Under The Sea (Speedy)

[kori]

Players: Speedy, Starfire
Location(s): Downtown Star City
Plot Summary: While in Star City on business, Starfire helps Speedy fight off a sea creature attacking the city.
--

She had always liked California. The weather was appealing, the people delightfully unique, and the culture was unlike that of anywhere else in the United States. Besides, the sunshine was so prevalent that she always felt more energized and alive than in areas where clouds reigned supreme. Most of her time in the state had been spent in San Francisco, where the Teen Titans' relocated headquarters still remained. Even today she wasn't far from there; Star City was just across the bay from her old home. Kori couldn't say that she preferred it to San Francisco, but it was still a lovely place. It was a thriving city, despite the damage done to it not long ago, and it was here that she had been summoned for a photoshoot. The photographer was one she had never worked with before; not her favorite by any means, but not terrible. The beautiful weather here made the flight worth it anyway.

Not that it was a very long flight, at any rate.

Once the shoot had concluded, Kori had taken it upon herself to do a little bit of sight-seeing. While not as popular with the tourists as places like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Star City had its own appeal that drew in travelers from across the globe. Almost every corner sported a shop with Green Arrow-themed merchandise for sale. She would have thought that such hero-worship would have faded after the archer's recent fall from grace, but apparently Star City remained loyal to its original protector (or at least fascinated by him, perhaps even more so now). Kori stopped to peer in the window of one such store, and her reflection stared back. Her green eyes remained masked behind a pair of oversized sunglasses, while her long red hair had been pulled back into an elaborate braided style and her slender figure modeled a short, pale blue dress. She glanced over a display of "I Heart GA" mugs and smiled, then shook her head. So much adoration for one man. And they said there was no royalty in the United States.

She drew back from the window display and kept on down the sidewalk. The sun would be setting within a few hours, at which point she knew she ought to fly back to New York. Until then, she would enjoy the familiar sight of the Pacific Ocean... or fight off what appeared to be a massive, fish-like creature emerging from the sea. Kori paused and lifted a brow as she peered over a decorative fence separating the beach from the shopping centers. Never, not once, could it be quiet and peaceful anywhere she went. Kori had to silently admit, however, that she was far from irritated with the sudden presence of the beast now letting out a distinctly un-fish-like roar at nearby beach-goers. No, she decided as she rose into the air and a challenging smirk touched her lips, irritated was the last thing she felt at that moment.

[Speedy]

Mia sighed as she pushed a few loose strands of her blonde hair back from her face. To say that she had a long day was being nice. Try insanely long day. She had gone on patrol the night beforehand, which turned into that morning. There had been a bunch of idiots she had to take down, all by herself. She was getting very used to working solo. She was not viewed as Green Arrow’s sidekick anymore. While the blonde took pride in this, she also felt a pang of guilt and pain in her chest.

As the female archer of Star city walked down the street, she sighed. She had a backpack on with her books for her classes. Trig was kicking her butt, again. She really hated that class so much. Mia watched the people of Star City around her. She had taken a break and gone more towards the beach and shopping district. It mainly catered to tourists, but if you knew where to look, you could find some great deals. Mia had left her costume and bow and quiver in her bike. She was on a break for the next hour. Hopefully, nothing would happen that would require Speedy to show up.

Mia sighed as she looked over the fence at the beach. She recalled the first time when Dinah had taken the arrows Mia had been putting together away from her. Then, her wonderful mother threw a bikini at her and told her to suit up. The family had then all gone to the beach. The memory of that day brought a smile to Mia’s face.

A loud roar snapped her out of her wonderful daydream and walk down memory lane. The blue eyed girl shook her head and the source of the roar was painfully obvious. There, in the ocean coming closer to the beach of her beloved city, was a giant fish like creature. That was ust great. Of course there would be a monster or something headed towards Star City. She ran to her motorcycle and opened the storage compartment under her seat.

There it was, her black and yellow Kevlar costume. Body armor on the inside and everything. Her bow and a full quiver sat ready to go as well as a mask and a small bottle of spirit gum. Mia looked around and quickly exchanged the items in her backpack for the costume and weapons. After ducking into a restroom and changing into her uniform, Speedy emerged and placed the backpack in its proper place beneath the seat of her bike. After moving her motorcycle to some where a bit more private, Mia was ready to go.

The blond haired, blue eyed archer ran to the beach and realized that she could not fly. Her suit was kind of waterproof but not entirely. How was she supposed to fight a giant tuna on steroids? Mia then spied a place that rented out jet skis. She ran up to the counter and pulled out a couple 20 dollar bills from a compartment on her belt. ”Hey, I kind of need a jet ski. Point to the one with the most gas in it and get me an extra tank of gas just in case. Time is kind of the essence here too, sorry to rush you.”[/b]

Mia felt really bad as the really cute guy at the counter pointed to a green and black jet ski. He handed her the keys and a full thing of gas. Awww, she felt bad, he was cute. ”Thanks a lot, hot stuff. You should probably take pictures of this for advertisements. Bet your boss would maybe give you a raise. Thanks!”[/b] Mia grabbed the keys and thing of gas and placed the gas in a safe spot designated for it on the jet ski. She had her arrows and bow ready to whip into action as she sped off on the thing towards the ugly looking overgrown goldfish.

Mia had to admit, this was kind of fun. She should totally tell Ollie that they should.. Oh yeah, that’s right. Ollie was gone. She kept forgetting that. Good mood ruined. Mia stopped her vehicle about 45 yards away from the giant monster in the ocean and notched an arrow. She pulled back the string of her bow as she took aim. The darn thing kept moving and she had no idea where a weak point on it would be. ”I hope you are part shark, cause I totally am all for shark week. Not that I think fighting overgrown goldfish should be on there.”[/b] Mia let her arrow fly and it hit what looked the be the thing’s gill’s on the left side. Yes, some force of nature loved her because the arrow seemed to be staying in the flesh of the darn thing!

A loud roar filled the air once again as the giant fish turned towards the archer on a jet ski. That wasn’t good. It wasn’t swimming as fast but it was totally heading for her. ”Sorry fishy, but you are neither a friend and you don’t seem to tasty looking to me!”[/b] Mia yelled as she drove the jet ski away from the fish out into more towards open water. Another arrow went flying towards the fish and hit what looked to be a large dorsal fin. Mia’s plan was to lead the thing back out to open water where it couldn’t harm anyone. Hopefully, it would get tired and leave before she would run out of gas or drown.

As the monster fish turned around, it created a large wave and headed towards the young archer again. Mia gulped and shot at it, trying to get right between the eyes but the darn thing liked to keep its head underwater. As she drove farther and farther into open water she gulped. ”Where’s the coast guard when you need them? I would take the NAVY too,”[/b] Of course, as she said this she heard the sound of a helicopter. She looked up in hopes it was some branch of the military. No, it was a new helicopter. Fantastic. The news was most likely airing live or at least recording this. A giant fish was mad as hell and headed right towards her. Mia hoped some form of backup would come along. She really did not want to be fish food.

[kori]

She may not have been dressed for combat, but there was never a moment in time when Kori was unprepared for battle. The redhead soared toward the beast, the smirk on her face making it clear that the challenge was well-greeted. She had been under the impression that this was more of Aquaman's territory, but in his absence, she would be happy to step in. She would have expected to see one of the city's archers as well, although she had to admit that she wasn't sure how they would manage to take down such a creature.

Just as the thought had entered her mind, Kori spotted a jet ski in the water below. Unless swimsuits had been exchanged in favor for hoods and masks, one of said archers had taken to the water. It shouldn't have been any sort of surprise. Kori had learned over the years that humans without abnormal abilities were typically very creative, especially when it came to taking down a foe. If there was a way to get the job done, they would find it. If not, they would die trying. The girl on the jet ski seemed to be luring the creature back out into the ocean, and Kori flew after them. The girl may have kept the beast from attacking anyone on the shore, but she had made herself bait in the process. As she said - if there was no other way, they would die trying. Still, Kori imagined that the blonde would prefer to avoid that particular outcome if possible. Most would

The girl's words met Kori's ears as she reached her and the fish creature, and she formed two starbolts in her hands. The military she was not, though she was capable of providing plenty of firepower regardless. "Perhaps I will suffice," she said, unleashing the energy blasts at the fish and striking it in the side of its massive head. Now if only that obnoxious helicopter would leave. Kori had only admiration for those who placed themselves in harm's way in order to protect others, and only disdain for those who did the same for the sake of entertainment. A life was a precious thing and those people were risking theirs, and for what? Five minutes on the news that evening? It was so much easier to focus on their work when she didn't also have to be concerned with protecting those foolish enough to stand around and invite their own deaths.

[Speedy]

Mia heard a familiar voice and looked up in the sky. She could not help but grin as she saw the alien princess. She was wondering how she would manage to get back to shore all by herself. It seemed there is some higher being after all. The younger warrior held a level of admiration and respect for the fellow Titan. There were a lot of strong women on the Titans, and there was no argument that Kori was one of the strongest.

Who needed to have the military when you could have Starfire? Seriously, Kori had a large amount of strength and was skilled in combat. Te fact that she could fly did not hurt the current situation either. ”Are you kidding? I’d take you over a team of Navy Seals any day.”[/b] Mia carefully maneuvered her way around the large creature that once again seemed to be heading towards her with a good amount of speed and force, The youngest archer of Star City’s sharp turn on the jet ski made sure she was safe from being knocked into the water.

That was apparently not the plan the giant fish had in mind though. Mia watched as it pushed itself out of the water. It was breeching, like it was Free Willy or something. As if it had seemed big in the water, seeing the thing breech made the archer realize how huge this thing really was. It was larger then a school bus! Also, it was bigger around too! When it hit the water again, there was a very large splash. Not to mention the waves sent out due to the water disruption.

The waves crashed against the jet ski and rocked the thing violently. It was terrifying to say the least. Speedy was able to ride it out, just barely. The two women needed a plan. The blonde thought as she made sure to stay atop the jet ski. Luckily, a plan came to her and she made sure all her arrows were still in her quiver as well as her bow was not damaged before informing her elder of the plan. ”Hey, Starfire! I’ve got a plan. I can shoot a GPS device into this thing’s thick skin that will allow us to track it. We just need to get it out to sea far enough away so it wont hurt anyone! You want to take the right or the left side?”[/b]

Mia never had any intention of killing the creature. There were not many animals that large left on the planet. Not to mention, she would end up getting an ear full from Connor, Aquaman, Tempest, and so on and so forth. If she could get a sample of it’s skin or something, she knew some scientists somewhere would love her forever. The pesky news helicopter would record this for sure. Killing this thing would gibe her bad press, and the two Arrows left in the city were trying really hard to keep their names clean.

The blonde archer looked up at the tanned redhead flying above her. This may be Mia’s city, and Mia had been taking on more responsibility for it, including more leadership. However, this woman was still her mentor and a fellow team mate. So, she would have to respect Kori’s advice and see if the model/superhero had any brilliant plans herself. Herding the thing out to sea would, no doubt, be easier said then done.

[kori]

The beast let out a massive roar before diving back under the water temporarily, then breaching. Kori took the opportunity to fire off several more starbolts at its side. It was hardy, but not indestructible. It would only be a matter of time before it had taken as much as it could. Kori's green eyes moved down to Speedy in the water below. The girl had managed to stay on her jet ski, but if it came down to it, she wasn't completely convinced that the other hero would be able to do much against the sea creature. Arrows were effective against other humans, but on something this large? It would have to be an extremely impressive arrow, that was for sure.

A frown touched Kori's face as she decreased altitude, now flying at a height only slightly above Speedy on the jet ski. She couldn't honestly say that tracking this thing was her greatest priority at that moment, although she supposed it could be useful in the future. If the beast was able to be tracked, Star City would be forewarned should it decide to make a run for the beach again. Kori personally felt that slaying it would be the more pragmatic option - it was a giant fish after all - but if Speedy was set on keeping it in her back yard, that was her choice. She just hoped that she would be able to handle it should it return to the beach in the future.

Her goal was to make that idea very unappealing to the beast. "I don't believe a side requires choosing," Kori called back. "I should be able to distract it and lure it further out to sea. Shoot it then." She lifted higher into the air once more and flew swiftly ahead, moving around and in front of the creature. Provoking it may not have been the best idea to some, but it was going to come after somebody and Kori greatly preferred it to be her instead of Mia or that damned helicopter full of reporters. The odds of this fish doing any real damage to her was much lower than it was for anyone else. The redhead turned, now flying backward ahead of the monster, and brought her hands together and fired off a larger blast of energy at the fish creature, hoping to enrage it enough so that it would continue to follow her and turn its back to Speedy.

[Speedy]

Mia nodded at Kory's plan. The woman did have a good point. Kory could have most likely taken down this giant mutant goldfish by herself. In fact, Kory was on Mia's list of greatest woman warriors she knew. Kory came in second only after Dinah. When Kory wanted to do something, there was no stopping her. Mia had a feeling that Kory would prefer killing the darn beast.

In truth, Mia would too. But, ever since the Prometheus incident, the "no killing" thing was all the more important to her. She knew the repercussions of killing someone. She had shot that demon who was going to hold Star City hostage or take over the world. That still haunted her. Ollie's trial haunted her, and how it had led to her family crumbling around her. She just could not kill as of now. If it was the only option, then she would do it.

As the blonde archer watched the flame haired alien princess lure the beast of the sea away from the city, she sighed. Killing this thing would have also meant clean up duty. Not to mention Aquaman might get on her case. She REALLY did not need that right now. Mia tended to offend people sometimes when she opened her mouth. However, she did not use racial slurs or be politically incorrect. Star City had enough problems as is, it did not need legal and political issues with Atlantis.

As both her fellow titan and the giant goldfish got farther out, Mia readied herself to take the shot. Her arrow was placed into her bow and attached to her bowstring. She pulled back until her string was taut. The female archer took in a deep breath and let it out as she took her aim. She had one shot at this, so she had to make it count.

She released the bowstring and watched her arrow fly towards the fish's back. It embedded itself into the creature's tough hide and a bit more into the actual flesh. A small smile graced Speedy's lips. That arrow should stay in the flesh for a while. She looked up for Kory, hoping that Kory would figure a way to come back towards land without having the fish follow her.

[kori]

The water moved swiftly beneath her as Kori flew backward, her green eyes still on the fish creature. It snapped its jaws at her several times when she slowed down, allowing it to come closer, before increasing speed and racing ahead of it once more. She gathered two more starbolts and unleashed one, then the other; neither was large enough to do any real damage, but it would certainly irritate the beast enough to keep its attention on her and not on the girl on the jet ski. Kori could withstand whatever it had to offer; Speedy definitely could not. The giant fish snapped again, this time at the flaming trail left behind from Kori's hair, and roared loudly immediately afterward from the heat.

Kori's plan of distracting the creature was working, but she couldn't be sure for how long. Fish didn't typically have the greatest attention spans, and eventually it would notice Speedy following it and turn on her as well. The young archer would have to make her move, and quickly. Kori moved slightly to the side, attempting to see if Speedy was ready to take the shot just as the other woman was preparing to do just that. The arrow was let loose, and a second later, it plunged into the beast's skin. It was a good shot. Speedy and the rest of her family's abilities with a bow had always been admirable, though given the name of their patriarch, that came as no surprise.

Now that they could be forewarned if the fish creature would be returning to shore, Kori rose back into the air above the monster. It was time to get it away from the shore and the people of Star City. The Tamaranean princess dropped back down, avoiding the creature's gaping mouth of pointed teeth, and swooped down to grasp one of its fins. The giant fish unleashed deafening roar as it was lifted up and out of the water. Kori ground her teeth together as she flew higher into the air, then let out a cry of her own as she flung the beast out into the ocean, far from the shoreline. She remained hovering in the air above the water, watching until the fish landed what appeared to be at least several miles away. It stayed under for a moment, and then Kori smiled as she saw it breaching and heading in the opposite direction. Mission accomplished, as they said.