* It is Friday, the seventh of May, in the year eighteen eighty-six.  Although
the warmth of the late morning sun has already seeped into the cobblestones all
around Paris, the city's once ambitious arcade project remains dim and cool. 
Pale green shoots of unruly ivy and a few trees grown wild in their planters
give the place a sense of chaos amid the order and industry--well, the industry,
anyway--of Paris.
* The aborted project of commerce and urban design that the arcade was meant to
embody was replaced years ago by a much less official project of thieving,
kidnapping, and general malediction.  Although there is little to be gained from
cleaning the crime-infested ratholes up any longer, The Captain has apparently
decided that such a place would be a good place for his newly gathered allies to
cut their teeth as a team.
* Avignon leads his "team" through the streets of Paris without a bit of shame
or awkwardness.  The stares drawn by a one-armed war hero and his rather
peculiar group of companions doesn't seem to bother The Captain, and he even
grins a bit as a few random gawkers with nothing better to do follow along to
see what could be happening.
* Judgement is flying overhead, scythe in his hands and quite something to
actually look at. He's encased in full armor and has a set of angel's wings as
he calmly soars, only something appears amiss about him. Like he's... sucking
the light away from around him.
* Paladin takes the forefront. She's a tall, pretty woman with long blond hair,
in full, form-fitting plate mail armor. She carries a white kite shield
emblazoned with a golden cross. A sword hangs in its scabbard at her side.
<Guardian> * Picking up the rear of the group is not, as you might suspect, a
pretty blonde heiress, but a three-meter suit of olive green armor. It's
massive, with triple-plated shoulder pads, thick overlapping armor plates, and a
cylindrical head outfitted with a clear glass visor. It's carrying an
appropriately-sized triple-barrelled rifle and moving at a decent pace.
* As the group draws nearer to the arcade, shouts and grunts and the occasional
sound of something breaking spill into the streets.  Captain Avignon quickens
his pace, reaching for the pistol at his belt with his good arm.  He does not
speak, but Claudia, Joan, and Gabriel all feel a sense of urgency from him, and
get the sense that they should hurry into the arcade ahead of him.
* Paladin hurries to the arcade ahead of him! And man, can she hurry. Zoom!
* Judgement picks up his pace and flies ahead at a similar speed, looking over
the Arcade.
* Guardian moves faster into the arcade, raising its rifle as it goes.
* The plaza around which the arcade has been built is itself hemmed in with wide
arches that might once have belonged in ancient Italy; most of the actual
archways have been broken off, leaving only the columns, and whatever
plasterwork decor remains has been covered in red and black grafitti.  Inside
the plaza are a pair of wide, empty fountains, and at least a dozen men wearing
black clothing and bright red, painted masks.
* The men stand in a wide circle around another person, though clearly they are
no friends to this one.  She has no mask, for one thing.  For another, she
carries a pair of knives that are already wet with the blood of one or more of
the gansters--probably the fellow sitting against the fountain and holding his
bloody stomach while sobbing like a baby.
* Terom is there! She would be that woman in the center of the whole circle, not
to mention the lady holding the knives. She's small, only a touch over five feet
tall, with dusky skin, dark, braded hair and exotic features. She's wearing a
cream-colored shirt with a darker vest over it, soft leather boots, and a skirt
that whirls with her as she spins to face the others, eyes flashing.
* Terom brings one braceleted arm up to flip the knife in her hand. "Anyone
else?" she asks casually, her accent a mix of Romani and Spanish.
<Guardian> Enjoying yourself, street rat?
* Guardian's voice is amplified, cool, and confident. You can almost see the
mocking half-smile.
* Paladin gets there and draws her weapon, assessing the situation.
* Terom rolls her eyes, but she apparently doesn't feel any need to yell back.
* Paladin has a very beautiful, shiny (in that it's actually shining) sword.
* Several of the gang members spare a glance at the direction from which
Guardian's voice came, though they hardly have time to react before their
quicker enemies.  These thugs are very much unlike the ones that Joan
encountered during the jewelry robbery that Earthquake attempted earlier in the
month.
* The men appear to be strong and healthy, and their clothing is black and
uniform.  The only color they wear are bright red gloves and similarly
bloody-looking masks carved into the shapes of tragedy or comedy masks, or
similar variations thereof.
* Guardian shifts its feet, twisting around and taking aim before letting loose
a burst of automatic fire from its gatling rifle at one of the thugs.
* The targeted thug jerks violently as he staggers away from the large suit of
armor.  He catches himself on the paving stones, but seems to be in no hurry to
get up.  Instead, he merely whimpers and bleeds.
* Terom snaps her attention that way, glaring at where the fire came from.
* Paladin charges into the fray, striking at one of the thugs as she passes.
"Villians!"
* Terom then watches Joan do that. She does not facepalm. Really.
* Paladin spins around, bashing the same guy with her shield.
* The gang member reels when Joan's sword slices into him, and the subsequent
shield slam sends him to the ground so quickly that his head bounces.
* Judgement lands on a nearby rooftop, but takes no further actions as he
crouches down and watches silently.
* The gangsters quickly spread out evenly among their opponents.  Three of them
circle around Terom with knives of their own, lunging whenever they see what
might be an opening in her defenses.  Three of them turn on Joan, similarly
armed and wary.  The remaining four break for cover, ducking against columns and
in shadows that might shield them from Guardian's weapon.
* Although Terom and Joan have little trouble avoiding most of the attacks set
against them, one of the red-masked gansters manages to slip past the gypsy's
defenses.  His blade gets close enough to tear cloth, but not enough to draw
blood.
* Terom frowns slightly at that, and she spins to the side of him, backing as
she snaps both knives back, then forward, sending them both flying for his back,
point first. This is followed by her reaching under her vest with her right
hand, another flash of steel being seen as she tosses a third for good measure.
* All three knives find warm new homes in the thug's bicep, abdomen, and
buttock.  He doubles over in pain, clutching at the knife in his side, and
hobbles away from Terom a few steps.
* Paladin breaks past the two goons nearby her, charging towards Terom with her
shield. When she nears she strikes one of the thugs nearby with her sword.
* The woman's blade slices through the man's chest as if it were so much warm
cream.  He doesn't even cry out as he falls to the paving stones.
<Paladin> The will of the Lord.
* Judgement mmms as he watches impassively.
* Guardian shifts slightly, keeping her aim neat and precise before sending a
burst at one of Joan's enemies.
* The pavement splinters three times around the feet of one of the gansters that
Joan left behind, but it is the other gangster that shrieks with pain and falls
back on his rump.  As soon as he's hit the groun, the man begins half crawling,
half-running for the cover of one of the shops as far from Guardian as he can
manage.
* Judgement jumps down and swoops behind one of the pillars that the thugs have
taken cover behind, scythe at the ready and a small mote orbiting his head.
Speaking with a much dearker and deeper voice than he normally posesses, he
commands them. "Surrender."
* The thug, who was looking around the other side of the column, gives a start
and spins around to face Judgement with his knife out at the sound of the
latter's approach.  Upon getting a better look at the winged apparition, though,
the thug lets his weapon tumble from his fingers and clatter on the pavement. 
He drops to his knees and holds his hands over his head in supplication, praying
to God to save him from the face of Death.
* The three gang members left between Terom and Joan waste little time in
bolting for the same cover toward which their two wounded friends are
struggling.  The three who remain under cover make the same attempt, though they
run along the columns for a bit of cover as they flee.
* The first five black-clad thugs to reach cover disappear into one of the
darkened storefronts, but the other three have not yet reached cover before
Terom and the others can react.
* Omar steps out from behind Judgement, holding a small snifter with a bit of
dark orange liquid in it. He holds it up in an approving gesture when he sees
the thug supplicating before the dark angel, and leans against a pillar,
watching the excitement with a small, white smile.
* Guardian stashes the gatling rifle on its back as the large and rather
intimidating metal sheath clicks down into place over its right hand. Claudia
grins widely from inside, and the Guardian takes off on a run towards the
storefront. It doesn't look like it plans to slow down anytime soon.
* Judgement motions with his hand, and the mote vanishes and reappears in front
of the storefront, blocking easy access into it.
* Several things happen all at once: the gangsters still remaining in the open
crowd around the doorway to the storefront, shouting with surprise and
frustration when they find the way blocked.  When they see the Guardian
barreling down on them they dive as far from it as they can manage, but the
armor simply plows through the front of the shop regardless.
* Omar winces. "That's...going to cost a pretty franc. Or thousand."
* Judgement frowns and retracts his force field at the last moment so it doesn't
block the massive chunk of metal.
* Terom scowls.
* The armor twists just to the left as it smashes into the store, but Claudia is
able to wrestle the thing back under control, and brings it down to one knee
rather than allowing it to fall forward or backward.
* Wood and dust concrete and broken glass come showering down around the armor
with a loud, long crashing sound.  The three fallen gang members near the
wreckage are lost for a moment in the cloud of pale powder that billows out from
the destruction.
* Guardian is covered entirely by the wreckage, not even a hint of olive green
among the metal and rock.
* Paladin sheathes her sword and makes the Sign of the Cross.
* The short arabic boy walks over to Judgement, and holds out another, obviously
un-drunk-from snifter of the liquid. "Brandy?"
* The inside of the store is almost impossible to see through the dust and
shadow, though nobody comes running--or stumbling--out of the wreckage.  The
gangsters who remain in the plaza are either unconscious, dead, or cowering.
* Terom gets dust on her, but she doesn't sneeze. Instead she turns, taking a
few steps over to the poor man she gutted.
* Judgement watches as the Guardian plows through. He turns to the boy. "No. Can
you keep this one from escaping? I have... work to do."
* Omar bows. "Of course." He snaps the fingers on his suddenly-empty hand, and
the ground around the cowering man's legs allows them to sink down until he's
burried to his knees, before solidifying.
* Terom's gangster looks up from his stomach with tired eyes.  He seems to have
managed to stop his own blood from spilling out onto the pavement, and his mask
looks ridiculous covered with powder, but he's alive and awake.
* Omar's gangster stares at the boy in front of him with a terrified expression,
and he adds the scent of urine to the underlying musk and dust that already
makes the vicinity such a charming place.
* Judgement walks to each of the disabled or injured thugs, securing them and
bringing them back to Omar for safe-keeping until some law-enforcement gets
here.
* Omar pats the guy on the head. "I'll let you out when the police get here." He
snaps his fingers again, and the poor man's pants become significantly less
urine-soaked. He proceeds to give each of those who are brought to him similar
floor-sinking treatment, and then looks them over for life-threatening or
permanently disfiguring wounds.
* Terom crouches down on one knee, and she smiles at the poor man, a knife
flicking from her sleeve and into her right hand. "Hello. Your friends were
annoying."
* Each individual in the plaza has a sudden, brief flash of premonition. 
Several policemen, armed with clubs and pistols, are hanging from the outsides
of a horse-drawn carriage coming down one of the streets near the arcade.
<Judgement> We should vacate the area.
* The masked thug groans.  "The Pauper said we was to rough them up if they
didn't help us."
* Guardian rises up from the wreckage pile, casually dusting its shoulders off
with its left hand, as the right arm seems to be hanging down limply. "That was
quick."
* Omar bows to the assembled, pavement-trapped thugs. "They will take charge of
you. Please do not cause any further rucuss." He then turns to Judgement, Terom,
and the others.
<Omar> Shall we retire to more comfortable surroundings?
* Judgement silently takes flight from the area.
* Terom starts at the premonition, looking up and around. She glances at the
gangster, then flicks the knife away before walking off, not even greeting the
others.
* Paladin is others ¬_¬
* Omar turns to Judgement, Terom, and Joan, then. Sorry, didn't realize there
were only three others. :P
* Guardian starts making its way out of the arcade, one of the knees slow and
unresponsive.
* Omar looks at Terom walking off. "Madamoiselle, would you care to join us? We
must hurry before the police arrive, but I believe all should celebrate this
joint victory."
<Omar> Everyone, the Captain urges us to hurry, lest the gendarmes catch us and
ask awkward questions.
* Terom glances just a bit down at Omar. "Where do you think I'm going?" she
snaps.
* Omar smiles up at the woman. "Excellent. Right this way." He looks back at the
limping Guardian. "Guardian, do you require assistance?"
* Guardian strides right past Omar, apparently working out the kinks in its
knee.
* Terom just keeps walking out of the area. See her? That's her leaving.
* Omar nods, and walks quickly along. His short legs mean that he merely keeps
up, despite his apparently swift pace.
* Paladin waits until the unfriendly people (and Omar) have stormed out of the
area, then says a quick prayer. "Lord, forgive them. They know not what they
do." She leaps into the flight, muttering, "Amen."