2014.11.08 - Vampire 1, Muggers 0

It's late evening, or rather, more like somewhere closer to midnight. The air is just starting to really hold that bite of coldness to it, that truly heralds winter is inching closer and closer to being reality. Even with that particular chill in the air, that doesn't stop young tough thugs from disparaging the idea of wearing any sort of coat, or even long sleeved shirts as they prowl the streets. Nope, they're all /men/ and they don't need no coat. It also helps that the whole pack of them had quite a bit of liquid heat, in the form of alcohol.

And while they may look like they're not much of a threat, for those that are aware of what hidden weapon bulges look like, this group definitely has them. Out of the six men, only two don't seem to have any sort of hidden weapons upon themselves. For now the group of young men are simply stomping down the sidewalk, as if they own the neighboorhood and while their footfalls might not be all that steady, one can almost sense the 'trouble' that is brewing around the gang.

Hawkgirl for her part is in costume and perched upon one of the rooftops here in Soho. She's using her favored weapon (the spear) as a prop, as she casually leans against it for support. While her stance is fairly casual that doesn't stop her noticing the group of toughs. Frowning slightly, she straightens as she says, "Looks like trouble."

Another rooftop sees a very different arrival to the City. And arrival is indeed the word, for The Dark is wholly new to this New York. And the world in General. Arriving a few days ago, it quickly became obvious that something weird was going on. The city smelt different, there was never any newspapers like the Daily Bugle or Planet that she could ever recall. And people out on the streets with so little fear of a clash between the Insurgency and the Order? Seriously, where the hell was she?

One thing however, quickly asserted itself as the same. Those few people who sought to take advantage of others. Cape rustling in the wind, and demonically glowing reflective lenses aimed down at the streets, The Dark watches, waiting to see what these humans are up to, and if necessary, ready to step in.

Nate doesn't do the 'patrolling' thing other so-called heroes are so fond. Petty crime is police business, really. He joined Stormwatch because they watch, or at least watched, for big problems and took care of them before the regular folks would be threatened, or even knew about them.

But he lives in New York, and sometimes problems find him. He has been clubbing and now he is taking a walk before going back to Halo. Being a telepath, he is vaguely aware of the muggers, but he has not classified them as a threat. After all, those are just six normal humans.

Sometimes, it's the apparently 'normal' ones that cause the most trouble.

In this instance the form that trouble takes, is that of a middle-aged woman. She just got off from work, a late shift as a nurse, and here she is heading on her way home. Her coat is pulled tight against the chill in the air, as she keeps a vigilant eye upon the area around her. She's lived long enough to know to be aware of her surroundings. As such, when she sees the group of men coming her way, she casually steps off the sidewalk and starts to head for the other side of the street.

Sadly, that was her first mistake. It's like the men can scent her fear, or at least, her helplessness against their number. One man elbows the closest thug next to him. "Hey man, lookit that. Lets have some fun." Several pairs of drunken bright eyes turn towards the nurse, as they see her as easy prey.

Sadly, that will be the their first mistake of the night, as well.

Quickly the group of men jog after the lady. The 'leader' of the pack cat-calling, "Hey lady! Wait up - we wanna chat." And when they surround her and block her from leaving, the woman bravely raises her eyes to the leader and says, "Look, I don't want any trouble." The leader laughs, which sounds vaguely like a donkey braying, "You don't want any? What ashame, we got some for you. Give us your purse and maybe a little kiss too." A couple of switchblades pop up, while one of the thugs reaches back for his piece, tucked into the waist of his jeans.

At this point, Hawkgirl's wings spread and with a little leap, she's clearing the edge of the rooftop. Yup, she's heading down towards the street, unaware that Nate is street level, or that a 'creature' lurks upon another rooftop.

A creature that leaps into the air, coming down with a rustling, before seeming to vanish and appear, hanging just above the thugs, cape whipping and rustling. "Are you afraid of the Dark?" the creature says, in a voice that seems like it walked right out of a horror film. Definitely intended to scare the thugs. She realizes the woman will probably freak out as well...but that's normal for her, sadly.

Nate notices something definitely wrong when the thoughts of the nurse become impregnated with fear. He hisses quietly, changing the direction of his walk. Despite the time in the club, he is quite sober himself. Alcohol (or drugs) and telepathy do not go well together, he learned early on.

The human thugs are quite laughable, really. Compared with the gangs and brigands that roamed the lawless wastes of his native Earth, those guys are harmless as kittens. Still, they need a good beating. Then he senses Hawkgirl coming, and slows down, looking up and smiling faintly.

Surprisingly, someone else got to the thugs before the winged girl. Nate hear Dark's voice and frowns, reaching with telepathy to see who is she.

With the appearance of the creature and especially its voice, the man with the gun tucked away quickly turns, his piece pulled in that same movement. Thankfully, it's not any type of sub-machine gun, or anything of that caliber. It's just a nice, non-rapid firing handgun. The barrel raises quickly and is pointed towards the 'creature', "What the hell, man?! We ain't afraid of the dar - " Those brave words are said before the man with the gun gets a clear look at The Dark. When he does, his voice stutters to a stop as he takes in the freaky looking person (?) standing there before him.

When the rest of the group gets a look at The Dark, they immediately pull out their hand guns, as well. One of the braver (or is that stupider) men say, "Lookit that, man. I bet it's one of them freaks. A mutie." When the nurse turns to look at her savior, she can't help but gasp. She may have seen a lot with her time at a large University Hospital, but still seeing a creature from your nightmares definitely causes a reaction. The hand that isn't clutching her purse unknowingly goes to her mouth, as she stares at The Dark.

Before The Dark appeared, Hawkgirl committed herself to an attack and while she has a second to look at the other 'hero' that has appeared, her appearance isn't closely look at, as Kendra follows through with a jab of her spear at the leaders ankles.

And while on a normal day, the leader may have kept his footing, he's too focused upon The Dark to notice Hawkgirl swooping towards him and so with an undignified sqwuak, the man goes to the ground. This of course, causes a chain reaction as the group now turn to stare opened mouth at the winged woman. Once again, one of the goons hisses, "What the hell?!" Sadly, no one has yet to see Nate approaching the little group either.

"Hell. Apt, isn't it?" The Dark says, in that same terrifying voice. She's never heard the term 'mutie'. Must be something unique to this place. She briefly feels a mind brush against hers. But focuses instead on the people in front of her, as her cape seems to spread out, like the demonic wings of some monster from the pits as Hawkgirl spears the leg of the leader of the thugs.

"Consider this your only opporotunity. Leave the woman be...or become my after dinner mint at the banquet of the damned!" she hisses out at the thugs, her eye lenses glowing more brightly, as does the silver portions of her costume.

Nate snickers at the Dark's words, believing they are just scare tactics, and slides close to Kendra, letting her see him. His telepathy touches every one of the thugs, but instead of hitting them, he just monitors lightly. They need a beating, not just a nap, alternatively getting terrorized might help them avoid crime in the future. Cowardly and superstitious lot they are. |"Nice night, Hawk Lady,"| he transmits just for the winged woman.

When the leader lands hard upon his butt, Hawkgirl can't help but snort. "Rico Sauve, you are not." Mutters the winged woman, before she 'hears' those words of Nate. Her gaze will flick towards the telepathic man when he appears in her field of vision. She'll give a subtle nod towards him and then, then she's focused upon the thugs.

While they truly are a cowardly lot, that doesn't mean they'll back down at every hint of true confrontation, nope, especially not with the amount of liquid courage they've all had tonight. And so, because of that, three of the thugs turn their guns upon The Dark and the other two turn their guns upon Hawkgirl.

The leader is still upon the ground, trying to gather his shattered wits about him.

The three thugs pointing their guns at The Dark, all stare at her with some form of fear in their eyes, before the closest one says, "Aw, shuddup. We aint afraid of you." Which is a lie. "Lets see how tough you are against bullets." And while perhaps in the daylight this wouldn't have escalated so quickly, the night often has a way of opening up the ugly in people. Because of that, thug one quickly raises his gun and fires off three shots in rapid succession right at The Dark. The other two thugs near him, actually jump. Possibly they've never fired their guns at real living beings?

The nurse for her part is simply looking for a way out. Hawkgirl seeing this, easily lashes out with a wing. There's enough force behind that wing thrust that when it hits one of the two thugs nearest her, he goes flying with a startle yelp. "Loser." Hawkgirl mutters to herself, before she jerks her chin towards the Nurse. "Get out of here, we got it. Get inside and lock your doors."

The Nurse gives Hawkgirl and Nate a thankful look as she steps around the fallen thug, and runs hastily away. Even as she runs a cellphone will be pulled from her purse, 9-1-1, being dialed as she moves.

The guns hit their target. But the suit the Dark Wears is well protected enough that the bullets just thunk off it. Or would normally. The Dark has shifted into a partially intangible state, letting the bullets fly right through her and puncture a mailbox right behind here. She looks down at her chest where the bullets went through her. Then looks back up.

"I was hoping you'd resist. I've been looking for a bite to drink...." And with that comment, she's in motion, moving with Vampiric speed, intending to use her strength to knock one of them out while grabbing the other by the hand holding the gun, intent on sinking her fangs, hidden under the mask, whose own teeth retract, into his neck.

Yep. The lady is a Vampire.

Finally, Hawkgirl gets a good look at the other hero helping her, just as the bullets pass through her. Behind her own mask her eyebrows rise upward, as she says, "Woah. Different."

And when those bullets pass through the other woman, that seems to sent off another chain reaction, as the other two thugs point their weapons, ready to fire at The Dark. You would think they'd try something else, but well, they're not that bright and now it's pure instinct. They're using the weapons they have, even if they're ineffective. Before they can even fire off another volley of shots, The Dark's speed takes them both by surprise. Not to mention her strength. The thug that she aimed a hit to, goes down with barely a word, just a soft surprised grunt. He's definitely out for the count. As for the man she's grabbed? As soon as her hand closes over his own (and his gun) he begins to struggle. And when she draws closer to him and especially his neck, he turns frantic. "No way, getta away! Oh my god help me!" It shouldn't be hard for The Dark to easily subdue him enough to take a drink, as it were.

As for Nate's command? Thankfully there's still one thug (plus the downed leader) who obey his command. The gun and switchblade the last thug had, clatters to the ground. The whites of his eyes are quite visible as he takes in the crazy scene before him, and with a stutter, he begins to move, "I'm outta here. This is crazy!" And while the thug manages a step and then a second, Hawkgirl's arm is there to meet him to politely clothesline him down to the ground.

While Nate might have seen monsters and critters, Hawkgirl isn't all that well-versed with them. Her own words echo that of Nate's, "What the hell?"

In the distance the wail of sirens starts up - the Nurse definitely called 9-1-1.

Once finished with her drink, The Dark lets go of the man who'd been so foolish as to thing EXPOSING HIS NECK to her was a good thing, as her natural fangs retract and the ones on her mask extend.

Turning to Hawkgirl, the Dark tilts her head.

"I could ask the same question." she says in that same terrifying voice, looking Hawkgirl and Nate over. "I've never seen Supers like you before."

"Seriously? Not a New Yorker, are you?" Nate glances at the downed thugs. "And these guys, really. They are too dumb or love taking risks, why do they bother to even try a mugging in New York. I have been around a couple years and it is not the first time I see three supers involved in minor street crime, you know?"

When The Dark literally drinks from the man's throat (who faints from pure fear) Hawkgirl can't help but goggle. Thankfully, her mask covers the majority of that reaction. Turning a sideways look to Nate, Hawkgirl says, "I don't remember the superhero handbook ever saying anything about vampires." Comes her rather dry humorous words, "I think I would have remembered /that/ one."

At this point, the whole gang is down. Even the leader, who simply stayed down because he didn't want to get beat up any worse.

From one of the pouches upon her belt, Hawkgirl pulls out a handful of zip ties. She'll toss a couple to Nate, as she says, "Help me truss 'em up, will you?" Already she's crouching near the leader and another fallen man. Their hands and ankles will be bound together with the zip-ties, as Hawkgirl keeps the majority of her attention upon The Dark. At Nate's words, she'll nod. "What he said. The majority of us will help out no matter the level of crime. It's why we're in the business." Her voice roughens just a tinge towards the end of that sentence, before she gives The Dark another once over. "I'm Hawkgirl." Kendra says in a more normal voice and lets Nate introduce himself as he sees fit, whether with his true identity, or his heroic one.

"....This is supposed to be New York?" The vampiress looks around her. "...It's too active." she says at length. And indeed, even at this hour, there are people out and about, as though the Order weren't even a concern. She's never seen New York like this. Then Hawkgirl's comment sinks in. Definitely something odd here. They act like this is an ordinary, even everyday thing. ...Well, when in Rome....

"The Dark." the vampiress says. Still in that same voice. Might be something she effects as a Vampire, or it might be something in her suit. She looks over the thugs she just helped take down, and scowls at the one she just drank from. "Never did understand the attraction to alcohol." she mutters.

Nate hrms. "Well, not me. I leave this stuff for the cops. But I live right around the corner, and I don't like this vermin. I would have gotten involved anyway, registered super or not." Zip-ties? He snorts, amused. "Gotta love a woman ready for everything. Hawk Lady." Because HawkGIRL would make him laugh, sooner or later. "I am Nate. Code-name Scion, but I don't wear masks."

The Dark comments about New York being too 'active' rings a bell of alarm in his head. "What do you mean 'supposed', did you expect something different from New York?" He looks at the vampire, "the city that never sleeps?"

An amused looks is given to Nate. "Gotta always be prepared out here on the streets."

As for The Dark's next words? That causes a brow to quirk upward behind her mask,, "Supposed to be? I hate to break it to you, but this is New York. Where are you from?" She asks, unconsciously echoing Nate, even as she files away the woman's codename. Definitely fitting, with her costume and being a Vampire and all.

Having trussed up the last man, closest to The Dark, Hawkgirl can't help but catch that mutter. She'll offer her two cents on that mutter, with her own muttered, "It helps you forget things. In their case their fear. Made them oh so courageous." She remarks darkly, before she straightens from tying up the last man.

The sirens are nearly on top of the trio, the flashing lights easily glimpsed through the spaces of the buildings, as the cop cars fly down the next street over. It'll only be a matter of minutes before the group is surrounded by the cops, "Don't think we should stay too long, either, guys. The coppers are almost here. They're liking to shoot first and ask questions later." She states bitterly, even as she snags her spear from the ground.

"This place is too....open." The Dark says. "No fear of the Order. No hint it even exists. This isn't New York." Or at least...not HER New York. Now that she stops to think about it, that explains the newspapers and the general feel of this place being almost....sedate, compared to the city she remembers. She's aware of the theory of multiple universes. Looks like it was just proven. But why is she here? How did she even get here?

"....Police with itchy trigger fingers...THAT sounds like New York." and she actually smirks at that comment.

"Not really, they are prone to have itchy trigger fingers if they see people running away from a crime scene," Nate usually talks with them after a crime. He is registered, and has a lisence, and they know his name. But it is late and really, muggers? Not going to waste several hours in the police station for a few muggers. "I guess I can makes sure they don't see us if you want to avoid doing the statements and, hmm, explain the bites, heh."

There's a quick shake of her head, "You two can stay, if you like, but I'm outta here. Hidden or not, I'd rather keep some distance." Already her wings are extending outward, as she looks curiously back at The Dark. "Glad we were on the same side. I always figure Vampires were the evil type, nice to see we're on the same side."

A screech of tires heralds the arrival of the first police car and when it's seen, Hawkgirl will immediately leap into the air and ascend towards the rooftops and sky. "Talk with you later."

At her words, another cop car arrives, as does the third, after receiving several frantic 9-1-1 calls from not just the Nurse, but others who had heard the gunshots as well.

The Dark smirks. Rare that someone figures out what she is. "Vampires are real. But not all of them evil." she says, and then vanishes, using her teleportation ability to once again take to the rooftops. She's reasonably confident she'll run into more Supers here. And probably these two again. For now, she simply wants to learn as much as she can about this strange place.

Finished!