ic What's Done In the Dark (IC)

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

July 17, 2011

8:33 p.m.

 

Nights on the West End were usually quiet, but there was a definite tension in the air. Men and women of various ages were turning up missing since much earlier in the week, and the police didn't seem to have much of a place to begin. The disappearances seemed random; a bartender walking home from the Secret Bar, two young women visiting a friend at Trinity Hospital... seven in all, over the past five days. The closest clue that could be found were other attacks in the same area, leaving a subway operator in a coma-like state, with two puncture wounds in his neck.

 

Naturally, speculation went wild after that.

 

No one was supposed to be going anywhere alone; it wasn't a direct order or martial law, just a friendly, sound suggestion. Just like with any friendly advice, however, even if it was coming from respected television and radio personalities, someone always thought they knew better than everyone else. The pair of graffiti artists near Ashton Mall had no idea they were being watched as the sun sank below the horizon...

[Tiffany Korta]

This part of the West End had changed since Lucy had last walked the streets. It used to be where those who considered themselves Middle-class, despite having no more money than anyone else. Who proudly kept there street clean and tidy

Like her parents.

She’d been putting it off but finally, after the last few days of weirdness, she had decided to try and find the old house.

She remembered the address like it was yesterday, which to her it almost was, but some of the layout had changed over time. She was close she was sure. Actually the area seemed unusually quiet and she wondered if the houses had been abandoned. No one else seemed to be around, well accept for those artists…

She stood for a few minutes and watched them lost in their work, marveling at the shapes and color they were producing. Whenever she felt the panging for the old day’s she only had to remember the wonders this had to provide.

â€Wow guy’s that’s really good†she step towards the confused graffiti artists.

[Azuth65]

Victoria was making her way back to the school, she'd been given permission from Headmaster Summers to visit the comicbook shop she had her pullbox at after they'd called her after her weekly draw hadn't been picked up for several weeks. All she had to promise was to call in if there was any trouble and not go looking for any.

Clutching messenger bag full of the issues of comics and graphic novels she'd just picked up. Keeping her head down she made her way to the bus stop. And then she heard

"Wow guy’s that’s really good."

Looking over she spied the woman from the other day outside the nuke plant, wearing the same super-old business suit, talking to a handful of graffiti spraying hoods. Oh boy..., this can not end well, she thought to herself.

[Taar]

Prescott had read up on the news out of the West End. Missing persons, people that were either vampires or were trying to give that impression, and so far no sign of a hero looking into it. This looked like a job for the Cheshire Blade!

Which was why Sarah was walking alone through the West End, dressed in a skirt and blouse, looking like any normal, vulnerable young woman. If it worked for that TV character...

Her patrol was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice. Turning to look, Sarah saw the figure of Lucy Harker addressing some graffiti artists.

[GranspearZX]

GM

"Aw crap."

"What? ...oh."

The two turned to face Lucy--the only person they could immediately see. Both had a messenger bag with various cans of spray paint, and each was wearing a yellow bandana over their mouths to protect from the fumes.

"Relax, it's not like she's a cop. Geez... ...wait, she just call me a guy?" The more assertive of the two was short and female, with strands of blonde hair sticking out of her backwards black cap. It was pretty easy to make the mistake though; her clothes were baggy and loose, making her easy to confuse for male until she actually spoke.

The other artist was wearing a black hoodie, a pair of flight goggles showing underneath the hood, resting on his forehead.

"It's not exactly safe out here, y'know. Don't you watch the news? We have vampires. He waggled his fingers, chuckling to himself at his joke.

[Tiffany Korta]

Whilst Lucy wasn’t exactly up on the ways of the modern world she wasn’t stupid and she recognized the defiance of the youth when they’ve done something not quite legal. She remembered doing similar when she was young.

â€I’m so sorry I’s so hard to tell the way you dress today. I was just admiring you’re art.†she paused as if considering the graffiti.

Then she leaned in her black eye’s twinkling in the light.

â€Vampire you say? I would take such a treat serious I fought one myself only a few days ago. I tell you what let’s leave your wonderful piece of art and I’ll walk you home. No drama, no trouble just me seeing you safely home from these dangerous streets.â€

With that she gave her friendliest smile â€And if there are vampire about you get one hell of story of how I defended you from them. What do you say?â€

[Azuth65]

Slipping an ally, Vicky grabbed her mask from her bag, tugged it on and, after a quick but silent teleport to a low rooftop, silently watched the taggers from a few rooftops down the block. She couldn't make out what anyone was saying but she was keeping her eyes peeled for aggressive body-language. While she didn't want to have to beat up petty street artists unless they proved hostile. If the kids with the spray paint were less than friendly, she'd interfere otherwise she was going to observe and maybe leave an anonymous tip for a police patrol.

[GranspearZX]

GM

"Well... I didn't wanna come out here anyway," the male tagger said, frowning. His partner snorted derisively and muttered something that sounded like 'coward', continuing to spray paint the wall for several moments before stopping.

"...man, you're such a baby. Fine, lady, whatever." She shot Lucy a look that bordered on murderous before forcefully throwing things back into her bag. "Bad enough Mike didn't show either... that jerk. Always late for everything."

"Cut the guy some slack. He probably had more sense than all of--"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before a yell pierced the night air, followed by what sounded like a series of canine howls.

* * *

From Victoria's vantage point, she could see four distinct flashes of light--bright, blue, and brief--coming from an alley not far from the graffiti artists' chosen tagging spot...

[Azuth65]

In a quick plume of her sanguine and snowy smoke, Wisp had changed into her costume. She stuck her bag in a shadowy nook of the roof so it wouldn't be in her way nor discovered while she was separated from it. In another poof of her smoke, she vanished and reappeared landing next to Revenant, her ruby red eyes scanning for signs of trouble moving closer than the location she'd seen the lights coming from. "Revenant, hey. Good to see you again. Um, trouble's about and I could use a hand if you're up for it," she said, tugging her shoulder length hair into a loose ponytail as she spoke.

To the taggers she pointed in the opposite direction of where the lights and howls had come from. "Get scarce. Get someplace public, stay there."

[Tiffany Korta]

Revenant turned and was about to run towards the sound, until Wisp arrived in a flash of smoke. Smiling a broad smile and embraced Wisp in a large friendly hug.

â€Wisp! It great to see you again.†Worry crossed her faced and she pushed Wisp out to arm’s length. â€That wasn’t wrong was it? I’m still getting used to, well everything…â€

Embarrassed she adjusted her jacket.

â€Right, let’s go help somebody. Shall I follow, or can you apport us again?â€

[Taar]

Sarah had been watching from a distance, trusting Lucy to deal with the vandals while she kept watch in case anything happened. When the howls went up, she quickly broke her vigil and changed into her costume.

Appearing near the other two heroines, Prescott gave them both a brief grin. "Hello! Looks like we might be riding into battle alongside again. I'll meet you two over there."

With that, the Cheshire Blade vanished, warping towards the source of the strange sounds.

[GranspearZX]

GM

The two taggers looked at each other, then at Wisp and Cheshire as they suddenly appears out of nowhere... It doesn't take the pair long to decide to abandon their project, heading quickly out of the alley and out towards the main street.

The alley into which Cheshire found herself emptied into a back lot, long forgotten by most. A thin white mist covered the ground, spilling out of an adjacent alley. There was a number of menacing looking black wolves--at least six--barking and scratching at a rusted dumpster.

[Tiffany Korta]

Arriving in the alley Lucy had a few seconds to take in all the details. Apart from Cheshire, to who she gave a little wave, she saw dog’s maybe wolves slinking around. Wolves in the heart of Freedom City, she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

A few days ago this would be an unusual even scary, but now without a second thought she threw herself towards one of the wolves. Trying to grab hold of the creature through a flurry of teeth and claws.

[GranspearZX]

GM

Lucy's attack was altogether surprising; the assaulted wolf didn't seem to expect it at all. It snarled and snapped at her as she grabbed it, throwing it forcefully into a different, open dumpster nearby. There was a loud *paf* sound and a flash of light as it landed, followed by a short wisp of what looked like smoke rising from the opening.

[Azuth65]

Wisp wasted no time in following up Revenant's throwing of the one wolf by calling together her will and in a series of short-distance teleports, had decked every wolf and had it laying on the concrete, planting slightly but neither excessively harmed or likely to get up and make any more trouble. Reappearing where she'd started in a plume of her sanguine and snow colored smoke, she nodded to herself. "Wolves... Super," she sighed, "Nothing like a pack hunter in the West End to make the night go right."

[GranspearZX]

GM

In decidedly short order, Wisp dispatched the remaining five wolves with a series of whimpers and whines, followed by each one bursting into white mist and disappearing altogether. The back lot and alley were mostly quiet... except for the shuffling coming from the dumpster the wolves had surrounded.

"A-are they gone?" a muffled voice muttered from the inside. The metal lid rose and a brown-haired young man's head came into view, panic still in his eyes.

[Tiffany Korta]

After quickly checking that all the wolves were out, including the one in the other dumpster she turned her attention back to the scared young man hiding in the dumpster.

Revenant lifted the lid of the dumpster without any real effort and offered the shaking boy a hand. Giving her best friendly calming expression and voice she asked.

“Yes you totally safe now. We’re here to help you.â€

A pause as she carefully lifted him out of the dumpster without effort.

“Could you please tell us exactly what happened, and how you got attacked by wolves? It could be important.â€

The wolves couldn’t be all there was to those incidents could they?

[GranspearZX]

GM

He seemed a little put off by having to be helped out of the dumpster. He brushed himself off, shuddering a bit at the situation he had found himself in. "I was just mindin' my own business and this woman shows up on my way to meet a couple friends of mine. I remember feeling really sleepy for a second, but then I snapped out of it and she was trying to bite me! I told her I wasn't into that sort of thing, then she got mad, and... well, you saw 'em."

The young man rubbed his arm. "Had this hungry look in her eye, too... freaky."

The strangeness didn't quite end there, as the mist actually seemed to be rising in the back lot...