Fitting in takes time [Open]

[autumn]

Autumn Hertz, multi-talented actor and dancer recipient of numerous theatre and television awards, feels like one of the city’s inhabitants. Why did she decide Gotham would be the best place to go to jumpstart her career? What is so special about it? Actually nothing remotely jumps out in her mind as she puts on her sleek black jacket and heads out of her house. Gotham may as well be another word for ‘simple’ She flinches and glares at the idea of staying in the “simple” city for a few years and then move on to bigger projects. Although she accepts this thought, she could come to terms with this new city – similar things have happened. Usually she would jump straight into the city, get a read for the business and the impact it has on the city and just love it. But she doesn’t love this one. She represses the thought of taking another catering job. The attention and the power would be nice to have, but judging at how the bosses use them she predicts that her boredom would increase- not deflate. The bus ride is also “simple” only adding to the cringe level.

Her shoulders slouch slightly down as she flashes a relaxing and impressed smile to the other passengers, who promptly ignore her or raise their eyebrows. What is she doing here? The people here are unhappy and dissatisfied, how could she be different? Well for one thing she was different; she had a more interesting lifestyle and wardrobe than the middle-income type men and women sitting across from her. This town was in need of someone bigger, someone who could impress others and inspire confidence: This city needed Autumn Hertz. Though as the bust comes to an abrupt jolt, her bag drops and her focus is lost. She looks at the other passengers for any sign of emotion or pain at least. However as a citizen of Gotham they have a duty to be disappointed with their lives and their cities. She detects this and accepts this faster than accepting that she has to be in this city, only a testament to her vast intuitive skills. While the bus is stopped, a few others get off and an attractive young man gets on and sits next to her.

She doesn’t show her interest yet, partly because of her true morals of being honest and sending an honest image to others. Of all the lectures that her mother gave, that was one that proved to be useful in finding out how she could change herself- as well as how she could manipulate others. Though she knew this city would be a different challenged, she may not have dated in many years but that’s not going to stop the smiles. She feels the need to introduce herself to the man after noticing that he’s watching Grey Areas on his tablet. “What are you watching?” she says in her raspy and low voice, she’s not trying to be extremely flirty, instead relying on her charm, wit, and expertise. She continues with very quickly after the man glances at her and then back at the show. “I’m surprised every day how much the show reaches people. When it was first created, many producers said “No” and their first choice for the lead role was some middle aged bag.” She remembers these moments with clarity, which release a dark-hatred to the topic, it reveals itself heavily. “Though I will say the show’s writing and casting has improved each year. Interesting that one-” As she trails on she notices that the man is gone. However her emotions click in a millisecond as she decides to put on some lipstick. She will grasp things.. she always does..

[Deleted]

It had been weeks since the incident, and now, suddenly, another had arisen. He hadn't had any choice in the matter as he had been viciously ravaged from the inside of own mind, and he could hardly control the nightmare that haunted his dreams. There was only one option, he knew after such a time, and tha was to sit back and go with the ride, because he was strapped inside with no way out. A simple walk had been his objective. He knew it wasn't safe to skip school and head out in the middle of the day like this. Not safe for Gotham' s other inhabitants, at least. He'd hoped to meet someone new, someone that could help him. And after the big scare from the other night, a bit of sunshine was welcome. It never went to plan, as usual. Maybe, if he hadn't taken that shortcut through the alley, he could have avoided such a terrible thing, and the young man couldn't help but blame himself.

His body had locked up, his nerves burning as if some friction tore him from inside. His eyes visibly darkened from blue to red, his senses sharpening, his body growing. And then nothing. A feeling of compression, before the Scourge took control. A laugh rang out, shrill and devilish, growing into a cackle as the demon made his way out into the streets from the alley. He looked rabidly around, spittle falling from pale, tender lips. There. He spotted his target, the scent that had lured him from Jordan's thoughts. A bus, simple, casual, filled with innocent and not so innocent minds all mingling together in one, tight place. Scourge stood there, grinning cruelly as it approached from the other lane. Closer, closer.

He lunged, taking the driver by surprise as he swerved to avoid him, the vehicle teetering precariously before settling to a steaming stop.The sounds of fearful screams nourished Scourge's sick pleasure. The driver was the first to scramble out, screaming curses and spitting rage. The boy grinned up at him cruelly, and as the driver locked his eyes with the swirling blood of his own, Scourge could see how startled he was. His hand shot out to grasp him strongly by the shirt and haul him close, a snicker escaping his maw. "You shouldn't swear. It's rude." Scourge stated darkly, before sudden claws sprung from his fingertips to tear across the flesh of his throat. The driver fell in a choking, sputtering mess, his blood slicking the concrete shiny and crimson. And then he lay eerily still.

[Deleted]

In a place like this, Dr. Ledford probably blends well into the crowd. Perhaps she's dressed a hair more professionally than average - her income is easily enough to cover a car, but public transportation can become more convenient than your own vehicle in a city like this where parking is at a premium. Easier to just hop on a bus or the subway when you know you're probably going to have to walk a ways to get where you're going anyway. But on the whole, she doesn't look much different than the average bus rider.

The only real difference is that instead of actually staring off into space out the window, she's instead merely pretending to do so while she's actually subtly observing the people around her. The bus is a very interesting place - a microcosm of the city. Well, perhaps the extremely wealthy aren't well represented, but a cross section of the working class most certainly is. She notes the woman sitting in front of her and watches the failed attempt at starting a conversation. Hmm, interesting 'technique' - one she'll definitely not try out on Nathaniel later. Resorting to applying another layer of lipstick as if the self-grooming behavior will prevent her from being ignored again is such a classic response it's almost humorous.

But then her eyes suddenly shift as she spots someone running into the road. She's not one of the people who screams as the bus swerves, instead quickly grabbing the seat next to her and the post beside her to keep herself steady as the bus lurches to a stop. Then she watches in silence out the window as the driver goes to confront whoever it was, ignoring the people exclaiming to each other about what just happened in favor of seeing what's happening now for herself.

The suddenness and effectiveness of the attack upon the driver catches her by surprise, but unlike the people who are absolutely stunned to see such a thing, Iris is pulling her cellphone out of her pocket, and holds the number 1 on it to activate it's emergency dialing function. Glancing behind her, she notes that the man one row further in than herself doesn't look completely scared witless, so she hands him her cellphone and calmly but authoritatively says, "Tell 911 where we are and what happened." Since her phone has GPS, the mere fact that she called will be reported as an emergency happening in this particular location, but the details the man could provide might help whoever responds.

As for herself, she figures that she is likely to be more useful doing more important things - most people in an emergency are like frightened sheep, and someone needs to help keep them safe. Though what to do now isn't immediately obvious, so she waits to see what's going to happen next to determine her best course of action. Her instinct is to flee, but for all she knows staying put is actually the best idea. And that's not a decision to rush, even though the panic around her tries to suggest otherwise.

[autumn]

She’s very well shielded from the fact that she’s never had this kind of experience in Gotham, let alone a city. That’s not to say she hasn’t seen crime, petty or not, but this was above crime. This was murder and she sat there looking cool as a statue. She flipped to defensive mode and decided to not move, just breathe. Breathing and relaxation were essential to acting, and in this way, she was acting cool and collected. Autumn’s memory blocked out her panic attacks and the various psychiatric investigations that her mother did on her.

This wasn’t a diagnosis, it was a reaction. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a massive pool of blood slink around the driver’s seat. It seemed all too fast, as if she was in some slasher-horror movie. She liked to watch them, because they taught her that people can be scared and shattered so easily. However her vision is becoming blurred, she can’t hear, she can’t really feel anything… she’s stuck. A few moments after a pinging noise in her head, she wakes up to see a completely stunned bus. People are either out of the bus or under their seats. Why did this have to happen to her? She was now going to be late to rehearsal. A grimace slightly erupts onto her face, but remembering that she is a strong and calculating force to be reckoned with, she has to play the part of the victim. Autumn realizes she is the victim, but she knows that she has to do something.

These people, whose reactions to the event were real and darkly funny, were also like her. They had to accept their ability to survive. A drop of sweat falls down her nose, curious as to why in the winter she’s sweating. The sweat reminds her of a time, during the summer that she had to be taken to a hospital after working too much. The heat had been record high, her father was out playing gold with his “buds and perverts”, while her mother instead decided not to come. She was heartbroken and empathetic at once, a strange combination no doubt. She puts her bag to the side and fixes her jacket, her style needed to be fixed or else this would look pathetic.

She’s careful not to make any sudden movements as she takes out her phone to give the police a call, but instead she decides to text the producer that she will be late for rehearsal. She looks out of the window, it looks so comforting outside and yet she is in a most uncomfortable of situations. The demands of life and happiness, coming at one time and then fading, will have to wait as her instincts come up with a plan to get a name for herself.

[Deleted]

People were screaming. People were fleeing. Cars swerved around the vehicle, a crowd inched closer from the busy streets around the scene. Some people, still seated on the bus sobbed. Others stared in tense silence, shocked. A warm liquid ran down tender fingertips, staining skin a dark red. Blood had splattered the yellow paint of the bus and spotted Jordan's chest. It pooled, steaming, on the cold, black pavement, it's metallic scent rising to Jordan's nose. He shook. The feel of torn flesh beneath his nails made him stomach leap. Jordan had to swallow it down as a cold fear threw spiders across his skin.

"I..." Scourge was still there, hovering near to his thoughts. Ready to leap out again. He could feel the terrible beast lurking. He had pulled back only for a moment, just to allow Jordan a brief glimpse of the destruction. To torture him. To break him. "No." He whimpered pathetically. I didn't mean it. It was the last thought he had before Scourge took over, controlling his limbs like a puppet master.

Fur sprouted from flesh, and his body grew heavy and massive. A howl rang out, feral and threatening as the boy transformed into a beast of horrific features. The monstrous canine glared at the crowd for a few moments, his body heaving, his breath billowing from powerful jaws in the form of a foul smelling mist. The gathering crowd scattered. But Scourge was quicker. The street was a slaughter house. A woman passed by him, attempting to slip from the bus and escape, but Scourge cut her down with a powerful swipe. His teeth clamped into the shoulder of another woman, lifting her into the air to fling her into the bus. The vehicle shook with the force of the impact, her ragdoll body twisting unnaturally as it slammed into the concrete.

Startled cries from the bus drew Scourge back to the vehicle and away from the croud outside. He was far to large to fit inside the bus, but that didn't stop the beast from going after the people inside. Scourge slammed against the bus, his nails digging deep, and shoved the bus off until it crashed on it's side. The sound of shattering glass and more screams filled the air, and Scourge laughed with glee. He lept onto the side of the bus, glaring down at his trapped prey. A child was his next target. That would make the world suffer. That would make Jordan grieve.

His arms smashed through the window to haul the child out, and she sobbed, her eyes wide with fear. Her mother reached desperatly out, but it was to late. With a crack, the child's neck rolled and she was flung away. Scourge looked down at the mother with a cruel grin wrapped around his bloody maw. "She would have grown up to a broken world." He stated in a mockingly sympathetic voice. The woman shook, her eyes wide with shock. Her breath had stopped as she sunk down, and then, when she finally managed to find breath, a sickening wail rose to haunt the sudden silence of the scene.

[Deleted]

In spite of the extreme situation, one person who is definitely not panicking is Iris. What good would it do her or anyone else for that matter if she were to freak out? No, what she needs to do here is think, and running around in terror will not help her do that even a little bit. Which isn't to say that she isn't afraid - she can feel her heart racing as she observes the boy who so suddenly killed the driver - it only means that she's not letting the emotion get too carried away.

Which would be easy to do when she sees the boy suddenly changing shape. That's... irregular. Not unheard of, of course - there are people on all sides of the law that do such things. Then again, it's still rare enough that you don't expect to see it just happen right in front of you. And based on the look of this monster, he's not at all friendly. But, quick to note that he's now too big to fit into the bus, she stays on board. Though she's not yet confident enough in that choice to recommend it to the others who would rather make a run for it. A few of them pay for that choice, but there's nothing Iris can do but grimace and silently hope that those not obviously killed will instead find themselves injured but alive.

But the reason why the choice to remain on the bus may prove to be no better becomes immediately obvious when the creature becomes attracted to it, thanks to the cries of the people around her who aren't as good at keeping their panic at bay as she is. "Hang onto something!" she warns as the bus starts to tilt, following her own advice by grabbing hold of the seat in front of her. Even so, it's hard to keep oriented as the bus is turned onto its side, passengers and belongings being thrown around. In a way, Iris is lucky, as she was seated on the side of the bus that ends up on the ground - a man lands on top of her, but without injury to her except for bruises. And with him on top of her she's well out of reach of the monster.

Of course, not everyone is so lucky - and she looks up just in time to see a child being grabbed. But even though she feels for the girl and the mother, she hasn't the time to think too much about it. Instead she's calling out, "Everyone stay down!" That will make them more difficult to reach, at least, though they're all now neatly trapped in a container and escape from it would obviously be very difficult at this point.

As for herself, she again takes her own advice and keeps low, hiding between two rows of seats on the side of the bus that used to be the bottom. And while there she finds her purse and quickly digs through it. In a city like Gotham it's only wise to carry something for self-defense with you when you go out, and she's no exception to that rule. But she knows better than to carry around a gun - she's not opposed to them, but when it comes to defending yourself it's better to have a weapon you wouldn't hesitate to use than one that you'd have to think twice about. So she pulls out her can of mace and holds it close to herself as she watches the creature for any signs of reaching in again - especially if it's close to her. She somehow doubts that mace would be enough to actually stop such a monster, but she's betting that if she got him in a good spot like the eyes it would be enough of a distraction to give her a chance to run if she needs it.

But mostly she's just hoping that the authorities will be able to get here soon - they have guns. A few of the passengers on the bus might have them, actually - this is that rough of a city - though there may be a question as to whether or not the weapons can be found after everyone got tossed around like that. But however it happens, hopefully the monster will be driven away from the bus before he's able to hurt too many people.

[Deleted]

The wolf grew passive for a few brief moments. He leaned forward, breathing heavy. His eyes closed. The beast parted his jaws only slighty enough as to allow a low whine into the air, like a dog in pain. Than, after a moment, Scourge raised his head to glare into the bus beneath him. His gaze narrowed, and, suddenly, he was moving again. In the distance, growing steadily nearer, police sirens blared. It never took them long to show up. But that didn't mean they always made it during the action. Sometimes, it was too late.

Scourge tore into the bus, peeling it apart like paper until he had ripped a large hole into it's side. He pulled out for a second to replace his powerful arms with his large head, and he took in the screams of the trapped civillians. Scourge gave a low growl as he scanned for the most interesting targets, and then decided they were all interesting enough for the part. He tore the hole larger and dropped half his body inside, reaching out for the people that quickly recoiled to seperate sides of the bus.

The poor souls trapped in the middle were killed first. Tore apart with sharp claws. Some of the bodies were flung into the crowd, staining the innards of the bus crimson. Scourge couldn't fit inside the bus completely, as he was far too big, but anyone within his reach was slaughtered. Scourge continued to tear at the side of the bus, to gain a better reach. His next and closet target was another woman.

Dr. Ledford. He didn't know her, like all the other victims. He didn't care. Scourge moved in for the kill. The man on top of her was flung away like a rag doll as he dove closer for the kill. His teeth snapped for her flesh, saliva flung about from his jaws. His foul breath billowed into her face as he reached out in an effort to drag her nearer, hooking his claws into her shirt and slicing lightly into flesh.

[Deleted]

Iris is not a fighter. At least, not on a psychological level - she'd be quite happy to live her entire life never lifting a finger against anyone. She just doesn't see why anyone ever feels the need to do so, really. Unfortunately, she lives in a world where there are people who for whatever reason don't share that idea. And she's not so idealistic that she blinds herself to that fact, and she's also not willing to die just because she doesn't want to fight.

Hence, though she's not a fighter, she does know how to defend herself. No, she can't say that she's remarkable at it - people who actually train themselves and strange beasts like the one before her are frankly out of her league. Still, she's better than average just because she's had some training. Then again, a little training hardly changes the fact that she's a normal woman with no extraordinary abilities of any kind.

Well, nothing except the ability to remain calm. It's not that it doesn't bother her to see people being torn to pieces and being splattered by their blood. No, it's that freaking out about that would not help her at all in this situation. She can freak out when her life isn't in imminent danger - right now she needs to keep her wits about her so that she can actually think straight.

And right now what she's thinking about is how she shouldn't use the mace she's clutching in her hand just yet. No, she'll probably only get one shot at it, and she'll need it to count if it comes to that. So as the monster tears further into the bus, she simply cowers deeper into the space between the seats. Unfortunately, though they make her more difficult to reach, they also make it difficult for her to retreat to a further point in the bus. But she watches the creature carefully, waiting for her moment. It isn't when he tosses away the unfortunate man who'd fallen on her. No, she waits to make her move until the very last second, as he makes a bid to pull her in for the kill.

Having been cowering away from him as much around, the sudden movement of her arm toward his eyes would probably come as a surprise. But hopefully not as much of a surprise as the unpleasant chemicals she shoots into his face. And even as she does so, she tries to pull away and run out of the seats and away from him toward the end of the bus where a group of people have clustered - trapped, but staying as far away from the monster as they physically can. If she can just make it to them, lose herself in the group, she might be okay.

[Deleted]

Scourge certainly hadn't been expecting the spray to hit his eyes, and for a moment, he paused in his actions, trying to comprehend the burning that quickly intensified. A snarl was torn from his lips as the beast recoiled, bashing his head against the side, now top, or the bus. He reached out in an effort to snatch his prey up through his blurred vision, but only managed to slice through her shirt as she escaped into the crowd.

Outside, the police had arrived, their vehicles screeching around the scene. The sound of a dozen car doors opening, and frantic shouting. All of which caught the beast's attention as the danger zone shifted from the woman that had burned his eyes to the men with the guns. The pedestrians were forgotten as Scourge tugged away from his hole and crouched for a moment, swiping his furry limbs over his eyes in an effort to dry the wetness and ease the pain.

Scourge gazed up, his eyes narrowed, glowing like cauldrons and shining with hatred as they scanned the perimeter. His teeth were bared, and his muscled coiled as he prepared to spring. Throwing his arms out from his side and taking in a mighty breath that greatly expanded the massive beast's chest, his jaws parted until they looked as if they would break, and from them, exploding from deep within the creature's body, a nightmarish roar shook the city.

It started out like a wave, sliding back out to sea, a low, meanacing gurgle that quickly began to grind against something far more terrifying. As the the sound rose to the absolute peak that the creature could have possibly managed, it resonated with a power that shook the whole of Scourge's body. For a few moments, the very air seemed to move with the ferocious sound, before it grew shrill with strain, like the shriek of a tortured wraith, as Scourge struggled to push out everything he had.

The sudden silence afterward was just as frightening. Where you would expect a hail of bullets, the police cowared as they recognized the sheer strength that Scourge possessed, stunned by the sound one could only hear from a horror movie. The poor souls on the bus were probably peeing themselves. The effect, however, would only last so long, as the people around him would gradually regain feeling in their limbs, and they would surely grab for their guns. Scourge took the moment to bolt.

He shot straight forward, leaping far from the bus, to drop to all fours to more quickly reach maximum speed. His limbs launched him up and over the police car that blocked his path, above the stunned, pale faces of the GCPD. Scourge took them in for only a moment before skidding into an alley down the road and throwing himself several feet into the air so that he could climb to the roof tops and make his escape from above.

[Deleted]

When Iris reaches the huddled mass at the end of the bus, it's only then that she pauses to inspect the damage inflicted upon her. Her shirt is in tatters, but she doesn't care about that - she can easily afford another. And it seems that her shirt took the bulk of the creature's punishment, as she only has a few scratches and none of them too concerning. A quick look over by an EMT as soon as the rest of this is over, and she'll be fine.

In the meantime, she can hear the police arriving outside of the bus and sees that the creature is quite distracted by them. At the same time time she's hoping that she doesn't see the monster turn from killing innocent civilians to killing police officers, she's breathing a sigh of relief. While the creature is acting extremely... feral, any sane beast would keep their attention on a true threat once it arrives rather than ignoring that in favor of killing something more harmless. Which means that the danger to her and the people with her is probably over, even though the creature isn't gone yet.

And just as she's noting this to herself, she cringes at the sound that it makes. It doesn't frighten her on a logical level at all, as she knows she's probably past the worst of it herself, and in one piece. But there is an inner, primitive part of her that's somewhat shaken by the sound of a monster that much more powerful than herself. Instinct tells her that she should crawl into a hole somewhere and hide until it's gone, though she's already done that as much as she's able to at the moment.

There's a silent, breathless moment when the sound dies, and Iris abruptly realizes that the beast is gone. And another instinct immediately takes over - certain of her own well-being, she considers that of those people around her. Some are wounded, others are frightened, all are uncertain of what to do. Well, she can fix that. "Anyone who knows first aid, people are hurt. Everyone else, help them," she commands authoritatively. Never mind that she's not technically in charge of anyone here, but frightened people often have a hard time figuring out what to do and a confident voice is all that they need to get them going in a positive direction.

The huddled group around her starts to break up as everyone comes to their own realization that they don't need to worry about the monster anymore and start look out for each other. And if the police have arrived, so likely have the other emergency personnel and they'll probably start caring for the injured the moment they get the all clear. As for herself, Iris quickly notes that while she does have some first aid training, it was a long time ago and she's full of uncertainty about doing anything medical. But no matter, she has other skills - making a quick mental note to brush up on her first aid the next time she gets the opportunity, she gets to work doing something she knows extremely well.

Quickly surveying the people around her, she notes that the most distressed person is a young boy. He doesn't appear to be hurt, but he's trembling and crying from the trauma of what he just experienced. Iris goes to him and crouches so that she's at his level as she soothes, "It's okay, it's over now. The monster is gone and everything is going to be fine now, okay? Just take some deep breaths. Are you hurt anywhere?" As she talks him down from his panic, she can't help but wonder if fate put her in this bus just so that she could be immediately on hand to help the survivors. There are likely to be many physical injuries from this, but the emotional ones are often just as important.