Consummate Bitch

Participants:

ethan_icon.gif madeline_icon.gif munin_icon.gif sylar_icon.gif

Also featuring:

felix_icon.gif

Scene Title Consummate Bitch
Synopsis Madeline doesn't count on Ethan and Sylar when she confronts Munin outside the Nite Owl.
Date November 3, 2008

Chelsea

Before the bomb, Chelsea was most known for being "gay-friendly," home of the stereotypical "Chelsea Boy." It was a place of culture and art, of eclectic ethnic restaurants and cutting-edge performing arts studios.

One of the last places in Manhattan to be reopened to the public, the streets of Chelsea almost give the impression of an urban ghost town. Many buildings are dark, inhabited only by the homeless, if by anyone at all. Their walls have been tagged with graffiti, the windows broken; forgotten cars line the streets, slowly rusting away. Close inspection reveals that their interiors have already been gutted of anything valuable or useful.

Housing in Chelsea is quite cheap; it therefore doesn't stay on the market long, despite the potential threat of residual radiation. The population has become a mixture of all ethnicities, desperation being their thread in common; those who have the money to live elsewhere do. Culture seems to have been washed out entirely on the neighborhood scale, survival taking vast precedence over art.


Madeline makes it out of the diner, looking both ways fast, as she checks for cop cars. That bitch. That consummate bitch. First she plays like she didn't know what was going on, and then she sells her out to the cops. Mr. Special Ed. must have been a copy working with the priest. Goddamn it. And if she poked around after wards, she might have found the bodies. Answers are needed. Revenge might be. She heads across the street, to the nearest alleyway she can see, where she can keep an eye on the door to the diner.

And right behind her, though not really in pursuit - Fel. But he just stalks off for the nearest subway entrance, coat flapping behind him, cigarette leaving a little trail of smoke on he cold air. His head's down, as if he were deep in thought.

A few minutes later, Munin emerges from the diner, her scarf pulled up over the bottom half of her face to protect her mouth and chin from the blustery weather. In her arms, she carries an unmarked plastic bag stuffed with food meant for Ethan, Wu-Long and whoever might be staying at Holden's flat when she returns there. She's careful to pause in a pool of lamplight, looking both ways down the street for any sign of Felix before she heads south, toward the nearest bus stop she knows of. It's times like these she wishes she'd asked Elias to tag along. If she had, she wouldn't have to worry about making it home in one piece.

Stepping out even after Munin, the man eyes the scene quietly. He looks off in the direction of where Felix went. Then his eyes go after the figure of Munin growing smaller and smaller. Don't worry little one. The Wolf has your scent. Some younger less experienced operatives would check their weapons, make sure everything is in order. At Ethan's level, if he didn't get it right the first time, it's too late anyways.

But he always gets it right.

Following in the shadows, Ethan only follows enough so that he doesn't loose the woman. The Wolf stalks in the silence, using tricks of the trade to follow without being marked as a tail. Stopping to light a cigarette here, fake a cell phone call there. Just a casual.. alley walker.

Madeline looks over across the street at the girl she's decided is a snitch. Could she be wrong? Sure, wouldn't be the first time. But then, she really doesn't usually need to worry too much about consequences. When she pauses in that pool of lamplight, and is nicely visible, Madeline reaches out with her power, gesturing with a hand out in Munin's direction.

Somewhere in the city, people are wondering why a building fell down. Or maybe they're not wondering anymore. Stranger things have happened and what's a little destruction? Either way, Sylar has long since abandoned the site, made sure he got Gillian home safely so that the woman could collapse and sleep in the safety of their apartment, and not unusual for him, Sylar went out again. When Felix leaves the diner and goes on his way, Sylar doesn't make moves to follow. There's only so much stalking he can get away with, even if he doesn't quite look like himself right now. That, and there are some familiar faces out in the street tonight.

He sits on the fire escape of a nearby building, looking nothing like Gabriel Gray. Blonde hair rustles in the wind, and he looks at least ten years younger, a little lankier, clothes a size or so too big for him. He watches, now, Munin's progression across the street, contemplative. Ethan, to his credit, goes unnoticed.

Munin's breath hitches in her throat. At first, there's no outward indication that anything is wrong; her arms continue clutching the bag of food to her chest, and the evening breeze blows through her hair, causing the lightest and most errant curls to fly into her face. It's only after she's been rooted in place for a full five seconds that the expression on her face slowly, gradually changes to reflect the terror swelling in her heart. She's experienced this once before, when she first met Madeline, but that was from the outside looking in. It's a different story altogether when you're on the inside looking out.

Remaining in the shadows, Ethan watches Munin quietly. What is she doing? And more importantly what is the other girl doing? Staying rooted outside of lamplight and a bit away from them the Wolf prepares his weapons. A pistol is produced in one hand and in the other a stun gun. His glock is already installed with a silencer as he draws it. Death or knock out? So many decisions. Munin would most likely appreciate not witnessing a murder.. But no need to make any move yet. No open signs of hostility, so the Wolf remains silent and watches quietly to see what progresses.

Madeline remains mostly hidden in the alleyway; she didn't want to be too obvious at that. But she makes a slow spinning motion with a finger to have Munin turn to face said alley, and then lets her fingers do the walking, air-walking one then the other to start bringing her over towards the alley.

And his gaze keeps tracking Munin. It's hard not to notice the look of fear, the strange way she stops, turns, heads in a different direction. Sylar, not overly concerned for the girl's wellbeing in the long run of things, still can't help but be curious. There's the scrape of boots against metal as he gets up from his seated position, starts casually walking down the stairs. He's not keeping to the shadows like two of the others in this setting, the hood of his jacket even tossed back to reveal his stolen identity, but he does keep his distance. Keeping an ear out, all the same, and he tosses a glance in Ethan's direction, not quite making out the man - just hearing the sound of someone alive and nearby.

Munin can be a little naive sometimes, but she isn't stupid. It doesn't take her more than a few paces to piece this puzzle together. The fact that she has no control over her body below the shoulders has something to do with her encounter with Madeline back at the Nite Owl. Worse, if her last meeting with the other woman is any indication, it doesn't bode well for her health.

He follows quietly though, all he knows is that Munin is frightened and moving oddly. Taking no definite action plan Ethan is on a wait and watch approach. He picks up the blonde boy. His eyes narrow a bit, hopefully just a passerby who will remain simply a passerby. For now the Wolf is stalking Munin, sticking to the darkness, with Madeline around a corner out of view.

Madeline keeps walking Munin over to the alley, and once she gets there, another finger-spin and air-walking has her bring the other woman up towards her. "You couldn't leave well enough alone, huh?" She says, accusatorily looking at her. "Had to try and get the cops involved?"

Now he sees Ethan, a blank look settling on his features as he wonders as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Probably his cue to walk, walk away, but then, the plot thickens. Sylar turns his gaze towards the alleyway Munin is summoned to, listening. On the other side of the street to Ethan, yes, but moving in the same direction now, and he spares the Wolf a glance. His true voice might be different right now, but it's Gabriel's voice that sounds gently from the back of Ethan's mind, directionless and ethereal. Sounds like Munin's in over her head.

"Cops?" Munin asks, her green eyes widening at Madeline's accusation — not because she's surprised to see her, but because she honestly didn't think her mouth would work if she tried to open it. "I haven't contacted the police—" For all the fear in her voice, there's twice as much conviction; it takes all the concentration she has left to keep her speech steady, refusing to let it quiver. "Madeline," she says, swallowing hard, "Madeline. Please. Let me go."

Even though he may be a serial killer, even though he may have been accused of blowing up New York, and even though he's a part of what Ethan is trying to destroy… The Wolf is really starting to like this Sylar guy. He glances around, taking in the image of the blonde kid and gives a disbelieving shake of his head. Ethan then speaks in silent whispers, that would be impossible to hear by all but Sylar. "Is there any trick you can't fucking do? Well yes, it seems that way. Can you tell what we're dealin' with 'ere? Some type of telepath or something of the like I reckon." He creeps towards the edge of the wall where in Munin had just passed a bit before. He presses his back against the wall as he waits.. Then Munin speaks. A frown tugs on his lips. Much as he would like to jump around the corner and unleash havoc.. He's got to think about the ultimate goal. There may be some use for this Madeline. "Give this Madeline some of your brain voodoo, see if it gets 'er scared. If you wouldn't mind." The Wolf whispers, and adds in the last bit, respectfully.

Madeline takes a step forward. "You didn't?" she says, clearly not buying it. "Then what was with your buddy? Mr. Psycho-Road-Rage meets Ward Cleaver?" She glares back at Munin. "I was gonna leave you alone and not mess with you, and you decide you're gonna -snitch- on me? Give me one reason I shouldn't have you go walk out in traffic?"

Sylar hangs back, but he doesn't have to be close to listen in - he doesn't even have to be close to see, but he's keeping out of sight and he can't get a visual from his angle. He places a hand on a street lamp, leaning a little, and watching Ethan instead, though his 'voice' changes direction. -I'm- a very good reason you shouldn't have her walk out in traffic, comes the murmur, drifting through Madeline's head - only her's, as this seems to work only with one person at a time. His voice switches direction, back to Ethan. She's making her do things. I don't know how. I would very much like to find out.

It dawns on Munin that Madeline is talking about Ethan. Her eyes narrow and her jaw clenches, lips drawn out into a thin line that's as somber as it is stern. At first she says nothing, refusing to make any noise at all except for the unsteady sound of breathing as she draws cold into her lungs and then lets it back out again through her nostrils in the form of a faint, silvery stream. "He's not a cop," she finally croaks, "but it's in your best interest to stay away from him, just the same."

"Of course you would." If anyone were to be watching him, besides of course Sylar, it would seem that he was very much crazy. Whispering little comments to himself. And.. with a conversation like the one he's having.. That is most likely how crazy people would operate. But Ethan is not crazy. Not yet. "Girl with an ability and an attitude is our specialty. Let's see if we can bring 'er under our wing first. You can.. inspect.. her later." Comes the cockney whispers traveling over the great distance to Sylar's super powered ears. Making her do things. Hm. "Think she could do more than one at a time? If I could get the drop on her wit' the stun gun.." He gives a shrug that his compatriot across the street may or may not see. "'Ow's 'er 'eart rate? 'Ow's Munin's 'eart rate?" Sylar is a very useful companion to have. The two different weapons remain steadily in each of his hands. Ready should they need to pounce out and fire at any second. Ethan raises a brow at what Munin says, a little bit of shock covering his features… The conversation he had with Kazimir rings in his head. He shakes it off after a brief moment.

Madeline jumps as suddenly Sylar's voice is in her head. Which is a little comedic, since her jump causes Munin to jump in a mirrored movement. She looks about, eyes searching the darkness. "That's not Road Rage. You've got somebody else here." Oh, shit. She begins to back away a couple steps, further into the darkness of the alleyway. Of course, what she's talking about is probably lost on anyone but Sylar.

The puppeteer is… jumpy now, Sylar tells Ethan, a hint of smugness in that telepathic voice. As for bringing her in, he says nothing. Depends on who gets to her first. Slowly, his form begins to change from that of poor Timothy Lantz whom Sylar got this ability off in the first place, to that of Gabriel Gray - fitting his clothes a little better now, too. He directs his voice to Madeline again, Let her go and you might get out of this alive. There are scarier people than you out tonight.

Munin, who is of course not privy to what's happening outside the alley, has no idea what Madeline is talking about. Seeing her spooked, however, fuels the fire burning inside, and although she doesn't raise her voice, it grows harder as she speaks, each word seeping with more venom than the last. "If you so much as try to breathe on him," she says in a deceptively quiet tone, "I'll use my dying breath to tell the birds to pick out your eyes, you skinny, little, bitch."

A small grin grows on Ethan's face. First at Sylar's report then, at Munin's threat. A grin that says 'that's my girl'. Then, Ethan decides he's had enough of this. Time to stop playing games. "Listen." Comes the cockney accent, calling out loudly enough so Madeline could hear him. "You may have a special trick that has carried you this far, girl. Allows you to do some extraordinary things. What are you gonna do with that trick? Now. You let my friend go, and we can talk about your future. You promise not to try and use your trick on me, and I promise we won't kill you. Don't run girl, because we'll kill you then too. So.. Howsabout it doll?" His accent changes from his cockney accent to the more American accent of Jonathan Wells. And then a thick French accent, one that Madeline only would recognize. "Care to talk?"

Madeline was rattled at Sylar's comments. Moreso at Munin's, and now most of all when Ethan calls out too. The threat makes her nervous, and her thoughts are all about potential gunmen already in wait ready to pull a trigger on her. She swallows hard, and then finally raises a hand very slowly in Munin's direction. "I'm letting her go." she addresses…well, the air at large. "Don't shoot. Please." It's a little pleading; she's not really all that brave about things when it comes down to it, and the situation has gone from one she thought she was in control of to one she's clearly not. There's a faint flexing of her fingers as she releases her hold on Munin.

Sylar approaches when Ethan starts to speak, still keeping out of sight from the mouth of the alleyway and simply keeping an audio check on what's occurring. Good girl, he 'praises' Madeline when she speaks of letting Eileen go, and waits, simply, to see what happens next.

Munin's first act as a free woman is to send a scowl Madeline's way as she backs out of the alley, retreating toward the sound of Ethan's voice. In spite of the people she chooses to associate with, she isn't a violent person by nature, and the threat has left a bitter and unfamiliar taste in her mouth. Perhaps in attempt to rid herself of it, or maybe to make her feelings toward Madeline as clear as she possibly can, she gathers a wad of saliva in the front of her mouth and then spits it out on the ground at her feet.

And Ethan is whipping around the corner, gun pointed up. The stun gun has been abandoned, apparently Ethan decided that if a gun were going to be used.. It would be the more lethal of the two. Silencer attached the weapon is almost instantly trained on Madeline as soon as he comes around the corner. As he does he gets to see just a glimpse of Madeline's power and her release of Munin. "Hands down." Comes the cockney accent again, "You so much as twitch.. Well you better hope that your fingers are faster than mine." He says delivering the girl a look that blatantly suggests they're not. He takes a glance at Munin, though he does not give her praises or embrace her. That will come later. "Now, girl. Your name." The Wolf says coolly to Madeline, his glock still expertly trained on her, his eyes watching every movement of hers ready to pull the trigger should need be. A quick glance is given to Munin and her new spit puddle. A very small smile is offered to her, and that's all the support she will get for the moment. "Your name, and everything about you. Quickly. Give me a fuckin' cliff notes of your life before I grow impatient." Ethan demands.

Madeline swallows hard. "I'm sorry, I thought you were police and she ratted me out." She turns her hands so they're palms down, then starts to lower them to her side. All slowly, in the do-not-make-the-nice-man-with-the-gun-twitchy sort of way. "M-Madeline." she manages. "Look, please, just lemme go, I promise I won't bother you ever again. You'll never have to see me again." She wants to run, but manages to make herself not do it. "I'm nobody. Please, please don't shoot me."

With less speed and dynamism, Sylar wanders into view as well, more or less flanking Ethan as Madeline starts to stammer out her answer. He almost ignores Munin save for a brief glance almost in silent greeting, before his gaze settles back on the woman Ethan has a gun pointed at. His head tilts to the side at her answer, and his hand lifts. Almost in a still wave. Fingers twitch. Madeline is pushed back against the wall, bodily pinned, and he steps forward, just next to Ethan. "I don't think you're nobody," he says, his voice matching his telepathic one. "I think you're very special, Madeline." Maybe a little too special.

Munin takes shelter in the safest place available to her at the moment: directly behind Sylar. They don't know each other well enough for the young woman to feel comfortable initiating physical contact, so she doesn't lean against him like she might Ethan or even Amato. Instead, she turns her head away from Madeline, away from the scene unfolding in front of her. If it turns uglier than it already is, she doesn't want to be looking when the first shots are fired.

"No, Madeline. I'm not police. And she didn't rat you out. You were very, -very- wrong." Ethan explains, somehow in a soothing tone. "I would like you to apologize to 'er. You gave 'er a bit of a fright, you did." The Wolf says, his cold eyes resting on Madeline calmly. Then Sylar steps up, and feeling that it is no longer needed and only causing the poor girl more stress the man holsters the gun inside his coat. He gives a glance to Sylar then back to Madeline. Taking a step forward the Brit continues in his soothing voice. "Now, Madeline what is a pretty girl like you doin' out 'ere on the streets? There are dangerous men out on the streets." She's facing two of them. That much should be obvious. "You shouldn't be out 'ere like this Madeline.. What is it you're lookin' for? Reachin out for 'elp? For a guidin' hand? We can be those things, Madeline. We 'ave a worthy cause. If you want to 'elp us with it, we can 'elp you. If you don't want to 'elp us.." Well, Sylar will have a meal for the night. But that doesn't need to be said just yet.

Madeline screams once as she gets shoved back and held to the wall. Not so much screaming for help, just a brief shriek of fright, quashed quickly. She looks from Sylar to Ethan. The two of them are both creepy, and Sylar the moreso of the two. She looks in the direction Munin went, even though she can't see her at the moment. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I fucked up, please, don't let them kill me for that. I didn't hurt you!" she says, desperately. She could have, of course, and her her mind that has to count for -something-. "I'll do whatever you want." she accedes immediately to Ethan's "request for help". "Please, just don't kill me."

Sylar's gaze briefly slides away, almost to glance over his shoulder, where Eileen is just behind him. But that intent look snaps right back to Madeline, and he keeps her fixed against the wall, hand outstretched. He listens to what Ethan says in stony silence, perhaps not thrilled about being deprived this, and Madeline's pleas only irritate him more, glancing to the Wolf. "I don't believe her," he offers, almost hopefully.

"Madeline, Madeline, Madeline. Please calm down." Ethan says as if to children making a racket when he's trying to concentrate. "Take a moment, deep breathes. Get a fuckin' 'old of yourself. I, personally am not interested in killing you over such a petty thing." He's obviously not speaking for Sylar. "Madeline, I am truly interested in you. I see potential, room for improvement and growth. We could train you, Madeline, we could teach you, we could help you." We could use you, we could use you some more, and then we could feed you to Sylar when we're done with you. He glances to Sylar for a moment. "You don't believe 'er or you don't want to believe 'er?" A small grin before he looks back to the woman pinned against the wall. "See these faces?" A finger points to himself, then to Sylar. "We could be mates, all of us. Having a gay old time." He says in a cheery voice, "Or we could be the bane of your fucking existence. But, I do promise Madeline. If you do decide to join us, you'll have a lot of fun." He delivers these last words deliberately and purposefully each one with a weight behind them.

Right now, Madeline is interested in anything that gets her out of this alleyway still drawing breath. She starts the deep breathing, listening, and then nodding in acquiescence. Anything that gets her out of here intact; that's the obvious course to follow right now. She tries her best to nod despite being pinned to the wall. "I'll join you, I'll help you, I promise!" Pure desperation. How reliable she is, is up for debate.

Sylar almost shrugs at Ethan. Does it matter? "Do you believe her?" he asks, unwilling for now to release Madeline just yet. She'll either be too dead for it to matter if she's let go or not, or it will be on Ethan's request. But there's something nagging at him, looking back at the woman, and his jaw clenches. He doesn't want to let her go, and that's the problem.

"Madeline.. Lesson number one. When offered a way out you act disinterested, you ask whats in it for you. You make it seem like you are logically considering the request. You do not make it seem like you're only agreeing to get out alive." Ethan lectures with a bit of a frown, he seems genuinely disappointed. He looks to Sylar. "I would like to, she could be useful. But I don't need a girl tryin' to fuck us over either." He says scanning the woman pinned against the wall.. Then he slowly turns to the third person behind the two. "What do y'think? Would you like a girl friend?" He asks, nigh teasingly as he watches Munin.

She's still trying to move against the telekinetic grip, which has about as likely a chance of succeeding as a mouse moving a mountain. She swallows hard, and says "You can believe me. I promise, I'm not going to sell you guys out!" It's said emphatically, trying to convince them with her urgency.

Tick tock tick tock. That's the sound of Sylar's patience ebbing away. "She's definitely useful," Sylar agrees, gaze fixed ahead of him. "I have the perfect assignment for her." He begins to walk forward, now, away from Ethan and Munin as he keeps the struggling woman pinned against the wall - even harder, now, almost choking her, certainly bruising her. "Dying." His other hand comes up, two fingers pointed, and there's nothing to muffle the screaming that might occur as a line of tearing red starts to course it's way across her forehead.

There's screaming, of course…but not very long. The red flows down her body, and by the time it begins to drip into a puddle at the ground, she's stopped her struggling. And her screaming. And everything else. Forever.

Ethan's face is void of emotion. Well.. Sylar was slowly climbing the ladder of respect in Ethan's book. And such blatant lack of self control.. Needless to say he will be having words with Kazimir. But now his actions are simply to turn his back to the woman who is now Sylar's meal. And making himself as large as he can he walks into Munin quickly ushering away from the brainfeast. Wrapping the young woman in his arms, he quickly moves her away while humming in his deep voice into her ear. Not that she hasn't been around death before, but hopefully she never would have to be around this either in the past or the present. So it is with that Ethan and Munin take their leave.


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November 3rd: To Put It Bluntly
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November 3rd: All She Wants to Do is Dance
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