3447/Cyborgs in New York

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Cyborgs in New York
Date of Scene: 19 September 2020
Location: Flatiron District
Synopsis: Some cyborgs get whacked. Spiral and Alexander have a chat.
Cast of Characters: Alexander Aaron, Spiral




Alexander Aaron has posed:
    This wasn't usually his thing. He should not be doing this. Nope. Low profile mean low profile. This wasn't low profile.
    Thoughts that flit through the blond youth's head as he ran down the alleyway, rushing along with a burst of speed that brings him closer to his quarry. No he shouldn't be doing this. Yet the three young men he chased that rushed down the alleyway were laughing, oblivious for the moment that they were being pursued. Too busy pushing each other, shoving each other, exulting in that burst of violence that had left a handful of people bloodied and in terror upon the street several blocks back.
    It was only as Alexander skid around the corner, feet sliding out from under him slightly at the turn as he catches himself with one hand, making that sharp curve that brings him in line with those three further down the way. It's the scrape of sneakers and the splash of a puddle of water that causes the gangers to look up, eyes narrowing and some of the metal from their prosthetics gleaming.
    "Hey, it's that dude."
    "Buddy, you made a big mistake. Fuck off." One of them snarls as he extends a hand to the side as a quartet of blades pop out of his forearm on little metal stalks that whir and buzz as they thrust the knives forward.
    Though the blond youth doesn't say anything as he straightens up, and then starts to walk down the alley with his empty hands up. "Hey, just wanted to talk a little."
    "Yeah? We don't. Like I said, fuck off."

Spiral has posed:
So boring, being stuck in what is one tiny corner of an empty building that should have been condemned. Working with bits of scavenged cybernetics equipment from Earth, no less, and not even the sort of stuff someone like Tony Stark might have access to, but whatever is floating around in the criminal underworld of New York. Even with her magically enhanced surgical techniques, what she can do is... limited. No fun to be had. She feels like a bum, reduced to this, at least for now. The only pleasure is that some of that gear she installed might even rust at some point, and someone finding her to beg her to fix it might be briefly amusing. Sorry, no refunds.

But what she does have at least, is freedom. And much of her magic, aside from returning to the Mojoverse (where so much of her equipment was). So she can at least... have a walk around, see the lie of the land around her lair. Standing out like a sore thumb isn't a problem, she weaves a spell of invisibility about herself, and goes for a walk, slumming it, in a literal slum.

It doesn't take too long before she hears the sweet sound of trouble, and heads in that direction. It's been raining, and the invisible Spiral heedlesly walks through the occasional puddle, completely confident in her shrouding spell from the likes of the denizens of this block anyway. A little gasp. Oh look, it's someone she recognises, someone she saw on the slab not yesterday. Probably trying out his new toys just right now - slightly enhanced speed and toughness, and not to mention the blades, with the downside that at some point all that metal in the poor guy will start becoming more visible as the flesh above it thins a bit. Oh well, 'manageable side effects', as she did tell them...

She folds her many arms, and watches what's going on, hoping for a fight or something perhaps.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Her recent project stands there blades whirring, features angry as he gestures with that wicked looking arm, bracketed by his two friends. She might well remember them, how tempted they were, how excited they were when their friend emerged with those gnarly looking blades. Likely future clients if she was a good read of bad character.
    But that blond youth. Something strange about him. Not just the curious hazel eyes of his that seems like a weird mix of pale blue and jade green. More in how he stands, and how he seems... entirely uncowed by he blades and the situation.
    "I was just wondering, how'd you get those... you know. Whatevers?" He's still walking down the alley, hands out to his sides, looking as harmless as he can manage. Which is fairly well.
    There's the sound of metal on metal as one of the other gang-bangers pulls a long blade from that gym sack he'd been carrying, presenting what looks like a red and black katana, perhaps something ill-gotten from their recent spate of robberies aided by their friend's new status as the enhanced. "It's a secret, man! We got connections. Like Tony Stark and shit."
    Which might seem doubtful.
    "Oh c'mon, you don't know Tony Stark."
    "Fuck you, we might! See his arm!?"
    "That's not a thing Tony Stark would do."
    "You don't know!"
    To which the young blond man nods a little and murmurs, "That's true. Still."

Spiral has posed:
Spiral's lips twitch into a slight smile when the katana comes out, not that anybody can see it. So a fight it is, then. She's been so focused on her handiwork that only now does she really pay attention to the blond kid opposing them, who does seem uncommonly calm in some urban hellhole like this, faced with something evidently at least a bit out of the ordinary. Oh, Tony Stark is here, then. She learned something from this walk. She could have probably found that out by turning on a television but for some reason she's been a bit, reluctant, to do that.

"Not Tony Stark, but someone who knows him." the guy with the handblades clarifies. "Look at this shit, it ain't normal!". And he waves his hand around a bit, showing off the blades - and maybe also the fact he's got zero practice with this sort of weapon from the way he's holding his hand.

The two of them do have a sort of cunning about them though, the guy with the handblades and the odd lump in his cheek where a metal plate is at least for now hidden on one side, and the guy with the katana moving to the opposite side. He also seems to have been modified somehow, his biceps bulge quite unnaturally, but as it's under his coat, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on under there. Either way, they both slowly inch forwards, obviously intent on violence, but hoping his friend starts it first, hoping for the backstab or something.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Ohhh," The youth's smile is a wry thing, edged like the blade drawn though there's something alight in his eyes as he stops some ten feet from them, hands still held out and to the sides. From afar it might seem oh so innocuous, and yet still. No hint of fear nor trepidation seems to be there in how that college student stands, nor in the brandishing of such wicked weaponry. "Tony Stark's friend, like one of his followers on Instagram?"
    Which seems to be too close to mockery for the katana kid scowls and with no further ado rushes forward uttering a sharp growling yell as he brings his sword back and starts to swing it down!
    Only for Spiral from her place to recognize the clean lines of Alexander's movement. The perfect technique in execution, a disarm from the Japanese forms, jiu-jitsu or kendo most likely. The blade comes down, forearm struck, wrist grasped, and then Alex's shin slams hard into the attacker's shin. It's all one clean motion, performed so well, and ends with that one gangster hitting the ground chin first...
    And the sword now in Alexander's hand.
    A whirling motion is made as the youth twists the blade around into a reverse grip, holding it now at his side as he looks at the others. "This..."
    He holds the katana up and frowns, "Is like... not a good sword. Like at all, man. It's not even sharp." He rubs a thumb along its side, then lightly taps the blade against his forearm. "Did you steal this from like a Spencer's Gifts or something? Cuz man."

Spiral has posed:
This fight rapidly becomes a classic demonstration that even if you do have a bit of brute power about you, if you're not used to using it, and have no training, you're not going to have a good time. Those muscles he got installed literally last night avail him not as he ends up on the asphalt before he even knows what's going on.

The other one is already backing away, eyes wide, the metal saw blades extending from his hands retracting with a faintly audible whirr. "Shit... I don't want any trouble, man!" he complains, not three seconds after he was looking for trouble. When he thinks he's backed off enough, he turns to flee.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Despite the sword not being sharp, it still does have a bit of a tip, and that's what's held to the throat of the fallen gangster... even as his friends abandon him. Which leaves them there together, alone. At least so Alexander thinks.
    The blade lightly tap-taps against the newly modified ganster's throat as he says quietly, "Look, I don't care really that much. I'm more curious than anything." Which might be readable in his stance, his body language.
    "And also I don't like things to go down around me, it draws attention. So if you and your friends are going to do crazy things, do them in some other neighborhood. Now seriously, where did you get the whole..."
    The blade lowers to lightly tap at where one of those metal plates might well be hidden under the flesh of the souped-up-pseudo-street-samurai. "And don't tell me Tony Stark. That doesn't hold water for various reasons."

Spiral has posed:
Spiral sighs audibly. Un Believable. Not even 24 hours and there's some do gooder here, as that's evidently what this highly skilled adversary is. And her poor Shop, unready, just sat in a warehouse. A lock just about the only defence. This Earth must be just jammed with heroes, or she must be very unlucky.

"There's no point brutalising this idiot, he doesn't know anything." says the still invisible Spiral. "Who are you?" she asks. Blonde kid, could be anybody... nobody she remembers, but her memories are... odd, to say the least. "Not a star I remember, anyway.". There's the unmistakeable sound of two swords being drawn from her general direction. "You don't know my dearest friend Elizabeth, do you?" she asks a bit hopefully. "You have the look of of one of those.".

Ahh, screw it, she doesn't need to be invisible. One of her hands waves, and she's suddenly standing there in the street in front of him, blue suit with furry calves, weird samurai esque helmet making a dark shadow over glowing white eyes, and arms, lots of arms, two of which are holding swords, the other four waving around in a threatening, almost hypnotic pattern.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Most of those she reveals herself to, that revelation of curious biology and symmetry, the blades, the surreal way she seems to move. It is often enough to set people on edge, off their footing, even intimidate them outright. For she is an arcane curious individual. And there she stands, blades drawn, features severe...
    And Alexander, in his sneakers and jeans with that slightly too large black t-shirt, tilts his head a little and he smiles? Not a quaver at he sudden appearance of the female representation of Kali, blades at the ready. Though he does shift grips on the rather poor quality katana in his hand. He meets her gaze and says simply, "Oh, hello."
    Between them now, the gangster on the ground skitters back on his hands, trying to get clear from beind where he is. His eyes shoot back and forth between the two of them and then rather quickly he pushes himself to his feet and starts to beat a hasty retreat.
    Which after ten seconds leaves them well and truly alone.
    "My name is Alex. Ander. Alexander. Aaron." His lip twists, "You did the..." He gestures with a tip of the sword in the direction tthe gangsters fled, but then answers her question. "I know a few Elizabeths, though maybe not yours."

Spiral has posed:
Kali, Shiva, Time Dancer, she has quite a few nicknames on quite a few worlds and dimensions. "Alexander?". Her glowing eyes narrow a bit, as she runs through names. She actually sways a bit, unconsciously doing a tiptoed dance step to the left, and then the right. "No... no blonde Alex.". His lack of worry merely convinces her even more that this guy is trouble. Appearances can be deceiving, after all.

"Did what?" she asks, and smiles the smile of innocence. "Nothing involuntary..." she assures. "More than human... less than human, too, but that's a price so many willingly pay. They might be regretting it now, after your little demonstration they won't be feeling too strong, which I suppose would be a let down. Oh well... no refunds! Stronger doesn't mean strongest. So why are you here, on this unpleasant steet?" she wonders. "Unwelcome here, am I? Unwelcome everywhere lately it seems.".

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "They were..." Alexander's eerie hazel eyes shift away subtly, to look in the direction of her test subject's flight. Then they drift back to her. If her gaze lingers she might see the small circles of gold deep in the irises that might intimate some hint of the Other to him as well as her own representation of the divine. "Causing trouble, hurting people. Which..."
    That gaze of his follows that slight dance step to the side, and she could be mesmerizing if she wished, yet for some reason that does make him a touch more wary. The haft of the blade clicks faintly as he shifts his grip. Not aggressively, but more making sure of the weapon's quality.
    Which is crap.
    "Which can be a bad thing." There, that's a somewhat neutral statement, which fits his outlook well. "Didn't say you were unwelcome. Though your choice in clientele..."
    He doesn't finish that sentence, his eyes still wandering her frame openly. To some it might be an admiring glance, and to be fair she is a comely woman despite the wildness and the weird. But she has a warrior's physique, and it's in that way he looks at her. It's less upon the aesthetics. And more on how she holds her blades, the marks of training that might be in her stance, if there are callouses upon her hand. Since after all, one does not grow up as the son of War without learning of battle.
    "What's your name?" He asks.

Spiral has posed:
Spiral is definitely an expert warrior - she would be even without the six arms. It's pretty clear for one such as he that she seems able to wield two swords as effectively as a normal-limbed user could manage one, and to a very high degree, though perhaps not as much. That said, she didn't want to immediately start annoying people on day 1, aside from maybe her old friends of course.

"Perhaps they were." Spiral replies, unconcerned. "They are not in my employ though. I am only standing here in this street out of curiosity... which has been slaked. My name is Spiral, so now yours has too.".

"At present I am dealing with what 'clientele' I can find.". She has fallen upon a bit of a rough patch and no mistake, much of it self inflicted. She could probably make money another way if she really had to, but magic taxi for a Roxxon executive or something? As bad as working for the Floating Bloat. Some of this is revealed in her face, which twists a bit, angry at her situation. "Maybe I will be pickier in the future.".

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Spiral, oh. So we're using those names." Alexander gets a wry half-grin, expression now curious and seeming far from slaked. "Then I'm Phobos." Which he even lowers his eyes slightly in a form of a bow.
    And then, without any warning he casually tosses the sword aside that was in his hand, the mall-quality katana clinking and skittering upon the ground of that alleyway as he steps toward her and extends a hand to her. At first it might seem like he's offering to shake hands, which he might. But then he asks, "If I may?"
    Those strange eyes lower to one of the blades she holds and then back up to meet her gaze. "I've not seen weapons like those before."
    A strange act of trust offered and trust requested, that throwing of a weapon aside and asking to observe hers. Yet still there is no hesitation in him, and seemingly no malice. Either the youth has the best poker face she has ever seen... or he's sincere.

Spiral has posed:
"What name am I supposed to use? It's. My. Name.". Spiral is left absolutely, surprisingly, seething at that. Maybe she really can remember a now long distant past when it wasn't, maybe not, but there's certainly a part of her that does not like to reminded. Seething enough to not pay enough attention to his somewhat odd move as he draws near her, close enough to at least see that those are not of earthly metal - for that matter neither is her metal arm. A weird mix of the human, and the inhuman.

She's not letting him have one of her two swords though, replacing them might be a bit hard after all, so she draws back some more. Unlike some crazies her particular brand of crazy is somewhat under the surface, though her white eyes blazing does betray her thinking. "You think I am from around here? No, I am not a human. If this is an Earth I visited there will be many who heard of me. But there are so many Earths...". She trails off a bit, and shakes her head slightly, and then sheathes her swords. On this one, so far, she has nobody to bail her out if something goes haywire, so she really has to keep her temper under control.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The youth meets her gaze, looking between each ghostly orb one then the other then back again. He bites his lower lip for a moment then his lips part as he murmurs, "Oh, sorry. I thought it was your..." His features twist a little, "Your public name. Not your private name." If that makes sense.
    "Yeah." He then says, "Sorry I thought you were from around here. Spiral." She can likely see the gears turning as he turns her name over and over, but comes up with naught. A step back is taken as he holds his hands up and murmurs, "I wasn't going to keep it. But you know, you're right. You have no reason to trust me, and satisfying my curiousity isn't something you'd care about."
    The way he speaks, it might almost be like it's more for his own benefit than hers. He takes a deep breath and murmurs, "Would you tell me your story?"
    But then he stops and straightens up, realizing perhaps she needs more. "Or rather, what would you accept in trade for telling me your story?"

Spiral has posed:
"You can leave my affairs alone for starters." Spiral replies. But then she ponders. "Hmm...". She is after all working to try and get stuff for her shop, but she somehow doubts this guy has any equipment she would need. She shrugs, and then says, "Knowledge, perhaps... quid pro quo. Which... artifacts exist here, which beings of importance exist here... What's up, what's down. Who you are, exactly. Are you with the Avengers?". She does, after all, know them. "Does this Earth have Avengers?" she adds, after a second.

"I am from another dimension. Long story." she says with a thin smile. "A... a slave." she admits. "A lieutenant.". Well, that's better. "Of... some idiot.". Oh, she's getting angry again, some hands curling into fists. "The floating bloat, the spineless one. He didn't take well to competition, and he's proven very hard to remove. It doesn't matter.". She waves her hands in the negative.

"I'm not going home for a while, is the point. When I first arrived I was quite happy about that, but now, somewhat less so.". She did go on quite a bit, so she stops herself, she could rant quite happily all day, and then points at him. "Now, you.".

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Oh, leaving your affairs alone would cost extra." Alexander says as a smile starts to bloom, but he perhaps stays a protest by holding his hands up. "But I don't intend to, just... you know. If it happens around me I tend to have to do something." Which might be a strange way to put it.
    He then steps to the side to perhaps give her more space, leaning back against the large green painted dumpster nearby. Listening as she speaks, taking note of what she asks, then just seeming to pay attention to her words. Those strange hazel eyes seem to follow along with her lips at times, though he doesn't seem to be deaf.
    Yet once she's done and declares it's his turn he nods and then uncurls a hand to tick off a few points as he speaks. "There are a lot of artifacts. There are an Avengers, and a mess of various hero types. Justice League is one. Titans is another." His eyes lift as he seems to be searching his memories.
    "Another dimension is cool." He says, but does not press her on the topic. But he does ask, perhaps too directly, "Does everyone from your dimension have..." A nod is given to her arms.
    But then he's ultimately left with telling his story. "Ah, as for me. I'm..." His brow knits then he says, "An anthropomorphic representation of a societal construct created by the latent psionic abilities of humanity as a whole. Or, you know, a god."

Spiral has posed:
Spiral nods at the Avengers, not so much at the other two though. And she ahs. She's not quite as worried as you might think - she remembers Hercules kinda, actually - but it was definitely a good idea not to start something, especially over such trivialities.

"I see...". It sounds like there are even more do gooders here than normal, not good. She shakes her head at him indicating her arms. "No... I'm the special one." she says, drily, with a heavy hint of bitter. "Like I said. Not human.".
She dances in place a little, fingers forming strange patterns in the air. "Nothing will happen around you, unless you come looking for it." she tells him. "This, after all, is nothing to do with me.". And she indicates the gangbanger on the ground with one hand. "He had a toy sword as well, maybe you should go destroy wherever he got that from.", she points out. "I am just trying to survive.". For now...

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Good point," Alexander says as he watches, then he backs up a step and from his back pocket he produces his cellphone. But then sort of squints at it before he looks back to her. "I don't suppose you have a phone, do ya?" Which would make sense if she's new to the /planet/ after all.
    "Well..." He looks to the side, then back. "If Fate wishes we'll meet again I imagine. If not..."
    He steps back again and smiles, "Was nice meeting you, Spiral. I hope you find some stability." And as he says that he turns to start walking down the alleyway.

Spiral has posed:
Spiral seems to be looking skyward, but it's hard to tell when she has white eyes. "No... I do not have a phone.". Yet, oddly enough, she seems to know what a phone is.
She doesn't actually say goodbye, or wave. She's nice like that. She watches him walk, for a little while anyway, until he's in the mid distance, brooding for a moment. Talk of many superhero teams - gods - she'll probably have to expedite being as ready as possible, either that or grovel to the fat one, and she won't be doing that.
"Goodbye." she eventually calls out, a bit reluctantly, like it's being dragged out of her. But if making nice gets her left alone for a while she'll be happy. Eventually she does a precise movement with one hand, and pops out of existence, teleporting to her nearby Shop - to start packing it up and moving it somewhere else.