ic Gang War - Even Vampires get the Blues (IC)

[Tiffany Korta]

A dark and abandoned street, West End

The Witching hour, 31st May 2016

 

It was a scene that must have played out a thousand time before, and would play out a thousand times again. Down the street walked a lone figure tiny and vulnerable in the night, but she was not alone and definitely not safe. Soon she was joined by two figures who followed a distance behind, pale pale skin that made them appear to float in the darkness. They were predators out to apparently hunt and this woman had there interest.

Soon two more joined the fray either side of the woman, then two more in front. Surrounded by these pale figures it seemed that the woman would soon become prey to these pale humans. But this was Freedom City and things were never quite as clear cut as they may seem.

[R. Bluefish]

"All right, that's it," muttered Starlight from her vantage point atop a nearby water tower. Two people was nothing. Four could be coincidence. But six goth-looking creeps, following like damn wolves? Yeah, that meant it was tights time. She rose from her sitting position in one purposeful movement, snapping her mask into place as she did so, and concentrated briefly.

 

There was a flash that for a fraction of a second lit up the entire street like the noonday sun, and then Starlight was floating in the air directly above the woman who was being followed. Motes of residual light danced around her, and her eyes were two glowing white orbs as she curled one hand into a fist threateningly. "Okay, people," she snapped to the pale figures, most of her face hidden by her black mask. "I'm cutting this thing short right here. Don't play try to innocent, and don't try to fight. Right now, everybody still has the option of just turning around and going home."

[Tiffany Korta]

The entrance certainly had its desired effect with the crowd and maybe a little more than expected. A few of them actually hissed, revealing sharp pointed teeth, and Starlight could even see little wisps of smoke. This was more than a simple mugging, it must be a pack of hunting vampires! The woman who was there target didn't seem concerned stood looking cool in her sunglasses. And who wears sunglasses after dark?

 

This close up she looked similiar to the vampires with her incredibly pale skin and sharply cut suit, but her confident smile showed she had normal looking teeth.

 

"Thank you for the assist, these bozo's have been keeping an eye on me for a couple of days now. I don't think we've met before some call me Revenant, but you can call me Lucy." she slid the sunglasses down to her nose revealing her coal black eyes "Now why don't you tell me why we're all here, I agree with the lady here that we really don't want to start trouble."

 

The confidence of the two woman must have rattled the vampire who looked at each other confused until the sharpest dress of the group, who must have been the leader, finally spoke.

"We need you help!"

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight tensed up at the sight of the pointed teeth and smoking skin. Vampires again. Perfect, like once wasn't enough. She was just about to cut the chatter and start frying when the woman spoke.

 

Hesitating, Starlight, wavered for a moment, then relaxed her raised hand and floated down to the ground to stand beside Revenant. "Okay," she said. "This isn't going the way I was expecting it to." As a courtesy, she reigned in the light she was emanating, reducing it to a faint glow. Getting your skin crisped couldn't be fun - if she wasn't getting her Van Helsing on just yet, she figured she might as well play nice for the time being. "I'm Starlight. I thought this was just some kind of mugging. Now," she sighed, "I can see it's going to be one of those things. So, explain to us why we - that is to say, she - should help a bunch of vampires."

[Tiffany Korta]

GM Post

 

The other vampire’s faded into the background, though still nearby, obviously keen to keep there distance for Starlight. The leader managed to keep his composure despite this not quite going the way he obviously had it planned out.

 

“I thought you had a King or Queen of the damned to deal with this kind of thing. I’ve not exactly got a good history when dealing with you kind.”

 

She’d been keeping the West End free of the more extreme type of vampires for quite a few years and she definitely wasn’t on speaking terms with their leadership, however that worked.

“We are Tylko Siebie we don’t follow our so called ruler, though we obey his rules.” his still had the faint traces of an accent, Eastern European of some type “ We keep to ourselves and bother no one else, or at least we did until this mortal gang began to hassle us.” he gave a rather hollow laugh “The irony is that they hate us not for being undead, but for not being what they consider true Americans.” he voice was full of bitterness at the fact “They come during the day and with fire, caring not who they harmed. This is not our way and I hope it is not yours as well.”

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight narrowed her still-glowing eyes at the vampire. Her instincts told her to just stake the lot of them, but - well, superheroes had to practice discretion, didn't they? And if she attacked them just for being vampires, that would probably make her some kind of racist.

 

"So you're a bunch of...what, vegetarian vampires? And you want us - well, her - to protect you from a street gang of xenophobic Van Helsing-wannabes?" she asked, not bothering to try to conceal her suspicion. "Can only speak for me, but - why should I believe that you don't hurt anyone? You are vampires, yeah? How do I know you're not just trying to get us to take out a band of righteous monster-hunters for you? And even assuming you're telling the truth," she jerked a thumb at Revenant, "why come to her for help?"

[Tiffany Korta]

The vampire visibly bristled at the Starlight's questions, he obviously wasn’t use to being questioned. It wasn’t him that answered the questioned, instead Lucy spoke up on the matter.

 

“They had a set of traditions that they follow, no killing and no unwilling donor. They keep to some sort of masquerade to hide their presence from most people, no vampire wants to attract to much attention especially from superhero type.”

 

The leader wasn’t happy at this but gave a little nod to say that what she was saying was correct.

“And if anyone steps out of line in the West End, they know I’ll stop them with maximum force with necessary. And I have a little vampire in my family, though don’t worry I don’t have any of their appetites.” she smiled showing perfectly normal, non vampire teeth “I might be an enemy, or at least an adversary, but to them I’m still one of them. And they’re loathed to go to outside for help.”

[R. Bluefish]

"Well, I suppose that...explains it," said Starlight, still uneasy. She had only had one prior encounter with bloodsuckers, but it was one she was in no hurry to repeat. The prospect of becoming embroiled in some kind of vampire turf war was not one that she was exactly eager about. But she was doing the superhero thing now, and superheroes didn't turn away from these things. For some damn reason. "So we should...what? Just go take out the gang? Thrash them like we would any other bunch of toughs?" That she could do, at least.

[Tiffany Korta]

“Well I don’t have to but I suspect you have to sleep. And it is definitely way past your bedtime young lady.” she gave Starlight a cheeky smile “And I have the advantage of being independently employed, lucky right now Erica can handle all the cases in progress.”

 

She thought a few moments before adding.

“Best to watch the place and stop then when they turn up to attack. I’d ask Fred to stake the place out, his blood is 90% Guinness anyway, but I don’t want them involved right now. So I guess I get the watching job! Do you have a way I can contact you when trouble starts?”

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight snorted. "Well, you suspect wrong. I don't need to sleep any more than you do." Sleep? Man, that takes me back. "So no reason I can't stake the place out along with you if you want. It's not like I have a lot of obligations to work around." If this wound up being one of those all-day-all-night things, she was going to need to call Lynn and tell her she had some vampire-related business to attend to.

 

"But," she added, aware that most heroes didn't exactly jump at the prospect of spending more time with her and her dazzling social skills, "if you'd rather watch the place yourself, you can call me at this number." She jotted down her cell phone number on a scrap of paper and handed it to the other woman. "Do whatever you want. You're the expert, apparently."

[Tiffany Korta]

“I don’t know about you but I don’t miss sleep that much. The sunsets and sunrises can be amazing and it gives me plenty of time to catch up on work as well as the the culture of the 20th and 21st Century. But still in the deep of night it can seem that you the only person in the entire world awake.” she gave a little shrug “If you ever need company I know this little cafe that does this amazing coffee, it might not be the best but it’s amazingly strong.” with Lucy’s taste buds being all but dead she appreciated strong taste most of all

 

“That’s a long way of saying I’d appreciate the company of for our little stake out. Things won’t happen till after dawn so I say we meet up just before dawn, I think it’s going to be a good one.”

 

[R. Bluefish]

Don't miss sleep? Starlight half-chuckled ruefully to herself. That makes one of us. One of the hardest parts of adjusting to her new abilities had been suddenly being incapable of shutting off for that precious eight hours. The only bright side was that it gave her plenty of time to catch up on her reading. The main downside was that she was pretty sure it wasn't good for her mental health.

 

"Works for me," she said. "Meet up with you then, and we'll stake the place out?" And hopefully that was all they would have to stake.

[Tiffany Korta]

The day dawn over the part of the West End that the vampires called home, a part of the area under going a process of renovation amoung those that now found the area "cool" to live.  

 

Waiting for Starlight was Lucy who held two steaming cups of no brand coffee, pretty strong from the smell they wafted.

 

"Here I figured you might like one of these, there pretty strong I'm afraid I can't really taste anything unless it this strength."she gave an apologetic little smile "I don't need it but it's a very old habits I've not managed to kick. A few standouts haven't help the habit either!"

[R. Bluefish]

Starlight took the coffee, the heat of it not bothering her in the slightest. "Thanks," she said shortly, either too polite or too taciturn - most likely the latter - to mention that caffeine affected her about as much as room-temperature water did. Whatever the case, she was also apparently too secretive to remove her mask to drink, so she only stood with the cup in her hand.

 

"What's the plan?" she asked. "Just wait for them to raise up, then take 'em out?" She wasn't sure if that would be exactly smiled upon by law enforcement, but frankly, half of what capes did in this city wasn't exactly smiled upon by law enforcement.