[center][u][b]Brooklyn - Downtown[/u][/b][/center]

The air burned in his lungs as he ran down street after street, alley after alley, but still the sound if sirens drew ever closer. [i]This[/i] was the division of the military created for one sole purpose; to capture or kill all those deemed 'unnatural'; and they were relentless. Slowing just a bit to catch his breath, Atticus glanced over his shoulder when a strong hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him into a darkened alleyway. It was too sudden for him to react as he was thrown against the brick wall, one large hand clamping over his mouth. On instinct alone Atticus grabbed the man's wrist, the tiny red tendrils wrapping around his skin and constricting but he quickly stopped himself when the man spoke.

[quote=Gonzo]“Don’t say a damn word,” he growled. “I’m here to help.”[/quote]

Atticus' dark eyes stared warily into the stranger's but he made no move to escape as the sirens blared past them. 

[quote=Gonzo]Diego stared into the other Empowered’s eyes and took his hand from his mouth. “Stay still. Don’t move. You won’t be able to outrun me if you do.” He flashed the guy a sinister smile, then backed up, letting a couple of sparks of electricity fly from his hands. [/quote]

He squinted through the flash of light as the first one went down in a shower of sparks, flesh smoking. Now Atticus did speak, a stream of curses spilling from his mouth as he hit he pavement just when the bullets started flying. The young man watched, amazed, as the stranger literally flew into action and began tearing the retrieval squad apart. One of the luckier ones was simply knocked away by the body of his squad mate, his limp form landing in a heap right in front of Atticus. Without wasting a beat, the young man crawled over and began riffling through his gear, retrieving what appeared to be a flash-bang grenade and a long double-edged combat knife and holster. 

The gunfire having stopped, Atticus pushed himself to his feet, slipping the grenade and knife into his jacket pocket, just as the last solder tried to fire an empty weapon. Hearing a groan from the one at his feet, his features turned into a scowl as he viciously curb-stomped the man back into unconsciousness. He looked up just in time to see the stranger take off the head of the last soldier with his bare hands, the blood making an audible splash as it poured onto the street. Atticus lowered his chin as he stared at the empowered and wondered just what sort of creature he was. 

[quote=Gonzo]“Hey there. The name is Diego, and you are?”[/quote]

There was a short pause as Atticus considered his options. "Blake." He lied casually. His dark eyes finally looked away to examine the carnage. "Do you plan to take their ears as trophies or should we depart before more show up?" The sarcasm in his voice was palpable but already the sounds of more soldiers could be heard and in the distance one could even pick up the faint thrum of a helicopter's blades.