savetheearth | [Mission 3 - Nuisance] Action

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[Mission 3 - Nuisance] Action - open / Text later

[Action around Locke City]

It wasn't until recently that Anthony finally gained an understanding for exactly how destructive, and annoying, the strange little monsters infesting the city were. Sure, he'd caught the news here and there and watched the network, but from a distance it didn't seem so bad. That was right up until his hoodie was set on fire while he was sitting on a curb taking a break. The heat and flash of flame were noticed quickly enough that Anthony was able to pat it out before it caused more than a singe, but even so the threat was clear enough. Now that he was back on the street for the time being, suddenly everything was more dangerous that ever before. Exactly what he wanted to deal with right now.

He jumped up, spotting the tiny lighter as it fled into the bushes. Foolishly Tony gave chase, intent to stomp out the animate lighter before it could cause more harm and of course blundered directly into the now burning bush. He gave a shout of surprise and pain, hopping away as he was singed and lightly burned. The fire spread quickly in the still-dry plant, too fast for him to reasonably attempt to put it out. Someone was just going to have to call the fire department or bring an extinguisher, because he certainly did not have any way of doing either of those things at the moment. Besides, as soon as he spotted that lighter moving off again he was after it like a dog on a scent.

Once a threat was established and an 'enemy' detected, something clicked over in his mind that Anthony just couldn't quite turn off. A level of focused aggression that was almost frightening when he wasn't in its thrall. The opportunity for a fight became the most thrilling thing he could imagine, even if only against a lighter that was mostly harmless until it caught something on fire. Eventually he was really going to need to learn how to control himself.

Unfortunately for him self control was the furthest thing from his mind, so as he gave chase again, this time over park benches, rails, and even out in the road completely blind to traffic. Eventually he lost sight of the lighter, but worked up as he was he was quick to go after any further nuisances he encountered. A mob of toothpicks, the occasional pencil erasing crosswalks, running away from exploding Altoids. You name it!

[OOC: Basically feel free to bump into Tony (or nearly run him over) at any point in his adventure against madness! IDK I am so bad at open posts please help yourselves.]

[Text:]

Is it just me, or are these things getting worse? First lighters, then toothpicks and magical pencils? This is getting out of hand. Anyone got any tips for dealing with these things. A repellent, maybe?

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Driving in the city was never a fun ordeal. It was too clogged with traffic especially now that that damned snake had wiped out so many of the roads. Detours here and there, automobiles honking at one another... It would have been so much nicer to avoid this congested abomination of an intersection. Ugh. Well, Alan finally was able to go once the light turned green and move at a reasonable speed for the city - around 25-30 miles per hour.

Ah yes, the car was a decent shell now that the city was going through God only knew what. Strange lighters and toothpicks walking here and there - Alan couldn't even begin to comprehend what they were, where they came from. But he knew that they were unpleasant to encounter, which was why he felt more relaxed once the traffic let up, once he could truly feel at ease in his protective car.

Suddenly, though, a person appeared in the middle of the street. Just like that. What the... Instincts kicking in first, Alan slammed on the breaks, loudly screeching his black car to a halt just as it bumped the person in question. Oh damn. This wasn't good. But - it wasn't Alan's fault. If the stupid boy just paid attention and didn't dart into the street like that, then this would have been avoided! Stupid, miscreant, selfish kid...

In a huff, Alan stepped out of his car to assess the damage. To the young man first, then to the car.

"Are you all right?" he said with slight alarm but considerable irritability.

[OOC: If you don't want Alan to have hit Tony with the car just let me know!]

It came as a surprise. One moment he was entirely focused on catching that damned lighter that lit him on fire, twice, and then the next he was down hitting the asphalt hard. It was enough to shock him out of his focused hunt at least, but now he was confused and dazed as he started pulling himself up off the road.

He stumbled a little, and shot the guy approaching him a wary glance as he backed away with a slight limp.

"Huh?" How the hell had he ended up out on the street anyway... "Yeah... yeah... s'fine..." Right because limping is absolutely fine. And... oh hell. He pointed at the guy's foot. "Watch out!" Incoming lighter, don't let it burn your shoe!

Ah, the boy seemed okay. Thank God - or whomever. Thank chance. Thank the fact that Alan had braked in time. Even so, he had still hit a pedestrian with his car, and the courts would be more likely to rule in the kid's favor. Even though the young man had simply darted out just like that - something Alan would be prepared to argue about. Oh, this wasn't good... Already his mind was going through the complicated process of this ordeal, dreading the amount his insurance might go up, all the fines... This was a terrible time, after all, since his company had effectively been destroyed, cutting off a good share of his income. This damned city. Alan couldn't explain the snake, but he knew that whatever caused it was starting to ruin his life.

He pulled out his smartphone, ready to jot down the boy's insurance information. The concern had mostly faded from Alan's face by now and he simply exhibited slight disdain, treating this as some sort of business transaction. "Good, I'm glad you're all right. Now if I could just--"

Alan was cut-off mid-sentence, though, by the abrupt exclamation. Immediately he looked to where the boy pointed and indeed saw said lighter coming right toward his black leather shoe. Aaaand... there it went. It was on fire.

"Augh!" Alan looked none-too-pleased, letting out a cry of horror as he immediately stomped his foot down on the ground rapidly, doing his best to smash out the fire. Fortunately he was able to put it out rather quickly, but the shoe was ruined. Ugh. More pressingly, though, that lighter was still there. And there were more.

"How many of these things are there?!"

Thankfully he didn't get hit too hard, though he'd likely have an impressive bruise and scrapes after this. He just couldn't feel them right now, what with the adrenaline still on overdrive and all. And lucky for you, Alan, Tony didn't have a penny to his name, so lawyers were likely not going to come into the equation.

You could get the kid a bottle of advil or something though, that'd be nice.

Haah, insurance information. That's a good one. A good long look at Tony would tell anyone that if he wasn't homeless, he was damn near it by the state of his clothes and his build. Scrawny, malnourished, and ragged as they came. If Tony weren't so distracted by the lighters and things around them causing trouble he'd have been more annoyed by the man's demeanor.

While Alan stomped and shouted, Tony was quick to dart in and finish off the lighter with one good, solid stomp and a triumphant 'hah!' He'd been after that thing for a while now.

"Too many to keep up with, haven't you been paying attention? The whole damned city is overrun with these pests." Anthony couldn't help the rather unamused expression he wore as he regarded Alan like he'd been hiding under a rock this whole time or something.

Alan was aware that these lighters and such had been everywhere, hence why he stayed indoors most of the time. Luckily he had been able to avoid having his waist-length hair gobbled up by those hair-eating things, hence why he had pinned his braid in a spiral on the top of his head and wore a hat over it. Needless to say, with the hat and his coat, there was a distinct difference between the way the two of them dressed: Alan with a distinct upper-class look and Tony with the penniless loser look. Or so Alan would describe if he was asked.

"Of course I've been paying attention," he snapped back. Not quite too harshly, but still rather annoyed that someone would insinuate that he was living behind a rock. "I was out of town for a bit." He turned his slight glare from the boy to his mangled shoe, looking rather disgusted.

"Now, I take it you weren't too hurt," he said gruffly, straightening his jacket. Not really a question, just an assertion. Since that pesky lighter had been stomped on, perhaps they had a moment to sort things out before more strange objects attempted to assault them.

Lucky him, having the luxury of staying indoors. Tony meanwhile had been out in the thick of it for the better part of a week, and was really none too pleased by that fact. Being accosted by some over-dressed fop who plowed him over with his car was really doing nothing to make the day less shit.

"Yeah? You seem awfully surprised for someone so aware of his surroundings," Tony snapped right back, irritation growing drastically. He didn't have the time nor energy to play nice with some self-important dude's feelings right now.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Minus the bleeding, and the small limp, he'll be fiiiine. Just perfectly peachy. Really it was more a matter of he didn't want to go to the hospital thank you very much. "Thanks for the concern." Such a dry tone.

Good, great, the kid was fine. Alan noticed slight bleeding and a limp, but unless the boy had a concussion or other brain injury, he really didn't care at all. With Alan's business going under, he didn't feel like having his insurance rates go up. So even with the quite dry tone that the boy responded with, Alan was satisfied. The first, and hopefully only time he had hit a passenger with his car, and everything turned out just fine. Right?

"Hmph. You were the one who darted out onto the road. I had no time to stop," he replied quite coldy. "I was certainly aware enough to stop before serious damage was done, despite the fact that you practically jumped in front of my car!"

And so the truth came out: this accident totally was not Alan's fault at all, nope. And this kid was stupid. He was especially stupid for thinking Alan was a fop because wow, he had to dress professionally for his job, okay? Well, the hat was to keep his hair away from those stupid hair-eating things, and the coat was because... coats are useful.

"The one who is quite unaware of his surroundings is you. It would be wise not to play in traffic."

Pretty nastily scraped up palm and wrist, and a bit of one on his cheek, but he at least looked like he wasn't suffering any head trauma. Or at least if he was, he wasn't telling Alan about it.

Yeah, fine, if hitting pedestrians at all is fine. You really gotta be more aware of your surroundings, dude. "Yeah, I'm sure that excuse'll stand up real well in court," Honestly he still had no intention of trying to pursue a case, but now that the guy was being a complete asshole about it, Tony figured he'd make him sweat a little. "'I ran over a minor but it was totally all his fault, judge, I swear.'"

Also, total fop. Complete and utter fop. The foppiness is strong with this one. "Thanks for the tip," Just as dry, with a bit of a sneer. "Better watch out for your shoes, pal." The lighters are relentless, by the way.

Perhaps Alan should have kept his mouth shut regarding the kid darting in front of his car, but really, it was a perfectly valid excuse! Alan was following all of the traffic laws (maybe... or maybe he was going slightly fast, but he would just omit that minor detail). He wasn't the one breaking the law if the pedestrian suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right? Still, the notion made him grimace a bit; Alan's eyes narrowed and his scowl was prominent.

"Look, I apologize for hitting you, regardless of whose fault it was. If you absolutely need to go to the hospital, I will take you." He practically spoke through gritted teeth, trying to keep his cool and not just strangle the poor boy. Right, that would be smart - get into the car with the guy who just about killed you. Smart for Alan too - what if this guy had a gun or something?

No, be good. Don't go to jail. Not after losing a company. Not after all that has happened (and really, to lose his good shoes on top of all that?). He had half a mind to tell the kid that he owed Alan a new pair of shoes, because well, if he hadn't darted in front of the car, Alan wouldn't have gotten out and been attacked by a lighter. Perfect logic right there.

But pretty much, if the kid wasn't going to take his offer of being driven to the hospital, then Alan had no further business here.

The scowl just earned a slight smirk, yeah that's what he thought. Courts generally weren't too lenient on things like running someone over. Alan could swear he was going the speed limit all he liked, it was likely he'd still get torn apart.

Thankfully, Tony had more of a head on him than Alan probably expected. "Right," His expression dubious as he took a wary step back. "So you can kill me and dump me in a ditch somewhere, get rid of the evidence. Great plan." And not a chance in hell, he'd rather deal with a possible fracture and concussion than probable murder.

Good luck backing up that demand on a homeless kid, Alan. You can put it on his tab.

Nope, he wasn't, but now he was increasingly more suspicious of the guy and looking at him like he might just be dangerous. With his current condition, it might be unwise to do anything that might hint at confirming that assumption.

While Alan was not a nice man and could indeed have a sadistic streak given the right circumstance, he truly had no plans to kill this boy. He figured offering a ride to the hospital was the nicest he could do (even if this totally wasn't his fault at all), but hey, it was the kid's own problem if he didn't want to accept it. So Alan's one Good Samaritan act was done for the day.

"Hmph. You're wise not to trust strangers, but I assure you I was only trying to help." He actually cracked a small smile at that, wow. The idea of throwing the kid into a ditch was actually pretty amusing. He probably deserved it.

"I hope your head feels better," Alan said dryly, climbing back into his car. Really he only hoped for his own selfish sake. He didn't want some kid's death on his hands, whether it was his fault or not, so Alan said nothing more as he closed the door. Once he made quite sure that nothing was blocking his car, he drove away. Farewell, dumb kid, let's hope you never become one of Alan's students.

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[Mission 3 - Nuisance] Action - open / Text later

Action! omg we finally get CR after like four years

Yeeee it's been so long!

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