| 2014-03-21 |
| Players: | Loki and Phantasm |
| GMed by | NA |
| Title: | Muggers and Demons |
3/21/2014
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City that includes roughly the area between 34th Street and 57th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River. Daredevil is Hell's Kitchen's resident hero.
Loki is out exploring a bit. He's been here before, but this time he's a little more prepared. He's dressed in a pair of black pants and a black turtleneck underneath a knee length winter coat. He even figured out how to use his phone to keep track of his location so he can get back in one piece and doesn't spend all night out in the cold again.
Mike is not exploring but he too has found himself in the Hell's Kitchen area. But unlike his usual Goodwill attire for when slumming it, Mike is wearing a suit. Not exactly the finest for a high level social gathering, but sufficent for what he was in the neighborhood for. In lieu of the knit cap, Mike's hair is pulled back into a neat nub of a pony tail. One thing he is NOT wearing however, is a smile.
Looking up when he hears footsteps, Loki frowns. "Mike - what is the matter? You look quite displeased. What has happened?" He looks around as he does a quick check to see if anyone is watching them.
Upon hearing his name, Mike's posture starts shifting towards a defensive stance but halts when the other words reach his ears. Looking over to Loki, he blinks, posture relaxing, "L-" He pauses, observing the cautious looks of the other, forcing a bit of a smile. "Hey."
"You did not answer the question. What is wrong? You look upset. Perhaps I was too far away for your ears to hear me. It is quite cold out here."
"Well, Not every day is going to be a good one." Mike replies, shaking his head, "Just was giving my last respects to someone I knew."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Mike. Did you see them off into the stars or did you simply bury them underground? I suppose such rituals are different in each culture."
"His family chose cremation." Mike answers, "They weren't overly religious, so simple memorial service. Sharing stories and stuff."
As the pair discuss matters, there is a small amount of movement off to the side. Unlike Mike, this one is NOT dressed up nicely. But he does seem interested in the pair that have stopped to talk, in the middle of the Kitchen, with one of them in a suit.
"If I May ask, what happened to him? I am sory if I am intruding on a subject that I have an idea of how to fix a … did you her that? Hello? somebody?"
On cue, stepping out of the conveniently placed plot device in the form of an alleyway, a thug dressed in attire that makes Mike's Goodwill-esque ones look more like Armani appears behind Mike. In his hand, a knife. "Al-"
He doesn't get much of his speech out as the rocker's feet press against the ground, launching him into the attempted mugger, knocking the guy off balance. "I did." He growls, grabbing the man's sleeve to continue assisting in the stumble towards the brick of a nearby building.
Loki gasps despite himself and swiftly moves to grab the mugger by the other arm and wrench it downward against his knee. "Leave Mike alone." Loki growls, then snaps the heel of his boot out to connect with the man's torso.
The combination of the assisted stumble and the kick of the torso continues the mugger's momentum, there's a bit of a crack as the man's head hits the wall, sending him to the land of nod as he slides down.
With the wannabee mugger out cold, the expression on Mike's face changes a bit. Almost an expression of content upon his features as he smiles. "Oh he never had a chance, " Mike assures as he stands up, looking to Loki, "Just another day in the Kitchen for ya!"
Loki takes a defensive stance in case there are more, keeping his senses heightened. "Are you unharmed?" He asks Mike, going over to the unconscious body of the would-be mugger and digs through his pockets for identification or anything else he might be carrying, putting it in his own pockets if he does find anything on him. "It is too cold to leave him here like this, perhaps we should build a fire so he does not die." Shaking his head he sighs. "What do I care? He had no compassion for ME or you." It has become an internal struggle. Loki isn't sure if he should care and let the man live or say screw it and leave him to die, as he would in Asgard.
"Nah I'm fine," Mike assures, reaching into his own pocket to pull out his cellphone, pressing down upon three buttons. "I've had worse here, that's for sure." He brings the phone up to his ear, waiting for the other side to pick up, "Hey, There's a guy just lying in the middle of the sidewalk. I think he's out cold and I'm not sure if it's safe to move him or just leave him there." After giving the address of the building, he pauses, listening to the person on the other line, "Yeah, takes all types don't it? Wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it. Right, Thanks." The phone lowers and Mike looks over to Loki, "He won't be freezing out here. He'll have to deal with answering questions when he comes to, but he's not freezing."
"If they know where he is then it is in our best interest to leave. It is my understanding that Midgardian sentries ask for identification, and I have none. If you wish to remain here and answer questions, you may, but I am removing myself from the general vicinity. They do not give Asgardians drivers licenses."
"Yeah, we can probably head out, They have his location and it shouldn't take that long to get here." The sound of a siren echoing in the nearby distance is sufficient backing to Mike's claim as he slips the phone in, already starting to walk down the street away from the wannabe mugger. "They got my phone number in the system so they can always just stop by later if they got questions."
Loki nods and begins walking swiftly across the street to get out of the way and out of sight, pulling up his hood and ducking into the shadows of an alley to watch as the ambulence and other authorities arrive. He is a professional lurker, so the young Asgardian knows how to hide in an alley without being seen from the outside.
Being that Mike's off time basically consists of him hiding from those who could recognize him, this isn't much of a problem for Mike as he follows Loki towards the alleway, angling his stance so the white of the shirt peeking from the suit doesn't provide sufficient enough contrast to make it easier to spot the two. He folds his arms, separating himself from the scene that the first responders are responding to. "So, what brings you here again?"
Not looking back at Mike, Loki shrugs. "I felt like going for a walk. The city sounds and smells differently now, I just wanted to do a bit of exploring. It is strange not being able to hear or see as I once did. If I must become used to such diminished senses, I should exercise them, yes?"
"So, kind of a physical therapy of sorts." Mike surmises, giving a bit of a nod, "Well, Hell's Kitchen in brief. If you live here, expect bad stuff to happen to you at some point. If you're one of the unluckier ones, you can practically set your watch by how often it happens." He pauses, considering the matter, "Or perhaps you're the luckier one because that means you've survived more?"
"A while back I landed here naked after being grounded to earth by Frigga. I survived. I have been here before since I was ungrounded, but have not been here since I have been exiled." He hears something and turns around, looking into the dark to see what it was. The godling emits a frustrated grunt as he can't see in such dim lighting as a human. Is it a rat? Is it a crazy wino? Is it a bilgesnipe? Who knows?
When Loki looks deeper into the alleyway, Mike turns his head as well to look, eyes squinting to focus his vision. Did he miss something while talking to the younger looking but elder being? "Can't say I was ever stranded anywhere without clothes, so that worked out for me."
"It is not a very pleasant experience." Loki says, tiptoeing quietly into the alley. "I didn't have an experience like this the last time." He narrows his eyes, then nearly jumps a mile high as a huge rat scurries past. Once the rat is gone, there is the sound of a garbage can falling over. "What is that?"
Having been looking the movement of the rat isn't entirely surprising. He shifts to the side, allowing for the rat to continue it's path. "Something tipped over the garbage can." Mike replies, "I don't think a rat would have done it either." He frowns, considering how much further down the alley Loki is from him. "Come back here."
Loki turns back to look over his shoulder. "Perhaps it is a cat. I would like a pet." He says, though he is totally lying. Looking forward again, he takes a few cautious steps, listening. Though his hearing isn't as good as it was when he had his powers, he can hear a low growling sound. He pauses when he hears it, waiting to see if Mike catches up.
When Loki doesn't come back towards him, Mike mutters a small curse as he starts to move towards Loki. "Or it's something else." Mike replies, moving beside Loki, "Don't walk into a situation blind if you can help it…" His lecture ceases as he turns towards the trash can. "A dog maybe?"
Loki sighs as Mike lectures him and stops, coming back. "Very well, let's go. What are you doing here, anyway? You wanted to know why I was here, you are quite a distance from your home as well."
Mike glances down to his suit and looks to Loki, "Memorial service." He reminds, "And in a way this place was a home. One I don't like coming to often, but still a home." He looks back over to where the growling emitted but being that he can't see what it is, he's going to give it the distance it desires.
"Oh right. Pardon my questions." Loki says, brushing his hands off. "I am not used to the fleeting memory of the mortal mind." He gestures to the exit of the alley, prepared to leave, when the growling grows louder and a pair of red eyes glow, dimply illuminating the far end of the alley. "Well, I see that is our cue to exit. Quickly."
Seeing the glow of the eyes, Mike's brow raises, lifting a hand up to basically Loki towards the opening of the alleyway, supposing Loki changes his mind about leaving, "Yeah…That, is not a normal dog." He looks towards the opening to see the emergency workers still dealing with the unconcious mugger and frowns, "Uh, let's keep an eye on this. Last thing those guys need is for whatever that is coming out to cause them problems."
Loki nods, unzipping his coat and taking it off, setting it aside and unsheathing two daggers from his hips, holding them with the blades pointed back. "It does not behave like a dog. Creatures such as this do not belong on Midgard. Show yourself, beast, and perhaps this encounter will be less deadly for you." He assumes it's an animal, but what comes after them doesn't look like any Midgardian or Asgardian animal that Loki's ever seen. it looks more like a demon with pointed fangs, glowing eyes and leathery bat wings. It lunges at them, knocking Loki onto his back, but the godling is able to lift his arms and slice part of the creature's leg, spilling blackish green blood in the alley.
Not really expecting Loki to challenge the creature (But really, he should have seen this coming considering past interactions) Mike steps back into a defensive position as he sees the creature leaping out of the shadows. Mike turns as the creature knocks Loki over. The next part that occurs, well, not advised as Mike jumps on the creature's back, wrapping his arms around the neck to hold on. And hopefully steer the thing away from the entrance of the alleyway. "FUCK!"
Loki rolls to his feet and chases them down the alley, frowning. "Mike! What are you doing?? This is no time to go for a ride!" He flips the dagger over in his hand and throws it to try and send it flying into the wing webbing so it can't take off with Mike. They both succeed in turning it back away from the entrance, and have the advantage since it is quite a bit larger than they are, and alleys are rather small.
"I'm not riding!" Mike snaps, bucking about as he tightens his grip, yanking the head even more to face further in to the back of the alley "I'm STEERING! Tell those Medics to move faster! Call your friends!"
"I don't have any friends!" Loki calls back and leaps to try and tear the membrane of the wings more, getting swiped aside into the wall of the alley and nearly stepped on. "Steer toward the back of the alley and then snap its neck!" easier said than done for a mortal. "Don't you carry weapons with you at all times??"
"ALLIES THEN!" Mike snaps, continuing his effort to steer it towards the back "I don't carry weapons!"
All the yelling does bring the attention of the medics, which does spurn a bit more quickness to their steps as another starts to speak to someone on his radio.
Loki looks around and notices his other dagger is lodged in one of the wingbones of the beast. "Retrieve the dagger and use it!" Loki says, running to place himself in /front/ of the beast. He has a plan, but it may look rather kamikaze. When it runs forward, thrashing its head back and forth to try and dislodge Mike, Loki flips his dagger so the blade is facing forward. "Come this way!"
It's all fine and dandy to notice things when you're not currently participating as a suited cowboy in some weird demon-esque rodeo. But currently Mike's a bit more focused about holding the hell on. He tightens his grip, looking for the dagger Loki mentioned. Oh! Digging his nails in, on hand shifts over to grab at the dagger handle, twisting it first before pulling it out.
"Strike!" Loki yells toward Mike, running toward the demonic creature and then suddenly drops down to his knees, leaning back to disembowl the creature from underneath, hoping Mike will finish it off so they aren't both turned into demon-chow.
Dagger retrieved, Mike continues clinging, feet swinging before the dagger holding hand sweeps over the shoulder, honing the dagger to towards the creature's throat. As it impacts, Mike lets go, causing for him to fly off of the creature with the force of it's shake, safe from anything that might protrude through the back of the creature's throat. The trash can clangs again as it crumples under Mike's weight.
Loki rolls to his feet and moves over to shield Mike from any goo or debris coming from the demon, then offers him a hand up. "Are you all right?" He asks, looking at the demon. No, not one of Surtur's. "Demons are so annoying." He says this as if it's just an everyday occurance, and in Asgard, it probably happens more often than not. "We should get out of here before those people come asking questions."
A little out of breath from having it knocked from him from the fall, Mike groans a little, "Is it dead?"
Looking it over, Loki shrugs. "Seems that is the case. You really should focus on answering the questions presented to you before asking more questions. I will ask you again. Are you all right?"
Mike rolls to his side, shifting to his knees and hands, "I'll probably be sore in a bit but otherwise…" He pauses, considering it,"I'm okay. Oddly enough, considering the end result I can say I've had worse." He pushes himself up, straightening his suit which, looks much dirtier and is now sporting a tear. "Might have to replace the suit… But that's alright." He looks over to Loki, "And you?"
Loki nods. "Yes, I am fine. I have fought creatures much larger and deadlier. I wonder what it is doing here. Too bad it is dead or we could have asked it." He pulls his coat on, wincing a little as he notices a slightly strained shoulder muscle, then digs around in his pocket, pulling out a box of matches. Who the hell gave Loki /matches/? He strikes one off the box and approaches the corpse of the demonish creature, tossing it onto the body so it is set ablaze.
"Make a note for next time to ask it nicely before telling it you're going to kill it." Mike murmurs, watching Loki do something to the demon's body. Well, now that Loki's started a demon barbeque, Mike is starting to understand the need to leave soon. Especially with another set of sirens coming their way. "There's a subway entrance nearby. We can probably get there before the police get here."
"Yes, I will make a note of that." Loki says, "Where is the entrance to the subway? Leaving now would be wise as long as we do not run into any more dangerous creatures in the process. It would be rather useful if I had my powers back."
Follow along." Mike says, heading out to lead the way.
~Fin~