[u][b]Babble[/b][/u]
[u]On route to the Statue of Liberty...[/u]
[hr]

It's not like his approach was a secret. His footsteps, his heartbeat, she could tell she was being followed before she had even left the docks. As he smashed through the roof of the cabin she was on the opposite side of the room from his landing point. Sharp shrapnel of wood and metal were shed forth by the impact, decorating the room in shallow perforations. With a quick jitter of a move she moved her arms away from her sides and separated her legs to avoid the long shards of wood and metal from impaling her limbs to the wall behind her. One particularly long stake ran through the wall mere millimeters over her head causing her to sink down a little seeing just how close she came to an impromptu trepanning.

She was able to tell the man approaching was in costume but getting a firm read of what this guy's gimmick was proved more difficult without being able to read the wavelengths of his colors. Now in sight she could see him more clearly.

[color=crimson][b]"I'll not allow you to flee the scene of the crime, undo the vile curse you have placed upon New York! Know you stand before Housen, to yield or face defeat are your only options!".[/b][/color]

His words came out but there was no doubting that he was much quieter than he ought to be despite the enthusiasm with which he proclaimed his challenge. Standing this close to Babble's dampening field all noise would be diminished to a significant degree. It was to a point where the sound of the boat sloshing in the bay's water was fainter than a whisper from across a room. The sounds of destruction, explosions and mayhem from the city itself were nonexistent to a human's ears. While his own voice might of sounded subdued to him to her he was crystal clear. She looked at him through narrowed eyes, peering at him as she attempted to figure him out. Her face lit up with excitement when it finally struck her.

[i]Oh! he's, like, a professional wrestler![/i]

With that she decided to have some fun with this situation. Moving over to the corner opposite to him the stage was set. Slowly fading into audibility the sound of a cheering crowd surrounded Housen and Babble. It was as though they were in the middle of a fully fledged wrestling ring with throngs of eager spectators all cheering for the mysterious wrestling ninja man.

"In the red corner, standing at six feet and two inches, weighing two hundred and twenty five pounds, returning to defend his title as world champion this man needs no introduction! Let's hear it for Housen!"

The crowd's cheers only heightened as people roared with excitement to see their supposed champion, the announcer hyping up the enthusiasm with this vigorous proclamation before moving onto the challenger.

"In the blue corner, too short to ride the roller coaster and weighing less than a box of styrofoam peanuts it's the challenger who's come up from the frying pan and into the fire! It's!... Babble."

As soon as the focus turned to Babble herself the crowds cheering quickly turned to booing and jeers. Even the announcer's enthusiasm drained as he announced her name, delivering it as flatly as was humanly feasible. Even still despite the displeasure of this purely auditory crowd she smiled and waved to all her not-fans, relishing in the scene as it was set.

"Let's have a clean fight! The rules are simple! No biting, no eye gouging and first person down by the count of ten loses!"

Babble adopted some wobbly approximation of a fighting stance. Having only popular media to go off of her stance only really involved lifting her sleeves where her hands would be if they were still there.

"Ready? Three... Two... One..."

While Babble was all caught up in this fictional wrestling match with this very real wrestler she had very much lost track of her boat's current progress en route to Liberty Island. Before the announcer could say go the barge suddenly stopped with a loud crash! The whole thing lurched forward as it was brought to a halt sending everything upon it not tied down flying forth. Seeing as how Babble was very definitely not attached to the ship she was launched into the air, her straight jacket's sleeves fluttering in the air as she soared. Given the roof to the cabin was destroyed by Housen's dramatic arrival she was thrown clear from the ship through the hole, falling towards the island like a dead pigeon.

THUD!

Babble hit the concrete path all at once, sliding several feet along the stone before the friction ceased her momentum. There she laid like a heap of old laundry with a Babble located within. Having hit her head, along with her entire face, upon the cold hard ground she was out like a broken light bulb in an Amish house.

Thus, the empty dark laid claim once again.

...

She wasn't dead though.

_
[@Zero Hex]