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Tweak says, "dry your eyes mate!"

Nikola Tesla : The Electric Jesus (oncemighty) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-01-19 02:05:00

Entry tags:

john constantine, nikola tesla, zoe tesla

WHO:
Zoe's Retrieval: Nikola Tesla, John Constantine, Zoe Adams, & NPCS
Post Retrieval: (OPEN TO) Ashley Magnus, Buffy Summers, Cordelia Chase, Damon Salvatore, Faith Lehane, John Constantine, Maximum Ride, Molly Suresh, Nikola Tesla, Spike, & Zoe Adams [in no particular order]

WHAT: Zoe's been kidnapped, and everyone chips in to get her back. Unfortunately, the kidnappers ended up getting probably the worst team to have first on the scene. Not that the other options were much better.
WHEN: January 18th; Dusk
WHERE: The beachfront; an abandoned and rundown fishing shack
RATING: PG-13 (possibly higher for violence)
STATUS: In Progress
NOTES: I'm going to be dividing this thread into two different sections. The Retrieval, which will involve just the people immediately on scene, and the Post Retrieval, which will involve everyone who volunteered to help recover Zoe and whatever clean up might be required afterward. This is a lot of people in one section, and while the desire to keep posting order organized when doing a massive thread is strong, I'm going to let people reply as they come to keep things moving. Everyone try to coordinate.

It wasn't much to look at. If they hadn't been looking, Nikola probably would have glanced right over it and moved on, but there were plenty of signs that directed his attention right to the tiny falling down fishing shelter near the edge of the water. Voices were the first thing that had drawn his attention, too many for a place that size, and certainly far too anxious for fishermen. The next thing was scent, the scents that had coated the front yard of the Sanctuary as well as Zoe's all too familiar flowery fragrance mingled with the waxy crayons and fresh paper that she used for her equations, they were all present not mere steps from where he stood, and it was only John's hand on his shoulder that kept Nikola from barreling forward like a madman to rip the kidnappers limb from limb for daring to take Zoe from him. It was a different John than the one he was used to, holding him back and holding back in exchange, but it was at least enough to steady his deep instinctual urge to murder the people who dared to wrong him.

"She's in there," Nikola said, digging his PDA out of his pocket to send a quick message to everyone else who was looking. "They've got her, and we have to do something. I don't care if it takes the rest of them seconds to get here, we have to go in. It's impossible to know how much longer they're going to go without hurting her." The only reason Nikola knew they hadn't, at least not severely, was the clear lack of the scent of blood in the air among all of the rest of them. Turning to Constantine, Nikola offered him a serious look that showed he was mere seconds from ignoring that hand on his shoulder, "So either tell me how we're doing this your way, or we're doing it mine."

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	Zoe's Retrieval oncemighty 2012-01-19 07:38 am UTC (link)
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dangeroushabits
2012-01-19 09:00 am UTC (link)

Constantine wouldn't exactly say he liked Tesla. Their relationship ran more along the lines of mutual antagonising and snark. Yes, he'd helped with some spells for the guy, but that was more for Ashley's benefit than for the annoying genius. It wasn't a big deal, since John didn't like many people and even fewer liked him. Still, there were certain situations where liking someone or not didn't matter. A missing child, a missing child like Zoe who had wormed her way into their cold black hearts, was definitely an exception. For all that he could quite frankly be kind of an unrepentant dick, light on the kind of and heavy on the dick, Constantine had something of a soft spot for kids. And Zoe reminded him of Gemma in a lot of ways. That was enough reason all by itself, even without the other reasons he'd probably never own up to. Like the fact that he was actually liking having a place to belong, and a purpose and all that crap. Or the fact that he could be a protective son of a bitch when his family was threatened, and that this strange collection of people had become a family to him. Damn it.

So that was why he was out with Nikola, instead of staying back and helping that way. He wanted to be as involved in the situation as he could be so that he didn't feel useless to Zoe. Besides, someone had to keep Nikola from ripping out their spines and bashing their brains in with them. And, as much as Ashley could, he wasn't sure she would. He paused. When the fuck had he become the responsible voice of reason? It just wasn't right. He shook off the thought and gave Nikola a small, grim smile, lighting a cigarette. "Let's just focus on getting the sprat out," he said, sounding calmer than he felt. "We can fuck them up beyond all telling once that's done. And we're not going to eviscerate them to do it." His smile took on a dangerous edge. "That's going easy on them."

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quantumkid
2012-01-20 07:48 pm UTC (link)

Zoe didn't understand why this was happening to her. One minute she'd been drawing in the front yard of the Sanctuary - a place that every grown-up in the place had promised was safe for her to be even by herself as long as she didn't wander off - and the next she had been grabbed by some man who had held her arm too tight, called her mean names, and said he was going to cut her into little, bitty pieces if she didn't stop crying. Which, of course, had only made her cry more until, finally, he had put tape over her mouth, tied her hands behind her back and her feet together, and stuck her in the trunk of a car.

Well and truly terrified, she had done her best to stay calm by thinking about different equations. It had worked, at least a little, but her fear had resurfaced the second the trunk had been reopened to reveal the ocean. Using every bit of courage she could find, telling herself over and over that Mister Nikola would come rescue her at any minute, the little girl had done her very best not to cry or even struggle as her abductor had hauled her out of the trunk and carried her into a building that smelled like rotten fish.

And there she'd stayed. Throughout the night, with at least two grown-ups - and up to six, in total, at one point - keeping watch over her, she had remained huddled up in one of the corners of the shack. The ropes that tied her together had been replaced with handcuffs, chaining her firmly to a piece of pipe inside one of the building's broken walls. The tape had been removed when she'd been given a cheese sandwich to eat, and one of the men had promised to keep it off as long as she was quiet.

Which she had been, for the most part. In fact, the only time Zoe had spoken at all was when she was asked a question - often whispering out the answer in a small, terrified voice - and one other time when the mean man who had grabbed her to start with had said that, once they dropped off the ransom note, even if it was paid he was still going to kill her because she was a freak who didn't deserve to live anyway. Although unused to such harsh words, Zoe hadn't cowered away from them but had instead replied in a determined, flat tone that Mister Nikola was going to make sure he never hurt nobody, ever again.

That had earned her a slap that knocked her to the floor and caused her ears to ring. By the time the other men had pulled the guy away from her, one of her eyes was already starting to swell and her cheek was bright with the promise of a bruise. In fact, even just a few scant hours later, with her kidnappers across the building at a table, discussing the best way to deliver their ransom note, the bruise had already begun to form and her head ached something awful. Yet even with the pain, and her knees tucked tightly against her chest and her wrists raw from the handcuffs that were just a little too tight, the little girl still knew - just knew - that help was on the way.

Little did she know that they were, in fact, right outside.

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oncemighty
2012-01-20 08:39 pm UTC (link)

Nikola could only imagine what someone could want her for, and since he'd yet to receive a ransom, his mind had been delving into places that it simply had not wanted to go, places that where turning him into a dangerous cocktail of frightened and angry. And the idea that they weren't going to eviscerate them simply didn't sit well at first until he allowed his mind to stew on it for a second. A little torture before the kill wouldn't hurt anyone, except perhaps the people who deserved it, and it would do a lot to salve his sense of injustice. Nobody took his daughter away from him without facing the full consequences of what they'd done.

But they'd have to draw them out of the shack first, out into the open where they could both get a fair shot at them and where Zoe wouldn't be directly in harm's way. Glancing over at John, Nikola nodded to him as he picked up a rock from the sand, "I'll draw them out," He said. "And you take care of them while I get Zoe."

and hopefully, by the time he did, Ashley would have gotten here to take Zoe far, far away so that she didn't have to see him slicing her abductors into fine meaty ribbons.

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dangeroushabits
2012-01-20 09:22 pm UTC (link)

Constantine was a little surprised Nikola wasn't suggesting he get Zoe while the vampire took out his anger and aggression on the kidnappers, and he had to swallow a kneejerk argument that Zoe would be comforted more by Nikola's presence than his. He wasn't, however fooled into thinking this meant Nikola didn't plan to rip them apart. He was just being smart and getting Zoe first. That was good, because Constantine hadn't been looking forward to lecturing the guy. He'd certainly let himself be ruled by his emotions when Gemma had been taken, and she'd been older than Zoe, so he definitely understood the impulse. He wasn't going to stop the other man from destroying these people once Zoe was safe, in fact he'd help, but Zoe needed to be safe first.

He was a little curious what Nikola planned to do to draw the kidnappers out, but that question was quickly answered when Nikola threw a rock at the door. Apparently, while the guy was a genius, his cunning plans were sometimes a little lacking. "Really?" he said, glancing over at Nikola and raising an eyebrow. "A rock? You threw a rock? Is this an episode of Scooby Doo and nobody mentioned it to me?" But all the same, he took another drag of his cigarette and shifted his stance slightly in anticipation of a fight. For all that he was a powerful magic user, he more often defaulted to fist fighting. Magic had consequences that he wasn't willing to risk with Zoe in the middle of this. At least not until she was safe.

He felt a sense of grim satisfaction at the sound of movement inside. Soon this would all be over, Zoe would be safe, and these idiots would learn why you didn't fuck with the Sanctuary.

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quantumkid
2012-01-21 06:51 am UTC (link)

At the loud thump at the door, the men inside instantly went silent. One of them cast a glance in Zoe's direction and the little girl pressed herself against the wall, eyes wide as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Even though the certainty that help was coming had been renewed at the sound, she still couldn't help but tremble ever so slightly. What if it wasn't Mister Nikola? What if it was just a bird that had flown into the door, or some teenagers throwing rocks at a stinky old building that they thought nobody was in?

Or, worse yet, what if it was Mister Nikola and the mean men told him that she wasn't there and he believed them?

Tears filled her eyes at the thought and for one, brief second she considered calling out to whoever it was for help. The cocking of a gun, however, kept her mouth clamped shut and any hope of perhaps sneaking out a shriek when the men weren't focused on her was doused when one of them approached her and quickly covered her mouth with tape. "You be quiet," he hissed, his hand wrapped around her throat as he glared down at her with a positively lethal expression. "Or I'll snap your little neck."

Terrified, Zoe tried her best to nod and sucked in a breath through her nose the second he released her and moved back toward the door. A heartbeat later the door opened and, unable to help herself, Zoe squeezed her eyes shut - tears leaking silently out as she did so - and hoped with everything inside of her that this terrible nightmare would all be over soon.

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oncemighty
2012-01-21 11:54 pm UTC (link)

Episode of Scooby Doo his ass. Just because it was a simple thing, bordering on the ridiculous, that didn't mean it wasn't going to work. And honestly, whenever Nikola didn't have the access to a grand elaborate plan, his schemes did linger somewhere around the boundary of so simple it's stupid. But as the door opened, and two figures stepped into view, Nikola sent the briefest of irritated glances at Constantine for doubting him before motioning for his companion to take care of their new friends as Nikola moved out of their line of sight and towards his much more important quarry: Zoe.

Luckily, even at the back of the shack where no door existed, a set of vampire nails later, and Nikola had ripped a toddler sized hole into the planking and was looking up at the tiny terrified child that he'd began to call his own.

"Hey, kiddo," Nikola whispered, just loud enough to get her attention without alerting her captors to his presence as he squashed down on all of the feelings that boiled in his gut at seeing her hurt. He'd take care of that later. As soon as she was safe. "Miss me?"

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dangeroushabits
2012-01-24 06:17 am UTC (link)

Just because it worked didn't mean a plan wasn't ridiculous and pulled from a children's show. And John fully intended to let Nikola know that later, once this whole mess was dealt with. But for now, he had two bad guys to deal with while the vampire got the kid out. The lucky thing was, he was really very good at this sort of thing. He'd had more than his fair share of scraps and, while he often got his ass handed to him a bit, he always pulled through by a combination of skill and luck. This time would be no different, he was sure. He just had to incapacitate them, while Nikola dealt with the rest of the situation. Easy as pie.

He grinned at the men, an expression that had put people ill at ease for years, and held his arms out to show he was unarmed. Not that it meant much with him. "Hello, lads," he said with a vaguely manic sort of cheer. "Now, you've got something that don't belong to you, and I'm going to remedy that. All right there, mates?" He dropped his cigarette, stubbing it out with his foot, and smirked as the men took the bait and came at him. All he had to do was keep them busy for a little while. Not hard at all. Really.

He delivered a solid punch to one thug's jaw, then drove his elbow back to strike the other in the cheek. He winced slightly at a punch to the gut he didn't quite manage to deflect, but it would take a lot more than that to take him down. He wanted to know what was happening with Zoe and Nikola, but he didn't divert his focus from the fight. Nikola could handle that. He needed to keep his attention on this, or it could go badly. So he kept trading blows with the men, knowing Nikola would join in soon enough.

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quantumkid
2012-01-29 12:50 am UTC (link)

Zoe's eyes snapped open at the sound of Nikola's voice. Quickly she turned toward him, unable to smile due to the tape over her mouth but clearly relieved. She nodded vigorously, trying in vain to move toward him but finding herself stopped due to the handcuffs around her wrists. She rattled them softly, craning her neck to peer up at the exposed bit of piping they were wrapped around.

Heart hammering wildly in her chest, with rescue so very close but still feeling as though it was a lifetime away, Zoe didn't even hear the sounds of fighting taking place outside of the building. She was too focused on trying to relay the message to Nikola that she couldn't get free. Tears filled her eyes once more, this time born of frustration rather than any real fear. Help was here now. The bad men wouldn't hurt her again.

Even if she wasn't quite going to believe that until she was actually free and in Nikola's arms.

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oncemighty
2012-01-29 11:59 am UTC (link)

Anger rose in Nikola's gut as he angled himself further into the shack and was able to see Zoe clearly. Bound and gagged, unable to free herself, Zoe was stuck just beyond his reach. Though, she wouldn't be for long. Ripping back more boards, making the hole that had been large enough for Zoe to fit through big enough for himself, slinking into the shack, ignoring the way that his suit caught on the jagged edges of the boards in his sheer single-mindedness in getting to Zoe and getting her free.

Finally managing to pull himself fully into the small fishing shack, Nikola pulled himself up next to Zoe, yanking the chain between the cuffs she was wearing free before dropping his vampiric facade and reaching up to take the tape off her mouth. Pulling her into a hug, making a mental note to better remove the cuffs the second that they were out of this place, Nikola pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Get on out of here, kiddo. I'm right behind you."

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	Post Retrieval oncemighty 2012-01-19 07:39 am UTC (link)
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