until his feet were already knocked askew.

"Who are you bitches?" a third asked, pulling out his gun. "Who sent you?"

Ladies, have at. That kind of language was not acceptable!

[Bouncers are limitless and eminently moddable! Have at!]

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[kenselvren]

No, it wasn't. Jalian pulled a knife and sent it through his gun hand.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

That was... a lot of people suddenly pulling guns. And while Minako knew that Kathy was fast, she wasn't bullet-proof, and the odds that Jalian could disarm them all before someone got hurt? Slowing falling, as more of them poured into the room, summoned by what they heard over their comms.

She had to keep them from overwhelming their two defenders with sheer numbers, and with that many guns, Judo wasn't going to work. Minako wasn't bullet-proof.

"Sent us?" she said, one hand slipping to the pen she had hidden in her hair. "We just came to dance." There, the weight was in her hand, and Minako could already feel herself starting to draw power as she drew herself up to her full height. "You crushed our hopes for an evening of romance!"

"Venus Power, Make-UP!"

The immediate flash of energy was so bright, it fried the sensors in the nearby security cameras to bits. They wouldn't record any images of a girl who was made out of pure light for the space of a heartbeat, or the one now standing in her place in an orange sailor fuku and red mask, chain on her hips and crescent moon on her forehead.

Well, that got their attention.

[OOC: Open for reactions, sure!]

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[giveherahand]

"I was here to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now," Mara muttered before kicking a guy in the head with her extremely pointy heels.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

Once the doors were forced open, most of the club-goers fled the scene. Most of them weren't entirely sure what was going on--gunshots? alarms? blood?--but they all knew that something was going down. The doors of Club Risqué were finally flung open and a torrent of drunken young adults surged out, flooding the street for a moment.

[For the intro of the LA native!]

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[gunslingerpose]

So, here Gorgon had just been on his normal patrols when, pretty much out of nowhere, one of the clubs he'd had an eye on for a while for some pretty sketchy shit seemed to kind of... fling open the doors in a tidal wave of people. Fuck, he nearly wound up dropping his bike.

Ah... So, that was where his next stop was going to be, then. Good to have fate figure that all out for him.

He parked the bike and made a leap for the door - a few hours of patrols and being cranked up to tier three meant he could clear the crowd pretty easily - just in time to hear more gunshots. Well, okay then.

"The hell is going on here?"

... He'd cut a pretty impressive figure standing there in the doorway with his duster and his body armor, if not for the fact that the girls kind of already had this handled.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

Now that the music had stopped, it was a lot easier to hear, even above the screaming and occasional gunshot. Standing on a table, surrounded by several bouncers, Kathy looked over to the door when she heard the familiar voice echo through the club.

"Gorgon?!"

One of the bouncers tried to grab at her, now the she was distracted. Kathy lashed out with a high kick, slamming her heel into his temple and sending him reeling into one of his fellows. She took that opening to dive off the table, which ended in a handspring back up to her feet.

"Nice of you to join the party!" she called over her shoulder, racing towards another knot of guys. "Careful, they've got guns!"

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[gunslingerpose]

"Yeah, I kind of heard the guns, thanks," Gorgon called back, making a run into the room to pick up and physically throw one of the bouncers - shrieking and flailing - at one of his pals. "What the fuck did you do to get them all riled up like this?"

Had to be you, Banzai. He didn't know anyone else in the room well enough to make that accusa- okay, no, over there in the orange miniskirt was another hero he recognized from the other side of the country.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he muttered, giving his goggles a quick flash as a few of the attackers turned to face him. He wasn't going to leave them open, not with innocent people trying to escape from harm's way, but it bought a brief moment's pause on this side of the room while anyone who met his eyes found themselves briefly trapped in place and a little more tired, and it gave him a nice kick of energy in order to--

Well, that one guy who was coming back to his senses and pointing a gun at him how had a thoroughly broken arm as Gorgon reached up to grab him by the wrist.

Energy vampirism. Better than steroids.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Wait, she knew that voice. "Gorgon?" Venus said, kicking one guy in the head as she whipped her chain around the throat of another to yank him to the ground. "I was wondering where you went! You still owe me a ride on your bike!"

WHAT? He'd promised! ...also the fighting was really getting her adrenaline going, and there was pollen in her system and he was wearing leather. SHUSH.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[gunslingerpose]

"The West coast needed me more," Gorgon explained, ducking down and lunging forward to throw a shoulder into the gut of a guy who had just pulled a knife. The blade came down at Gorgon's back, but honestly now, he was wearing body armor and he was up a few tiers. He might as well have been trying to stab a brick wall. "And the bike's outside. Maybe after we're done kicking ass here, I'll take you for that ride."

He was going to have to take turns to make sure everyone had a go, wasn't he?

It was a nice bike.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't ever think I got mine, either," Kathy said, blurring over to take down the guy with the knife. Sure, Gorgon wasn't feeling anything, but his duster was nice! "Possibly because I was an antelope at the time, mind you. Dodge left!"

And then her stiletto'd foot was slamming through the air at head-height immediately to his right.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[gunslingerpose]

"Yeah, I don't give bike rides to goats," Gorgon countered as he watched her foot brush past his head-- ouch. That asshole was not going to be using that face again, christ. "How'd you guys manage to stir up this hornet's nest, anyway? These guys were perfectly happy to go about their shady business without shooting off rounds of bullets into the crowd before, baby."

Not that he was planning on letting them go about their business for long. But there were probably better ways to bust 'em than during peak dancing hours on a Thursday night.

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

"One of them picked a really bad time to try to make out with a member of our group, and since he saw whatever their shadiness is, they decided we all had to come with them," Venus offered helpfully as she spun around, her chain snapping out to smash one guy's nose in. "We objected."

Understatement!

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[gunslingerpose]

"Good call," Gorgon decided, waiting until Venus had his back turned before flashing his goggles in her direction. Another guy who had been coming up to her with a knife stopped dead in his tracks.

Actually, most people who had been facing his way sort of did the same. But it would give her Venus a moment to take a few more down, since they were more than a little disoriented once Gorgon snapped his goggles shut again. "They don't strike me as the kind of guys who'll be gentlemen about that sort of thing."

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not really," Kathy agreed, punching a guy in the solar plexus. When he doubled over, she brought her knee up to introduce it to his nose. "So now we're explaining that no means no!" With a crunch, he went down and Kathy whirled over to fight someone new.

Thanks, Eliot, for the fighting pointers!

"Seriously, we were just going to go and try to get our friend out," she continued. "Then they pulled guns."