Participants:
| Scene Title | That The Best You Got? |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Heather is almost mugged, but then Trask and Brian come to her rescue! |
| Date | October 22, 2008 |
Late night in Morningside Heights, and classes have long since been let out for the night at Columbia. Students, though, sometimes spend time until the wee hours of the morning in the library doing research. Heather was one of them, but decided to call it a night shortly before midnight. Stepping out into the brisk October air, she pulls her jacket around her and slings her backpack over her shoulder as she moves down the library steps and onto the sidewalk.
Trask is out on late night patrol, a few blocks away, he smiles and nods to a couple of the passing people.
"See you tomorrow!" One of the girls passing Heather says. "Yeah. English. Joy." Heather grins, continuing her way down the sidewalk. Leaves rustle along the common areas to her right as the wind plays games with them. It's not all that far to her apartment, so usually she just walks home rather than taking the bus or subway. Nearing a corner, she pauses briefly to check for traffic before crossing. What she fails to notice is the shadowy figure who was leaning against a lamp post who picks up step a small distance behind her.
Trask continues his leisurly pace in the brisk autum air. His breath hangs visibler in the air, a few inches in front like a scout as he moves down the streets.
Picking up the pace, the shadowy figure closes in on his target. "Drop the backpack nice and easy. And hand over any cash you might have." The voice is raspy, gruff so there's no way the guy will be able to keep it low enough not to be heard. Heather stops in her tracks on the sidewalk, just under one of the streetlamps and turns around. Green eyes survey the dude. Best get a good look at him. "You don't want to do that. Trust me." she says, sliding the backpack off her shoulder and onto the ground. There's almost a twist to the grin that's on her face.
Trask is now less then a block away, and around the corner by happenstance. Just another day in the office, if your office is the hard cold asphalt of New York City. He has no idea what he is about to walk into, but that's why he loves this job, you never know what is coming up around the next corner.
Hands in his coat pockets, his loafers drag against the sidewalk as he shuffles through the night. Brian is making the midnight stroll back to his home. His home being his car. The young man has a large dufflebag slung over one shoulder as he walks sleepily down the streets. His eyes pick up though at the sound of voices. Grey eyes setting on the man and the woman, he pauses, about twenty feet behind the man and his would be prey. Is that..? No it couldn't be. Brian picks up his feet now, walking a tad more silently as he approaches the pair.
"Oh, believe me. I do." The man says, holding up his hand. In it the shape of a knife slowly starts to form and solidify until the shiny blade glints and reflects the streetlight. Great. He's an Evolved. Can it get any more interesting? Yes, it can. Heather smirks, sarcasm dripping off her voice as she talks. "A knife? Seriously. Is that the best you can offer? Here, let me dispose of that for you." Flicking her hand at the wrist, a small vortex appears right in front fo the knife and in a split second….the knife is gone. But not for long as it reappears on the other side of the street evident by the clatter. The attacker growls. "You b***h." As he frowns, a new weapon materializes. This time a sword.
As a good example, no-one really expects on the streets of Kansas City or Chicago to round a corner to find a woman being mugged by a man with a broadsword. I mean London? Maybe. But no where else in America but New York would an average beat cop turn a corner to this exact scene. Maybe they are practicing for some off-off-off broadway play? Or doing an amateur music video? Still better safe then sorry! Officer Trask draws his gun and moves forward. "Please drop the weapon and step away from the girl!" he says in a nice loud voice.
Brian's eyes widen as the events take place, first the knife, the vortex, then the sword. The young man quickly drops to one knee, all sleepiness fleeing him instantly. Soon his dufflebag is unzipped and a large black sheet is produced. Brian got tired of people freaking out when he used his power, so he decided to conceal it a bit. Standing to his full height he raises up the black sheet and as he does so. Pop.Pop.Pop. Three more Brian's 'step' out of him. They are all naked, but fortunately, Brian numero uno has a sheet. And then the Brians are getting dressed as fast as they can. But then a voice calls out. Lowering the sheet to see the newly arrived cop, reveals a bunch of half-dressed men, quadruplets apparently, standing next to each other.
Heather's been mugged before. Or at least people have attempted to mug her. No one has succeeded. Yet. And she's not about to let this be the first time. "See? Now that's more like it." It's a challenge that's been answered, and she's not afraid. At Trask's voice, the guy turns and rolls his eyes. "I don't have time for this." he grumbles, conjuring up a dagger in his other hand and flinging it towards the officer. Off the cuff fling, probably not even close to accurate. "Then let's get it over with." Heather shoots back, pulling open a small vortex in front of her. Her auburn hair, and the trenchcoat of the attacker, both flutter with the turbulence caused by the vortex. It's not big enough yet to really suck a person in. But that could change. As Trask gets nearer though, the vortex starts to flash as though it's about to close. "What is this?" the dude asks, though whether it's about the vortex or the four men that appeared a bit behind Heather it's unclear.
Trask see's the open vortex and dodges the weakly thrown knife. Most cops would back off for cover at that, not this one, he steps forward, closing to within 10 feet, where his gun is less effective, but their powers will become nullified. His free hand moves to his radio, but he hasn't called for back up yet.
Dropping the sheet, Brian tilts his head. A cop shows up, but the guy doesn't stop. Maybe he'll run off at the sheer presence of numbers. Most thugs would run from a couple people spotting him, but this guy is an Evolved. But maybe a cop, a vortex wielder, and four of one guy will intimidate him enough. Reaching into his bag, Brian(s) retrieve their respective weapons. Anything that Brian has been able to get his hands on in case he has needs of defending himself. A wooden baseball bat, a cro-bar, and a golf club. The fourth Brian is unarmed, but he slings the duffle bag back on his shoulder. The four man approach slowly, he doesn't intend to fight, just to intimidate.
As the officer gets closer, the vortex in front of Heather sputters and dies. "What the….." Confusion sets in and she starts to flick her wrists. But nothing seems to be happening. Ok, either she's lost her power, or something is blocking it. Meanwhile, the mugger still has his sword, but he's no longer laughing. "Six on one, is it?" His eyes dart between the four Brians, and then twist to look at Trask. "They didn't pay me enough for this . Peace out. Enjoy the slice and dice." But as the mugger tries to form up a handful of knives, it soon becomes clear to him as well that his power is on the fritz too.
Trask moves to cover the mugger, and his four companions. "Heather, back off a bit, let me handle this." Ummm…how did he? "Put the weapons down now, all of you. No one needs to get hurt today."
Brian and company stop short. Glances of confusion are given to each other as they near the other three people. The awareness that they usually share is.. gone? So the four Brian's are each individual minds, with no shared hive mind as he usually has. Eight grey eyes pause on Trask. Usually Brian would have no problem, but the four men look to each other… seeing who will do the speaking. Eventually the one with the bat speaks up. "I'm… -We- are on your side officer. Just saw this guy with the knives and what not and thought I-We, would help the lady out." Though the weapons aren't put down, the four back up a bit, raising free hands into the air as a peace offering of sorts.
Heather hadn't been aware of the quadruplets closing up behind her. She'd been too focused on the idiot who thought he could mug her. And then, losing her power….that was confusing to. So at the sound of Brian's voice, she swivels her head to look behind her. "Whoa. Ummm… thanks." she offers, turning back to the situation at hand. The mugger looks quite ticked off. He's good, but not good enough to take on four clones and one NYPD officer. The officer wouldn't have been a problem. Easy kill. But with the others…it's almost pointless. And no sense trying to escape either. Likely he'd be downed before he could move. So instead, he drops the sword and puts his hands up. Heather grins smugly. "No so tough now, are ya?" she states, before looking at Trask. "How'd you know my name?"
Trask moves forward and starts cuffing the mugger, after putting his side arm away, "Umm…you just looked like a Heather…you know, like that movie." He smiles at the really weak excuse. He levels his eyes on the other four, "Vigilante justice is not exactly called for." he nods toward their weapons.
"Woulda been if you weren't around." A Brian points out casually. But now that the would be mugger is in custody, the Brian's start returning their various weapons into the duffle bag. Though it takes them a few moments, glances, and grunts to figure it out. Without their psychic connection, they're just four men.. who look absolutely alike. Soon the weapons are all away in the duffle bag. The lead Brian reaches out a hand to Heather. "Brian." He murmurs in greeting to her, giving her a little smile.
The mugger mutters incoherently under his breath as he's cuffed. Whatever is negating his power, just wait until it's gone. He'll be out on the street in no time. "Riiiiiight." Heather says, nodding at Trask. She's not buying it for a minute that he just randomly guessed her name. His nametag and badge number are noted, filed away for future checking when she has a free moment. "Heather. College junior." Brian's hand is met, shaken, and released with a smile. "Indeed it would have been warranted. But I'm grateful that you two were here tonight." Notice two. Not five.
Trask calls in for back up to bring him a wagon, and some Homeland Security and steps away from the other two, taking the mugger with him, and letting them be outside his aura.
And just like that, the psychic connection is returned. His shared conciousness is back. Eyes glare over at the cop and mugger. His mouth opens as if to say something before it claps back shut. His eyes go back to Heather. Two? Brian pauses a moment. It's probably too late to convince her that they are just quadruplets. For a moment he stares at her, he's never been caught in such a way before with another evolved. Finally he opens his own mouth, "I could make my own boy band if I wanted." Something to lighten the mood, maybe.
Heather watches as Trask and the mugger move away to wait for backup. She knows that Homeland Security will likely want to talk to her. Maybe they can wait until tomorrow. She turns back to Brian with a grin on her face. "Nice trick. Though I like mine better." she says, flicking her wrist one more time. When she does, a small vortex appears and then quickly disappears. "I could send myself to Tahiti if I wanted to."
Trask puts the mugger up against the wall, "hear that buddy? Homeland Security is on their way right now. They are going to come down on you like a ton of bricks. I sure hope you have your card on you…." He says it loud enough that Heather and Brian can hear it.
Smirking down at her wrist, "You could send me there too." He suggests. His grey eyes flash up at Trask's comment. Looking back to Heather he frowns lightly. "Do you have a card?" He asks quietly and quickly. In the same moment two of the Brian's meld into another, leaving two men left. The one who isn't speaking with Heather picks up the clothes that the vanished clones left behind on the ground, packing them into his duffle bag, Brian stands up. "Maybe we should get going. I got a car if you want some normal type of transportation." The young man suggests.
Yeah, she heard Trask's comment. And yeah, she flashes her card. "Yup. Had it for a while." she says, pocketing the card. She can't help but giggle as the clones start to disappear. "Yeah, probably a good idea to leave. Though, I'll pass on the ride. My place isn't but a few blocks down." She reaches down to pick up her backpack and sling it over her shoulder. "But thanks. And thanks again for being around to help out with that creep. Maybe we'll run into each other again." With that, she starts to move down the sidewalk and out of the area. This is going to make for a fun report.
Trask watches both the other evolved leaving, and he yells afterwards, weakly, "No wait…come back…." But he can't quite chase after them, while he is holding the mugger, so they get away.
 October 22nd: Me, Myself and I |
 October 23rd: Forget Me Not |