You're safe...? (Dire)

"Malik, hmmm." She tasted the name on her lips for a moment before deciding it had an Arabic flavor to it. Maybe Egyptian? Or she could be completely wrong. Either way she stayed silent regarding her intuition and decided that it was only polite to answer him in full, "Maura, or lesser known as Void. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dire."

She felt a flicker of hesitation pass through her that didn't quite escape her gaze as she looked up to the taller man. She still wasn't completely sure that she should be trusting Dire with all that she had thus far, but it was pretty much set in stone already that he was going to be an ally. So as the song began winding down, she drew her arm down from his shoulder and let it lightly brush the side of his arm, looking away towards the window. That adrenaline high sure was wearing off quick, "Now about my apartment and this half baked  game plan of yours-"

It only took half a second for Maura to recognize the end of a gun pointing at her from the window in the building across from the one they currently danced in, and only half a second more for her to regain that adrenaline rush. "Down!" She hissed between her teeth as she grabbed onto Dire's shirt and did her best to yank him to the floor with her as she hit the deck herself. Hopefully the added weight of a sweater with the density of Platinum helped to that end. In a matter of moments bullets were raining through the open window.

Dire nearly slung Maura down, with unexpected reaction.
Yet she was much heavier than he thought, so he went down.

Dire was muttering curses at himself for not checking the windows.
He even left it open!
He pulled his crimson cloak back over his shoulder and said, "Half baked? You call THIS half baked??? You ain't seen nothing yet."
He crawled over to the window as Bad Romance by Lady Gaga came on.
He waited for the fire to cease for reload, he heard one of them say: "I think we got 'em!"
In response, he stuck his middle finger up out of the window.
"Maura, get out and get to alley behind the building and... Well here's where half-baked comes into play... You don't have to stay and wait for me, so if you don't... Leave something for me to remember you by."

At that he teleported in the alley where the rooftop gunmen were.
He climbed up some kind of beam with impossible grace and pulled the ammo guy off the roof and sent plummeting to his death.
He then hopped onto the roof and drew his katanas, letting the blue flames rise off them.
"Hey guys, I'm over here!" He said while sprinting to kick one of the gunmen off the roof.
Then, with impossible speed, he cut down through another guy.
That left three guys.
He sheathed his katanas and shot two in the head with a pistol.
He grabbed the last one by the collar and said, "Where THE HELL did you guys come from?"
He began going up under his nail with his golden butterfly knife.
The man muttered their base's location before Dire slit his throat.

At that, he went to the alley Maura went to.
Looking for Maura herself or a sign that she left.

Maura nodded quickly as she took in Dire's plan, only a little bit concerned about the scarily accurate random song coming on. Without waiting for further instruction, she phased right through the floor and into the apartment below. The girl landed with a thud on her feet, making a man and woman who were making out half naked on their couch scream in surprise. "This is no time for sex! Can't you hear the gunfire?" Maura scolded the two before she continued her journey down through the next three floors of the building, glad that all of the carpeting seemed to be a synthetic polyester blend and the beams were made of concrete and not wood.

Once she reached the bottom floor she made her way through several walls until she was in the back alley of the building. Unfortunately some of the suited men were waiting there for her.

"Gotcha'!" One cried out as he wrapped an arm around her neck from behind. Pissed, Maura instantly grabbed the offending arm and hoisted the heavy man up over her shoulder, using his weight to send him flying forwards into another guy that had been charging them with a gun. A third, final man shot blindly at her, missing by a mile but startling her nonetheless. He reached forward with a black gloved hand and Maura had to think fast as she ducked, slapping the wall behind her with an open palm and making it intangible. The guy's hand went through the wall and Maura let go.

He screamed in agony as his right hand was fused with the cement permanately. She took the opportunity to smack the gun from his other hand and punched him in the nose hard enough to make him pass out, hanging lifelessly from the wall he would now be affixed to unless someone came along to amputate his hand.

"Uhg, how do you use one of these things?" She grumbled as she retrieved the tossed hand gun. It was sleek and matte black, appealing to the deepest parts of Maura's soul. She didn't have time to dwell on the stylish nature of the weapon before her attention returned to the other two goons. They had both recovered from their spill and were advancing on her yet again.

Not really sure about what she was doing, Maura aimed at their legs and pulled the trigger. Twin shouts of pain echoed alongside the ring of richocheting bullets as somehow she found her target. She nearly jumped for joy, but instead made her sweater dense again to deflect the sudden fire from one of the incapacitated and bleeding out guys on the ground. She ran forwards immediately afterwards and kicked the one who'd shot at her in the face and took his gun too, stuffing it in the back of her pants. The leftover conscious guy was whimpering and holding his upper bleeding thigh like a wimp.

She was about to tell him something when the screech of car tires from the end of the alley met her ears. A dark vehicle lay in ominous wait, no doubt for her surrender or death. Maura had turned to head out the other end of the alley, but not before she stepped on the awake and wounded guy's leg. He screamed and tried to push her off of him weakly.

"Listen, huevon. Tell him I'm heading for Hell's Kitchen, 404 west and 51st, or he'll kill you on the spot." She said in her most threatening voice before kicking him off her boot and making a bolt for the opposite end of the alley. She could hear shouts behind her as she head West, hoping to orient herself and grab a taxi before any more of these creeps could catch up to her. Hopefully that wimpy guy would be enough information for Dire to trail her.

Dire proceeded to the alleyway and-"Whaaat the hell?"
Dire saw the... Unbeatable odds Maura seemed to overcome.
He could tell that some-if not all- of these people were breathing, but she left one awake.
"Tsk tsk..." He mumbled.

He stepped over to the man with hole in his thigh, and jabbed a kunai into the wound.
The poor man nearly passed out to the newfound pain but held up.
"Where is she!"
He growled.

"Hell's Kitchen, 404 west and 51st... Please don't kill me!"

Dire laughed.
BANG!

He climbed up to the open window to the same couple that was trying to get going when Maura passed through.
"Damn son! You got a fine lookin one right there!"
He said as he walked through the room and up to the roof.
Thanks to the speed his katanas give him, he is able to jump from building to building.
Plus if he were to mess up, he has a grappling hook.
So used those aspects to get to the address.

In the taxi that she had caught, Maura was able to tell the cabbie where to go and gave herself a breather. She honestly hated fighting like that because usually something went wrong for her. She'd just gotten lucky this time. But the adrenaline was nice and she let her head rest on the back of the seat as they drove.

"Eh, miss? You sure you don't want me to take ya to a hospital instead?" The driver suddenly spoke up and had Maura confused in seconds. That's when she noticed the tinge of pain in her exposed left shoulder and looked over. Crimson was dripping from a deep graze where apparently the guy who'd shot at her first in the alley hadn't been as far off in his aiming as she had initially thought. So much for that luck. Maybe next time she'd wear a sweater with shoulders.

"Pretty realistic, huh? We're meeting at my buddy's for improv practice, and I'm gonna set the stage as soon as I walk in!" She joked, returning to her city-girl American accent. Apparently her little act worked as the cab driver just "Ah'd" and kept about his own business with a nod. Though the bleeding wound stung, it wasn't bad enough for her to worry about blood loss and the natural chemical in her system kept the pain mostly at bay.

She focused on the driver's side window, watching as they passed her apartment building. Of course the place was openly and heavily guarded. Black cars like the one before took up all the meter space and conspicuous men in black were walking in and out of the building. She had the driver park half a block away, paid him, and hopped out. Fortunately for her, she had her own means of transportation hidden away in an alley a couple buildings away from her apartment complex. Unfortunately, there was no way to get around to it without being spotted. She needed a distraction.

"Malik, where are you?" She muttered grumpily as she found a shadowed doorway to hide in, trying her best not to let her injury hit anything.

After stopping to high five some kids and getting a bite to eat (out of costume), he finally made it to the address Maura left.
"You are actually an ameteur..."
He groaned as he saw the amount of bodies that were on the grounds.
He knew they were dealing with things beyond their power if this was only PART of their forces.
He looked for Maura and nearly missed her, yet it wasn't her green eyes that caught him.
Instead, it was the crimson on her shoulder.
He crept over to her and said "Are you alright?"
He frowned with concern.
"Wanna drink?" He offered his milkshake to her as he finished his hot dog.

"I'm fine, and no, I don't want a-" Was that a milkshake? Maura frowned as she snatched the styrofoam cup away from Dire and put the straw between her pouting lips. Somehow Malik seemed different. She looked at him and noticed his garb, and his eyes. Hadn't they been red before? And why was she more surprised that they were brown instead of when they had been red? How did half melted ice cream taste so good? And why wasn't she focusing on the task at hand, "Carajo! You, sir, do not know how to read the mood, do you?"

Her voice was hushed and only half as irritated as she wanted it to sound. In all actuality it was nice not to be continually stressed and she appreciated the gesture. But milkshakes couldn't fix her problems now. Even if they were delicious.

"My motorcycle is in the alley there," She said, handing back the beverage she'd finished off greedily and pointing towards the building two over from the apartment. "I can leave everything else I own behind, but I need my bike."

Dire pressed deploy on his watch so his superhero suit would come on.
He smiled as she finished the drink.

There was something about Maura, that strongly intrigued him.
She was so easy to give up everything.
He couldn't really grasp it.
He really had nothing to leave.

After she explained her plan, he nodded.
"Ah! I'm the distraction! I get it!"
That made him frown.
"So, is this where we part ways?"
He asked, not seeing how he could catch up with a speeding bike...
Even with teleporting and speed.
When he asked this, he shifted in the doorway so she couldn't rush out on him.

Maura fell silent as Dire blocked her escape route, and her green stare fell on his now red. She hated being short sometimes. Dire was a whole head, if not more, taller than she was and it made her feel like a small, cornered and injured animal. She shifted uncomfortably and considered his question. She obviously wasn't as concerned about going separate ways as he was, so she guessed she might have somehow played along with him too much for him to be impeding her ability to leave.

On one hand, her inner self raged and beat at her mind for even taking more than a moment to just say yes. She needed to get out of New York, and never get near the mystery men or Dire again. Connections, good or bad, just led to painful things in the end. And it seemed that, despite herself, she was enjoying just a little too much being around the young man. She didn't need or deserve that feeling.

On the other hand, also despite herself, she couldn't deny that she was having fun. Sure the day didn't start out so well and Malik's first impressions weren't that great, but she would be lying if she hadn't been looking forward to dancing drunk over a victory. Maybe his enthusiasm was contagious. Maybe she was just crazy.

Plus, there was the added fact of logic instead of emotion. Even if she were to run away with her tail under her from this place, these guys would find her in the next place she settled down. As much as she hated confrontation and getting violent, this problem needed to be weeded out from the root. There was no way she could do that on her own.

Her shoulder ached strongly and she deliberately lifted her right hand to press firmly down on the wound and kept it there. Pain raced down her arm with the sudden contact. It wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt and she didn't flinch, but it was enough to snap herself out of her musings and give a proper reply at last, "Depends. I'm not exactly going to lose these guys in just one day, you know. They're like cockroaches. Did you manage to get a location off of one of the guys? Because I might need a little help making sure they don't come back, and you could jump onto the bike.... if you wanted to help..."

She felt her voice get smaller and softer as she spoke, unexpectedly feeling shameful for asking him to help her even more. It left a bad taste in her mouth for more than just the humiliation of it. She couldn't believe she was even thinking about keeping someone around for more than just a quick job. But she'd already dug her hole. Maura found her toes quite interesting as she waited for his reply and hoped she hadn't been heard.

Dire was almost embarrassed when his grin near reached his ears.
He really loved having information that other people didn't.
"In fact... I do have a location! It's like... REALLY far away though. Like. Another country, but I'm up for it! Good thing I have these..."
He gestured to the two Uzis now strapped to his legs.
He wasn't even excited for the beautiful company he was going to have. It was simply the company itself.
He never really had company outside of being the Demonic Dire. He had no Malik Faulkner life. All of it was Dire. All dire did was kill so it is evident why he has little friends. He did understand that Maura would probably never consider Dire OR Malik as a friend, but it hurt him to even think about her leaving so soon.

"Distraction commencing..."
He said as he walked up to the building.
Of course these guys heard of Dire from the last group of guys that Maura left alive.
They all shakily drew their guns and Dire said "Whoa!!! I'm not with her anymore! See! She went that way!!!"
He lied as he pointed the exact opposite way of where she went.
They all looked down the adjacent alleyway and Dire showered them with the Uzis.
Of course only a few died, but Uzis were GREAT for distractions.
"You're good to go beautiful!!!" He yelled back to Maura.

Apparently she had been heard. Maura watched as he went, squinting at him in sudden suspicion. He had openly just hid information from her. She didn't have time to dwell on it, and was bolting from the doorway the moment she'd seen him point the other way.

By the time he'd yelled she was already at her motorcycle, ripping off the cover and fishing her keys out of her pocket. She would have loved to change into her spare costume that was in one of the pleather black saddlebags, but time was of the essence, as it would seem with all life or death situations. She straddled the midnight seat and plugged in the key, taking out one of the guns hidden behind her shirt and pants. Within seconds the motor was rumbling and she was tearing out of the alley like a madman.

Her bike's tires squealed as she turned hard in Dire's direction. Towards the sound of gunfire and screaming. Oh, god, what did she get herself into? "You're gonna have to jump!" She called out to the gunslinging man, not bothering to slow down as she approached his location. Hopefully her shoulder could bear with the sudden added weight and unbalance of an extra passenger. Regardless, she took aim and covered Malik's back when one of the guys he hadn't killed yet aimed for him. He was down, clutching at his arm in a second. One handed driving was a specialty of hers.

Dire heard Maura screech toward him as he continued to rain hell upon his enemies.
If his swords didn't give him insane reaction time, he probably would not have made the jump.
Instead, he backflipped and landed on the bike.
He hugged Maura, because he didn't think he would've made it.

On down the road, Dire leaned over Maura's shoulder and said
"Thanks, beautiful..."

Maura tossed the gun in her hand as soon as Dire was in he air. She really hadn't used them up until then, and she thought the extra she still had would be more than enough should the need to it arise. The girl tensed as she kept her bike balanced, and because of the sudden contact. Although this wasn't the first time someone had held onto her from behind on this very bike, she still didn't like the feeling. It was beginning to make her think she might have some underlying issues.

"Can't you come up with a more clever nickname than that?" She teased as she wound around traffic and booked it Eastwards. The setting sun cast their shadows directly in front of them as she maneuvered out of town, shoulder beginning to throb more the further away they got from imminent danger, "And don't thank me, you're the one who did all the work. Let's just get out of town and you can fill me in on where we're going."

Dire smiled and decided it would be better to press deploy on his watch so his civy clothes would flash onto his body.
He was wearing reflective aviators with black rims, a black leather jacket unbuttoned with a red t-shirt under, some black jeans, and some black boots.
He looked like he stole an outfit from Grease...

At one of the gas stations he bugged Maura to go to, he got some band-aids.
"It isn't much, but hopefully it'll work..." He smiled weakly.
He then peeled his jacket off and tended to his own wounds.
He put the pink band-aids on the nasty gashes grazing bullets caused more for a punchline than anything.
He knew that his healing factor would fix it.

Maura muttered thanks as she stuck the bandaids on the lesser parts of the wound, knowing her wound could use a bit of stitching, but that would have to wait until she got someplace more sanitary than a gas satiation restroom. What she did use the bathroom for, though, was a quick shirt change. Rather, she just put on the skin-tight upper half of her gray and black Kevlar costume that ran up to her neck. It had shoulders.

As she topped off her tank she leaned back and smacked the back of her head against the gas pump. Sudden frustration overcame her as she wondered why she was on a hit list. She had made sure to keep under the radar, and not until just recently had she started accepting bigger jobs, so her activities shouldn't have been what was wrong. The only thing she could think of was her father, and even then she didn't want to dwell on that possibility for too long. It only made the need to get rid of these guys that much more urgent.

"Maliiiiiik." She groaned, rolling her shoulder after standing upright again, "Can you at least tell me which direction we're going?"

Malik chuckled.
"Well, unless this bike can get across the water... It don't matter... We need to go to Germany. The guy I asked said Germany... I'm NOT a fan..."
He said, slightly annoyed.

He tried to ease the annoyance radiating off the two by spinning her around playfully and said "I've heard it's pretty romantic there. I've also heard people want me dead there so it should be fun."