ic Century for a Dame [Open]

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy Harker

Lucy couldn’t help but smile at the sudden turn of events, she found it somehow refreshing how some people reacted to her nature. Finishing checking her “makeup” she hoisted herself onto the counter and looked at the two women.

 

“Back in my day I’d be beckoned to the bathroom to exchange gossip or an opening for potential romantic engagement. And I may add you make a lovely couple by the way, though I’m not looking for a partner right now.”

 

She sighed, though she wasn’t really upset just a little disappointed.

 

“But I’m not a vampire, it’s complicated but I’m more a zombie…” she smiled showing her normal teeth “I’m Lucy Harker? The Revenant? Do people forget things that fast these days?”

[Avenger Assembled]

Faced with a perfectly reasonable monster in a perfectly reasonable bathroom, Ashley buried her face in her hands. Oh god, it's not just a vampire bar, it's a _lesbian_ vampire bar. Wait, why is that bad? What the hell is wrong with me? Uggggh. 

 

"Okay. Okay." She turned and ran water in the sink, burying her face in one of the little towels by the side of the sink. "Okay. Everything's fine." She looked at herself in the mirror and caught Fa'Rua's gaze behind her. Sorry. "The one who was hitting on Mali, is he one of yours, then? That would explain the bad vibes I got off him." 

[angrydurf]

Fa'Rua offered a small and slightly amused shrug to Ashley at the exchange and smiled with amusement at Lucy's response looking questioningly to Ashley who she expected to be more in tune with the local heroes.  "I'm from out of town personally."  she explained with a quick smile and offered a shake of her head and silently mouthed , 'don't be' in answer to the apologetic look.    "I feel it my duty to point out that it is more than possible to be a normal creep with no blood sucking or brain eating being on the table."  She grinned glad that even if things were tense there wasn't a fight about to break out in the ladies.

 

"Right so we're all good then everything resolved?"  she asked hopefully, though she had her doubts.

[Amelia]

Mister Strix

 

Quote

'Stefan' stumbled back a step, "aw, no, yer nice suit!"  He kept up the 'drunken stranger' act, stooping slightly on unsteady feet and now eye-level with the stains on Strix's shirt.  "I am sho, sho shorry.  C'mon," he straightened up and looked him in the eye, "I'll help ya get cleaned up.  It'sh the leasht I can do.  A lil' water, some club shoda, that'll get it right out, you'll shee!"  He reached out to grab hold of the pale man's arm, intending to guide (or "guide") him to the men's room.

 

Guy didn't resist when "Stefan" pulled him into the restroom. Still gritting his teeth, still keeping his lips pressed closed in a grimace, he forced his arm to go limp when the "drunk man" grabbed it. He didn't breathe anymore, but he went through the motions anyway, taking a series of deep breaths as the walked to try to clear the blood-soaked fog around his vision. Stop and think. Look past the blood. Why is there blood? What's going on here? Think...

 

Once they were inside the bathroom, Guy broke away from the "drunk man" as soon as his back was turned, halfway to the sinks. With inhuman speed, he glanced under each of the bathroom stalls to make sure they were empty. Satisfied, he grabbed the trash can, dashed over to the door, and wedged the bin against it, hard enough to bend the bin and to make it impossible for someone to open the door from the outside. Then the white blur streaked right up into "Stefan"'s face and slammed him against the wall. "Stefan" could feel the cold flesh on the man's fingers through his clothes, long fingers that seemed almost to have an extra joint in them, fingers that gripped his shirt like a mechanical vise.

 

"You're human. A perfect specimen. Your heart beats like an Olympic athlete. You're alive. Mortal. And you're not drunk. I can barely smell a drop of alcohol on you." The pale man's impossibly deep voice echoed with an unnatural resonance. "So why were you drinking blood?! WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT'S YOUR GAME?! WHO'S BLOOD IS THAT?! Tell me NOW." The pale man's eyes were completely black. His canine teeth were elongated like the fangs of a viper, and his tongue was at least twice as long as normal. His mouth in general seemed larger in proportion to his face than it should have been, and it held more teeth than seemed possible.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Jesus!  What the... how did he move so... eyes... dark... 

 

"I wasn't drinking it," he replied dreamily, only partially aware that he was doing so, "I just wanted to make something that would stain your clothes, and make them reek, so I could track you down later.  It was my own blood and bile."

 

Wait, is this... is this international criminal guy a... a vampire?  Do Farua & Ashley know?

 

"I am... am..."  He was fighting it, but Strix's unholy powers were winning out. "...am... Davyd Palahniuk.  A student at..."

 

Stop talking!  Snap out of it!

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Ashley sighed, reaching over to lay her hand against Fa'Rua's. The holographic display tingled a little, enough resistance in the matrix that her fingers didn't actually go through unless she pressed hard. She got Fa'Rua a grateful smile and mouthed 'Thank you' before she pushed away from the bathroom counter. "All right, so it's a vampire club, and vampires are...people too, I guess." It occurred to her that she'd have just shot Lucy in the face if Judy had been with her, but then that was the difference between being off-duty and on-duty. "Okay let's go have some fun." 

 

As the group of women left the restroom, she did notice that both the creepy guy Lucy had been talking to and the weird guy who'd been hitting on Mali had disappeared. She glanced around the room, considered her options, and then glanced back at the men's room door. They must have made us. That does seem like the most logical place for them to hide from a group of women. Oh God, if they're hooking up in there, I'm gonna feel like such an asshole. Did vampires even do that with each other? 

 

"Hey," she said to Lucy, "looks like our two birds are hiding out. Since you're management, do you think you can check in there?" 

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy Harker

Lucy sighed these two, or at least one of them wasn’t going to make this easy.

 

“First I don’t work here…” she counted out on her bone white fingers “… I’m a lawyer and hero that just happens to have a love a jazz who’s been coming here since before the place had a name! Secondly if you knew the West End in any detail you know I make sure that any harmful vampires, or anyone really, are deal with however needed.”

 

“Though I always give everyone a chance to prove me wrong, something you might want to consider. Every generation think they invented it, but even in my day people like to explore there sexuality, flappers were a little more than cheap booze and dancing. Difference is once they left those door they had to pretend to be normal.” she made the little hand movements at the term “Shame really Mary and Louise made a lovely couple.”

 

She smiled a little wistfully at the memory, even if it was a little tinged with sadness.

 

“Still I’m a hero so I guess I’ll go and help my friend.” slipping off the counter she made her way over to the other bathroom knocking on the door

 

“If your up to something you better get decent, I’m coming in!”

[Amelia]

Mister Strix

 

"A student?! You're just some college kid?!"

 

Guy glared over his shoulder and let a growl slip at the sound of Lucy's voice coming from the other side of the door. Dammit. The one person in this place who probably can get that door open. Running out of time. This isn't going to look good no matter what I say.

 

He turned back to Davyd. "Your own...?" He leaned in and sniffed. "...So it is. You...tagged me...with your own blood...so you could follow me? Why?! Who are you working for? Who put you up to this?"

 

The kid's a pawn, or a distraction. He must be. He couldn't have known what he was getting into. I must have made more noise than I thought when I busted up those traffickers. Left more of a trail. Still sloppy.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

"Not a... college student," the man slurred.  "Yes, tagged you..."

 

No, no, no!  Snap out of it!  He may be a vampire, but I'm part alien -- that's gotta count for something, right?

 

"... used blood because it was... handy... not working for anyone.  No one put me up to this."  He was still struggling.

 

Who knows what this guy could be up to?!  C'mon, c'mon, think -- what's good to use against a vampire?  Think of garlic, think of church and temple, of the sun, think of... oh!

 

A moment of clarity suddenly flashed through Davyd's mind.  He looked the pale man in the eye, "no one put me up to this.  But I know there are some international cops after you, and so," he placed his hands on the man's cold wrists, "as a concerned citizen, I though I'd try to track you down, and stop whatever it is you were up to.  But now..."

 

His voice deepened and shifted, along with the rest of him.  The hands around Strix's wrists grew stronger, and as he pulled the vampire's grip away, wicked talons burst out from under the young man's fingernails.  Sickening popping and grinding sounds filled the restroom as his skeleton warped into something more lupine, stretching muscle and skin (and shredding shirt and pants, which now clung loosely to him as rags) to accommodate the new frame.  Sections of his legs and feet warped to a more digitigrade arrangement (shredding his shoes), brown fur sprouted all over, and the lower half of his face elongated into a wolf's muzzle, complete with nasty fangs and fetid breath.

 

"... now I think I'll just stop you here!"

 

He howled.

 

[angrydurf]

Fa'Rua followed Ashley out happy that the situation seemed to be taking care of itself and giving the agents arm a light squeeze, about all the holo could manage, "Good job."  she whispered leaning in, "But, 'I guess', isn't exactly the go to phrase after people too."  she teased lightly she frowned slightly at Lucy little diatribe, "Hey we don't know you and I guess we should but she's just trying to also look out for these people."  the lor defended a bit of fire to her now but she shook her head, "I'm sure it's all fine and we were just ..."  Then the roar from the mens room cut loose, "Well frack me."

[Amelia]

Mister Strix

 

The last time Guy had felt a rush of pure panic like this was the first and last time he'd tried to end his own undead existence. The morning he went out to face the Sun, and became so overwhelmed with terror as his flesh burned that he couldn't help but flee its gaze. He'd only ever killed one person before, but that morning, when an unfortunate mortal found themselves in his path, when his instincts perceived them as a threat to his escape, he'd almost increased his count to two. The emergency room he'd dropped them off at assumed they were mauled by a wild animal, which, in a way, they were. This time, however, the light of the Sun wasn't there to trap him in his body. There was nothing to stop him from dissolving into a cloud of fine white mist and flying out the bathroom window. So that's exactly what he did, leaving only fogged-up mirrors and a wrecked trash can wedged against the door as evidence of his passing.

 

He soared several blocks away before forcing himself to stop and collect himself, emotionally and physically. He clutched the sides of his head with his hands and closed his eyes and gradually the screaming in his head died down. Then his black eyes opened and glared hatefully back toward the jazz club. Neat trick. I've got a few of my own.

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Grumblefloof

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy Harker

Hearing sounds from beyond, and having given her warning, Lucy put her shoulder to force the door. Being able to lift a car without any effort the door wasn’t any real struggle at all, though she guilty noted that she’d have to owe Jada for the damage.

 

What she saw beyond the door was worrying on many levels, she’d faced both werewolves and vampires and wolves and it could be difficult to tell which was which. She’d not had a chance to determine Strix’s blood prowess and whether he do such things or whether there was another supernatural creature here tonight.

 

“I suggest you stand down before trouble starts”

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

The looming werewolf reacted in a way Lucy had not quite expected, but had perhaps hoped for: he crouched a bit, folded his ears back, and looked much like a dog that had just been told it was a bad boy.  "Oh!  Uh... sorry, ma'am..."

 

Wait, no, he's getting away!  And I can't squeeze through that window, in this form.  And I need to warn Ashley and Farua.  Okay, so I gotta go the long way 'round.

 

His ears perked up again, hairs stood on end, and his stance shifted, "really sorry, butI'vegottarun!"  He barreled past Lucy, and dashed through the club at breakneck speeds, clearly headed towards the exist.  "HeyAshleyandFaruaI'mafterthatinternationalcriminalyouwereafteralsohe'savampireheflewoutthemen'sroomwindowI'mmachasehimdown!"

 

[Amelia]

Mister Strix

 

Davyd almost made it to the exit before the door went flying off its hinges and clattering to the club floor.

 

The pale man in white could outrun a car on the freeway. He'd made it back to the club in a matter of seconds. "You got my scent, Boy? Well I got yours too." The supernatural echo under his voice was at full power now, his fanged maw open wide. Gleaming white talons sprouted from the tips of his fingers, each one as long as the finger that had birthed it. "You want to bleed on me? You will." So quickly that most people only saw a white blur, if anything at all, as he lunged at the "werewolf", growling like a tiger and slashing and biting with reckless abandon.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Yowza!

 

The "werewolf" leaped back, avoiding the vampire's reckless claws by mere inches.  He snarled, drool spilling down over his lips, and raised his claws high for a strike.

 

Strix quickly realized two things.  One, his opening attack had left him overextended and off-balance.  Two, this thing's fangs and talons were growing larger and sharper before his very eyes!

 

Gotta end this fast!

 

Davyd brought his embiggened claws down, connecting with two powerful slashes, marking a great X across Strix's torso.

 

And then his foe was down!  But now Davyd was uncomfortably aware of everyone else in the bar -- plus the dawning horror that he'd just killed someone -- so he bolted out the door and made a loping run back to Claremont.

 

[angrydurf]

"See babe all under control."  Fa'Rua cooed to Ashley hopefully as Lucy went to settle whatever had caused those bone chilling noises.  Only for the Revenant to be bowled aside by the canine monstrocity shouting about international criminals and knowing Ashleys name, as well as her own.  "Did he just ..."  She barely had time to place a warning hand on Ashleys bicep trying to hold the agent back before the vampire returned and the beasts went to battle.

 

She took a step back feebly tugging with what might the holopresence device could muster at Ashleys arm trying to stop her getting involved but knowing already it was a lost cause.  Then Strix fell before the wolfmans onslaught crimson gashes that didn't bleed like they should have opening on the vampires chest before the mobile corpse collapsed unmoving on the floor and the lyncanthropic beast began to flee the scene.  She let out a string of curses in her native tongue and pushed the holopresence device as hard as she could in pursuit of the fleeing mystery wolfman.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Chết tiệt! Đậu xanh rau má!" Ashley swore in explosive Vietnamese. Davyd taking down the vampire had seemingly solved everyone's problem, but now it was like the goddamn Olympics out here. Still, even amidst her girlfriend chasing down a shapeshifted teenager who was probably about to go blow the whistle to all of Claremont, she couldn't forget about her responsibility to these people - and to Davyd, who had maybe just picked a fight with something much worse than a Secret Service agent trying for a long distance date. 

 

She shoved her hand in her purse as she ran past the fallen Strix and pulled something out that she tossed right into the opening torn in the undead man's chest, something that flashed into light and heat, a quick-burning phosphorous that would incinerate the corpse without doing more than scuffing Lucy's carpet. _We don't want him following us for revenge - and this'll solve Lucy's job for her. And the lightshow will make sure everyone's watching that and not me!_

 

As the device, and Strix, began to burn, she ran out the backdoor after Fa'Rua, luckily stopping to grab up her motorcycle on the way. "Fa'Rua!" she called, switching to her heavily accented Lor, "slow your feet!" 

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy Harkness

Lucy frowned, but only for a minute, she had put down vampire without any consideration but Strix was different she seen into his soul and he was one of the good ones. Without hesitation she grab an extinguisher and made sure he was out and the grenade couldn’t do any more harm, even though she was vulnerable to fire herself. Beside the wounds would heal eventually always to her flawless form.

 

With vampires it was always difficult to tell without know there family line, some would disintegrate to a stake to the chest whilst others would restore from being reduced to atoms. But always it was about blood with vampires.

 

“Jada could you get some from Mary’s private supplies please?”

 

Blood Mary was her sister in darkness and whilst she hardly ever visited she kept a small supply of (legally donated) blood on supply just in cast. Breaking the bag she gently apply a trickle of blood to his mouth to see if it would help him regenerate.

[Amelia]

Mister Strix

 

When the blood started dripping into the pale man's open mouth, the charred gashes on his chest did indeed begin to knit themselves back together. The more blood Lucy poured down his throat, the faster his flesh regenerated. Once the wounds were closed, when little but scarring remained, his limp form sprang to life, his fingers digging divots out of the floor. He roared again, then collected himself. He touched a finger to catch a drop of blood at his lips, then looked up at Lucy and her bottle. "Thanks. I owe you one." He glanced around as he rose to his feet and stripped off the burnt and slashed up remains of his shirt and jacket. "Sorry about the mess." He sniffed the air. "I was...burning...why was I..." Then he sniffed again and growled. "Still got his scent. Sorry, no time to chat, rabid dog to put down." He ran out of the club, the same white blur as when he'd run back in, though, as before, his footfalls jackhammering the floor didn't make a sound.

 

[angrydurf]

At Ashleys call Fa'Rua drew up and remembered the bike with a sheepish shrug, "Right. Wheels."  she answered as the agent roared up and the lithe Lor snaked up in front of Ashley, "I'll drive, can't do much else through the interface."  she grinned and tucked Ashleys arms around her tight as she revved the engine and shot off after the fleeing wolfman.  "So what is the plan when we catch up?" she called out over the whipping wind and roar of the engine.  She didn't wait for a response as she poured on the speed weaving the bike through the light traffic with the steely nerves of her fighter pilot past.  At these speeds it wouldn't take long for her to overcome the fleeing creatures lead.

[Avenger Assembled]

Run him over! 

 

Ashley shook her head as she zipped through the crowd, pulling her helmet on as they went. What she wanted to tell Fa'Rua was to drive somewhere out of the city where nobody would know who they were and she could get a PI's license, but haha she only had fantasies like that once or twice a week, she could put off indulging them for a little while. "Davyd's a good kid," she said, "but if he thinks he killed a man, he's going to run right to Summers and tell her everything." And then she's gonna laugh right in my goddamn face. "So we've got to catch him and tell him it wasn't what he thinks." 

 

She wrapped her arms around the holographic Fa'Rua, and if she ignored the lack of smell, it was almost the same. "He's probably too frightened to change his shape, so if you just keep it above 75MPH, we should get him!" 

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy Harker

Lucy put down the empty blood bag, ignoring her still burnt hands. She wasn’t sure of the whole story but right now it seemed that cooler heads might be needed. She could still make out Strix, but she wouldn’t have long if she needed to keep up. Briefly she considered staying for the Jazz, but that really wasn’t her style. Besides she had bemoaned that she was feeling ennui, and this was definitely invigorating. She looked over at the last person still her of the group, she hadn’t gotten Mali’s name, and gestured towards her.

 

“I can catch them if you want to come along, but we better be quick.”

 

After it was all settled she took of at speed, her undead muscles able to push her to speeds no humans could achieve and she quickly had Strix back in her sights.

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

It was about six miles from Chester's Club to the Claremont Academy, as the crow flies, but as the werewolf runs -- factoring in traffic and getting around the bridges spanning the South River -- it was a bit further.  Had Davyd been thinking more clearly, he might have taken on a winged form, but he was not thinking very clearly.  He was in full-bore panic, running both from the monster he'd seen and the monstrous assault he'd made.

 

I've never attacked someone that viciously!  I either killed him... or I've made him really pissed off!

 

In fact, at first he was headed more east, towards Riverside, and his parent's apartment.  Home.  Home was safe.  Home was warm.  Home had loved ones.  Loved ones who'd be torn to ribbons by an angry vampire!  So he veered south, towards Bayview, and the Academy.

 

Headmistress Summers will know what to do.  She's got to.  She'll know.  She will.

 

And then there was Ashley, and her... associate?  Partner?  He knew it was against school policy for them to be out like this, no less in a bar!  He might get expelled, or detention.  And so might Ashley!  And she hadn't done anything (really)!  But right now the thought of facing Headmistress Summers was slightly less terrifying than the monster out there.

 

Almost there... almost there... one more block...