Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - Chapter 2: Night in the City

[jameson (ST)]

Dom kicked the door open and shoved the bag out into the alley as he shouldered past the door from the kitchen. He heaved the last two bags up and into the dumpster and then closed the heavy plastic lid with a bang. The alley stunk to high heaven but at least it wasn't the kind of stink that came about in the hot summer. He stopped to wipe the sweat from his forehead before heading back inside to lock up. Working at the restaurant wasn't glamorous but it helped pay his meager bills when his art couldn't. He was the last one out this evening, he'd stayed late in order to fill in for one of the kitchen staff who's wife had gone into labor. Glancing at his watch he sighed, it was nearly three a.m. He checked the front and then went out the back, locking the door after he shut the lights. Ten minutes later he was walking home, thankful for the recent warn streak that meant he didn't need more than a light jacket. He heard a scream, and a sound that he couldn't identify from an alley up ahead.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Pulling the earbuds of his mp3 player out, he quickly jogged up to the alley, failing to consider the chances of the cause of the scream having a gun, or any other weapon for that matter.

The recent events at Donny's school had him a little high on heroism and feeling a little invulnerable and therefore not considering that it could be a trap. Only the instinctual, 'heard scream, must help', being acted upon.

[jameson (ST)]

Dom rounded the corner of the alley and saw three men standing over a fourth form hunched over on the ground. The men looked like bums or maybe gang members from one of the poorer street gangs, and they were systematically kicking the crap out of the person on the ground. Booted feet lashed out, fists and bottles descended again and again. Further back in the alley Dom could just barely make out two more forms, a woman being held back by another ganger. The odds were pretty bad, four to two at best and Dom had little faith that the woman would be in any state to help.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Before Dom's mind could come to any kind of rational decision on how to act, his mouth was already operating on his sense of righteousness as fear and adrenaline flooded his senses.

"HEY!" he screamed, trembling with potential energy, "Get outta here! I'm callin' the cops!"

He was gambling that the threat of the po-po would scare them off, and was even making motions to pull out his phone. Should they decide to drag him into the fun, there was always plan B...whatever that was.

[jameson (ST)]

One of the three men turned, Dom saw immediately the painted face and half shorn scalp that indicated he was part of the Black and Blue gang. The Black and Blues were the kind of useless scum that limited their activity and ambition to brutal beatings and muggings. "Get the heck out of here skinny, or wes sees what you got insides ya. Got it?"

Dom's system was flooded with adrenaline, his field of vision was a constant flickering blur as his eyes darted around taking in every last detail of the scene and processing it, feeding data to his brain in an attempt to trigger a proper fight or flight instinct. As the ganger spoke Dom barely heard the words, instead his eyes stopped and his brain froze. What he saw couldn't be but his eyes were telling him it was the case. The two other gang members were kicked the crap out of what appeared to be a human wearing a rat head mask. The blood and swelling said that it wasn't a mask, the furry arms and the pink tail said that his mind had fractured. Or that he was seeing something that he'd never considered. Either way Dom's rapture was broken as the ganger stepped towards him, "Take a hike skinny, unless you want to end up like that freak there."

[Ira Sagebrush]

Dom's deft fingers pulled the 911 app up on his iPhone in his pocket and started it, the GPS embedded in the phone working with the app to send his location to the 911 dispatch.

"Cops'll be here in less than five, last chance dude. Don't make this a bad night." Dom said, his brain coming down to a 'fight' decision. The rat-man's plight tugging at Dom's own weirdness and without his caution, he could very well be in his position.

Dom flexes his hands, ready to ignite the ganger's, almost assuredly, alcohol soaked clothing at the slightest provocation.

ohgodohgodohgodohgod

[jameson (ST)]

The ganger took another step towards Dom and pulled a pistol. In the dark it was hard to see but it looked like the kind of snub nosed .38 that the cop shows on TV always said was nearly disposable. "One last chance pretty boy, go now or you're gonna bleed out in this alley."

[Ira Sagebrush]

Dom's mind reached out to the ganger, trying to focus all the warmth of the night into the low-life's clothing.

Click to reveal..

(01:14:55) ChatBot: (Dom) rolls 1d20 and gets 4.

I hate d20...for the record, stupid dice system if you ask me.

Result=8 btw.

[jameson (ST)]

A sphere of burning air formed before Dom's eyes and darted down the alley. It streaked by the thug and hit the side of a dumpster leaving a scorch mark. The ganger's eyes grew wide, "What the fuck man? You some kind of freak too?" The two guys beating the mutant stopped, stunned by the sudden pyrotechnics and the mutant took the chance to strike back. The mutant's fist lashed out and struck one of the men in the crotch ending the threat in a single blow as he cried out and collapsed.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Yeah...I am!" Dom said, his voice nearly cracking in his nerve-wracked excitement. "Now get the fuck outta here before I fry you!"

Dom let loose again, this time aiming for the ground right in front of the ganger, hoping to encourage his flight.

Click to reveal..

(00:04:04) ChatBot: (Dom) rolls 1d20 and gets 15.

Result=19

Better!

[jameson (ST)]

Fear resided behind those dead eyes, the ganger was used to being the feared one not the fearful but his reality was crumbling and the man before him had somehow shot a gout of flame from out of thin air. He spun at the coughed retching behind him as he saw one of his buddies go down clutching his groin. Deeper in the alley the woman somehow got the upper hand on her attacker and flipped him ass over teakettle onto the filthy pavement. "Fuck this shit, run!" His buddies didn't have to be told twice and soon the four of them were hauling ass to any destination but here. The woman moved toward the mutant and knelt down next to him leaving Dom to wonder how much luck he had burned out of the rest of his life.

[Ira Sagebrush]

He watched to make sure the low-lifes were long gone before turning to the would-be victims.

That was the stupidest, most idiotic thing I've ever done...but damn that felt good!

Closing the distance, though hesitant to confirm whether he was crazy or not, he found his voice, "Hey, you okay? Cops'll be here any minute."

Dom was riding an adrenaline high, feeling invincible once again. Fate was throwing him into odd situations lately, and always without his camera! The thought spurring action, he pulled out his iphone, (any picture was better than no picture right?) He shut down the 911 program, though it was far too late to be cancelling the call as an accident and started the camera app and pointed it over at the man-rat.

[jameson (ST)]

The woman extended her hand toward Dom and his phone shut down, dead. He shook it ineffectively and pressed the power button but it was as though the battery was simply depleted. "No pictures please, its ... we ... People wouldn't understand. You say what those punks were doing, imagine what the government would do. They'd want to study him ... us, all of us." The woman looked at Dom purposefully as though to say, You know that we know your secret.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Fair enough." he said, stuffing his phone back in his pocket after giving it a firm bewildered look.

He slowly approached the two, trying to get a better look at them, "Soo, again, you two okay? There's a medkit back at the restaurant, you could clean up there." he inquired.

What would the Health Inspector say about him in the kitchen?

[jameson (ST)]

Dom got a good look at the creature as the woman helped him up. He was short for a human, perhaps five feet and change, shorter even than the woman herself. His limbs seems human like however, everything bent in the right place and at the right angles. His hands were pink and had the appropriate number of digits. If it weren't for the short muzzle and the faint gray hairs he would pass for human; as it was he could easily have been a guy in an elaborate mask. Hollywood had done some amazing stuff with foam and latex but this seemed to possess a certain life that Dom could neither point out nor deny. "I would appreciate it but I don't want to impose either, you have helped more than I could ask already." The man's(?) voice sounded perfectly human and in fact rather urban and educated, his enunciation precise, no mumbling or slang to be heard.

The woman looked at Dom, "Please, if you don't mind. We will be gone as quickly as he can be, and we'll maintain your secret."

[Ira Sagebrush]

I wonder what kind of condition that guy has, some cross between the Elephant man and that wolfman hair thing.

Dom idly mused to himself as he led the odd pair back the short distance to the restaurant. Using his key, he let them in the kitchen's alley entrance and flipped on the lights as he went to pull the first aid kit from its place on the wall.

"Feel free to use the basin sinks. Sooo...not to pry or anything," he asked, handing her the kit, "but how'd you do that thing with my phone? It is still gonna work, right? Otherwise you owe me a new phone."

The priorities of the young could be so shallow and materialistic sometimes.

[jameson (ST)]

The woman looks up from applying a bandage to the man's face, tersely she replied, "Your phone will be fine."

"Kris ..." the Man spoke her name and she turned toward him, "He helped us, he didn't have to do that, try to be kind."

She nodded, "I can control technology, electrical stuff. Probably like the same way you can shoot fire balls out of thin air." She looked rather pointedly at him, and the man shook his head, a dry chuckle leading to a wince of pain as he put a hand to his ribs.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Dom joined in the small laugh easily, but cringed in empathy as the fuzzy man dealt with his pain. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one with some weird ability. If he ever got locked in a hole and poked with sticks, at least there was some comfort in knowing there would probably be someone else getting poked.

"Well, if you're Kris, and I'm Dom, what does that make you?" he asked, offering a hand out to the man as his companion worked on him. "And how'd you get caught up with those gang-bangers?"

[jameson (ST)]

"Willard," The rat-man replied and shook Dom's hand. "We were just out for a walk. Punks decided they didn't like the look of me. Or maybe they really liked the look of Kris. Either way one thing led to another. Thanks for your help." Kris finished with the bandage and Willard stood up from the chair. "We should probably be going. Thanks again for your help." They were at the door when Willard turned, "Keep your gift secret, and if you see any black vans following you around be careful. A friend of ours went missing only a day after telling us he thought he was being followed." Willard shook his head, "Thanks again. Take care."

[Ira Sagebrush]

Heroics or not, the idea of being 'disappeared' was not something Dom was ready to deal with and his heart skipped a beat. The government whisking you away to some box and not letting you see daylight may be urban myth, but now this rat-man was giving it legs.

"Hey! Wait! Black vans...what are you talking about?" Dom said in a rush, darting to the door. "Whaddya mean 'went missing'? Spooks going after people like...us?"

[jameson (ST)]

"Don't be so naive man, of course the government is going to want people like us to study, and people like you can Kris to recruit for their dirty work." He shrugged, "Probably they'd want to figure out what made the way we are. Either way I doubt its fun and it certainly isn't voluntary or paid. Keep your head down and watch how you use your stuff, don't draw attention to yourself if you don't have to."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Yeah, thanks man. Good luck out there, stay away from dark alleys."

Dom locked the door after they left and slumped onto a stool.

"I'm so screwed. If they are after me, I better warn Don and the 'rents." Dom whispered to himself.

He went to pull out his phone, only to remember that it had been drained.

"Dammit, should have gotten that second battery."

Hurrying to clean up any signs of the late night triage, Dom finished locking up for the second time that night and hurried out towards home. He could at least warn his parents tonight when he got back. Don usually kept her phone on, he could message her from his computer.

Hope they weren't at the fire. Dom, man don't you ever use your powers again.

He kept a paranoid eye out for black vans as he did his best to stay in the orange glow of the streetlights. Rushing from one pool of light to the next. Vegas may be the city that never sleeps, but New York was restless. Slight movements were everywhere and by the time he had even made it back to the alley where the confrontation had occurred, he was a nervous wreck and drenched in sweat.

[jameson (ST)]

About one week later...

Dom looked down at his watch, confirming the time again. It was nearing two a.m. as Dom walked home from work. His route was longer now but he skirted the neighborhood where the gangers hung out. Better a few extra blocks than another fight, they scared easily, but would be back, and in greater numbers, if he showed himself in that area again. His paranoia wasn't limited to gangs though, as he walked he kept an eye out for suspicious vehicles, black vans or otherwise, wondering if he would be disappeared by government spooks. His efforts were hampered by a week's worth of poor sleep and constant watchfulness had served only to worsen the situation. Out of the shadows of an alley ahead of him a short and stocky man in the overcoat and fedora stepped out. He looked at Dom, his face in shadow and then walked across the street, the late hour having bled the traffic away to almost nothing on all but the most busy streets.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Dom gave a courteous nod, letting the man know that he saw him as the young photographer continued his walk home.

What is this, Dick Tracy? Who dresses like that this time of night and goes wandering into alleys?

His curiosity always being what it was, he had his phone ready, (for pictures this time, the line between cops and black vans had gotten kinda fuzzy in Dom's mind.) as he rounded the corner and looked down the alley that the man had emerged from.