| Tracking Down Something Odd in Hell's Kitchen |
| Summary: | Amanda notices something odd going on mystically and tracks it to Hell's Kitchen where someone attempts to mug her. She meets the devil of Hell's Kitchen in the process. |
| Date: | 2016-08-15 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | Unnamed Muggers |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
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Amanda Sefton does not make it a habit to go into bad parts of town despite the fact that she knows one of the best Irish pubs in the city is located right here in Hell's Kitchen. It's too easy for the wrong sort of people to think of a beautiful blonde as an easy target and she dislikes giving people that impression, especially these days.
Still, Amanda has a project she is working on and she must follow the leads where they take her. Rather than using her crystal ball, Amanda is using a much more unobtrusive mirror in a make-up compact to follow the odd magic that caught her attention earlier in the evening when she was scrying.
Could there be someone that screams mark better than an apparently unarmed blonde woman with nice clothing walking through the darkening streets of Hell's Kitchen apparently ignoring her surroundings as she vainly watches herself in the mirror?
It really is something out of the ordinary for such a woman to walk through the streets of Hell's Kitchen with such an oblivious look to her. Most of the people don't pay attention to her, it's surprising how many of the Kitchen's denizens keep their heads down, don't make eye contact, and just stick to their routine. Most of those people in front of that rather happening Irish Pub are laughing, smoking, hanging out outside. There's the steady thump of music coming from inside, and sometimes from the vehicles that drive by on the road. Even at this hour, the Kitchen is active.
She luckily made most of her way down the street with nobody bothering her. At the most she'd get some looks, but it wasn't until she passed that active pub that she picked up a tail. Just a guy who tossed his cigarette aside as he got up off of the stoop to an apartment building. He walks along and lifts his hand for a second… giving a signal to a man down the end of the street who steps out onto the sidewalk in front of Amanda and approaches her.
"Hey, lady. I need some money for a bus ticket, you got anythin'?"
Amanda Sefton does not appear to notice she has picked up a tail despite that she can see the whole street in her little mirror at the moment. She even gives away that she's got money on her by jamming her free hand into her pocket and pulling out a five. "Hope this helps." She holds it out in offering without ever looking up from the mirror.
"Gonna need more than that, lady. Thanks though, why don'tya gimme your purse or whatever." The guy is grubby looking, though he's wearing a NY Knicks t-shirt and some decent sneakers. He pulls a hunting knife from behind his back as he says, "Gonna need a whole lot more. And if you don't got it on ya, there's an ATM we'er goin' to down the street. Right? So just don't do anythin' stupid, don't turn around because my buddy's got a gun on ya."
As that one man in front of her says that, another presence can be felt behind her, just a shadow at the moment that she can see without looking darkening the street behind her.
And yet right now the bar is still close enough she could see a few guys down at the corner, maybe could yell for help, then again that guy does have a knife. And supposedly the other has a gun. Yet the steady thump of music so close by might lend a surreal feeling to the situation.
Amanda Sefton purses her lips as she finally deigns to look up from her compact. "I really don't have time for this. I know you have no idea who I am, so I am going to give you this opportunity to walk away and let me get back to what I was doing. She does not glance back toward the bar. Instead she focuses her attention on the man with the knife.
There's a ka-click from behind her, the sound of a round being chambered in an automatic pistol. "Do what he says, lady. Cut the shit!" The man's voice is deeper than the first man and he seems on edge. She might get a scent from him of feces and vomit and something almost sweet smelling in the same way gangrene is sweet. But what is clear is the weapon he extends towards her while the other man with the knife steps forwards.
Down the street one of the men on the corner has seemed to notice something going down and he points down the way with his glowing cigarette, trying to get the attention of his friends. If she's lucky maybe he's going to intercede on her behalf. If she's not maybe he just plans to watch and laugh.
Amanda Sefton turns very slowly to look back at the bar and consider the possibility of a bystander getting shot if the muggers shoot at her. Finally she asks, "Where did you say the ATM was?" She wants to get further away from the crowd. She walks backwards so she can keep both the men threatening her with weapons in sight.
"That way," The man with the knife gestures and then the one behind her snaps, "Stand still, lady." She can hear his voice fray, can hear it rise as he snaps, "I said stand still!" And it's in that moment when she sees his eyes start to widen and the beadlet of sweat trickle down the side of his brow that this guy is definitely tweaking and tweaking hard. He brings the firearm up and abruptly there's a /whir-whir-whir/
/THWOK!/
A baton comes down from above and smashes into the man's wrist, shattering his grip on the firearm and knocking it up into the air even as the baton skitters off into the distance down the alleyway, having served its purpose. The gun hits the ground near Amanda, but that still leaves the guy with the knife who is looking around wildly and holding out his knife, "What the fuck! Aww man, fuck no!"
When the gun stops being a threat, Amanda raises a hand and makes a throwing gesture toward the man with the knife. A flash of light fills the street as the bolt of mystic force slams into him knocking him back. Another gesture is tossed at the baddie with the knife and his arms are clapped abruptly to his sides by a band of golden light impossible to break by any mundane means. Annoyance with the attempted mugging might make her draw the mystic bonds a little tighter than normal. "I did ask you not to bother me."
The man who held the gun is writhing around on the ground holding his broken wrist and groaning, trying to wriggle and writhe his way away from Amanda and his now bound comrade who suddenly has a light show going on around him. He's inching along, gaining some distance until there's a sound of two boots hitting the ground behind her and suddenly there is a third man amongst them.
But this one is wearing black and red armor, walking in the shadows just outside the halo of light provided by the lamppost. He stops for a moment, turning his head to the side and listening, sensing something… strange going on with the other man. His nostrils flare for a moment and he frowns as he moves a few steps into the alley to reclaim his baton. "Are you alright?" He asks, perhaps of her.
Amanda Sefton 's heart is not racing like another woman might be after someone attempted to mug her. But she's annoyed and the mystic bonds give off a faint humming music which is too soft for normal hearing to detect it. She glances around at the man in red and black armor. "They didn't hurt me." She's also wearing a lovely rose scent that he catches when he breathes deep along with a faint scent of something in the air from the magic interacting with the non-magical environment. "I probably shouldn't keep lighting up the street by holding that guy so if you want him for something, you need to take care of it now."
As Amanda holds the man, Daredevil retrieves his baton and slides it into its holster. He turns back and away from the alleyway, stepping back out onto the sidewalk. That one man with the broken wrist is still trying to crawl away, inching away desperately and almost pathetically. But the Devil of Hell's Kitchen steps to him and stands in front of him in his path of escape. He lowers his head slightly and murmurs a single word. "Stop." It's enough to get that man to do so.
And then Daredevil walks past him over towards the captive of the magical energy. He tenses, twitching, straining against Amanda's power but failing to break away.
"She is going to release you. You are going to go over there and sit. Or I will hit you. Do you understand?"
The man seems to wilt under the attention of Daredevil and he swallows a heavy gulp. Eventually he's able to nod and which in turn allows Daredevil to nod towards Amanda to let him down.
Once the man is free of being bespelled he'll do exactly as the vigilante has told him.
Amanda Sefton waves the bonds away and plunges the night back into dimness as the man moves to sit down. Amanda opens her compact again and asks, "Are you at all prepared to deal with things magical?" She's obviously asking the man in the armor.
Again his nostrils flare and for some reason he turns his head towards her. Something in the pace of her heartbeat, the rush of her pulse, combined with the curious scent of… whatever arcane power held that man… it all swirls together in a curious melange he has not sampled before. He folds his arms over his chest as he considers her, seemingly looking past her or over her shoulder, yet not directly at her.
The only part of him she can see that isn't covered by the armor is his jawline, though he has a torn lip and seems a touch bloodied from whatever may have happened earlier. Yet he seems unaffected by such small things as pain as he murmurs, "I do not entirely know if I believe in magic."
There's a pause then he asks, "What are you doing?"
Amanda Sefton winces, "Oh now that brings up bad memories. The last person to say that to me said it right before he turned into the Incredible Hulk and ripped apart my apartment." She gestures at the compact and tries to summon back the trace she was following earlier. "Something is not quite right here. I was following it. You?"
The man in the red and black turns his head sidelong towards the two fallen men, then turns back towards her slowly. His jaw tenses, the tendons bunching for a moment as he says simply, "Keeping a woman from getting mugged. Though you probably didn't need my help if what you did was magic." Hey, at least he allows that being a possibility.
He then steps away from her and tells her, "I was looking for two men. I saw what was happening. I stopped." He says that he 'saw' perhaps to throw her off the scent, but it gets the point across.
Amanda Sefton hmms at that. "You were looking for someone and stopped to help me? I didn't get in the way of you finding them did I? I'd feel guilty about that." And she certainly sounds like that's the truth. "Perhaps I could help."
The man holds up his gauntleted hand again and asks her, "What were you following? And who are you?" He seems to be a man of no-nonsense, but then he turns his head to the side and realizes that that group of people down near the corner at the bar are starting to move down their way…
Not to mention that also there's the distant sound of a police cruiser making its way having been notified when Daredevil signalled. He turns his attention back upon Amanda and murmurs in a short sharp tone, "I will meet you, two blacks west." He gestures then with one hand, pointing towards the river as he then draws one of his batons from his hip and sends it whirring up into the air, trailing a grapple line. A few quick strides and suddenly he /leaps/ up into the air as the line retracts and snaps him into motion.
Amanda Sefton does not get around to answering any of his questions before he's leaping into the air. If she is faintly annoyed by being effectively ordered around, she doesn't let it show. Two blocks west. That she can find in her compact far more easily than the trace she was following. As the location appears in her compact, Amanda dramatically throws one hand up into the air. (Definitely never getting caught by the cops again. That does not go well.) Pink and gold light surrounds her and she trails little green mystic vapors for a moment and then she is no longer where she was
Unfortunately Amanda does not do stealthy teleports. Two blocks west the air is briefly filled with music as though a thousand harps played the same note. The mystic sound slowly fades away as she appears trailing sparkles of the same pink and gold light.
It takes him a bit longer to get there, but when he does there's a significantly less amount of theatrics to announce his arrival. In fact all it is from him is the sound of his clearing his throat as he steps out of an alleyway, though not far enough that he'll stand in the halo of light that comes from the nearby streetlamp.
When she looks his way he gives a nod, "My business will keep. You are a gifted individual pursuing some matter. Tell me what it is if you would." He again folds his arms, standing tall opposite her.
Amanda Sefton moves out of the light to stand nearer to him, "Most people just call me a sorceress if they know. I've been tracking a trace of something not right going on. It keeps slipping away from me. And getting interrupted tends t make me lose the trace unfortunately. It's going to take me a while to find it again."
"Is it dangerous?" Daredevil stands there, not drawing back though he keeps his arms folded over his chest. He cocks his head to the side curiously, as if trying to 'hear' her from a different angle, weighing the sincerity of her words and reading her as best he can with those at times too sensitive senses. His nostrils flare faintly, taking in that scent of her perfume, but also the tinge of her shampoo that she uses, conditioner. With just that small draw of breath he can tell where her makeup was manufactured, as well as the likely source of her clothing. Not to mention the slight tang of her sweat and exertion.
Amanda Sefton may be the most honest person Daredevil has ever dealt with. It doesn't even occur to her to lie to him about this even though he's a stranger. He protects people. That is good enough for her. Her perfume is roses. Her soap and shampoo just something that she picked up at the market that also smells of flowers. When it comes to the clothing though while he smells cotton and denim, it actually doesn't have of those tell tale other scents to it. It's as if it wasn't made anywhere at all. And it's not just cotton and denim, there's more to it.
Amanda smiles with amusement at the question. Isn't that the first thing any man wants to know when a woman is doing something dangerous? "Which part were you asking about? The following or the something wrong?"
"Both," His answer is given without hesitation as he turns his head the other way. It's curious how he never really looks directly at her, more just past her though those mirrored lenses in his visor reflect her image back to her rather well. Daredevil steps to the side and walks past her a few paces, listening to their surroundings, seeking some hint of his own perhaps to what she speaks of. A small shake of his head is given before he turns back towards her. "And is it dangerous to the neighborhood?"
Amanda Sefton admits softly, "The last strange thing I felt turned out to be a rift forming from another dimension. When it opened, something reached out and tried to pull me in. If that happened to someone who couldn't close the rift again, It could be very dangerous. Or someone could walk through the rift by mistake. I would have to find it to know for sure. And yes, it's dangerous. Especially if I risk running into more of them."
Whatever she is saying… she believes it. There's no heightened pulse rate, no tell-tale signs of subterfuge. She's being as sincere as she can as she explains the possibilities. So he frowns to himself, wiping a forearm over his jaw and smearing that faint smear of blood from the cut to his lip. Eventually he murmurs, "Then we'll look into it. Lead on, I'll protect you as I can." If this goes on for too long he may well try to get her to go home, but he can spare this time at least for now.
Then again, she could just be an escaped mental patient who just happens to be a mutant. Impossible to tell.
Amanda Sefton takes a deep breath. This is when her heartbeat picks up with the tension of her situation as she begins to gather in magic and try to find the odd signature she was following before. Unfortunately she finds him instead. The confusion is plain in her voice as she looks up at him. "Really?" She tilts her head, long blonde hair swishing on her shoulders in the process, "You're not from around here? I would have sworn you were."
There's no answer from him, he just stands there with his arms folded over his chest and pays attention to her calmly. He slowly shifts his weight to the other boot, leather armor creaking faintly while he considers her words but then gives her a small nod as if saying that yes, indeed, he is from around there.
Amanda Sefton sighs, "Hold still. I'm going to have to get a lock on your dimensional signature so I can filter it out. It will only take a moment." People don't normally notice her doing this but to someone with enhanced senses it might be a little like tiny bugs crawling all over him, beneath the armor especially.
The tall man frowns and shifts again in his stance, his expression sharpening to a mild look of annoyance. Yet it's to his credit that he doesn't scratch or shift too much, instead he bears it and he says quietly. "If I am the source of the disturbance then we can be reasonably assured that it's safe." Not exactly admitting to knowing anything about it, but in the greater scheme of what is dangerous in Hell's Kitchen… yes he's dangerous… but only to the wrong people.
Amanda Sefton shushes him softly as she shifts her weight back and forth between her feet lightly. The crawling feeling fades then she says, "It's not you. You were just causing interference. You can relax though. It doesn't look like it's in Hell's Kitchen any longer."
If she could see behind the mask she would see him as being rather… dubious. Yet he stands there opposite of her, his jaw tensing again as he most likely holds back words or commentary. Instead he gives a small nod and then steps to the side, turning away from her to step along the sidewalk with a few strides. He turns back to the woman and says levelly, "Then I suggest you get somewhere safe, Miss…?" He rests his arms upon his hips, fingertips lightly tapping at his side as he considers his options.
Amanda Sefton smiles, "Amanda. Amanda Sefton. Is there something I can call you besides the obvious?" She gestures to his attire "That doesn't look like it protects you as well as it should, by the way."
Levelly, he replies, "It does its job." For a time he stands there, considering her and listening to the sounds of her body roiling as she in turn considers him. Again the tendons in his jaw bunch, perhaps a tell of some sort, but as for why… difficult to say. Instead he gives her a slow nod as if acknowledging, then he tells her. "Ms. Sefton, stay out of Hell's Kitchen. For your own safety. Unless you're going to take steps to present a less…" He lifts his chin as his head turns away. "Tempting target."
Once that's said he starts to step away from her, footsteps carrying him towards the alleyway that he had emerged from. But once at its mouth he pauses to turn to look her way. "They call me Daredevil," A small glimpse of a smile is given and then he adds, "I didn't choose it." For some reason that amuses him to say that.
Amanda Sefton nods and calls after him, "It's Amanda. Since I interrupted your search, if you need help finding them, I might be willing to scry for them for you." A string of numbers that can only be a phone number follow before Amanda turns north toward a safer part of the city where she can catch a cab.