17926/Red Reign: Bloodsucking Beauty

Red Reign: Bloodsucking Beauty
Date of Scene:	13 May 2024
Location:	Alley
Synopsis:	Looker runs into a fellow redhead vampiress in Gotham. The two clash ideologies, with Lia ultimately lashing out and running off. Meanwhile, her opponent, the Queen of Blood's plans for the city are only just starting.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Seward, Lia Briggs
Tinyplot:	Red Reign

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Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward A woman is running for her life tonight. Not an uncommon sentence in Gotham, but the circumstances are unique. She's on the run from what she has reason to believe is an honest-to god-vampire. A woman with fangs in her teeth and eyes as red as blood, with hair to match. leaping from rooftop to rooftop, all just to get a taste of her. She wasn't even sure if she was able to physically evade them or they were just giving her a headstart for fun...This pedestrian in fear, this woman in need manages to find a close enough alley to run into. To escape this monster.

Too bad, the monster was already there. Waiting for her. "That's one hell of a way to say good evening." the redhaired woman blocking her way speaks. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over. "I'm Mary...and I'd really like some of your blood on this fine night. Okay, now your turn." Introduce yourself."

The terrified civilian trembles in response to the vampire's casual joke. "I-I just want to go home." Is the only response she can give...To that, Mary just laughs. "See, great, much better! Now we're on the right track! Now, if I could just get a name-" The name wouldn't come as the apparently unnamed civilian screamed. She had been looking around as her pursuer rambled. Big mistake as she then ended up seeing...more of them. More pursuers. More Vampires. Hanging on fire escapes. All looking at her. She was surrounded. Mary offers comfort in...her own unique way. "Oh, don't worry, they're not here for you. Well, technically they are. But more like they're just my back-up. My possee if you will." She smirks, terribly amused.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Her quite literally captive audience can't help but shout. To that, the unsympathetic vampire glibly replies "I just told you my name...This is why I did the reintroduction thing, to be upfront..." The poor prey began to sob, while Mary seems to actually frown. Now, c'mon, enough with the tears. In the blink of an eye, Mary was right in front on the woman. Don't you worry, Miss Mary's gonna make it all alright.. With just a look in the eyes, the soon-to-be victim is almost instantly pacified. She falls right into Mary's arm. See? All better. Now, just do me a solid and hold still...She leaned in, sinking her fangs into her passive plaything's neck.

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs was in Gotham on business, a runway show for Daggett's cosmetics division. High heels strutting, her pearl-pale skin smooth and soft and perfumed. They took their pictures and she smiled her smile and if, sometimes, her canines seemed a little sharp from a certain angle, well, such things happen.

She doesn't bother with an uber, flying herself home, taking to the skies above Gotham and, frankly, hoping she doesn't encounter any pesky bat-people along the way. She appreciated their purpose but had no patience for bickering with people in costumes.

But then she hears the fear, the cries and the telltale sense that she was not alone. Vampires can't necessarily sense each other, but the Looker was more than just an ordinary vampire. And her psychic senses told her that something interesting was going on below.

She really had been looking forward to that bubble bath. Ah, well. Descend she does, instead, sweeping low to investigate. She lands on a fire escape above just as Mary's fangs sink into the stranger's neck. The scent of blood in the air makes Lia's stomach ache for a second. She's due to feed herself, and soon. "I do hate to interrupt your lunch, but preying on the weak is soooooooooo 19th century. Very baroque."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward Lia gets Mary's attention quick. "Huh?" She pulls away, in audacity that her meal is being interrupted. Up on the fire escape, she finds Looker...looking and looks at her.
"...Were you there before? I think I would've noticed if you were there before." She tilts her head, before shaking it. "Ah, whatever. Now, what I will say, is since you pegged me as 19th century off the bat comboed with that hungry look in your eyes...I'm gonna go on a limb and say....." She grins. "One of us?"

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs laughs, "Only by your method - I'm kind of young myself, but you old bloods do love inflicting terror and preying on the innocent. All that horror movie stuff," she says.

She leans against the railing, her crimson catsuit glossy and reflecting the dim hint of streetlight that manages to penetrate the gloom of the Gotham alley. She smiles and shows her fangs, "I am, although I'm also sort of...my own thing. It's complicated," she says. "Generally speaking, nowadays, leaving bodies behind is a good way to get superheroes on your trail. I know. I'm a superhero. Well. I used to be. For a while."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward quickly licks the blood still on her lips off. "What can I say? Am I some kind of vampire boomer? Sure, but you can't go wrong with a classic in my humble opinion."
As her self-declared posse eye up Lia, Mary herself sways about with her victim. One of the present vampires starts to speak up. "We're not afraid! Throw any caped idiot you want, they all bleed the-"

"Cool it, Hank, I can hardly hear myself think. And don't speak over a guest, it's rude." Mary shakes her head, returning attention to Lia. "You, a superhero, huh? The whole vampire superhero thing's kind of a dead-end career. I mean, you ever hear about Morbium or whatever his name is? I thought not.

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs shakes her head, "Can't say it rings a bell. I make most of my money as a model these days, plus I do a lot of podcasts. I'm semi-open about the vampire t hing, but most people think it's just like a gimmick," she says.

She steps off the fire escape and casually floats to the ground and her eyes glow crimson for a moment, "My other powers predate getting turned," she says. "And surprisingly they stick around. I wasn't human to begin with so I guess my resurrection had some extra bonuses," she says. "Hey, you don't wanna play it safe, I'm not your boss. Just some friendly advice. I've met Batman before. He's scary than most vampires.."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward raises her arms and shakes them around in a display of fake surprise. Consequently, this makes her drop her victim on the ground. She doesn't seem to notice or care.

"Oh, wow. A grown man who dresses like an animal..." She laughs it off. "Though, I guess that is kinda scary in it's own way." Mary steps a little closes with her now unoccupied hands going into her pockets. "Your concern is appreciated but not needed. This is actually a quick pit stop for us. I don't think we'll spend too much time here... But, enough to do some work...As is always necessary when leading a revolution."

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs sighs, "A revolution? Ugh. Sounds messy. Things are going so well, really. Cell phones, bubbles baths, international flights. Candy Crush. Why upset the apple cart over a little blood, delicious though it is? You don't want to rule over the humans do you? Why? They're so very bad at following directions," she says.

"And you should know that it isn't the clothes but the man inside. He's...formidable, in a way most aren't, even those with superpowers."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure he's great at karate or whatever."

Her hands come out of her pockets and find their ways to her hips as she leans forward. "Now, is that the sound of conformity and complacency I hear? I mean, you might as well say that sitting on the back of the bus isn't that bad." A scoff exits her.

"Look, I'm not trying to dig at you. But...you said it yourself, your fans see your vampirism as a gimmick. You're a novelty to these humans...modeling and podcasting for your own prey. Dancing like a monkey...I mean...look at you, there's blood right here. I know you can smell it. Your chance to have a taste right there. Free of charge.

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs grins, "Do I look like I'm starving, honey?" she says. "What you call conformity and complacency, I call common sense. You may love fighting for scraps. I prefer to dine in luxury, earning seven figures a year for doing nothing more than wearing pretty clothes."

"These wild dogs of yours may buy that line, but that's because they're bottom feeders. Let me guess, the plan is to rise triumphant over the world, turn the humans into livestock and chattel, that sort of thing? That's not even 19th century, that's practically medieval. Adapt already. Who needs sunlight in the age of electricity?"

"I get it. Blending in is hard. Subtlety can be boring. Hunting with anything more than brute force and gang violence requires effort. I mean, not for me. But for uggos like that guy," she says, gesturing to the one who tried to bark at her earlier.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward is already having a rebuttal at the ready till that aforementioned "uggo" has to shout "You bitch!" He grabs onto the railing, as he and the rest of his mates are about to leap off.

"No,no,no. Knock it off. Stop." She raises her hand, sounding like an annoyed mother talking down her toddlers. In a way, she felt that was what she was. "It's not about hunting being a bit hard. I can seduce an idiot or two into becoming my meal...It's about making a better future...Thought a former superhero might understand something like that."

She turns around and picks the victim back up, whom weakly moans in her grasp. "And by the way, yes. You do look like you're starving. Now, c'mon. Just a taste? It's right here. I'm willing to share."She shakes the woman's head lightly as though she were a paper bag of food.

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs does feel a twinge of hunger but suppresses it. She stares down the underling vampire for a moment and then shakes her head.

"I have better vintage waiting for me back at my hotel," she says. "Willing and eager to be fed upon. I'll send him home with a nice gift basket and short a few memories. No need to kill, no muss, no fuss."

"I don't want to make an enemy. I would like to know others of...our kind. The one who turned me was a beautiful man. I loved him dearly and miss him still. We are few and far between. But I'm not going to join some sort of vampire riot and start tearing people's throats out. Especially not for someone else's benefit."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward laughs, dropping the woman again. "It's for your own benefit!"

She points accusingly at Lia. "...You're proving my point here. You're holding yourself back, and for what? Cause of how the humans will react? "You want to know your kind?...Act like us. I'm not asking you to riot, I'm asking you to embrace what you are. Instead of treating it like a costume you wear...If you can't even bring yourself to feed when you're clearly hungry, can you say that I am completely wrong?"

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs shakes her head, "Not for humans. For myself. Indulging every appetite is appealing, don't get me wrong. Hedonism is delightful. But just eating the world like an apple, all you'll have left is a rotten old core. Or, in this case, a pile of dead bodies and a bunch of vampires with only each other to feed on. And, frankly, your crew does not look appetizing, honey," she says.

"Ugh, this sucks, I don't want to be a moralist. I'm the one who's, like, the wild child, but wanton murder is just, like, so rude and vile. Rabid dog shit. You're immortals, grow the fuck up."

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward leans against the nearest wall. "So much talky-talky, yet you're still not eating. C'mon, just bite her this one time. This one time....Do it, and say you don't see my point of view."

"Allow yourself to indulge just this once."

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs feels the hunger in her gut try to drive her. Animal urges that build in the gut, make thinking difficult. She starts to step forward and then shakes her head, "No," she says. "I'm not going to become one of your pack," she says, with a hint of a snarl. "Even if I agreed with your methods, my will is my own. I do as I please, not to satisfy you or anyone else," she says.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward smirks. "Sure, you do, miss model." She laughs. "You want it so bad! You want it, you know you do, and yet you put yourself on a leash. Not even allowing yourself the briefest moment to be what you really are." She outstretches her arms. "This is the ultimate proof of my ideology. So long as you keep going the way you are, you will find yourself forced to play pretend for the rest of your eternity. Only I can give you the way out, and the way out is biting into this woman."

Lia Briggs has posed:
Lia Briggs shakes her head and snarls low, "I said NO!" she says and, as she does, she unleashes a blast of telekinetic force outwards in her rage. Her fangs exposed, her mouth open, she probably sends a few of Mary's minions flying, even as the psionic cry of her defiance echoes in mind as well as out loud.

Frustrated and angry, she takes to the air, hovering up and out of reach, "I'm not sure it's my place to stop you...but I'll never join you, for blood or money," she says, preparing to fly off into the sky.

Mary Seward has posed:
Mary Seward raises an eyebrow as she unleashes her psionic power. The fire escape holding her vampires goes falling with them on it. "She's getting away!" The uggo cries out. "Nah, nah. Leave her...She's not a threat. Not yet at least...If we see her again, she'll either realize how right I was...or I'll deal with her how we ought to deal with traitors."

She shakes her head. "Such a shame, would've been nice to be two hot redhead vampires ruling the world together. Man, she was just like Andr-" She steps into the victim, who groans, looking down she finds the poor thing writhing. Right. She almost forgot about her.

"...Hungry...So hungry..." The woman wails, as she opens her mouth. Mary could see what looked like fangs starting to grow in. Looks like that arguing took longer than she thought. "Huh..." The Queen of Blood smiles in her pleasant suprise.%

"I guess we ended up getting a new member after all."