World Tree MUSH

    It's been a little bit since Circe'd popped her head out, having gone to ground upon finding herself hunted by the company she'd been harrassing. It's gotten bad enough that she's reached out through various means for offworlders she might be able to pay to do some dirty work, or even just protection gigs!

    She's arranged a meeting with the ones who might be willing, in a very dingy part of Earth proper, what used to be a park in part of Brazil. Technically, it still is a park, in the sense that there's a faded sign and a large number of destitute squatters living there, along with a haze of pollution in the air, thick enough that Circe is wearing a breathing mask for her own comfort as she waits near the fountain she'd asked to meet her contacts at.

    The water in the fountain is a green color that rather offsets whatever attractiveness it might have had. At least it appears to be killing any insects that would breed there.

    Well this place sure is a dump.
    Samus is sure it was nice at one point. But that must have been long ago, between the green water, pollution, and rampant amount of people wearing the Derelique fashion line living in the park. She has opted to wear a breathing mask as well. She's dressed in a brown bomber jacket with a light tanktop and dark but rugged pants. What no one can see is the form hugging blue of the Zero Suit worn beneath the rest of her clothes as she makes her way through the park, hands stuffed in her pockets.
    "You know it goes against everything I do to try and protect you, right." She points out as her 'greeting' to Circe as soon as she sees her at the fountain.

    "This place is nice," Jessica says, the mercenary apparently not having any hint of sarcasm in her voice. She's dressed fairly utilitarian now, with a vest and practical, rugged clothes, but her ears are exposed and her tail flicking lazily. She does wear a mask, but otherwise doesn't look too bothered and her peppy attitude is still there!
    "Does it?" Blacksteel might prefer to work for the sorts that are helping the planet, but otherwise likely gets into some messy stuff. As far as Jessica is concerned, this is a private citizen who just needs some help. It's not like she's working for one of the corps that caused all this polution.

    Circe will flick her red eyes towards Samus, humming. "I thought you were a gun for hire sort of person? Was I mistaken? I'm just asking you to work on behalf of one side in a private dispute, after all. And I tried everyone I thought might at least listen." Still, at least there were a couple of people to make the meeting.
    "Besides, it's not like I'm asking you to come with me to blow up their headquarters or anything. I'm just pretty sure they're planning to kill me, that's all, and I very much don't want to be killed. Even enough to try to hire people who worked for them before." She'll lift a hand in greeting to Jessica, before looking around the park once more. "I don't know about nice at all... but it's forgotten, at least, from what I could tell. None of the corps really do much business around here, so hopefully we should be fine to speak for a while. Places like that where you can live without a vacsuit are much harder to find offworld."

    "I'm a bounty hunter. There's a difference between a bounty hunter and a mercenary." Samus notes folding her arms across her chest. "And you turn people into bears." That's her argument.
    "But I'll bite and listen at least." She relents. The megacorps probably aren't all that great either in the long run. So here she is.

    Jessica checks her pistol then, but more out of habit. It's fully functional, of course! She blinks though, ears perking up. "What's wrong with that? Bears can be very nice. You should meet Beehunter sometime," she says idly. "I am a mercenary though! So this is fine."

    "Well, then, I'm putting a bounty up on people who are trying to kill me! That seems like a very reasonable arrangement. And I didn't turn them into bears. I just let their nature shine through. Didn't my cousin explain this to you? There aren't really enough.. well. We can't get into that here, people would complain."
    That seems.. unlikely at best, but Circe definitely seems to want to turn the topic away from that and back towards ursining some light on the Corp in question. "In any case. I'm afraid that kind of confrontation isn't my strength, if they were to find me. So I'm just asking for help dealing with some of their assassination squads, that's all."

    Beehunter?
    "Where I'm from, people don't just turn into bears." Samus says frankly to Jessica, drumming her fingers on her bicep. Samus is not in a humorous mood at the moment it would seem. Especially when it comes to Circe mutating people. It's not cool.
    "Assassination squads?" She asks. She would be incredulous, but.
    Dealing with one assassin can be harrowing enough from what she understands. "You can't just keep laying low?"

    Jessica rolls her eyes, "Well of course they don't TURN INTO bears, normally, they're born that way!" Duh. Her ears wiggle for emphasis, but she doesn't keep explaining stuff that isn't relevant.
    "It makes sense to me," she says. "Laying low is a good idea, but if you know where one is, it's better to ambush them and take them out because eventually you'll either run out of luck, or they give up. I wouldn't want to take bets on the second!"

    "Well, that's the thing, they've burned through most of my safehouses and I'm barely keeping ahead of them as it is. And I say this even though I am quite literally a god at working their systems, so. This is plan J. Plans A through I didn't go the way I'd hoped." Circe will admit, with a shrug.
    A shrug that turns, partway through, into red eyes going wide and light lines flickering in them from her implants, Circe starting to move. A little late, or perhaps just in time, it turns out; the sound of the bullet gets there a moment after the bullet itself, a loud crack through the air from what MUST be a sniper round that cuts across Circe's side, rather than catching her in the chest as it was aimed.

    "And what I'm saying is, people shouldn't be turned into bears if they're not already born that way." Samus says idly to Jessica before letting Circe continue.
    Plan J huh?
    The Hunter is about to say something more when the crack of a rifle goes off and Circe just barely dodges getting shot.
    Samus says a number.
    It is three times the going rate of normal protection services.
    She's the best bounty hunter in multiple galaxies, she can ask for that kind of number.
    "Take it or leave it." She says, "I don't think you'll have much time to think it over, though."

    "Oh no! A sniper!" Jessica squeaks, rather excitably, and then... runs. Runs where? Toward the sniper! She has a handgun after all, not a sniper rifle. She doesn't have the range to compete... does she?
    This doesn't stop her from skidding to a halt behind a bench, training her pistol across the area to see if she can spot the source of the shot. Best to keep the client alive long enough to negotiate price, in her mind~

    Circe is not necessarily permanently attached to her current body, and even if she were she's tougher and healthier than any human of this world... but being shot still hurts like hell, and she's slumping back against the fountain, blood streaking everywhere as she does. "They're earlier than I thought they'd be. Fine, I'll pay your ransom, just deal with them! If they didn't aim for the head, then they're trying to take my stack complete." She'll reach up, and rip one of her earring off her right ear, throwing it forward. Where it forms into a golden mechanical boar, about four feet high, and starts charging off in the direction of the shot.
    She's crawling to find some slight cover, taking the other earring off, another boar forming, this one trying to help provide Circe with cover.
    The source of the shot is fairly obvious now that it's been taken - there's a bell tower that must have a sniper's nest. Also, there's three men who pretty clearly look the part of jack-booted thugs with assault rifles making their way much more quickly to the area. Circe DID say 'squad', at least.

    "I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT SNIPER?" Jessica calls out. She looked ready to attempt something herself, but that would leave her vulnerable to the thugs rushing at her with assault rifles. They probably don't expect a single pistol-wielding catgirl to stand up to them, but, well...
    It's true, Jessica is a bit terrified, but that doesn't stop her from stabilizing the pistol with her off arm and taking aim, making quick snap shots with the pistol. It uses originium, not gunpowder, so she isn't all that worried about bulletproof vests, unless they're made of thick steel plates or something.

    Circe will pay.
    That's good enough for Samus.
    "It's not a ransom. It's an investment." The Hunter says matter of factly as her body is suddenly suffused in a faint light, the armor plating of her Gravity Suit forming over her clothes and sealing itself as she places herself to cover the injured god.
    "Handle those three, I'll deal with the sniper." She calls to Jessica's request, before she sprints for the bell tower, a ray of almost electric-looking light firing from her arm cannon, latching onto the wall and reeling her up to the top like... Well. A grapple beam.

    There's not really much that can prepare someone who isn't ready for it for someone to suddenly grapple up to the top of a tall tower, not when they're using a sniper rifle that's been carefully held down and everything. The shot the sniper gets off at Samus is far behind where she currently is, not at all ready for that burst of speed, and the sniper - a woman, unlike the mooks on the ground - is completely unprepared for up close combat, eyes wide as she tries to get the rifle around to face Samus again.
    Bullets will certainly penetrate the vests, but Circe is screaming out again, panicked as she realizes she didn't have time to get through all of the details of this request. "Don't damage their stacks! It's at the back of the neck, and if you destroy those, you'll probably really kill them, so don't aim above the chest!" Samus, having dealt with Circe before, may have picked up on her code against killing; it's likely this is a weird request given that they were evidently trying to murder Circe to Jessica, though. She's already taken down one of the mooks, whose body is dying but whose stack will certainly be fine, and with care will be likely able to deal with the others, who are spraying bullets into the bench Jessica's taking cover behind, but will have to pause for reloading soon as the wood splinters and shrapnel goes flying.

    Circe certainly is... Interesting. She'll turn someone into a fuzzy bear and leave them to hibernate for all of forever in space, but she won't kill, huh. Well that's all well, fine, and fair, as she reaches the top of the tower and is face to face with the sniper.
    "Only warning. Drop it." She says firmly, having gotten the drop on the sniper the way she has and the fact that she has her armcannon trained on the woman should be the end of it. But as if to make matters more intimidating, the barrel of Samus' armcannon splits apart, a single missile loading into place visibly.
    If the sniper so much as twitches wrong, Samus will fire; it's an ice missile; a less than lethal alternative that she has up her sleeve (possibly literally) that works by flash freezing targets with an explosion of chemicals and coolant.

    Don't kill them? Despite her shooting without question, Jessica isn't an inherently violent or bloodthirsty girl. "Really?" She sighs, tucked behind cover while they chew through the wood and make her flinch, a splinter jaggedly tearing through her sleeve. She waits for a pause before she takes a breath, using her guesswork and tactical sense to quickly draw a bead and fire three shots before ducking behind again. She doesn't shoot at the head normally anyway, so aiming for the center of mass works fine for her. "I don't suppose we could talk this out, since you're outgunned?" Wait, why are they outgunned?

    Circe will start cursing in Greek as she pulls a container of some kind of.. metalic liquid material out of one of her bags, tugging the side of her shirt up enough to pour it on her wound and hissing as she does so. "..Going to get a damned infection here, the filthiest park in the entire solar system.." It translates to something of that sort, and goes on at length, but it's not really addressed at the others.
    The sniper hesitates, and then will try to throw the rifle at Samus, hoping to distract her long enough to pull out a pistol and take a shot. This almost certainly won't work out for her.
    One of the remaining two assault troopers goes down, the other pauses, then offers. "We will split the reward on the terrorist with you if you desist and help take her in." The terrorist is presumably the witch-god currently laying on the ground and cursing up a storm.

    Circe will survive an infection. Most likely. What Samus has been hired to deal with is that sniper. And when the rifle is hurled her way she simply... Bats it aside with her free hand. And no, it does not end well for the sniper as Samus unleashes that missile. With a soft shriek it cuts through the air and impacts with a quiet *KRUMP* before it unleashes its payload of coolant to flash freeze the woman.
    Samus waits a moment to make sure the threat is neutralized before turning and aiming down from the top of the tower.
    "Sniper is handled."
    She's already aiming at one of the remaining two men from her perch.

    "Terrorist?" Jessica calls out. "How many cities has she destroyed? If it's less than two then I think I'll take my chances with her!" Less than... two? She doesn't give time to clarify that, before rolling to the side to duck behind a less... tattered bit of cover, trying to outflank the remaining men. Or man, apparently. That's even better odds. "I'm pretty sure your sniper is down and now you're outnumbered, but I'm not wanting to hurt anyone!"
    Though the man that went down has a large hole that will likely make the survivor think Jess is handling a pretty high-caliber weapon.

    "She's caused at least a dozen ships to go missing!" The man will reply. Circe hasn't ever targetted a whole city, though, that's certainly true. Kind of a strange standard to have, though. He's focused on Jessica, trying to take aim; this is going to open him up to a shot from Samus, if she decides to take it.
    Either way, Circe will call out. "Double! Double if you get me offworld and somewhere I can rest for a while, and not be hunted all over the place. I haven't had a good night's rest in weeks!"

    Double?
    That makes it six times the going rate for Samus.
    Samus... Takes the shot. Another ice missile streaking down from the top of the tower at the man aiming for Jessica.
    "... I guess we're going for a ride." She mutters more to herself than to anyone else.

    Jessica... well, it's not correct to say she isn't in it for the pay. She totally is! But she also isn't into extortion. She huffs, and snaps off a few shots. They are going to go wide, but it's more as an answer and to keep the man's head down, that's all... which gives Samus a nice clear shot.
    Double is pretty nice, and she isn't going to refuse it, but she needs an excuse. "Look, I'm not like you, I don't hate bears!"

    The boars will circle back around to Circe, now that the immediate threat is gone, and one will fold in on itself, reappearing as an earring on Circe's right ear, as she sighs and collapses back, no longer in pain but weakened from the blood loss and also halucinating a little from her self-treatment.
    "...Lead on." She'll say, tugging herself up to climb on the remaining large boar, evidently planning on riding it to wherever Samus' ride might be. "Just get me to a network location where noone can shoot at me, and you'll get your money." It's definitely completely clean money!... in appearance.

    With the assassination squad handled, Samus simply jumps down from the belltower, using her grapple beam to slow her fall to a soft landing.
    "My ship's berthed not too far from here. Let's go." The Hunter says quite simply. Looks like everyone is going for a ride indeed.