[sub][@Blazion][/sub] [hr] [b]March 18th, 2020 11:00 PM, ET Uptown Narrow, Gotham[/b] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/DSaiWE3.png[/img] & [sub]Grim :)[/sub] -_-_-_-[/center] It was late, nearly midnight, but Hex had already missed and forgotten his curfew. This whole vigilante thing was really getting to him, it was so exciting flitting across rooftops and cursing random muggers. Pads had no end of complaints about the girl who'd tried to rob an elderly man only to have her hair turn into a rope that strangled her until she passed out. He'd thought that particular twist had been clever, but nooo. At least Pads couldn't complain about this one, a good old vampire scheme was outside Mr. Police Authority's jurisdiction. Hex lurked in a darkened corner over the alleyway this particular vampire had chosen as their trap. He could see some of the appeal of vampirism, and maybe he would turn the other way if someone actually sought it out and knew what they were getting into, but this trick wasn't either of those; forceful recruitment from unaware pedestrians. It sent an uncomfortable tingle through his memory, something about Faerie wars. Well, whatever the purpose, he was ending it tonight. And telling dad after, not before, because that was just asking for trouble. [i]How did you even know about this? Is that what you've been doing when you stay out so late? You told me you were staying the night at Anna's! Her mom called![/i] Well, sometimes voice modulation matrices came in handy? He sighed, he wished his dad would let him do this stuff more often, it was so much fun! Except for the slight issue where the demon almost broke his back with a chair, and that one siren who may have nearly drowned him, and the gnome with the explosives... but he'd learned his lesson! He was plenty capable! He just needed a few victories under his belt to prove it. He smirked as he noticed movement in the alley. The fifth victim had just entered the scene; a young woman, headphones in, hood pulled up, eyes down - she'd never have seen her doom appraching if Hex hadn't been there watching. A shadow pulled off from a dark corner, the woman missing it, but Hex had long ago spotted the vamp. He just needed to make sure this was the one causing trouble before starting something messy with any local clans. A quick click on his phone marked the beginning of his recording, assuring he'd have video evidence for any locals that got uppity. It was a just in case measure though, with any luck no one would know he'd been involved at all. As the shadow crept up on the woman Hex got a better look at them, realizing it was a man with long dark hair and pale skin. The brief spalsh of moonlight also revealed something else; a gauntlet, the faintest glow of golden runes spread across the surface. [i]Interesting,[/i] he thought, smirking, [i]I'll be taking that.[/i] Just as the man's hand reached out for the girl a ball of bright pink light shot down from the roof tops and caught him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground with a startled hiss. The woman jerked away, abruptly realizing someone on the roof, Hex, had just shot something in her direction, and then that there was a creepy weirdo behind her she hadn't noticed. It was no surprise she started running, disappearing back the way she'd came as Hex dropped down, landing with only the slightest of violet glows to mark the magic cushioning his fall. "You know, willful spreading of infectious diseases is a crime. Probably. It's not very nice at least." He smirked at the infuriated expression on the vampire's face, fangs already bared as the man stood and dusted himself off. "You will regret getting involved kid." Was the brilliant retort. Truly stunning how it managed to strike so much terror into him. Truly. He laughed, already knowing that one vampire wasn't any match for him. But then the vampire raised his magic gauntlet in Hex's direction, a jet of burning silver light lashed out towards him. He barely had time to barrier before the mystical energy was tearing around his shield and lighting up the alleyway with a harsh glow. When the light finally faded his barrier was only barely holding on, already disintegrated partially at the edges. "Ow," he muttered to himself, his hands a little singed from where he'd thrown them out to help focus his magic into the barrier. "Really, really ow." And then, lo and behold, when he looked back up there was not just one vampire with some kind of overpowered magical energy canon, there were three. "This... may have been a mistake." He should really tell his dad about these things, the whole 'independence' and 'proving himself' schtick was totally going to get him killed. --- After the shenanigans of the past couple weeks it was almost nice having a plain, boring night in Gotham once more. Just the rising peaks of the tall buildings, the smog above, a darkness that couldn't be shaken off... [i]ZZZZT[/i] And of course a myriad of criminal elements. The light was gone in an instant from the alleyway as the thug dropped to the ground, lightly twitching. A small hum reverberated in the mask covering Grim's face as she withdrew a zip tie from her belt and bound the man's hands behind his back with practiced ease. She hadn't even broken a sweat tonight, just a steady rhythm of stalk and prey. Lifting her gaze from the slightly smoking perp in front of her to focus on the other person in the alleyway the vigilante merely tilted her head at the woman before her. Shaken. Afraid. Clutching her purse with both hands and chest heaving with adrenaline. That will happen when you're mugged and threatened at gun point. Grim gestured to the mouth of the alley in a silent motion, where what faint light there was came through. The night was dark after all, not even the stars visible in the polluted sky, the only street light flicking. The woman hesitated, but the vigilante merely stayed still until she finally moved. As the woman stepped passed her Grim reached down, grabbing the mugger's pantleg and rather carelessly dragging him along behind them. He'd have some scrapes when he regained his mind enough to do more than whimper. "I..." The pretty blonde trailed off, voice choking as Grim stepped up beside her on the sidewalk. Her eyes darted around, seeming to want to look at Grim but afraid. Most people in Gotham knew of the urban legend Grim, after all. The vigilante herself just dropped the leg of the criminal, voice modulator once more humming lightly as she waited with the stranger. Silence fell between them briefly. A small sob from the woman. Grim tilted her head but after a moment raised a hand up, the menacing glove placing very gently on the woman's arm in a form of comfort. It was important a person, after something like this, didn't feel alone. Important they knew they were safe, weren't just left behind not knowing what to do or why this happened. It's why Grim never left right away, not if she could help it. She may not be able to give them answers to why these things happened but she could at least do that. The woman on the other hand wasn't sure what they were waiting for at first, at least until she heard sirens approaching. Grim lifted her masked gaze from her, watching the street corner. A surprisingly quick time from Gotham PD, but then again she was sure they were used to the voice modulated calls by now, and knew the alias of the one behind them despite Grim's status as a mere legend. It was only when the flash of lights were visible that Grim finally dropped her hand and stepped back. Before the blonde could say anything a small bang sounded out as the hookshot in Grim's glove penetrated near the roof of the building, and it took only a second for Grim to be on the roof and gone. A few buildings away Grim finally stopped to check the time, a sigh rumbling out in a low menacing growl through her mask. She was late now, but it couldn't be helped sometimes. It wasn't like she could just ignore the screams of those in need - wasn't in her nature. Hadn't been for a long time. Resuming her route to Uptown Narrow however went off with little fanfair, no more distractions along the way. Disappearances were being reported. All ages, all genders, just far enough away and just small enough that no one wanted to crack open the can of beans to deal with it, or didn't have the authority to cut away the red tape to do so. Bureaucracy. Law enforcement would never work for her - she'd be fired the first time she told her Captain to eat her ass for not doing enough. That's alright though, Grim worked better alone. There's the area. Uptown Narrow. Was that a glare? Grim paused only briefly before diverting her course to head towards the harshly glowing light coming from one of the side streets. She had expected at least a couple hours of stakeout, but maybe tonight was her lucky night after all. It certainly wasn't for the poor schmuck down below, though. Grim arrived in short time, ending up peering over the edge of the building to the scene down below. There was a young man, no more then a teenager, faced off against three men. Three men with - were their gauntlets glowing? Yep, definitely glowing. Gold at that. Interesting, but so much for a normal night. The best defense against magic, Grim found so far at least, was not letting the other person use it. With that in mind she extended her hookshot, silently releasing the hooks manually to act as a grappling hook instead Quieter, which is what she needed. If she was lucky she could get all three of them at once. With it in place, Grim leapt from the building. The hookshot did its job of keeping her slowed enough nothing broke when she landed hard on the man in the middle of the group, throwing all her weight on his shoulders to get him to the ground. As soon as she had landed Grim's hand, the one without the hookshot retracting, shot out to grab the arm of the one to her right, electricity immediately coursing through the palm of her glove. That just left... Ah, the one who had reacted with surprising speed to get away. Almost supernatural reflexes, really. Seriously, Grim hated magic a little. --- A fourth shadow's appearance on the scene did no wonders for Hex's mounting apprehension. This would be dicey, he just needed- [i]wham![/i] The fourth shadow crushed the first man from above, an arm reaching out and shocking a second one. This was not good, clan warfare was- oh, not a vampire. Probably. The person was shrouded in shadows, but this was by skill, not magic. The obvious costume confirmed it; he was finally crossing paths with the infamous Grim. He didn't have time to get excited about it though, because the third vamp was darting to the edge of the alley and scaling the wall with inhuman reflexes. "Ha! Get wrecked!" He giggled, amused at how fast the situation turned. He jumped, landing on a newly conjured bright pink platform, thin but easily holding his weight, and shaped like a hexagon. The platform rose quickly, just as fast as the vampire, and Hex threw his fists out; two hands made of violet light caught the man's ankles and yanked, suspending him over the alley for a second, just long enough for a concussive hex to smash into his face, before Hex dropped him to land a few feet from his other downed friends. The platform dissipated too, and Hex fell in imitation of his earlier dramatic entrance into the alley; a puff of pink smoke marking the use of magic to cushion his fall. "Nice!" He called, once level with Grim again, running up to them with a bright and eager smile showing under his hood. "How'd you manage to sneak up on a vampire?! That's like, impossible!" Except not really, he had done it after all, but that was with magic, and this one didn't. As he spoke he picked out a few carved rocks from his pocket, tossing one in the direction of each of the three vampires; sleeping charms. Nighty night bat-suckers. --- Underneath her mask, Grim's eyebrow twitched. It was starting to become a tick the more and more magic she ran into, and that was [i]definitely[/i] magic. Of course outside the mask she remained as stoic as ever as she stood from the back of the man she had landed on. She definitely didn't twitch again at the rocks being tossed near her feet, letting them hit the downed - what did he call them? Vampires? - the downed vampires. Instead she just examined the handiwork, how the one she had landed on wasn't doing a weird hissing noise anymore. Actually, Grim thought she heard a snore. A slight snort of amusement escaped her lips. Alright, magic was good for some things. Finally Grim turned her gaze to the young man in front of her, trying to assess him. Eager, young, inexperienced possibly. Reminded her a bit of Blackstar honestly. Briefly she considered just leaving him without a word but another vigilante in her city, even a young buck, was something to keep track of, so finally she dipped her head in a slight nod to him. "Practice," The older vigilante responded smoothly, the high class accent being drowned out by the rough rumblings of the voice modulator. "It's all about how you carry your weight." Behind the lenses of her goggles she ran a critical eye over him, impressed with the outfit but a little 'iffy' to be honest. There were plenty of people as she worked that wanted to play hero, and another influx had started since the sudden surge of strange powers a few months ago. People were being hurt with their inexperience, as this young man probably would've been even with his magic when faced off against three... vampires. Seriously, Zoey wasn't going to get over that. "You bit off a bit more than you could chew." --- Hex shrugged, enthusiasm undimmed. "If that's what you want to think," he said with a grin, largely burshing off her cautionary words- though he did agree with the thing about practice, it was why he was out here at... whatever o'clock it was. The thing was though, magic had all kinds of aces he could stash up his sleeves, and his aces were some of the best! He'd have been fine. Probably. At a cost. The mysterious warnings given to him by the Master were suddenly hovering over his head again, and he winced. "Anyway, thanks! But uh, don't tell my dad? Kinda not supposed to..." he trailed off, gesturing to the alleyway around them and the situation as a whole. "Oh! Right!" He bent down and scooped up one of the magic gauntlets from the vampire's wrists. "Can't leave these just laying around!" He studied the glowing golden runes carved on them with a wide smile on his face; "No way! A complete Sah-Sop-Det matrice configuration?!" He shot an amazed look down to the vampire he'd taken it from speculatively; "This is probably older than your entire species, how the hell did you get it?" He demanded, but received only a snore in response. Hex shrugs, bending over to collect the other two. "Oh well, mine now. I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for any more of these, and- oh!" He spun on his heel, throwing his hand out as if to catch something, and then his phone came somersaulting from the rooftops and landed perfectly in his hands. He stopped the recording. "Evidence." He claimed, giving Grim a wide victorious grin. "Now, how to stop these guys from getting the drop on anyone else?" He pondered aloud, "I guess we could just shove them into Hell or something." Probably a death sentence, and he wasn't sure he even was capable of that, but it was a thought. "Bit harsh though... any ideas?" --- "Sah-Sop-Det...?" Well, what the boy lacked in skill, preparation, and outright [i]survival instincts[/i] he at least made up for in enthusiasm. And magic. Grim's eyes flicked over at the object suddenly coming to Hex, underneath her mask a frown tugging at her lips. She made a slight humming noise as he explained the purpose of the phone, and while he was pondering what to do with the vampires reached into one of the pouches on her belt. A twist of her fingers on the electromagnet had it go off silently, letting it run before once more returning it to stasis. That should mess with the latest video on his phone, at least to just before she showed up. "... Hell." As the teenager's words finally penetrated Grim just reached up, rubbing the bridge of her mask where her nose would be. This was a strange night. "If they're vampires they should probably be put down." The vigilante finally stated, somewhat dryly. "I'm sure there's plenty of tame ones but these ones were going after people - at least, I assume that's what the disappearances around here were." She tilted her head slightly to look at the golden gauntlets now held by Hex, after a moment holding a hand out. "I'd like one of those," She stated after a moment, deciding she could leave the other in his care. He at least seemed to know about magic enough she didn't feel guilty about it. Though, thoroughly trained and bred manners had her adding on one last thing. "Please." --- Hex frowned, annoyed. "Ugh, you sound like dad. 'Just pop a stake in 'em and be done with it,' or whatever it is he says. You don't think that's the slightest bit murder happy?" He gave her a curious eying up and down, and crossed his arms. After a moment he sighed, "Alright fine, you can have one of the gauntlets, if anyone asks I'll just say there were only two- not that anyone has any reason to ask - but I'll deal with these blood chuggers." He tossed the spare gauntlet to her and pulled out his phone once again, dialing Pads' number as he so often found himself doing. Yay police contacts. So much for being out of his jurisdiction, but if anyone knew of a time out house for the supernatural it'd be Pads. Or Dad, obviously, but that wasn't in the cards lest he wanted to confess the whole... anyways. "Don't worry, they won't cause anymore trouble, if I have to I'll just nail them in a coffin for a few decades. Or whatever." He groaned, "I just realized I'm going to have to bust the rest of their coven aren't I? D'you think Dad would accept an anonymous tip? Since, y'know, you know each now and everything." Creepy really, he could count the number of mundane dealings Clayton Toombs had on one hand, not that Grim was especially mundane, but context, such as it was. He groaned again, "Nevermind, what's the point of 'proving myself' if I don't see the whole thing through on my own? I'm [i]so[/i] stupid." And if Dad finds out also [i]so[/i] dead. Probably. He wasn't sure how the man would react, this was the first time Tommy had ever pushed the boundaries so far: sneaking out, practicing obscure magic, dealing with werewolves, confronting vampires, cursing muggers... Dad was going to murder him. with the Nail. "This is probably why the Bible says witches go to Hell right? Because their Dad's shank them with cursed nails when they break the rules." He covered his face with his hands, taking a moment to hide and wallow in the mistake, then shook it off and refocused on Grim. "Uh, just forget everything you heard. And saw. Please?" --- "I don't take a life lightly, even a ... supernatural one, but there have been disappearances." Grim however just stared at Hex, underneath the mask her eyebrows furrowing together. The pieces clicked together in quick succession now that she had more of them, painting a picture. Honestly, she should've expected this the first time he had referred to his father, but it just hadn't quite settled. His father, her [i]knowing[/i] his father, anonymous tips and cursed nails. The vigilante took a moment to tilt one of the vampire's head with her foot, checking that he was really asleep before commenting calmly to the boy. "So you're Toombs' boy?" Figures. A sigh rumbled out of her mask, akin to a growl with the modulator fragmenting it. "Look, vigilantism isn't something you should be doing at your age. It's dangerous, even with magic - I'm sure you've heard it all from your father. Go home. I'll deal with this." --- "What? No way!" He protested, "I've got this! I'm not going let you cart them off just to dump them in some fire barrel like kindling. I know what I'm doing." Vaguely. Besides, what if the two others were just following orders? What if they all were? He didn't like the idea that a vampire clan might be owing up to a faerie debt and recruiting so... recklessly. There was much more at work here. "This is way more complicated than you can see, there are reasons things like this happen the way they do." He gestured around the alley, indicating the predatory ambushes and the disappearances as a whole. "I just need to collect a bit of intel is all." That, and build a supernatural prison all by himself. Somehow. He could do that. He needed more books though. He shrugged after a moment, deciding he was committed. The vampires wouldn't die, but neither would they be free, and once he and Pads were finished with them they'd spill all they knew and he'd finally have a lead for his dad about some of the recent Fae activity going on in Gotham. It'd be a risk, revealing just how... nosey he'd been recently, getting involved in all sorts of supernatural things without parental guidance, but maybe his dad would see this as a sign he was ready for the big stuff. --- "Yes, there is a reason things happen. Sometimes it's just that people are animals," Grim glanced away from the boy before her, scanning up and down the alley with her heat optics in an engrained motion of checking her surroundings. "Kid, trust me, I've been doing this for years. People die doing this work. What are you going to do if there's more than three next time? Maybe five, six, a dozen? Two dozen? It's dangerous. Go home, tell your father if you think it's necessary, and me and him will handle it. At your age you should be worried about girls and homework, even learning more about your magic, but not ... all this." She gestured at the scene as a whole before dropping her hand. Zoey was highly aware of how that sounded considering Blackstar was probably at home practicing his own techniques for scouring the city, but at least he had a supervisor and strict instructions to not gallavant around on his own. She couldn't help but mutter under her breath. "Honestly, kids these days are so eager to be adults. Being an adult is the worst." --- Hex's eyes narrowed, and he tensed, taking offense at the older vigilant's condescension. There was little he could do though, he couldn't take the criminals out from under her without complicating his own escape, and standing by while people were killed was just another day in his life. True they were criminals, powerful ones even, but it left him feeling... wrong, and angry. It wasn't right. Eventually he shoved the two gloves into his wasteband. He stepped back onto his own conjured platform and leveled a blank, judging look at his fellow vigilante. "Fine, I can't stop you. Be careful you don't regret this." His tone conveyed his stance quite clearly; he didn't like this, he didn't like her, and he would hold a grudge over it quite happily. "Watch your step Grim," he offered as a mock warning, "lots of things bite. Dogs for example, and wolves too, I wonder what happens when you try to cull such beasts." He knew exactly what happened; balances were disrupted, governments got involved, people formed opinions and staged protests. Societies were a lot like ecosystems in a way; packs, prides, herds, territorial disputes, those at the top meddling with those at the bottom- power vacuums, delicate stabilities, but people were also so much more complex. Murder would show a slippery slope straight into more unrest, more violence, more murder, especially if the fae were involved like he suspected. They needed less killing, more strategy, more information, more allies. But no, apparently Grim knew better. Hah. His platform took on a rectangular shape, much like a skateboard, and little loops formed when he flicked his wrists, wrapping around his feet. Then he was abruptly shooting off into the sky, taking several quick hard turns around Gothams obstructive architecture and fading out of sight with only a rapidly vanishing trail of pink magic dust to mark his path. That... could have gone better. And he really should get back to Anna's, just in case. --- That could have gone better. Grim breathed out a heavy sigh watching the young man disappear ... in a trail of pink? Odd fashion choice, but who was she to judge modern day fashions? She was the one running around in the middle of the night in a gas mask. At least Toombs' boy had listened, as reluctant and [i]pouty[/i] as it was with his parting shot to her. This was dangerous business, people got hurt being overconfident in their skills and trying to bite off too much at once. She would know. Briefly Grim thought of contacting Toombs - or at least trying, considering how vague magic instructions were; he'd likely be interested in knowing his son's activities. Honestly it wasn't the most honest of ideas, but if she could do anything to try and reduce casualties she would do it. His kid should at least have someone watching his back. Speaking of which... [i]Beep-beep[/i]. "Jaina." "It's Grim. Do you know where we can get coffins and a truck load of garlic this late at night?" Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? [hr]