Private/Closed Sparks & Lead (RWBY)

[Dark Soul]

(OOC: This is a private role play between me and @Toru set in a grittier take on the universe of Monty Oum's hit animation series RWBY. I hope you enjoy!)
~~~

‘Sparky to Tin Man, come in, Tin Man.’ Archie said, touching his index finger to the wireless communicator in his right ear. Behind pitch-black shades, his eyes scanned the room, analyzing each of the dozens of attendees of the lavish party for suspicious behaviour. From the posh women in long, colourful dresses and the businessmen in 5,000-Lien suits he had nothing to fear; None of them looked like they could fend for themselves in a scuffle, let alone assault his client before Archie had the chance to act. It was the bodyguards that he kept the closest eye on.

Most of the attendees had left their bodyguards behind, putting their trust in the security hired by those who had organized the event- Which was fair enough, considering Archie himself was part of that crew. The handful of bodyguards that did trudge the room, trying to stay as discreet as possible, had been brought by the richest and the most paranoid of guests. It was not impossible, and not unheard of, for a crew of bodyguards to be swapped out for professional killers. Most people who hired guards didn’t bother to remember their faces or their names. Each of the bodyguards was supposed to be unarmed, according to the rules, but Archie didn’t believe for even a second that any of them didn’t carry a knife somewhere on their person.

‘I told you not to use that stupid nickname.’ A deep voice growled in his ear. ‘Call me Salvo.’

Archie cracked a smile. ‘Indulge me for just this night, please. I’m bored off my ass here.’ He glanced at the mountain of a man stood at the opposite wall whom everyone, even the other guards, gave a wide berth. There were many things about Salvo that interested Archie greatly. There was an air of cold-blooded professionalism that clung to his trenchcoat the same way his beige trenchcoat clung to him- The trenchcoat that he had adamantly refused to swap out for the standard bodyguard suit. Between his towering posture and the outfit that looked like the attire of choice for a detective from a cheap paperback novel, the man was certainly hard to miss.

‘If you’re bored, then it doesn’t seem to me you’re doing your job very well.’ Salvo replied. ‘Anything unusual on your side?’ He asked. Archie looked at his client, who was engaged in conversation with a trio of harmless-looking fellow businessmen. ‘The guy in the marine blue suit only smiles with the right side of his face. I think he’s had a stroke.’ Archie pointed out. ‘Also, there’s a blonde woman wearing a red dress on my two o’ clock, with bleary eyes who keeps laughing way too hard at everything; I think she might be on drugs, and frankly, I’m considering joining her in that habit.’ He continued. ‘It would at least make this night a bit more bearable.’

‘I’m talking about security concerns, Weber.’ Archie could hear the irritation in his voice. ‘Oh, in that case, no. Absolutely nothing what-so-fucking-ever.’ He replied. ‘Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.’ Salvo said, and he fell silent.

A few more minutes of silence followed. Nothing transpired. In order to resist the urge to play the old ‘jam a fork into an electrical socket and pretend to be electrocuted’ party joke, Archie pressed his finger to his communicator again. ‘So, how much kit are you carrying under that coat?’ He asked, half expecting not to hear anything back. ‘Enough.’ Salvo replied after a couple of seconds. ‘How much exactly, though?’ Archie insisted. This time, no reply came at all. Archie whistled softly. ‘That much, huh?’ He mused. ‘Hey, Salvo, tell me about your attack plan for me.’

‘What’re you talking about?’ Salvo asked, sounding annoyed. Archie sensed he did not appreciate being distracted from his job, but cared little. ‘Let me tell you about my kit. You’ve seen the two sub-machine guns at my belt. They’re outfitted with white Dust-powered accelerators and loaded with 28mm ammo. Strapped to my legs are two electrical batons with razor-sharp metal prongs, enabling me to club, stab and stun enemies. I come at you, right now, emptying my guns first; If that somehow doesn’t do the job, I get out the pokers, and you… do what?’

Archie left out the fact that he was wearing a bulletproof suit of armor on purpose, and left Salvo in the dark about what his Semblance could do as well. There were a few more seconds of silence as Salvo, face devoid of emotion, focused his gaze entirely on Archie, from his wide smile to his crossed arms and down to his upper legs where his batons and guns were located, to gauge whether he was planning to act on his words or merely hypothesizing. Archie eagerly awaited a reply.

 

[Toru]

The titan of a man, Salvo, stared back silently at the hired security member. Bringing his arms up to stretch out a little, he accidentally banged them onto the wall he was leaning on, creating a rather audacious clunking sound from his sleeves that only the couple of people in the proximity heard. Some party-goers turned around, but all they could see was a large-looking man leaning quietly on a wall, making little to no movement. Salvo was sure that Archie heard the bizarre sound coming out of the sleeves of someone's trenchcoat, hinting to the him just how much weaponry Salvo actually was hiding.

"...I'd shoot you. Lots."

With a comeback lacking in creativity, Salvo was reluctant to share much as always. Salvo looked the man around his age up and down - normally people in this sort of business who ran their mouths all of the time were the first to go down, but something about Archie seemed different from Salvo's shrouded eyes. He seemed to be a hired mercenary like him, and quite a polished one too. Quite a lot of the security were engaged in idle chit-chat, whilst the two men seemed to be the only people on the lookout for trouble - one of them desperate for it, the other hoping to avoid it. Adjusting his trilby, Salvo responded with his communicator to break the silence with his gruff timbre.

"Anyways, I'm going to look around the area a little more. Call us if you see anything."

As Salvo got up, guests became apparent of two deep groves parallel to each other in the cream-coloured plaster wall from where Salvo was standing before - this was enough to keep them all on edge - any 'funny business' and the Kitted-Out Man-of-Mystery would wreak havok on the building.

 

[Dark Soul]

Though most of Salvo's face was obscured by the shade from his hat, he seemed to be staring Archie down, motionlessly, for a few moments. Then, deliberately or accidentally, the bodyguards' arm collided with the wall behind him, giving off the distinct resounding clang of metal.

'I'd shoot you. Lots.' Came the reply. Archie, somewhat dissapointed that his colleague already knew him well enough to realize he had no real intention of attacking anyone yet, sighed dramatically. He loved to ask fellow bodyguards questions like those; It usually made them very nervous. Salvo, however, had the good sense not to take him in any way seriously.

'Anyways, I'm going to look around the area a little more. Call us if you see anything.' Salvo said, and moved away quite gingerly for someone likely hiding heavy weaponry on their persona. 'Whatever you say, Tin Man.' Archie shot back, and returned to being bored out of his mind.

~~~

The night passed by uneventfully. Though there were electrical outlets aplenty, Archie was unable to find a metal fork, so he had to do with watching rich drunks try to socialize.

He sat on a stool by one of the tables sipping grape soda from a bright purple can, as his client Mr. Peck, in as jovial a mood as ever, stood by the door saying his goodbyes and thanks to all the guests bound for home. As soon as the last guest was gone and the doors closed behind them, Peck's shoulders slumped and he wiped his brow. 'Phew!' He cried out. 'What a night, eh?' He said to Archie, who raised an eyebrow. 'Parties have changed since I was in uni.' Archie said inbetween sips of his drink. 'Well, that's a whole different brand of parties.' Peck replied with a wink. Archie pressed his finger to his ear just to avoid any further conversation with the man who signed his paycheck.

'Alpha One, come in, Alpha One. What's your status?' The complete radio silence that followed took Archie by surprise. 'Alpha One, unless you're taking a piss and your earpiece fell in the loo, there's no excuse for not replying.' And yet, that was exactly what Alpha One did.

Archie put on his most endearing smile and stood up. 'Mr. Peck, would you follow me? There's something I need to talk to you about in private.' Peck gave him a confused look, but nodded and followed Archie to one of the doors set into the wall, which opened to reveal a storage cabinet stacked with a selection of expensive food and drinks. 'Well, this as good a place as any not to be bothered by- Hey!' Peck yelped when Archie threw the door shut behind him, turned the key and then tossed it behind the bar. Over his clients cries of indignation, Archie called out 'I assure you, Mr. Peck, this is purely a safety precaution! Don't worry, you will be let out once the area is deemed secure.' He giggled. 'And hell, even if you don't, you'll survive in there for a few weeks.'

Archie could already feel the piercing gazes of his fellow bodyguards in his back. Archie turned around and spread his hands, meeting his colleagues' confused and worried gazed with a wide smile. 'If there's anything you fellows need to do to be combat ready, I suggest you do it now.' He said. 'I'm expecting a bit of trouble in-'

Two more doors burst open and a total of eight gun-toting agents clad in full black, lacking any insignia, immediately took up tactical positions, knocking out the two guards whose names Archie hadn't bothered remembering with a quick jab to the back of the head with the butts of their rifles. Salvo and Archie, who were not in their melee range, found themselves looking down the barrels of four automatic rifles each. 'Hand him over!' One of the attackers screamed. 'We know he's- Ooph!' His sentence was cut short when a full leg of ham clocked him square on the face, throwing him back. 'Sorry!' Archie jeered. 'Inappropriate time for ham!' Having used his foes' momentary confusion to unclip his SMGs, he opened fire. The goon whom Archie had probably concussed with a delicious projectile took several shots to the torso and dropped dead on the floor; The rest had been saved by reflexes and Archie's non-existent aiming skills, working themselves against the floor or rolling to the side as the bullets left craters in the wall behine them. Archie hoped that Salvo had seen and used his opportunity to spring into action.

 

[Toru]

"I had so many questions to ask you," Salvo said, the smallest giveaway of a shrug as his shoulders rose slightly underneath his trenchcoat, acting almost completely aware of the oncoming danger of eight - no, seven armed men. Why exactly they were here, nobody knew. Except the men diving and weaving around Archie's rapid fire. "But I guess now we'll have to play the waiting game." Whilst Archie prepared to strike down some more of the opposing gunfire, Salvo continued to stand nonchalantly as gunfire started to ricochet like popcorn kernels around the room, Salvo shook his coat sleeve; a lighter and a cuban fell into his waiting hand. A flick of the leather-gloved wrist and a small spark, and Salvo took a deep drag, casually looking around the room. As the rest of the hired bodyguards for the evening took lead to their chests and hit the ground hard, one of the agents made his way up to Salvo, rifle pointed at the bowl of his trilby through the middle of the chaos. Salvo turned to the straight-faced gentlemen, and projected ash and smoke into his face. Filled with masked fury, the agent went to pull the trigger, but suddenly felt a burning sensation in a continuous line down his legs, as he quickly hit the floor. The sound of metal grinding rang through the agent's ears as what appeared to be an incredibly large knife protruding from Salvo's sleeve scraped on the floor, blood trickling down and dripping onto the pristine (well, not anymore) floor. The booming, looming presence of the 'Gingham Gunner' was the final thing the agent saw as the blade was plunged into his chest, before it was quickly retracted back into his impossibly large sleeve.

Why impossible, you ask?

Salvo brought his eyes up to a couple more agents, with rifles trained right at him. Bringing his sleeves back up aimed at the two men, a series of mechanical whirs and clunks rang out of his trenchcoat, as the barrels of two large chain guns draped out of the sleeves, and began to rotate, as Salvo unleashed a barrage of bullets into the two men, watching them flap and flail as flesh and fabric flew off of their stationary corpses. As Salvo turned around to keep an eye on Archie, the chainguns retracted back into Salvo's sleeves as if they weren't even there. Impossible.

"You almost done-"

Salvo was interrupted by one last agent trying to engage in a sneaky CQC takedown. As he made the grapple and tried to bring him down, he found that putting his weight into trying to topple Salvo was of no use whatsoever. With a sharp kick, Salvo stepped forward quickly, the ends of his trenchcoat lifting up, revealing one of five hidden laser cannons, which subsequently fired in the unfortunate agent's face. Frazzled and burnt to a crisp, the man hit the wall below one of the balconies. Salvo took a few more puffs of his cigar before stepping on it using a dead man's chest as his floor.

"Sorry. Are you finished?"

 

[Dark Soul]

In a swift motion Archie clipped his SMGs back onto his belt and knelt down into a sprinter’s starting stance, before launching himself at inhuman speed at his attackers. Closing the distance between him and the attackers, he jumped up as his hands pressed buttons on two metallic grips bound to his waist by his belt. With a clunk the grips extended out alongside his torso and Archie pulled them out just as his feet connected with the balcony, baring two three feet long metal batons with two sharp prongs at the ends. Archie’s body began to glow an icy blue all over and at the same time his spiked melee weapons began to cackle with electricity, sparks running between the prongs.

He fell back down to the ground while the armed goons were still scrambling for their weapons. Before any one of them could fire, Archie pounded the ground with the business ends of his baton, projecting his Aura outwards. The soldiers were thrown aside several feet, their limbs jolting spastically, cries of anguish coming from their mouths. Archie pushed his batons’ hilts against each other, joining them together into one mean staff standing higher than Archie himself.

‘Wow, you guys suck!’ Archie jeered with a laugh. One soldier scrambled to his feet and, upon realizing his gun was lying on the floor way out of reach, snarled at Archie and produced a machete from the scabbard strapped to his leg. He jumped at swung the blade down, only to have it blocked by Archie holding the staff horizontally. The goon recovered quickly and swung at Archie’s right side. Archie blocked again and, now that his foe was within arm’s reach, swiftly let go of his staff to punch him in the chest with a white-blue-glowing fist. The soldier gasped and was immediately stunned by the high voltage, just in time for Archie to whirl himself behind him and press his staff against the soldier’s neck. The bullets that were fired by the two other enemies who had by now recovered their weapons went straight into their colleague’s chest. As the two reloaded Archie dropped the body to the floor and separated his staff into two halves again, pointing the prongs at the soldiers and pressing another button on the hilts. The electrified prongs shot out, crashing into the soldiers’ chests. At such a low velocity their light armour prevented the prongs from penetrating, but the electricity incapacitated them for long enough for Archie to return the wirebound prongs into the batons. He launched himself forward, sweeping the two soldiers’ legs out from beneath them and as they fell to the ground face-first, Archie stabbed his battons down into their spines.

He turned around, and saw Salvo kick a soldier backwards and burn him with a mysterious flash of light from beneath his trenchcoat. Dust-powered heat cannon, Archie’s internal voice said. He chose to believe that explanation over a hyperflammable fart. The bodies of the three other enemies Salvo had been faced with were laid out on the floor as well, one of them with a stab wound to the chest- extendable blade?- and two with riddled with holes reminiscent of heavy caliber weaponry, though Salvo was carrying no such guns or any weapons at all; Only a cigar. Archie became more curious by the minute about just what Salvo was hiding, and wished he could’ve watched the fight take place instead of having to battle himself.

But then, with a bit of luck, there would be plenty more fighting to be done this night.

Archie reloaded his SMGs as he calmly walked over to Salvo, who was just stamping out his cigar on the flayed chest of his last enemy. ‘I don’t know what the hell you did...’ Archie said. A short silence then reigned. Archie met Salvo’s questioning look with a blank stare. ‘That- That’s it. That was the end of my sentence. I don’t know what the hell you did.’ He explained. ‘But hey, it fucking worked, right?’

There was a sudden pounding, and Archie suddenly remembered his client, locked up in a storage cupboard. ‘Hello?’ A muffled voice cried out. ‘Is it- is it over? Are they dead?’ Archie rolled his eyes and walked over. ‘Yeah, you’re fine, boss.’ He unlocked the door and a man with a face full of fear hobbled out. His eyes grew even wider when he watched the scene in front of him; Eight bodies with wounds of varying levels of horrificness, shattered glasses, knocked-out bodyguards, one tragically misplaced leg of ham. ‘Who the hell were they?’ Peck asked with a quivering voice. Archie shrugged. ‘Dunno. Whoever they belong to didn’t want to make themselves known.’ He replied. ‘They’re sure as hell out to get you, though, and there might be more of ‘em in this building than just these fuckers.’ He continued. ‘Might I suggest we get the hell out?’

Peck nodded, tried not to look at the blooded bodies. He began to walk towards the door every other guest had left through as well. ‘Not the front door, you idiot!’ Archie called out. Peck stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. ‘Looks like we’re the only people here who know what the fuck we’re doing.’ Archie said, then giggled. ‘I mean, we’re also two of very few people here still alive.’

‘I-I don’t get it… What did they want with me?’ Peck stammered. ‘You don’t know anything about them?’ He asked desperately. ‘Only that they decided to attack after the party, and they dealt with the guards here non-lethally. Combine that with their lack of ID...’ Archie said. ‘And you get an enemy who doesn’t want to make any new enemies and is interested in only one very specific thing. That’s you.’

Archie turned to Salvo again. ‘So, Tin Man, any suggestions for how we leave? You probably bothered to remember the floor plan, right?’

 

[Toru]

Salvo cleared his throat from smoke, tar, and other deliciously disgusting additives from his cigar, and adjusted his trilby.

"Nope, but I do know one important thing."

Salvo began to briskly walk past Archie and Peck, who was still trying to comprehend what exactly was going on in his pantry. What made things worse was the sounds of more mechanical sounds coming from the mysterious merc's sleeve, as the end of a mortar cannon protruded from it. Aiming his hand of a mortar at a cabinet filled with expensive looking foods, he fired a powerful round straight towards it. A small but loud explosion, followed by a piece of chicken hitting him straight in his face as food flew across the room. More importantly, however, was a large hole leading into the main lobby. Wiping his face from greasy chicken, which was still oddly shrouded in darkness by his trilby even in the well lit room, he turned back to Archie and his client for the evening. All that could be seen were the whites of his eyes - well, what appeared to be his eyes. The dust-powered shroud his hat provided was doing a good job, as usual.

"I remembered the direction the exit was in."

Beckoning for the two of them to start running, Salvo sprinted through the large hole into the large lobby as if nothing was weighing him down. Considering the amount of weaponry Salvo had been seen using this evening, he must had been weighed down a fair amount. However Salvo easily rolled to his side to avoid a barrage of missiles that came flying through the main glass doors, creating a large explosion just to the side of the large hole in the wall. A Salvo brought himself up and tried to ready the still readied mortar, he noticed the end was broken from his roll - the floor had shards of metal that were once connected to the barrel. Muttering swears underneath his breath, he threw his right arm down swiftly as the rest of a whole mortar cannon fell out of his sleeve and crashed onto the ground. As more suited agents came pouring through the wreckage of an entrance with guns blazing, Salvo met with even more force. His arms dropped once again, and two large automatic shotguns fell out of each of his sleeves and he took a grasp of them, running forward and unloading ammunition into the majority of the guards, hoping that Archie would back him up as ran towards the exit. Sprinting out of the building and throwing the shotguns to the ground, he caught sight of the getaway car that was planned to escort Peck in any perilous situations. Keeping his guard up and looking around, he waited for Archie to follow so the three of them could make their safe escape.

 

[Dark Soul]

‘Nope.’ Salvo replied, to Archie’s surprise. ‘But I do know one important thing.’

Salvo walked past Archie and the terrified Peck. From up close, Archie realized that the difficulty he’d had making out the details of his face had to have to do with more than just a play of the shadows cast by the crystal chandeliers. Was it part of his Semblance? Archie’s attention was instantly distracted from the matter when Salvo stuck out his arm towards the now vacant pantry, and after a split second of metallic clunking noises a black tube protruded from the baggy sleeve of his waistcoat. By the time Archie recognized it as the business end of a mortar cannon, a round had already been fired, and with a loud explosion that made Peck cower in newfound fear, scraps of food and shards of glass came flying back out into the hall.

‘I remembered the direction the exit was in.’ Salvo remarked. The mortar retracted into his sleeve and waved at Archie and Peck to join him. They ran into the pantry together and Salvo had barely made it out of the hole in the back wall when Archie heard more shattering of glass and the telltale whizzing of RPG missiles. He tackled Peck to the ground just as an eardrum-shattering explosion occurred a few feet off to the side. By the time Archie’s ears stopped ringing, he heard Salvo swear. Peck’s baffled face was covered in small cuts and gashes and his suit had been made dirty with soot and cement powder, and Archie himself was probably no better off. The next sound Archie heard was that of screaming and gunfire, and he knew there was no more time left for recovery.

‘God fucking damn, they’re coming full force!’ Archie yelled, his voice barely audible over the commotion. He picked up Peck with one arm and unclipped one of his SMG’s as he ran alongside Salvo, who was pelting the invading force of people dressed in black with shotgun shells. Their foes ran in en masse, making it easy even for Archie to land a few shots with his SMG. The confusion and the smoke, combined with Archie’s ludicrous speed, saved him from the poorly aimed bullets fired by the gun-toting invaders. They made their way into the hallway leading into the exit fairly unharmed, Archie spraying the entire clip of his second SMG down the hallway at their pursuers while Salvo kicked out the door.

The getaway vehicle that the security detail had provided for rare occasions such as the one they were currently in stood parked between the cars of other bodyguards. It was a monster of a machine, the main body of the truck covered in black armoured plating, with shiny steel bumpers at the front and the back and double back tires which were, like the glass paneling at the front, most likely bulletproof.

Archie opened up the driver’s seat door and threw Peck into the passenger’s seat. ‘Buckle up, Mr. Peck. It’s gonna be quite a ride.’ As he climbed into the driver’s seat, he looked at Salvo. ‘Tin Man, you’re probably best off in the back. I’m going to try to shake these fuckers off our tail but if that doesn’t work out I might need someone to give some covering fire. Or covering explosions.’ He smiled. ‘Now, what’d you say we get the hell out of here?’

Archie scrambled for the key, finding them already stuck into the slot, then turned it to fire up the truck. ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Peck, we’re not going to let them take you!’ Archie yelled over the baritone hum of the engine. ‘I’ve been in far too deep shit tonight for me not to get a signed paycheck at the end of it!’ He stamped the gas pedal into the floor just as their attackers started pouring out of the exit and firing wildly at the truck. Archie swerved left towards the exit of the parking lot, crashing through the gate as several rounds burrowed into the side and the back of the truck. The tires screeched when Archie made another sharp turn until they were onto the main road. He took the first corner he saw, putting buildings between the truck and any RPGs that might have been fired.

‘Just when I thought this night would be boring!’ Archie cheered, after tapping his ear to active the intercom to Salvo. ‘I’m going to head for the highway. They wouldn’t dare to follow us into busy city streets!’ He continued. He looked over at Peck, who was gripping the arms of his seat tightly and was white as a sheet, and giggled. ‘Never been in a scuffle before?’ Archie asked. ‘A- a scuffle!?’ Peck replied, eyes wide. ‘That was a small army! I don’t know what they want with me!’ Archie shrugged. ‘Is there anyone who’d be willing to pay truckload of Lien for your safe return?’ Peck gave a panicked nod. ‘My father’s a businessman, one of the richest in Atlas. He would-’ He was interrupted by a bright flash of fire off to the right, which Archie swerved to avoid. He looked in the mirrors and saw at least four pairs of headlights pointing at them, along with muzzle flares immediately followed by the ricketick of bullets hitting the armoured plates. ‘Shit!’ Archie yelled. ‘Salvo, we’re almost at the highway. Once you’ve got a clean shot at all four of them, give ‘em hell!’ Archie followed the road exit onto the freeway, which led into an overpass two roads wide, fortunately deserted at this time of night. They soon reached a stretch of long straight road lit by holographic screens on either side. There was no method of escape left for the truck or its pursuers.

‘NOW, TIN MAN!’

 

[Toru]

‘I’m going to head for the highway. They wouldn’t dare to follow us into busy city streets!’

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Archie. These guys aren't going to drop a target like Peck anytime soon."

Salvo's assumption was correct - four cars carrying even more of the agents screeched down the street, barely missing some of the few slower cars taking witness to the chase they were currently a part of. The suited men took to their guns, firing sprays of lead at Salvo's large body, but The Backstreet Barrage was having none of that - the bullets bounced straight off and found their home in the insides on the van - fortunately only the walls of the vehicle.

‘Salvo, we’re almost at the highway. Once you’ve got a clean shot at all four of them, give ‘em hell!’

"Roger that, Archie! Give me the go-ahead once you're ready!"

This might be a bad time to mention it in the midst of all of this action, but that was in fact the first time Salvo had referred to his ally by his first name. Bonding by Bullets, perhaps? Salvo shook out a large rifle from his right sleeve, making sure to catch it on its descent. Holding the scope up to his eyes, he readied himself for his cue.

'NOW, TIN MAN!'

A silent but deadly sound of the rifle unloading four times caused Peck to cower in fear, as the sound of the four cars screeching to a standstill followed by a series of explosions caused him to tremble even more.

"And now," Salvo crouched down, and edged one of his sleeves slightly out of the van, as around a dozen grenades, all with pulled pins, rolled out onto the highway. "They won't follow us at all. Hopefully."

The frags detonated violently, causing the highway behind the van to crumble apart.

"Which way now, Archie?"