Knight! Damsel! Cue Rescue! [IC]

[Nyrath]

Alex had hit upon a simple, effective, and fairly enoyable mode of patrolling. She took a couple of minutes to alter her appereance, and basically just hit the streets in whatever area she figured needed to have its criminal element rattled a bit. Tonight it was Lincoln's turn, the winged heroine knew of the gang problems in the area and she figured it was worth looking into. If nothing happened, great. If something did, well, she was better equipped the handle it than most women on the streets.

Which was why she was now walking the streets, late at night, putting on a rather convincing show of being lost and somewhat scared young white woman. And after a while she did attract what she'd been looking for; a group of 'thugs' who quickly descended into the by now familiar banter. She keeps up the pretence, backing up against a wall to keep away from them, seemingly trying to spot any kind of gap to make a break through. Just a little closer.

[Sandman XI]

Wesley is in Lincoln for two reasons. He can't sleep. Something horrific haunted his mind so much tonight that he couldn't get a wink in. The other reason being that he is walking. Sure he can fly, run like the wind or even dig if he needs to, walking is much more comforting. A few hours of walking and he was here, in Lincoln. This looks like a bad neighborhood, of course he can protect himself. Though the lady over there? She sticks out like a sore thumb. Is she actually walking into that alleyway? This can't be happening. It's like watching a horror movie waiting to happen. As if on cue, a group of thugs have come to claim their turf. He has to get her out of here. He remembers that one night in the club were that chick was surrounded by goons and he chased them off. Let's see if it pays off again . "Hey," he yells over to the thugs while, "I know you ain't gonna do what I think you're gonna do!" Yeah, taunt them, make them forget about the prey. That'll work. If this scares them off good. He can escort the lady to safety. He hopes it goes well.

[Nyrath]

Things were going to schedule when unexpectedly someone stepped in to stop the thugs. Praise by common heroism, though now I have to keep him intact too. Wait, isn't that, what was his name again? Ah, Knight. So no real problem then, he can take care of himself.

The apparent leader of gang, a particularly tall muscular man, took a step towards the newcomer. "And what are you gonna do 'bout it?"

[Sandman XI]

Great, Wesley got their attention. Now what? They didn't attack or leave! If he can only diffuse this peacefully, he'll be much relieved! "Well," Wesley says slowly, stalling for time. It looks like the lady isn't moving either! All eyes on him! An idea fires off in his head and Wesley smirks, "If you don't let her go, I can guarantee things will will get a lot weirder around here!" Wesley's flare up green.

[Nyrath]

As Wesley's Glowing Eyes of Doom lit up there was a noticeable change in the mood of the scene; now all three parties knew that at least one of the others had powers. While a lot of street criminals would by now have gone headlong into fight or flight reaction, most likely flight, these six don't seem too fazed by this revelation. Instead a low growl can be heard issuing from half a dozen throats, and not the pale imitation most humans can muster but something much more like the canine 'true' version. They all seem to bulk out slightly, and within a moment both of the heroes present realize that they seem to be at least imitations of werewolves as lupine features merge with those of the men.

"Grrr, get 'im." The seeming alpha growls and three of the others join him in advancing on the brave newcomer. The last two keep an eye on their 'prey'. Just a few more moments thinks Alex as she subtly moves herself so that she'll have no problem launching an attack of her own.

[Sandman XI]

Well, that explains everything. Wait, no it doesn't! Maybe the lady (who he couldn't keep his mind off of at the moment. Is it because she smokin hot? Is it because she reminds him of Lynn?) could explain afterwards, but first he has to calm some angry wolf men. "Alright," he spoke clear and demanding voice. as several large black vein-like tentacles emerged from his back, "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice!" The tentacles thrust violently towards the feral gangsters attempting to subdue them. Almost all of them hit. Three of the wolf men get hit directly in the chest, they fall to the ground. Two get hit in the stomach, they look like like they soon will join their comrades. Though the head honcho still stands. Wesley will have to deal with him next. His tentacles retract. They're still a clear and present threat, but not enough to be obtrusive.

[Nyrath]

As the two who'd been hit staggered about the lady took the obvious chance. Not blanching at the tentacle assault on her criminals Alex simply takes a step forward and slams her fist into him launching the canine criminal into the brick wall behind him causing a noticeable dent in it. "Playtime boys." She says with a smile.

At the same time the only one who'd dodged the tentacles lunges at the the dark hero obviously intent on causing him some grievious bodily harm. While his claws bit deep into the hero's clothes something about Wesleys enhanced physique kept him from taking noticeable harm. There could be seen the glimmers of an 'uh-oh' revelation in the wolfman's eyes, but it was drowned out in the torrent of adrenaline.

[Sandman XI]

So it appears that the shrinking violet has a little bit of a wildflower in her! Awesome. Wesley could use the help with the rest of the pack. Right now he has to deal with the one directly in front of him. The wolf man has totally shredded Wesley's new shirt. Sure it was only a white a-shirt, but it was his white a-shirt. This cannot stand! "Come on Cujo," he scolded the wolf with a grunt, "We just can't start ripping clothes off of each other. We hardly know each other." Wesley takes a few steps back as to not be so close to the wolf, "Tell you what, let's start with introductions," he slings a tentacle toward the wolf man. It barely grazes his target's neck. "My name is Knight!" he said with bravado. The tentacle then bores into the wolf's neck hitting the right vein depriving it of it's blood flow to the brain. It won't be moving any time soon.

[Nyrath]

In the red-tinted world the lesser lupine shapeshifter currently occupied the little lady still presented the better target, especially since his boss was busy mauling the bigger one. So he leapt to the attack, his claws digging into her jacket. And finding it impossible to pierce her skin. He barely has time process this before a petite fist breaks his jaw and sends him flying backwards, where he skids akwardly against the brick wall for a few feet before stopping. Aww, fluffies no play more?" Alex playfully asks out loud.

The lead wolf staggers as the tentacle bores into his neck, and catches the eye of the lady combatant. "Ah, fluffy!" Again there's the playful tone of voice, and this time she smiles broadly as she concentrates blazing holy power into her hands before throwing it at the furry thug. And strikes him right in the back of the head bowling him forward. He hits the ground unconscious.

[Sandman XI]

Wesley's tentacles recede back into his back as the last wolf man falls. "Well done," he says with a smile and a slow clap, "I do believe you're the first black widow hero I've seen or heard of." Walking over to her, his eyes flair green again. She isn't hurt and she still isn't in her true form. Is it even a she? "As you might of heard during our little encounter, my name is Knight," he says with a bow, "though I don't have the pleasure of your name."

[Nyrath]

"Hah, as a matter of fact I knew it before that." As she spoke the petite woman began to change, her statue and hair growing, her hair turning purple while her skin turned an ambiguous shade of brown. "We did meet back in 08, dealing with those acid bloobs in Hanover." As her clothes shifted to suit her new near six foot body she finished her bit. "Still going by Mongrel Angel by the way."

[Sandman XI]

Wesley smiles reminiscently. That was the first big thing he did here. If not for him the city would have been overrun by amorphous blobs of poo. It's nothing he reminds anyone about as no one but him and the robot kid made it through. "Yeah, It's been a while. Though last time I saw you, you were a might bit shorter," he motioned downwards to her original height. Boy, she did fill out well. But Wesley doesn't mention that. He doesn't want to seem like he's leering, so he averts eyes with a blush. His mother raised him better than that. "So, long time no see, yeah? How's it been going for you?" That's it, small talk. always gets the mind going in different directions.

[Nyrath]

"Well, I was trying to fit in a bit more than I do now. Near six foor amazons with purple hair stand out a bit don't they?" Alex stretches a bit as she talks, certainly not unaware of how this can at times put emphasis on certain parts of her physique. Well mannered guy, always nice to meet one of those."Pretty well, specially since round about December last year. Gotten into a partnership/relationship thing, kinda, with this girl. Now that I think about it she mentioned you once or twice I think." The purplehaired woman looks like she's remembering some distinctly happy times. "Kinda tricky to remember some of the details. You know how it is with Divine?" She asks looking over at Wesley to see if the name sparks any recognition.

[quotemyname]

Earlier That Day

Thomas' phone rang. It was Jack. Great. Getting a call from the pack alpha was not usually a good thing. More often than not, he would be calling in a favor. Except that favor wasn't usually the right word for it.

"Yes, Jack?" Thomas answered the phone, getting up from the couch and pacing around the table in the center of the room.

"Thomas, we need to talk." Jack said flatly, in his my-way-or-the-highway, straight-to-business way.

"About what, Jack?"

"Look. I know what you've been doing. Running around the city at night."

Crap. Thomas was hoping he'd have a little longer before his alpha found out that he was beating up criminals by night under the guise of a vigilante. Thomas wasn't ready to back down quite yet. "And?"

"I don't like it. I think you should stop. But. Arianna told me to leave it alone for now. You're lucky. But I'm letting you know now, if this thing gets out of hand, or if anyone finds out about us, I'm shutting you down." Arianna, the pack's alpha female was usually a little more on your side than Jack was. Thomas was thankful for that.

"Yea, Jack, I get it. So was that the favor?"

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy." Crap. "Recently, I've had my ear to the ground. There have been reports of other wolves in town. Ones that aren't ours. They're not shifting at the full moon, to say the least. But there's a number of other things wrong with them too."

"So what do you want me to do about it."

"Don't get smart with me, Thomas." Jack barked. "I want you to @#$%ing check it out. If you're so keen on this vigilante crap, put it to some good use. Do something for the pack, damn it."

Thomas sighed. "Jack. Jack, okay. I'll check it out. Just calm down."

[quotemyname]

Back to the Present

Thomas donned the leather outfit that made up his costume as Lukos. He slipped out the bedroom window of his apartment in Freedom City's South Side. Having the pack Alphas know what he did at night was bad enough, he didn't need his roommates knowing, though it was likely one of them that had tipped Jack or Arianna off in the first place.

Lukos quickly dashed off through the streets putting distance between himself and his home. If he was to be seen, it would be better if he were not right next to his house. Once he was a few blocks away, he started his search in earnest. Almost right away, he picked up the scent of Lycanthropes. It wasn't one he recognized. It didn't belong to him or his roommates, who were to his knowledge the only Lycanthropes living in the south side, with the exception of Mia, but she didn't spend much time around this section of the city, and it wasn't her scent anyway.

This Lycanthrope scent was something else entirely. It had the distinct musk, and mixture of fur and skin that made the smell so identifiable. But there was something else. Something different. At first, Lukos thought that it might belong to some other species of Lycanthrope. He had heard of Weretigers and such, but had never seen one. He didn't know if there even were any in Freedom City. He soon ruled out that possibility. As he followed the trail, he became more and more sure of the fact that they were wolves. Just not the right kind. No wonder Jack had wanted him to look into this, it could mean another pack was trying to move in on their territory! Deep down inside of him, Wolf growled. His territorial nature had awoken the beast inside of him. Now this was personal.

Within a few minutes, his nose led him to a rickety old two story house. The thing looked like it was falling to pieces. The perfect place for a new Werewolf pack to get it's start. The rent would be cheap. The place reeked of these other wolves. It even sported the same wrong scent that the trail did. Lukos was about to close in on the structure when he noticed something else. Another smaller trail of Lycanthropic scent that led away from the building. There couldn't have been more than a few of them in the group. They would make an easier bunch to question than whoever was hold up in that house, that was for sure.

[quotemyname]

After meticulously following the trail of the intruding Lycanthropes, Lukos eventually felt the scent getting stronger and stronger. They had stopped moving, or at the very least, He was closing the distance.

Lukos rounded another corner, but quickly ducked back the way he had come. Further down the alleyway, he had gotten a quick glance of what must have been his quarry, all in a heap on the ground. He had also noticed to figures standing near by the unconscious Lupine forms. One male, one female. Lukos thought. Then something else struck him, he played his brief glimpse of the scene back through his head. The ones on the ground, they're still wolves, but not really. They were definately unconscious at the least, but had failed to revert to their human forms. The other strange thing was that they were not wolves. Not really. They were more like a cross between man and wolf. This was completely unlike his own ability to change, with which he was either all human, or all wolf.

Lukos crouched behind the alley wall, attempting to get more information on the scene through scent, and to have a chance to listen to what the guy and girl were discussing. Lukos started ordering the pieces of information in his mind, starting with the wolves. It is definitely them, the renegades. Though the differences between them and my own pack disturbs me, there is no mistaking that smell.

He moved on to the others. The man, he is human, but there is something strange about him. He smells like the earth and the animals. Usually humans smell like streets and buildings and coffee. This man seems to be more in tune with the natural world, or at the very least he spends more time around it. Puzzling.

Lukos turned his senses toward the girl. "This one, is not human. Not really. There are parts of her that remain that way, but only parts. No, she is something else entirely. I smell feathers, like goose down. Lukos flashed the scene in his mind again. It was only then that he realized she had had feathers. Wings, even. How could I have missed that? he scolded himself. He sniffed the air again, and a new scent hit him like a ton of bricks, If ever sex had a smell, that would be it. He thought as he breathed in the deep musky scent the girl gave off. Either she spends a lot of time in coitus, or there is something else at work here. Lukos quickly shook his head, trying to clear it. That scent was driving him wild, it reminded him of waking up after a full moon night naked and surrounded by his pack members. Those were nights that usually ended in more than one sexual encounter...

"Kinda tricky to remember some of the details. You know how it is with Divine?"

The two were making small talk. They seemed to know each other well. Had they planned to ambush the wolves? If so, they might be on his side. Still, Lukos decided it might be better to wait and see a little more...

[Sandman XI]

Wesley smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. Mongrel Angel was something of a work of art in motion. She gave him ideas for designs as she moved, but he wasn't going to gawk. That would be rude. When she mentioned Divine, nodded cheerfully. He remembered her from back in the Knights, though he didn't talk to her much but in passing. "Yeah me and Divine worked together some. Though we never got to meet each other personally. I'm flattered that she didn't forget about it." He blushed again, "It's a small world after all. Or at least a small city. I'm glad she finally found another after Hellbound left. I hope you and her are doing well together."

[quotemyname]

"So..." Lukos announced his presence, "Am I correct in assuming that this is your handiwork?"

He took a step away from the alley wall and his hiding spot. There was still about 50 feet between himself and the two things in front of them. Still not quite sure what to call them. He thought as he sniffed at the air once more.

"Are you two in the business of beating up Werewolves?" Behind the gas mask, his eyes narrowed, "There are some in this city that would not take kindly to that. Then again, these creatures here are not quite the proper type of Lycanthrope, and they do not belong to my pack."

Let's see how they respond to that.

Challenge. Assert dominance. Growl.

[Nyrath]

The sudden appearance of the newcomer in a gasmask caused Alex to spin around and face the new potential threat. The dark angel's mind processes what it can deduce of the newcomer, compares to what it already knows, and she makes an educated guess. "Wait a sec, you're Lucos right? Didn't know you're a lycanthrope, well that's Freedom for you." The tall heroinne visibly shrugs, seemingly dismissing it as not of too great importance. Interesting fact. If there's a pack already established in or near the city they're likely fairly secretive. Can't imagine them being well recieved by most heroes.

"No, it's not exactly a habit. Went fishing for lowlives and got a somewhat bigger catch than usual." The winged one reaches down and easily lifts up one of the downed wolfies to demonstrate. "Glass jaws on all of them it seems." That the one she's currently holding has a noticeably broken jaw might just be a coincidence. "Name's Mongrel Angel by the way. And if they're not from your pack would you still know where we can find the rest of this pack? I mean, they didn't hesitate to take advantage of a defenseless young lady, I don't like the thought of them loose on the streets. And I don't think your pack likes the thought of them drawing attention to any and all canine shapeshifters in town now do they?"

[quotemyname]

"No. They certainly do not at that." Lukos said, stooping to examine one of the unconscious bodies. He lifted a wrist here, and a muzzle there. "You two really did quite a number on these things. But they won't stay unconscious long. They seem to be a different sort of Lycanthrope than I am used to, but if they have anything in common with the real thing," He looked up at the two assembled heroes before finished the sentence, punctuating it with a stare, "They regenerate."

Standing, Lukos gave a look back down the alley where he came from. "You're in luck. I already know where their main den is. These things smell distinct enough it was easy to find. I can take you there if you would like, but it may be best to deal with these first." He swept a hand over the unconscious bodies of the wolves.

[Sandman XI]

Wesley looks to the new comer with a nod. Not showing fear is not not having fear, it's just wise not to freak out in front of a person who can turn into a nine foot tall death machine. He looks down at the wolf people when he learned they regenerate, then to Mongrel Angel, then to Lukos. "My name is Knight," he says as monotone as possible, "So how long do you think they have before they get up?" He looks to Mongrel Angel, "You wouldn't happen to have any silver on you, would you?" He knows not to ask a full blown werewolf that question. It'd be like asking a balloon if it had a needle.

[quotemyname]

"Damage like this?" Lukos took his time to observe more of the bodies. "A broken bone here, a laceration there." Beneath the gas mask, he frowned. "They should be standing again anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour. At least by my standards. I told you, this may be a different race or breed or something. They may have different capabilities. They may not regenerate at all."

At the mention of silver, Lukos' head snapped up. He glared at Knight. "Be aware, if you do use silver on them. You should be prepared to kill them. It is lethal to our kind."

[Nyrath]

Lukos wasn't he only one to react to the question regarding silver. "If I wanted them dead I'd torn off their heads or ripped out their souls at the start." The dark angel cooly stated as she conducted a closer examination of the one she was holding. "The bleeding's stopped, but that's just the few skin breaks scabbing over I'd say. No pupil movement, and the jawbone still seems to be as loose as ever. I'd say they're either not regenerating or doing rather slowly." Alex concluded and turned to look at the two men. "So, I'd rather not just leave them here. We could either call for the authorities, or have me shuttle-port them over to some place that can hold them. The later'll take a minute or two though, plus explanation time on the other end."

[quotemyname]

"That is true. I would leave this to the authorities. As they do not seem to be changing back, the police will know to use extra caution when they arrive." Lukos opined.

"As for the rest of the pack," Lukos turned to look down the alleyway he'd come from. "We should probably be moving. If this was a patrol of some sort, they may expect them back soon. We can use that to our advantage. They will be expecting friends, and get foes instead."