savetheearth | He who attacks must vanquish.

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He who attacks must vanquish.

Who: Jeffrey, Daniel, and Elly
Where: Some area near the Dead District that was hit bad by the quake.
When: December 19th
What: Three college kids go to deliver care packages to earthquake victims and wind up, as many Numbered have lately, in the sights of the Blood Keys.
Warnings: Gonna be some violence in here. How bad it gets remains to be seen.

It was a busy time, working things in between studying for finals and such, but when people needed help, they needed help. And far be it for Jeffrey to deny somebody that when he was in a position to do it.

And he had friends to help out with it, too. That was always good. Jeffrey didn't really have a whole lot of friends despite his agreeable disposition, but he already included Elly and Daniel on that list of the ones he did have. They were nice, and stuck in the same dangerous situation as he was. It felt a little less scary, not being alone in all this.

They'd spent the latter half of the afternoon delivering some of the care packages they'd put together for the earthquake victims. This was the last stop of the day, a little close to the Dead District for Jeffrey's comfort, but they weren't actually going into it, so surely everything would be okay. He was just over-thinking like he always did.

He might have been carrying the lightest load of packages himself; he wasn't strong like Daniel or even average like he figured Elly was. But he was helping.

"Pretty impressed that we were all able to pull all this together so fast."

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"Hey, people are in need, we gotta move fast."

Daniel had been doing the lion's share of the work, he was pretty strong so he figured it was the best way to help out.

Jogging toward the two of them, Elly looked a little winded. "Sorry about that," She apologized once she reached the two men, "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find parking around here. My car's a bit of a hike, I hope that's okay."

"Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Jeffrey wasn't exactly the type to complain. Sure it was pretty cold out today and they weren't really in the best neighbourhood, but really. What was the harm?

Of course, Jeffrey wasn't always the most observant type, either. Unless trouble stared him a bit more directly in the face, he might not notice it. Like those shady-looking types off a ways to the side? Nope, didn't see them. They were outside of the danger zone. For the moment. Had he bothered looking, he might have realized that little fact was about to change.

Daniel, however, does not. His eyes go hard as he steps forward, putting his hands out in front of both Jeffrey and Elly.

"We've got company," he mutters. "You two get ready to run."

Elly, much like Jeffery, didn't notice the threat until Daniel drew attention to it, her eyes drawn to the group of individuals. By all rights, she felt like she should have been panicked, but her mind was surprisingly calm. Moving as little as possible, she reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out her keys.

She spoke low, directed at Jeffrey. "Blue minivan, about a block and a half away from here. Go." Something beyond logic or reason told her to stay, a certain familiarity there. Barely taking her eyes from the group, who were slowly, threateningly, starting to descend upon her, she took in the surroundings, noting exit routes, points of advantage, anything that could be used, without really realizing it, or knowing how she knew.

Panicking was something Jeffrey could handle. Quietly at least. Oh god. Those were Blood Keys, weren't they? So many of the Numbered had been running afoul of them lately, and the results always wound up messy. And with dead people.

He didn't protest standing at the back. But when Elly tried to push her keys at him and told him to run, he hesitated. Oh, he in no way wanted to stick around for whatever was going to happen here, but . . . these were his friends. And those guys were really dangerous. Not-human kind of dangerous. He couldn't just leave, no matter that he was completely useless.

He blinked uncertainly. "You guys are planning to stay?"

"Yeah," Daniel replied flatly. "We've got stuff to take care of and we can't do that unless we drive these guys off."

"We'll buy you enough time to go get help."

Drive the not-human guys off. Wait, did any of them even have those special abilities other people had gotten? He hadn't really thought to ask, didn't even know what he'd gotten himself when he'd gotten his first Echo years ago. But surely if it had been a power, he'd have noticed it by now. Powers couldn't go unnoticed by their owners for such a long time, surely.

"Drive them off?" he asked in an undertone, trying to ensure that the thugs didn't hear him. "You heard these guys aren't human, right? Do you even have --"

It probably would have been better if he hadn't paused to question all this, because it looked like the chance to get away was gone.

"Have they got what, boy? Speak up a little, why don't ya? Ain't nice to exclude a bunch of people from a conversation, ya know."

There would be no speaking up. Of course. Because Jeffrey's throat went dry when one of the Blood Keys addressed him; he couldn't have talked if he'd wanted to. He really should have run while he'd had the chance.

Blood surged in Daniel's ears as he leapt forward, unleashing two quick jabs to the speaker before pulling back his arm. It seemed to sparkle with purple energy for a moment before he slammed it into the man, blasting him backward.

Heartbeat nearly deafening in her ears, as she watched Daniel throw himself at one of the gang members, she felt like she was somehow seeing double. It made her head spin, yet didn't feel at all unfamiliar, as if she had seen it all too many times before. Still not looking at him, she barked back at the other man. "Go, now!" There was something in her voice, a cold command.

Taking a breath, she took somewhat of a firm stance, feeling something just out of reach.

He was normally good at following orders, really. Too good at it. Do-you-even-have-a-spine kind of good. But he still didn't want to leave, even if he couldn't help.

That, and terror had a certain effect on some people. Namely, getting them to freeze up, and Jeffrey was one of those unfortunate souls that reacted that way. And it didn't help that the other two thugs didn't appreciate their leader getting decked like that. A more normal reaction to seeing a guy thrown backward by a move like that would have been shock. But no. These guys? Just got angry.

One of them made a move for Jeffrey, who was obviously a much easier target than Daniel -- and in that moment, Jeffrey felt hollowed out save for that heartbeat thrumming in his head. He didn't even think before dropping his load and instinctively shoving at the guy to get him off. Not that him shoving at anybody was going to have any . . .

And then the guy he pushed flew backward and landed hard on his back pretty much right next to the one that Daniel had punched.

"Nice one!" Daniel called out, jumping at the other guy and unleashing a combo of kicks, followed by a backflip that finished with a fierce blow that knocked the other one down.

Somehow, Daniel's flurry of jabs and glowing fists did not seem to phase her, however, when Jeffery launched the thug away from him with no more than a shove, Elly noticed. It was in that moment of broken focus that another rushed, full-tilt, at her. Snapping back to attention in the nick of time, her body reacted, a red-hot energy swirling around her right hand.

"Stay back!"

She threw it with all her strength, energy igniting in mid-flight and hitting the thug full on in the stomach, knocking him back. Jumping back, Elly tried to catch her breath, mind too caught in the moment to assess what just happened.

Nice one? Nice one? He didn't even really do anything. Just a panicked push. Exactly why did he of all people suddenly get super strength? He couldn't possibly be cut out for fighting. And he really, really didn't want to be.

Daniel and Elly were clearly conducting themselves more effectively, here. Oh, and look. Elly has some kind of magical power or something. That was handy. Seriously, it was. But this had to stop. It just had to stop. This wasn't worth anybody's life. Not their own, nor their attackers'.

"Guys, come on! Let's just get out while it's clear!"

All three thugs were down for the moment. This was the best time to just run. But he still wouldn't do it without either of his friends.

Edited 2013-12-19 05:29 (UTC)

Daniel threw a meaningful nod Elly's way. It said clearly, let's go. I'll hold the rear.

Elly met his gaze with hesitation, knowing in her head that, of anyone, Daniel was the most capable of defending himself of the three. That didn't mean she liked the idea of leaving him behind, even for a moment. Pausing for a split second, she finally nodded back, breaking into a run and grabbing for Jeffery.

It was probably the logical thing, though Jeffrey still cast a worried glance over his shoulder as Elly pulled him into a run. Stonger though he may be, it seemed he was still just as easy to drag around. Not that there was any dragging involved once he got started.

Daniel had better be behind them in short order.

And behind them he was. A seasoned jogger, Daniel took off running behind the other two, joining them in their escape.

Constantly checking over her shoulder as she ran, there was relief on her face when she saw Daniel finally join them. Thankfully her car wasn't too far away, although it felt longer while being pursued. "Keys, quickly!" She directed at Jeffery, who still had her keys.

Huh? Oh, right. He'd forgotten he was holding those. He handed them off to her. And for someone who had never been terribly athletic, he was running at a good pace himself. A combination of the adrenaline and the increased strength, probably.

After all, it wouldn't make sense to just have his arms be stronger. Of course, it wasn't exactly like all Echoes followed the laws of reality or anything.

"I think I hear them coming," Daniel said tersely. "They're a bit behind us."

Fumbling a bit herself with her keys--why had she not had a remote lock put on them--she threw the door open, unlocking all the doors. Turning the van on, she waited for the other two to jump in.

Her van was old, but that wasn't to say it still didn't have any pep in it. Putting it into drive, she floored it. Performing some kind of magic trick with the stick and clutch, the van kicked and peeled out with more oomph than an old minivan had any right to; anyone who hadn't managed to get their seat belts on in time were thrown forward a bit with the force.

Well Jeffrey certainly wasn't going to waste any time jumping in. And whatever magic she performed with the stick and the clutch was a-okay with him. Even though he hadn't quite been buckled in yet and his face smacked into the back of the seat in front of him as a result of the jolt.

But it didn't hurt, so he ignored it and finally got his seat-belt on. A nervous glance over his shoulder showed the thugs trying to catch up to the van, and he swallowed hard. Please, please let them not have super-human speed.

Daniel didn't even have a chance to consider buckling up before they were underway. He managed to grab onto the seat but it was definitely a precarious position.

Elly glanced at her rear view mirror a bit more than she really should have, noting that they, thankfully, weren't able to keep up with the van. To be on the safe side, she started taking side roads, in order to throw them off even further, always speeding through lights when possible--it was a wonder how she managed to not get pulled over.

After a good twenty minutes of driving in silence, hands white knuckled on steering wheel, she finally parked in a rather busy, well-lit lot. Shifting into park, she let her hand sit on the stick. Adrenaline having long since worn off, despite the hard idle of the van, it was obvious her hands were trembling.

"...I think we're okay. Everyone okay?"

Oh, good. They stopped. Maybe he could try to calm down now. Slow down the breathing, wait for the shaking to stop. They were out of there. They were safe. He could totally do this. Just give him a minute.

"Y-yeah. I'm alright."

"I'm good," Daniel said, exhaling. "That was invigorating."

Invigorating? Looking over at Daniel in the passenger seat, she tried to hide her shock. But they had survived a run-in with those Blood Key guys, if that's what they were. The fact that they got back up after they let loose on them was a good indicator.

Maybe it was the ridiculousness of his response, coupled with what could have been a very close brush with death, but his answer sunk in, and she chuckled a little. "You're crazy."

He blinked at Daniel. Invigorating? It had been a fight, for crying out loud. How could that be invigorating? He did not understand this kind of mentality. Never would.

But he let out a nervous chuckle of his own. "Invigorating. Right."

"Maybe a little. But it worked out, right? And it looks like we all discovered a few things about ourselves in the process."

"That's an understatement."

He pretty much had his breathing rate under control by now, even if his hands were still shaking.

"So . . . that stuff was spur-of-the-moment for you guys, too?"

"Pretty much," Daniel said, rubbing his chin. "Those moves felt really familiar, but nobody ever really taught them to me."

Elly nods in agreement. "It felt familiar to me, too." There were a few other things that she wanted to address regarding that, but would wait.

"Can't say anything about what I managed to do felt familiar to me." He kind of feel like the odd one out in this regard. Why do they get stuff they remember and he gets out-of-the-blue superhuman strength with no context?

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He who attacks must vanquish.

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