529/Saturday In The Park At Night

Saturday In The Park At Night
Date of Scene:	15 March 2020
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Lia Briggs, Atlin, Mason Tavner

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Lia Briggs has posed:
Central Park certainly isn't as dangerous after dark as it once was. Things /have/ improved. But 'not as dangerous as it used to be' and 'not dangerous' are two entirely different things.

On this cool evening in late winter or early spring (depending on one's perspective), some of the locals who've been feeling confined over the winter are perhaps a little too enthusiastic about walking through the park. That's probably why a nice young couple are strolling down a long path through a thickly wooded area, with almost a hundred yards between each overhead light ... and a fair number of those lights dim or burnt out entirely. But none of this troubles them! They're young. They're in love. They're sure nothing bad could happen to them. Even the faint hints of cool mist in the air as the temperature drops aren't enough to deter them.

Yet.

Atlin has posed:
As far as an introduction to Man's world goes, New York was an interesting experience. It was home to the Wakandan embassy, it was home to the Themysciran embassy and...well it was said to be a fair mix of the world's society.

So far? Atlin found it to be busy, noisy and...obnoxious in many ways. It smelt funny, there were enough aggitated people she could always sense -something- out there. The park at night? It was a relief for the woman dressed in a baggy hoody and simple jeans that did nothing to flatter her form but at least hid the more striking garb she'd worn beneath.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    It can be hard to track down an Amazon fresh in the city. Especially when you have little to no data to follow up with. Just a quick image, taken in a rush, a few words of a bio, and then little else beyond that. But he's done more with less and better with worse, so as his handler handed him the information he grimaced... but then he started hoofing it.
    The first hour he'd spent trailing the wrong subject. The one after that he thought he had the Amazon at the right location, but then found it was an overly in character cos-player. But it wasn't until the evening, luck had it, he got a feeling that maybe... just maybe this particular Amazon might be spending some time in the park.
    And that's where he picked her up. Though he kept his distance for now. Just another New Yorker mortal in jeans and a hoodie, baseball hat and glasses. Not exactly one to stand out in a crowd, but enough to be able to keep pace and keep an eye on the target.

Lia Briggs has posed:
The young couple stroll carelessly along the path, talking happily about their plans for the future, how they intend to spend the rest of the weekend ... all that sort of thing. They don't mind that the next-but-one light is burnt out. It doesn't bother them at all. Only when, at the halfway point between two working lights, the next light suddenly pops and dies, does a bit of unease begin to grip them. The young man looking into the misty gloom around them, the young woman clutching his hand a little more tightly and searching for a can of pepper spray.

And when four young men emerge from the darkened greenery, two from each side, and all holding some sort of poking or bludgeoning weapon ... well, no one is near enough to see the fear in the couple's eyes. But it's there. "Better not scream," one of the assailants suggests, while a tendril of white mist curls around him lazily. "Could get ugly. Hand over what you got."

The group is still a fair bit away, or they might have noticed Atlin and Mason by now. But they're close enough, should someone decide to intervene.

Atlin has posed:
Lights flicking out in Central park would make most concerned...except someone who doesn't know it's not normal. As far as Atlin knew? They were ment to do that! There was so much new to her, she hadn't even picked up she'd been followed thus far by Mason...and now there was yet another distraction to be heard.

Atlin didn't have her weapons on her, she'd been warned enough that a sword or bow in public spaces made some nervous, but that sudden surge of fear had her blinking away from the skyline towards the advancing young men circling the couple. She might not be the 'guardian of love' or other titles some Themyscirans had been refered to as, but that interuption was just rude!

"Brigands!" the cry is loud enough to ring out over the empty space as the woman begins to walk forwards, lifting her hands eagerly to rest her fist in her palm. "Leave these people be...," a pause, her lips curl into a smile. "Or don't. I'm already feeling like I could use a taste of home tonight."

Mason Tavner has posed:
    If he had any doubt that this was his objective, well they're dispelled now as Atlin makes herself known. He grimaces and breaks into a jog, starting to advance quickly to cover the Amazon's flank even as he moves in. Right now main thing is making sure whatever it is doesn't happen, and if it does that it doesn't get out of hand.
    So she'll likely hear his approach, as he's not trying to be terribly stealthy. But if she looks his way he'll hold up a hand and announce himself with a quick few words. "Tavner, Agent of SHIELD." The ID is held up and perhaps that might help calm things down.
    Knowing his luck, it won't.

Lia Briggs has posed:
The toughs currently trying to rob this young couple probably don't know what a brigand /is/, which at least would explain why they don't react immediately to hearing someone yell out the word. But they do know 'leave these people be' pretty well, and one of the nearer pair turns toward Atlin and Tavner as the two draw nearer. "Hey, you better move along!" he growls, doing his best gangster act despite barely being old enough to drink. "Don't be messin' with us now. Big Ray here's got powers. Dude can straight fuck you up."

Big Ray, who, despite his epithet, is actually a little on the short side, plays right into this. "True that," he avers, holding up his fists in a way he probably learned from watching superhero battles on the news. He doesn't actually /do/ anything, mind, but he looks dangerous. "You best leave now and I forget I seen you."

The couple are clinging to each other, and one of them calls, "Help! Help us!" By now all six -- four assailants and two victims -- are facing toward the interlopers, and the thickening mist has begun to drift away, beyond the two furthest of the attackers.

Atlin has posed:
The rolling up of her sleeves was perhaps the biggest warning she could give, not for the toned arms revealed but metal bracers on her forearms. Maybe they'd recognize them, maybe not, but it wasn't going to help much. The growing mist had yet to register as abnormal for the woman, but Mason's declaration as an Agent of...something that sounds positive has her pausing for only a second. "If you are an ally? Stand back. If you're a foe? Wait your turn."

Big Ray and his powers? She's just grinning wider before she's running in, -really- fast. Hopefully Big Ray fixed his guard, because Atlin of Bana-Mighdall was about to plant a fist in his face.

Mason Tavner has posed:
    "Back off fellas," Tavner looks at the four men menacing the couple even as he slips a heavy looking pistol from inside his jacket, a faint hum and click sounding as he brings the weapon to life and takes aim, still holding that ID. The man's voice is laconic, calm, seemingly utterly at ease with the situation at hand as he draws bead on Big Ray, "You haven't done anythin' yet except be assholes. This lady right here is an Amazon warrior, trained in all sorts of ways to ruin your day."
    He then notices that Atlin, she isn't exactly holding up for anyone either.
    "Hey, lady. Work with me here..."
    But too late.

Lia Briggs has posed:
The situation is now about to go to hell in a highly comprehensive way. Amazon warriors they might or might not recognize, but every last one of them knows 'gun' when they see it. Big Ray is starting to take a step back as Atlin races toward him. He's already in the most threatening posture he can imagine -- he practices! -- so when someone fails to be intimidated by it, there's really nowhere he can go. "I'm serious!" he yells. "Back the fuck o--" Which is about when Atlin reaches him.

The guy next to him is just holding up his hands, because getting shot is most definitely on the menu for tonight. "Don't shoot!" he calls. He's forgotten to drop his knife, but with everything else going on, he can perhaps be forgiven this error. Then again, maybe not.

The two thugs on the far side of their victims, though, have cover. Nobody's going to try to shoot /past/ innocents just to get them. So one of them is emboldened to step forward and reach for the woman's purse. Which is when the mist coalesces into a stunning redhead right behind him, who seizes him hip and shoulder, pulls him back, and dips her head against his shoulder. He screams, of course. What else can he do?

Atlin has posed:
The problem with Amazon warriors? They've been blessed, beauty, speed and strength. If one was going to brag about having 'power'? The 'Daughter of War' had no reason to doubt him.

Sometimes bragging catches up with you like that!

The impact of Atlin's face sends the man hurtling backwards with a sickening thwack, a broken nose and a lack on conciousness...leaving a startles Amazon behind, who clearly thought the thug would be able to take a punch.

The man surrendering? He gets a sideways glance of disdain, but she'd leave him for the man with the gun, the others hadn't headed her warning anyway! Purposeful steps bring the baggy-dressed woman closer, but even she stops to step back in suprise at the sight of the sudden redhead beauty grappling the purse-snatcher from behind.

"What in the-?"

Mason Tavner has posed:
    "Come on, man." Mason steps forward as the one goes for the woman's purse only for that redhead to appear and suddenly that an is screaming. And all of a sudden the innocents, the hoodlums, even the Amazon for an instant are forgotten as he keys that ICER up and pushes it to a higher power settling before he says, "Lady, I don't know what you're doing to that guy's neck but I'm gonna ask you to stop it right now."
    He steps forward and then tilts his head to the side slightly and addresses Atlin, "Atlin, of Themyscira, you do me the kindness of restraining these guys quick as you can?" And as he says that there's a /WHOOOSH!/ as he fires one of those ICER rounds into the ground beside the guy who's getting neck sucked and he says, "I'd appreciate you listenin' to me."

Lia Briggs has posed:
Screaming! Chaos! Dismay! And suddenly everyone's doing different things. The guy who was surrendering a second ago? He breaks for the woods as soon as everyone's attention is going somewhere else! Big Ray? He's lying on the ground and may well need a hospital stay of indeterminate duration! The victims? They're screaming and running for it, past Atlin and Mason in search of some kind of safety, which may or may not disrupt any other activities. The third guy? He's got his hands WAY, WAY up and is edging toward the woods, obviously thinking the same thing as his compadre!

Oh, right. The last guy and the redhead. Well, she doesn't keep her teeth in his neck for very long, fortunately, and when she raises her head again her mouth is only a little smeared with delicious, nutritious blood. She pushes him forward -- not hard -- toward Atlin, and says, sounding only a little disappointed, "Fast food. Ugh." He, in turn, looks more scared than seriously hurt, but he is ABSOLUTELY ready to give up.

Atlin has posed:
The gunshot was another layer of noise and danger to all the insanity. As the lovers flee? Atlin couldn't really fault them for it, but the call out to her brought pause...just not for the reasons Mason probably expects. Themyscira wasn't her homeland after all, but she wouldn't correct him on that right now.

"Restrain them?" she repeats, frowning a little. "Very well." Of course, with no magic lasso? The Amazon turns her gaze to the fleeing knifeman and simply bends down to one of the discarded clubs. A swift toss of it towards the running man's legs was clearly intended to stop his retreat. Edging man? He'll just get a look the sort that dares him to try and make a break for it.

All of it was fast, necessary but fast enough that her gaze fixed back on the mystery redhead and her smeared lips almost immediately with a frown. "What sort of creature are you?" she asks, perhaps a little less than tactfully, "seeking to aid...or to feed?"

Mason Tavner has posed:
    Shaking his head, it's probably fortunate that neither of these people can read minds. At least he hopes they can't read minds. Because what's going through Mason's thoughts right now isn't exactly flattering, and with all that's going on the main thing he's worried about? The paperwork.
    He shakes his head and lowers the gun now that nobody is all biting nobody and the thugs are either fled or out of it, considering the impact of Atlin's punch. But then he looks after the couple who are running and he gives a nod. "Smart folk."
    The weapon still in hand he takes that moment to tell Atlin, "I'm Mason Tavner, I'm supposed to be your watch dog slash liaison slash chaperone." There's a pause, then deadpan he adds. "Yay."
    Then back to the vampire. "And yeah, what she said, who are you, lady?"

Lia Briggs has posed:
By now things are starting to return to ... well, normal is perhaps too strong a word, but, at least, a little less crazy. Atlin's throw sends the fleeing knifeman sprawling -- he might have broken or sprained something, but, at minimum, he isn't going anywhere. Neither is Edging Guy, who can absolutely add two and two to get four, and is slowly dropping to his knees while saying, "Be cool, man, be cool, I give up. Jesus, Ray, you okay?" Ray is of course not answering. C'est la guerre.

Lia, meanwhile, daintily wipes a smidge of blood from her lips and licks it from her finger. Yum! "Oh, I'm just a helpful, civicc-minded citizen who happened to be passing by and noticed a crime in progress," she says, oozing helpful sincerity in a way that would be more convincing if she hadn't just literally sucked a guy's blood out. Some of it, anyway. As for Atlin's question, she shrugs and says, pleasantly, "Does it have to be one or the other?"

Atlin has posed:
Watchdog? There's a furrow of her brow. Did they think her in need or protecting? Or were they hoping to avoid some sort of diplomatic incident? There would be questions later.

For now? Her gaze is fixed on the fanged girl and her response, caution carried in her tone. "You've shown restraint, so I suppose I cannot argue with you..." she speaks, ironic given the state of Big Ray next to her feet really! "This city truely is full of strange things and beings," the thought is mused aloud before her foot taps on the unconcious mook. "But clearly cowards and criminals are not lacking."

Mason Tavner has posed:
    Asjusting his glasses slightly, Mason gives a small nod, "Mmm," He says succinctly without elaborating too much. Vampires. That's new. And that's not in the training manual. More paperwork. Great.
    "Ma'am," He gives a nod to Atlin, "SHIELD's arranged for your quarters if you'd like to follow me. Though I suppose New York can endure some more sight-seeing if you're still wanting to wander around at this hour. Just know I'm probably goin' with you."
    That said he steps back and nods to Lia. "Thanks for not killin' him."

Lia Briggs has posed:
The redhead smiles her million-dollar smile, which is pretty dazzling but somewhat marred by the whole 'fangs' thing. "If only they were," she says, vis-a-vis cowards and criminals not being lacking. "Then again, I oughtn't to complain too much, considering."

Groans come from the various injured thugs. The ones who aren't injured are smart enough to keep their mouths shut and their hands on their heads. "Oh, they hadn't done anything bad enough to warrant killing them," she says breezily. But, lest any of them get confident in their safeyty, she adds: "Yet," before beginning to dissolve into mist once again.