Fright or Flight (Sam, Protocol, and Dabbler)

The evening was now creeping upon the city, the sun was sinking below the horizon and the night was slowly blanketing over the overcast sky. A thin layer of fog had set down upon the city earlier in the day, covering nearly every corner of it in wispy grayness. However, almost in spite of the night and the grayness of the city, the lights that shone out from the stores, homes, and tall skyscrapers illuminated the dark and the gray. The light shining off of the fog in the air almost gave the city a certain kind of glow to it. The cars that sped up and down the busy streets added a nice spark to it, a flash, as the headlights bounced off of the moisture in the air. The city was always known for its life and for the noise that that life provided, but tonight seemed different. Between the fog and the glow there was something else that loomed in the streets, something that was both pleasant and eerie.

It was quiet.

There was still the sounds of chatter and the sounds of cars and all the other sounds that were always there, but there was something that quieter about it all. There were many who didn't pick up on that, many that just went about their business and paid no mind to the strangeness of it all. There were others, however, who did notice, either hiding away from it or basking in the rare occasion. Among those who basked in it there was one young man who chose to take a breather and just relax in it. Young Samuel Grayson, Sam to his friends, found himself on one of the quieter streets with less traffic. He was lounging on a bench in small grassy plot that was fenced off by a nice white picket line. The area looked like a small park, just without the major amusements for kids, though there was a sandbox and a small plastic slide. It was all well maintained and looked clean, it was the kind of place he would've enjoyed as a kid.

Unfortunately, he couldn't take too much time to appreciate it. He was on the job tonight. He had received some word from a friend of his that there have been some weird happenings around this street lately, but the police had yet to perform a full investigation of it. Evidently there were a two or three homeless people who bummed around here a lot, they never caused trouble, in fact they were quite friendly. However, they hadn't been seen here in a few weeks and one of the older residence of the apartment had filled out a missing person's log for them. In addition across the street from the apartment there was an old abandoned building and many people who had passed by late at night had reported hearing some strange sounds coming from inside. Most people had assumed it was some form of animal, a rat or bat or something like that, but there was something very unearthly about it. There was actually one report of seeing a strange figure inside the abandoned building at one point, but no clear physical description could be given about the figure. The entire situation reeked of strangeness, but yet not strange enough to draw immediate action or attention to it.

Letting out a heavy breath, Sam stretched up his arms and cracked his back. He let his arms fall down to his sides and then shoved them into the pockets of his striped grey jacket. He looked across the street at the building with expecting eyes. He wanted something to happen! Nothing bad to anyone specific, but a noise or something. It had been quiet day of hero work, no crooks to catch, people to assist, or strange end of the world shenanigans (though, he had yet actually encounter something like that). Besides the buildings and parked cars all he could see was one man who was making a few phone calls, apparently trying to get a ride home. Sam had offered to help, but he had politely declined. Sam had followed up to ask him a few questions, but apparently he was a tourist just lost on his first night here. Nothing strange had happened yet, and Sam was getting the sinking feeling that nothing was going to happen. It had all seemed relatively normal. It was probably just a few people getting paranoid about the abandoned building and starting rumors which just began to get out of hand.

The thought of that was semi-painful for Sam.

Sam let his head fall back and left it hanging over the side of the bench as he looked up at the gray fog. "Ugh...come on..." He urged, not really directing it at anything, "Something happen!" He threw his hands up, like he was doing a small prayer. He closed his eyes and let his arms fall again. "Maybe the rumors were just rumors after all..." He muttered, bringing an arm over to cover his face, his other hand going to the butt of his sword which lay gently on his lap. While it was a relief to think that no one was getting hurt and no one was in trouble, Sam did enjoy the excitement of being a hero and loved getting into the strange situations he often found himself in. He wanted there to be something for him to do. He took in another deep breath, beginning to 'quietly' think to himself, rambling a bit to himself and going on about different approaches he could take, most of which involved breaking into the house.

At first Athena had been excited to come to New York City, but so far the trip had been more of the PR work she'd already gotten tired of in LA.  Sometimes it seemed like her superiors were more concerned with getting her face on camera and calling her a hero than with her actually doing anything heroic. She had gotten to stand on stage and shake the commisioners hand and everyone told her she was inspiring. She wasn't so sure though, after all there were plenty of young cops and young heroes too. On the LAPD she hadn't done anything any other cop wouldn't do, and so far her hero career had consisted mostly of uneventful patrols. Most villains would probably avoid a city that was making a big deal about their new super-cop she supposed. As they say, we only catch the dumb ones.   Now she was supposed to be on freetime, but really she was just walking around hoping she would see something. New York City was famous for its heroes, but so far Athena hadn't seen any action.  "It's not like I wish villains would attack New York or anything but..." She trailed off to no one in particular. Athen had a bad habit of talking to herself. She'd been doing it since she learned to talk according to her father. "Maybe they're all up on rooftops, that's the New York style right? Maybe I should've climbed up...not really my style though. All sneaky and broody."                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Athena had to give it to this city though, she had been walking around with her ears showing and no one had said anything to her,  most people didn't even look at her. Most of the time she had to hide  the white antenna-like ears that rose up through her short brown hair to avoid being recognized or stared at. She was happy to be able to wear something a little more fashionable than a hoodie in her off hours for once.  Despite the muggy weather Athena was dressed rather warmly.  The white cloth of a turtleneck  disappeared into the collar of a zipped and buttoned black leather jacket. The buckled sleeves partially covered the sleeves of matching black leather gloves. Light-blue denim fell down and touched the tops of her feet. They were the only artificial parts of her body visible besides her eyes and ears, though the black-soled boot shaped feet could easily be mistaken for shoes. The light electronic glow of her thin blue Irides was more conspicuos than normal in the early even flog, the reflection of her eyes off of the moisture in the air almost made them look as if they glowed in the dark.   The thin blue lines widened for a second as Athena rounded a corner making a soft glare in the night air as they darted from one direction to the next taking in all the information she could from the upcoming street. All the information she could take in without looking through walls anyway, Athena considered using her x-ray vision without good reason  both an invasion of privacy unbecoming of an officer of the law as well as just plain rude.  

This street wasn't exactly deserted, but it was certainly out of the way. The streets weren't as well lit, and the only person she saw was one young man with a sword in his lap. Her first thought was that it was a toy or prop, but she could zoom in enough to see that it was definitely sharp enough to hurt someone. "That's kinda sketchy, but not the weirdest thing I've seen since I got here." She remarked to the nobody but the dented Honda Civic that happened to be passing by. Actually it was eerie not to see anyone about, considering this is the city that never sleeps.  She blew a bright pink bubble from her mouth as she walked down the sidewalk, pulling the strip of strawberry gum back into her mouth once it popped. She hadn't had much of an appetite or need for food since the incident, so flavored gum was one of her favorite ways to indulge her sweet tooth.  Her feet made soft thuds against the concrete as she approached the almost empy park as she debated whether to even say anything to the man on the bench.  No one had called in a complaint to local police, and he didn't exactly look like a supervillain. "but I've heard people say I don't look like a supherhero..."She whispered, her own devil's advocate.   She had her hands in her pockets as she reached the white fence surrounding the park. She decided to at least say something, to make sure he wasn't causing trouble. Usually the kinds of people willing to go psycho with weird weapons couldn't make it through a conversation without turning violent.  She stopped as she came parallel to the odd dude, and turned to face him. He was a short distance from the street and her irides widened slightly as her eyes adjusted to bring him into focus which actually made them look more normal. "Hey man., you okay?" She said between smacks of chewing gum not exactly yelling, but loud enough that he could hear her clearly. "I'm sure this is a rouch neighborhood and all, but do you really need a sword in a kids' park?"

The Park, 1995

Dabbler had a faint memory play out in her head about this place. A late summer afternoon at this playground, Samantha and her friend John, two average american children had finished a day of frolick and play. Their families had met at this park to bond and share news, as their mutual church brought such people together. While their parents spoke at length

"Thanks for coming over Samantha. I had fun." John said as they spoke on the bench, munching on some hotdogs.

"You're welcome John, I had fun today too." Samantha replied, switching between hotdog and ice cream.

"Will you come visit again?" The boy asked innocently.

"Of course."

Far off in the periphery she heard a voice. Male, authoritarian. The voice of the man who set Dabbler on her path in life.

"Samantha it's time to go." The voice called out, but the memory was blurred.

"Dad?" Samantha looked around the park. It was bereft of people save for herself and John.

"Honey it's time to go!" The voice echoed again, more clearly.

Present Day

Night time. That girl returned to the place where she made her memories. Samantha Pratt, the alter ego of the Dabbler, appeared abruptly and quietly in the playground, due in no small part to her innate ability to cross time and space as easily as anyone crossed their living room. Even the blue dress, the messy blonde hair and the bare feet on the grass- all the same. Everything else had changed but this place was still the designated public space- though they did swap the ol' rusty play sets with safe plastic ones. Samantha ran her hands over the slide, realizing even before she was taken she was already a bit too old for it.

"Dabbler. Why are we here?" She whispered, half-expecting an answer but received none.

Samantha felt cold, hungry and thirsty, as she usually did when Dabbler 'went away' and left her back in the wheel. Of course, New York being a dangerous and metahuman place, Samantha would notice people were at the park, and not mere civilians. She crept into the bushes to observe.

While she didn't particularly trust herself around other people, her physiology betrayed her easily enough. As she crouched behind Her stomach groaned loudly, easily audible to Sam and Athena.

"No!" She whimpered, and tried to flee but fate would conspire to keep her here. A surface root would end her escape, and she fell into the bush.

In the long run of Sam being a hero and owning this blade he had never once been asked about his sword. The topic had never once came up, no bothered to ask, people just seemed to accept it. Or maybe they were just ignoring it? Regardless, Sam had honestly never put much thought into how having a weapon in public could be misconstrued. It was most certainly a good point, if someone was walking around with a gun or a tank or something they would most definitely have the cops upon them within seconds. There were a few times when he even did that. It just wasn't normal behavior to carry weapons about. It was strange that he had never been called out on this. It was so strange that Sam just sort of blinked at the woman addressing him for a few moments, not saying a word, just thinking about this bizarre situation. Regardless, he'd have to be careful with where he put it. The last thing he wanted was to be referred to as a creep or a weirdo. Either way, he slowly slowly stood back up, dropping the sword on the bench as he went up, and then raised his hands in a very slow and calm manner, trying to show that he was no threat at all.

Finally he shook his head, coming back to reality and away from this question. He smiled at the woman who had addressed him and gave a small shrug, laughing slightly at her joke. "Ah! Ha! Well, you know...with all the gun regulations I am trying to start a new trend and I figured swords were the way to go!" He laughed a bit again and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm kidding, I'm actually a hero! I do work all around the city and this sword is just sorta...well...hm..." He looked down at the sword, thinking again for a moment. Even when he had first received he had tried to get rid of it, but it ended up back in his possession. It was an annoying habit it had, but there wasn't really anything that Sam could do about it, just something he would have to live with. He looked back to the girl and shrugged again, not really being able to come up with a good excuse to give her. "The sword and I are a package deal I guess! It has a habit of staying with me. We're like two buddy cops and we have to stick together or something like that!" He stopped and then blinked at her again, his smile becoming slightly sheepish. "Oh! Right! Sorry!" He walked a bit closer to her and extended his hand. "The name is Samuel Grayson! I heard some rumors about the house across the street so I figured I'd try and investigate what was going on, that sort of thing!" He nodded at her. "And to answer your first question, I'm fine! Just trying to figure out the best course of action." He didn't seem to bothered by the girl's appearance, he didn't seem to address it or even notice. It may have been the lighting, but regardless he spoke in a very casual tone, addressing her like he'd address anyone else. Whether she took the chance to shake his hand or not, he'd pull it back and slip them into his pockets. "Are you here investigating it as well?" He searched the empty street, blinking once, his eyes carrying a certain spark to them as he searched the area. "I don't know anyone else would come here this late at night! Personally I would love to team up with someone, I'm bad at these solo jobs." His smile grew a bit, beaming brightly at the girl. He opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly closed it and turned his head. His smile did dampen, but a look of curiosity still touched his face.

He could've sworn he had heard something from his side? Maybe behind him? He looked around trying to scout the surroundings of the park for whatever made the noise. Sam was unable to place exactly where it had come from, but he had gotten a pretty good sense of the general area it originated in. He looked briefly back to the girl, a slight smile coming back to his face. "Did ya hear that? The noise?" He looked back to the playground, scouting the area. Casually he moved away from the girl and towards the bushes, an eyebrow raised as he searched through the unkempt leafs. "...I'm positive I heard something coming from over here?" From where he was standing he'd probably be off by a few paces from those in the bush, too far to touch, but close enough to see. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground, trying to think of what to do. He looked back to the girl who had first addressed him and waved her over to him, provided she hadn't already come over. "Hey, I think its close to here, I just can't find what made the sound." He rubbed his chin a bit, looking back to the bushes. "It could've just been an animal, rat, squirrel, maybe a raccoon? But I don't know, not sure if you noticed it, but something feels off about this place, right? I'm not just crazy?" This coming from the guy who carried a sword around the city, something he had already completely forgotten about, which was normal for him. If he couldn't explain something he would tend to brush it off and focus on things he could understand. "Might just be me being a loon or something. Probably that!"

Athena reached out and gripped Samuel's extended hand with her own leather-clad fingers and shook it enthusiastically.   "Oh a local hero!" The apprehension had fled from Athena's face the moment he said the word, replaced with an earnest smile. She spoke quickly in the high-pitched voice of a teenager "It must be so cool to be able to teleport!" Athena said as she continued her enthusiastic handshake just a bit longer than most people would. She had connected to the NYPD and read a couple of police reports just to make sure he was who he said he was. A hero is trusting, but cautious after all. Her brain sifted through information so quickly she sometimes let things like that slip out, she hadn't intended to make any kind of point and in fact didn't notice she'd mentioned his power before he did.  " I'm actually a hero too, from California! I am...just starting out though." Athena chuckled nervously as Samuel withrew his hand.    She decided to neglect mentioning she was here to get awarded a phony honor.   "I've had lots of training though!" She added quickly, not wanting to be thought of as an amateur.

Athena leaned an elbow on top of the fence.  The name's Athena, but if we're doing a teamup you have to call me Protocol!" She said, looking towards the house that Samuel pointed out.   "But...what kind of rumors are you investigating exactly? I can't exactly just..."  Athena's head jerked as she turned her head just in time to see the faint outline of a person diving into the bushes.  Where had they come from? This place area had been practically empty moments ago. "Hope it's not a malfunction" She muttered as she took a standing jump and cleared the fence landing on the other side. "Careful, that's no raccoon, at least  not if my eyes are working." Her last statement probably sounded sarcastic, though she was being completely literal. She unzipped her leather jacket with quickly with her right han, revealing more of the white cloth from her turtleneck as she reached out with her left hand and stepped carefully towards the bushes.  "Excuse me sir or madam, are you in need of assistance? I am an officer of the law." she said in a calm, serious tone.

Two people had approached, and Sam could make out a weapon on one of them. She couldn't get away quickly enough, not without Dabbler. Her teleportation power seemed... harder without the witch personality. Like patting her head and rubbing her belly in opposite directions sort of deal.

"Don't hurt me! I... I...I'm coming out." Samantha slowly got herself out of the bushes. She was a sorry mess to be sure, her dress in tatters, her body much too thin and pale for someone her age. "I... I'm Samantha." She deigned to skip her surname.

"I used to visit someone who lived here." She pointed to the totally not creepy abandoned house on the hill, whose gated off perimeter was fogged up.

Samantha's stomach directed their attention to the playground's vending machines. Not just mere snack dispensers, these new generation machines were mini-diners, able to serve hot meals and even sold essentials. The hunger ached like snakes tying themselves into knots in her stomach. With clear hesitation and a drop of embarrassment, Samantha was reduced to begging to deal with this issue. "I'm sorry to impose, but... could either of you spare some money for those vending machines?"

But, in their peripheral vision, a shadowy figure stood in a lit window. Like any haunted house, the figure disappeared in the blink of an eye, making anyone who viewed it doubt themselves.

Sam was relieved to see Protocol's demeanor change. He was a little nervous at first, afraid she was gonna arrest him or give him shit about his sword, but it was nice to see she was more chill and actually really friendly! He nodded at her first comment, grinning a bit sheepishly. He had rarely ever received compliments regarding his power before, it was a good change of pace. More over, it was such a load off his shoulders knowing that he was actually gonna have someone to work with, and better yet, they were a hero too! This was getting better and better! To her comments, before heading to the bushes, he would've nodded, smiling while his eyes lit up like Christmas lights. He would've commented, "Protocol! I love that hero name! I'm still working on my own!" And then would've followed up with. "After this we should totally talk about previous adventures! I would love to hear what kind of hero work you've done!" At her question he would've given a soft shrug, opening his mouth to answer, then stopping when he heard the noise.

Over at the bush, as he searched, he chuckled at her raccoon comment, though he mainly did this to hide his fear of a raccoon actually jumping out at him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the new girl's voice! He hadn't expected to actually find someone hiding in the bushes, he honestly did expect an animal or just the wind or some other lame horror movie excuse like that. He blinked a few times at the emerging girl, still a bit startled, but after a moment or two he relaxed and smiled again. It was a kind and welcoming smile, a very warm kind. He shook his head at the girl, waving a dismissive hand at her.

"Oh! Don't worry! I'm not gonna hurt you and-" He looked over to Protocol, gave her a brief look over and shook his head. "And neither is she! We're both heroes and we're here to help." He lowered himself a bit so he could be on her level or at least seem less threatening. "The name is Samuel Grayson, are you alright? What happened to you?" At her request for money he laughed and nodded, reaching into his pocket and taking out a few bills. He held them out to her, his arm stretched far away from his body so she wouldn't have to get too close. "Also, if you want, I could cook something for you back at my base." He looked over to Protocol. "Or...do you have somewhere we could take her?" He turned his head to the vending machine, ready to say something about the junk food in there, but had to stop himself. Something caught his eye.

There was a figure, or at least, of what he could see...what looked like a figure? In the window of the abandoned home. It was brief, only there for a moment, but enough time for Sam to stand up straight. Chances were this was after the girl had taken the money, but if not, he would've dropped it to the ground. A touch of worry hit his eyes, but he was smiling wide. Something exciting was going on. He looked to Protocol. "I think one of us should probably take the girl away from here while the other goes to check out that house." He motioned over to with his head and behind his back brought his two hands. One with its palm up and the other holding down to fingers. He used his two fingers to walk across his palm and then he pointed over at the house, trying to signify that he saw something move over there. Hopefully Protocol would get the signal, though, thinking about it...it was probably pretty vague.

Athena wasn't sure what she was expecting to crawl out of the bushes but the young woman certainly wasn't it. Living and working in L.A. Athena was used to working with homeless individuals , but something was off about this woman. Her clothes were odd, and it looked like she had been through more than just homelessness. The best place for her was probably a police station, but that sort of suggestion tended to spook people who hide in bushes so Athena kept it to herself.    "Do you live  near here?" Athena asked in a soft and sweet voice with a friendly smile.  "We can make sure that-" Athena stopped midsentence, mouth agape as a puzzled look washed across her face. For a moment she saw something. She would have written it off if she couldn't acess her own memory files. The house definitely wasn't empy. Why were there lights on in an abandoned building in the first place? Athen wasn't sure why it hadn't struck her as odd before. Perhaps she was just excited to meet a New York City hero.

Her face collected itself as she nodded towards Sam and his involved hand signals. "Hopefully my eyes quit playing tricks on me tonight." She said with a soft giggle as she turned towards the building, trying to look through its walls to see who was lurking inside. At first Athena thought her eyes were malfunctioning when she saw only glimpses through the darkened walls before it hit her what she was looking at.  "Wow, lead paint in 20XX? This place must be a dozen times older than I am..." She could see small portions of the interior here and there through chipped and cracked paint, some holes large. She could see movement here and there but nothing clear enough to identify except...on the first floor
Athena could see what looked like a person struggling to break free of something.  "I think someone may be in trouble." She spoke now in a much flatter tone as she turned to Sam. "Make sure she's safe, I'm going to check it out."  

Athena took a single step before jumping off the ground, easily clearing the fance and passing over the sidewalk entirely to land on the street. It almost seemed as if she was jumping in low gravity, except for the part where she quickly hit the ground with a heavy metallic thud.  She ran quickly across the street towards the front door of the not-so-abandoned building, reaching into her open jacket and drawing her sidearm as she approached, a bright blue pistol that stood out even in the dark. It was a bit small, but fit her hand perfectly. She raised her weapon as she shouldered up against the front door which surprisingly was not even fixed shut. Before she bothered to try the handle, just the force of pressing her body against the door caused it begin to open with an audible creak. If Athena had watched any horror movies since her accident it all would have seemed very familiar, but as it was it just added to her curiosity about the strange situation. She peeked around the door that continued to swing open, scanning the darkness. "Hello?" She offered the unwelcoming air of the building as she slowly entered,shoulders tensed and gun pointed to the ground.