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The sky was dark and overcast, the promise of a storm threatening the area with a usual summer shower. Thunder rumbled in the distance and while there should have been several hours left of sunlight, it was increasingly getting darker.
The moisture in the air tangled with the leaves on trees carefully planted every so often down the street. Twisting in the breeze that was beginning to pick up. People hurried to whatever shelter they could, be it taxicab, house or shop.
Lorna for her part, was exiting Kaleb's apartment. A glance back over her shoulders toward said young man followed. After the near fiasco of their previous conversation, she'd suggested he come with her to the school. Her car was parked only a little aways and theyd be able to drive over. A grimace followed as she considered the sky, "Maybe we should get an umbrella?"
Beyond them, in the distance, was a deep rumble of thunder once more.
*
Dame d'Hiver steps onto the street, and her gaze goes toward the sky. A small smile plays upon her lips as she neatly pulls a plastic bonnet from her purse to protect her fine golden hair. It's not a winter storm, but it's something at least. She walks by herself, a bounce in her step. The thunder draws another smile from her. This might just be the perfect night for a long walk.
*
Since the last issue with supernatural beasts, Morbius has been prowling the alleyways of Greenwich, keeping his eyes, ears and nose out for further disturbances. The shadowed creature cowled and lurking in a nearby alley to the apartment building, slumped by one of the walls and seated, he's in a state of rest right now in his vigilent patrol.
*
Meanwhile, not really too concerned with supernatural beasties, but flying through the skies of New York, Captain Marvel soars among the rooftops on her patrol. Golden motes of light trail away from her as stealth isn't exactly her strongest suit. She glances around, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary…
*
Kaleb stepped out of the apartment building letting the doorman get the door. It's what they were there for. He had a smart overcoat over one arm, and he paused looking up at the sky. he nodded to her and turned back to the doorman. He must be on good terms with him because the doorman ducked back and gave him his. Mr. Miller, the juniorgave her a nod. "Yeah good call. It's getting dark kinda quick." He bit into a chocolate chip cookie. Squinting at the sky he passed her the other one he grabbed off the table.
*
Rain started to splatter trickling down in fat, warm rain drops and Lorna stepped closer to Kaleb under the safety of the umbrella. "Yeah, summer storms. If we're quick we can make it to my car hopefully before it gets bad." She murmured, tapping her chin in thought.
Down the street, perhaps even more ominously, came a scream. Long and drawn out before it broke off utterly. It echoed down the otherwise silent street. People walking paused at the chilling tones in it's volume, looking around but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Then came the howls.
*
Ninette's path carries her toward Lorna and Kellan incidentally. She tied her plastic bonnet in place just as the first raindrops started to fall. She holds up her hand to the falling droplets and smiles with all the wonder of a little girl. Before it gets bad? More like before it gets good. The scream tears her attention away from the weather, though. She looks around for the source of the unsettling sound. Icicles start to form around her hand and through her fingers. When she notices, she shakes them off and looks around quickly. Did anyone see that?
*
Screams are not unfamiliar sounds to Morbius, the homeless looking figure sat in the alley putting up no resistance to the summer showers as the clouds begin to open up, and only slightly stirs at the scream. Inhaling deeply, something sparks a familiar scent on the wind. What he's been waiting for. The hairs on the back of his neck prickle and the mass of cloth quickly stands, sliding out of the alleyway by the Millers' apartment, howls hit the air and adrenaline hits Morbius' blood. "Run…" The hooded figure rumbles as he passes by Ninette, Lorna and Kaleb, moving quickly in the direction of the disturbance.
*
Carol hears the scream, and pauses as the howling follows it. She suddenly banks and flies down towards the source of the disturbance. Energy starts gathering around her fists, as she looks for the source of both, still flying overhead as she looks back and forth, trying to locate whatever is going on…
*
Kaleb looked up as the first drops started to come down. It wasn't the rain that got to the young sonic though, it was the howl. Pitch, volume, and it filled him withthe dread anyone else in shoes would have: monsters were moving into this kind kitchy neighbourhood and could affect social standing and property value. He murmured just under his breath, "And here we tried to live as far from the Jersey Tunnel for a reason."
His arm swung slightly in front of Lorna as they walked bringing a pause for a moment. He tapped her again withthe quiet gesture of 'take the raincoat'. He didn't move out of Ninette's path, his world circled around him too much to throw it off access now. Morebius though? An eyebrow went up over the sunglasses at the hobo. He looked to the holwl and him and he sighed. "Aww hell. Not again."
*
The streets were, luckily, quickly clearing with the storm's approach. Leaving just a few scattered here or there on the sidewalk. The rain started to pelt down, thunder rumbling overhead as lightning flashed from cloud to cloud. It grew ever darker. Lorna stopped at Kaleb's out stretched arm, glancing at him sharply as the howls echoed down the street. "Kaleb, maybe you should go back inside." She whispered.
Dark shapes appeared at the sides of the street, coming from the alleys. Immediately, there were at least three shapes. One of which was bent double, and the sound of cracking bones could be heard. Blood sluiced down the sidewalk, rushing down with the rain. Another howl, closer this time. Another scream, that while it started out human sounding, morphed into a pained animalistic cry.
*
Ninette stops short of running into Kaleb, and her fingers twitch to pop a little frostbite on him for his rudeness (i.e. not noticing the world revolves around her damn it), but she reminds herself she doesn't do that anymore. She stares at the sluicing blood. Running seems very good about now, but that's not like her, either. She lets out a frustrated sound and shoulders around Kaleb toward the snapping bone and animalistic cry. "Someone help them!" she says in a French accent. This pint-sized living doll in stiletto heels is going to save the day. Sure.
*
Don't worry, Ninette…Morbius plans on helping them. The hooded figure rushes the first of the three figures that come from the alley, bent, tansforming, blood dripping down their limbs—it ain't pretty. A burst of speed the last handful of yards, trying to get there before transformation completes. Morbius wrests his hands from his pockets, spindled, pale fingers splayed wide, razor sharp claws extend. He swipes at the first bent figure, aiming for their throat. Quick. Painless.
*
Suddenly there's a blast of brilliant light, the energy hammering into the figure that was about to pounce Morbius, knocking it back into the wall instead. The source of the blast, Captain Marvel, lands in the alley next to Morbius as she blinks, looking at what's going on, "What the Hell…???"
*
Kaleb furrowed his brow. and ya know, the sardonic and fantastically dapper dressed young man mused, "UMmm Lorna? I don't think they're gonna step withthe doorman." The slucing blood drew a worried frown. Yeah this was super not okay. Why couldn'te terrible things just happen in Hell's Kitchen and stay there? He shoved the coat at Lorna. He had a feeling about this one.
And then Ninette was shoving him forward muttering something in an acent too familiar and telling him to do something about it using him as a human shield? "Dame, je ne suis pas votre cl ture personnelle!" Ya know, any other day he'd happily get into a battle of egos with the woman in the stillettos and have a grand time of it, but that blood and those figures were getting closer.
At the flash of light and the explitive which seemed to echo Kaleb's own thoughts he muttered, "Yeah ya know running could be good." He looked to Lorna almost apologetically (he looked it up once to figure out what it meant) and said, "Might do something really stupid. THey'll either go that way…. or eat my face. You should know though, that was a damn good cookie." Brandishing the umbrella in hand that would, eyah do absolutely nothing, He put two fingers in his mouth, whistles, and ramped up the pitch where it was about to piss off every canine in the next few blocks. Oh Echo, you do not learn do you?
*
Ninette replies as she brushes past Kaleb, "Vous n'etes pas non plus un bloc routier." Ah, that is the Ninette she knows and loves. All this recent kindness has been difficult for her. Once she's moved out in front of Kaleb, she says over her shoulder, "Epargnez-vous!" Ice crystals form on her hands again, and frost starts to creep up her delicate, slender arms, ready to put the freeze on anything that comes out of that alley.
*
The twisted figure of a wolf was blasted into the wall, slumping down from Carol's blast. Out of the gloom and rain came running two more of the creatures, upright and running on two legs, it lunged out of the dark at her and Morbius. Teeth gnashing with a snarl. Drool slaked it's mouth and teeth.
The other went directly for Morbius with a howl.
Lorna took the offered raincoat, slinging it on over her summer dress. Her gaze flickered toward Ninette briefly, "Uhm maybe you should run and get away miss!" Then she was clapping her hands over her ears as Kaleb moved to release some sound. Only to let her hands down when it didn't hit the right frequency she could hear.
However the werewolves assuredly heard it. One that had been ready to make a snack out of Ninette halted mid lunged, falling onto the side walk with a snarl and a whimper. It was clearly only partly transformed, the hints of a ripped skirt and shirt were still visible from over the fur and blood that dripped over the flesh.
*
Morbius recoils as a blast of /light/ goes off beside him and takes one of the nearby creatures with it. Recoiling with a violent jump backwards, panic hammers in his chest, a shocked, pale face turns to Carol when she lands beside him. "Werewolves. Abnormal werewolves. Kill them." The man's sanguine eyes glow dimly, glancing past Carol, he rushes again, barely a blur while that whistle goes off again and ice lances past them into the alley. The creature lunging in Morbius and Carol's direction halted with another heartless upwards slash of Morbius' clawed hands, right for its throat.
*
Captain Marvel blinks in surprise, "/Kill/ them? Shouldn't we try to cure the-HEY!" Before she could finish, the werewolf coming at her pounces at her, taking her by surprise enough to carry her to the ground. Then it flies into the air as Carol kicks out, knocking the werewolf back into the wall, "Damn, faster than I thought…"
*
Kaleb had eyes the size of saucers. Did he see them before? Yes. Did it make the smell any more bearble? No. Did it make them less terrifying? Absolutely not. Was he lamenting having a balcony room in the summer on this side of the building where the smell could permiate his place? Oh it was an absolute certainty. It was, however, slowing the person entirely out of control of their faculties take pause and that was all he could hope for. No one could hear, which was a good sign. Hey if people were alive to grouse about a mild headache later all the better. Until then he just laid that frequency in that direction to buy people time to run or deal wiht it or wet themselves or whatever it was the public did.
*
Ninette's eyes widen when she gets a look at the thing lunging out to attack her. When it gives her a few borrowed moments by graciously keeling onto the sidewalk, she shrieks and steps back, balanced on those precarious heels. This heroism stuff is brand new, and she's still not sure she likes the way it looks on her. "This is a person! Mon dieu, what's is going on!?" She hods out an arm as she steps away, totally mom-arming Lorna and and Kaleb. "Run for your lives!"
*
Blood splattered from the wounds gouged into the werewolf's throat by Morbius. A gurgle and the werewolf collapsed where it had fallen. A snarl followed and the one that Carol had blasted, came surging forward once more. The smell of burt fur and hair thick in the rain soaked air as the injured werewolf came tumbling back to attack at Morbius and Carol once more. Those that remained outside, at least on this street, seemed to only be our intrepid heroes. Thanks in large part to the rain and to Kaleb giving them enough time to flee with his dog whistle.
Thunder echoed above and lightning cut the sky.
As Ninette put an arm up to block Lorna she huffed a breath. "They're werewolves. We've dealt with them before. I'm not running, but thanks." She waved her hands, pulling up a lamp post to wrap it around the partially transformed woman that had fallen at Ninette's feet.
Rain soaked over her quickly as she stepped out from under the umbrella that Kaleb held.
*
"They are beyond hope," Morbius shouts over the din to Carol, his voice a dry, animalistic growl around his own Greek accent, eyes glowing red under his hood, which is only staying down by merit of the rain gluing it to the top of his head, stringy, wet curls of black hair dripping rivulets of rainwaters stained red. "The focus is to stop them from infecting more!" Morbius' hand flicks to his side; a sickening red 'squelsch' of noise as a handful of gore drops to the pavement. The injured creature charges Carol and himself once again, Morbius' mouth opens, lips peeling back to extend a vicious set of elongated canines as he hisses at the charging animal, his voice crackling with a guttural growl/screech. He gives Carol that split second to blast it again before he charges.
*
Captain Marvel doesn't hesitate, blasting the werewolf back again, "I refuse to believe there's no cure for this! Hell, an alien gizmo gave me my powers, there has to be a way to fix this!" She is perfectly content with blasting or punching these things back, but she's not going to take the killing blow.
*
Kaleb tried to keep the rain off of him vowing silently to himself that if they survived werewolves only to get struck by lightening? He was haunting someone. There would be SUCH a haunting.
Ninette started jostling him and he looked to her, trying to not break the frequency that was keeping his vet from getting ruined. He flashed a looke from her to Lorna and tried like hell to split the frequency leaving the one high to keep the wolf thing held and try to start forming a much lower, audible one with a sound. Maaaan this was tricky.
*
Ninette looks to Lorna, nods once, then moves out of their way, falling in beside rather than blocking them. To her credit, she doesn't take this as an excuse to turn tail and run. She stands her ground. Just. Not in their way. The rain coming down has her arms coated in ice from the elbow down. Wicked looking icicles have formed spikes from her fingers, and her lips have frosted over blue beneath her matte lipstick. Around her, the air is cold. Not freak summer storm cold. First day of winter cold. She lunges forward, trying to smash the ice over the wolf's head. She doesn't want to kill whoever it is, but bad doggy, stay down.
*
The wolf attacking Carol is blown back once more into the street, pavement and spreading blood and chunks of fur as it rolls to a halt and remains still for the moment. The other werewolf was climbing up to its feet, the throat knitting back together with sinew and blood spilling over. It snarled without vocal chords yet, and charged once more.
This one had the remains of jeans around its waist, but other than that, had no signs of its previous form.
Lorna glanced sharply at Ninette, shivering in the rain as the temperature drops around the other girl. She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing down the street to eye Morbius and Carol. They seemed to have the two monsters in check at least. Turning her focus back to the werewolf bound and whimpering she glanced toward Ninette. "Be careful." She cautioned as the woman slung ice down on the wolf's head.
A pained yelp escaping from the creature as the ice slammed down into its head.
*
"Not everything can be fixed…" Morbius straightens as Carol blasts one beast back again. When the first downed beast comes back again, quick as a blink, the vampire beside Carol rushes forward to swipe at the healing monster's throat, the other plunging knife-handed into the werewolf's thigh, trying to tear apart vulnerable arteries. "…not everyone can be saved." Dripping blood, Morbius winces as frequencies in the air shifts, he waits in close proximity to the monster before dropping it again just to heal once more. "The danger is too great. I have found no cure yet." Morbius turns back to Carol, glowing red eyes staring into the woman's, his face still twisted into a feral mask. "I have not given up. But these cannot be helped." Cold, he pulls his hands from the werewolf's body and with fingers splayed, he slashes viciously at the creature's torso in rapid, gut-rending swipes.
*
Captain Marvel frowns, then suddenly flies at the charging werewolf, giving it a vicious uppercut to snap its head back, then following that up with a solid punch to the midsection that sends it flying back. Then she shakes her head, "You'd think after being to the Lands of the Dead this wouldn't weird me out." She then glances down and looks at her arm, noticing that her sleeve got torn in the scuffle so far.
*
Any other day he might cheat a tad and just sonically berrate the creepy thing was that tried to hurt him until it passed out. It would also mean that all the gladd on the block would shatter and he really didn't want his view out his window to look like a warzone, or to have a house full of exploded glass. Also might freak out his roommate who aalready had to deal with that at his last flat. Hey sometimes there were thehints of actual consideration there. For now? Cicular breathing was his friend though even for musicians that gets old after a time. He did back up a bit because there was no reason to keep the gap that close
*
Ninette lifts her hand to bring her ice-fist down on the werewolf again, then stops herself. It seems pretty damn well subdued, and she's not interested in tormenting the poor thing. With a glance to the alley, she defers to Lorna, and says, "What do you need me to do?" Because Lorna is uprooting lampposts. This puts her in charge of the sidewalk crew in Ninette's book.
*
The werewolf that Morbius attacked snapped teeth at the vampire, snarling and biting even as he speeds around the teeth and claws and goes for the throat, ripping out healing vocal chords and innards. More blood splattered all over the two, coating the ground and rain even further. The werewolf went still.
The werewolf that Carol attacked went flying back, crashing into the nearby building and cracking brick and paint, sending cracks spreading even to the windows above.
It looked like the werewolf bound by the lamp post wasn't going anywhere, especially after being smacked again by Ninette's ice. Lorna glanced up, settling a hand on Kaleb's shoulder. "Hey, I think we've got them. I'm going up there to try to bind the others, okay?" She nodded toward the two wolves that looked to be handled between Morbius and Carol.
A glance was spared back to Ninette. "Right, okay, watch our backs. Make sure nothing comes out of those alleys." She nodded toward the two alley ways on either side of the road that separated the tall, stylish looking buildings on either side, before Lorna took off toward Morbius and Carol, her green hair plastered to her cheeks as she splashed her way down the street, flinging her hands up and pulling up lamp posts as she went.
*
|ROLL| Morbius +rolls 1d100 for: 69
*
Morbius growls and tries to keep his head back as the werewolf in his hands, bleeding all over him, snaps and swipes and tries to tear him apart. Claws catch on his jacket, tearing portions to ribbons, blood spatter clings to the struggling werewolf's claws. Not until he is still does Morbius growl, squeeze and release the body, looking a little shaken, but still in one piece as gashes in his arms and shoulders heal. He turns, watching Lorna uproot two light posts and recognizing her from the first night. And the spiders and…well…how she reacted to him the last few times, the vampire backs up a couple paces into the crimson wash of rain as it slicks down the street and into the sewers.
*
Carol looks down at her arm, then blinks a bit in surprise as she sees the torn fabric there. "Think I'm going to need a new suit. Guess it wasn't designed to be werewolf-proof." Her lips quirk in a wry expression, as she looks from Morbius to Lorna and the others, "Hey, you all okay over there?
*
Kaleb was happy things were knocked out or, well he didn't want to consider pile of carcasses on thestreet. He nodded catching the directive from Lorna that she was going to go wrap a Buick around a monster. Mental not: she can fold it like a pretzel. Yeah let's keep that factoidsomewhere in teh frontal lobe. Rain pounded the top of his umbrella until he just turned it off. Not the umbrella, but the pounding noise generated from teh rain. His arm tensed but he had that one. THat wa reflexive.
Carol drew Echo's attention though and he called out to her keeping it casual, "Hey, You get cut or bitten or licked at or anything? Might be communicable. That guy might know about gettin that checked out though." The bottom of the umbrella gestured to the alley towards the pasty hobo, Morbius.
*
Ninette nods sharply to Lorna, and she turns toward the two alleys they have their backs to. She steps away from the pair, giving them reprieve from the coldness rolling off of her. She's not a strong woman, and her fists are rather tiny, but the gathering ice on them still wouldn't feel great upside the head.
*
Thunder rumbled, and wind picked up as Lorna made her way down the street as carefully as she could. With one hand thrown out at the werewolf Carol had tossed, she wrapped it up with the lamp post. A glance spared toward Captain Marvel and she grinned wetly. "This is going way better with you here, we got lucky." She offered, "We're okay over here. We ran into these things before." She frowned, "If it's anything like in the stories though.. I'm kinda worried. There was only one last time."
It came like a train, a fourth wolf, springing and running down the road like a bullet train. The beast didn't howl or snarl, not as it charged after Ninette, making to clamp needle like teeth down on the woman's shoulder and shake her to the ground. Then, it was off, barreling down the street in the pelting rain.
*
Morbius remained off to the side as Lorna did her thing, the rain washing away more of the gore on his body until he was just a soggy looking hobo with slashes now all over his jacket. Sigh. Keeping an eye on the matter at hand, some of the beastial nature washed out of the man's features, eyes began to dim until they faded into nothing, remaining red but pupils reappearing to add a little bit of humanity to him. He nods to what Kaleb says. A delicate roll of his 'r's adds subtle emphasis to the gravity of his words. "/Yes/. It /is/ communicable. If anyone has injuries—" That final wolf bolts out of nowhere and Morbius starts. The reek of blood too great in his nose to have seen that one coming, the accented man's eyes go wide with horror as he watches the beast bear down on Ninette and fall on her. "Ochi!" Off like a bullet, Morbius bolts in that direction, but stops short when the wolf bolts away again, reaching out to either catch or steady the attacked woman.
*
Carol looks down at her torn sleeve, but her skin underneath is completely unmarred. "Well, whew, looks clear. Just surprised was all…" Then she sees Ninette get attacked, and since Morbius has her under control, she goes from Zero to Hypersonic, shattering a few windows in her wake as she just slams the werewolf into a brick wall, making sure he isn't going anywhere.
*
Kaleb dove out of the way dropping the umbrella. Man that was super close. Super- nope, the winter witch just got bit. When Morbius looks over at them he called out, "Go!" Apparently he had this. He stood up as if he was half step scrambling back over to Ninette. Mid stride the Sonic felt it; that acute thrum in pitch and frequency and went wide eyed. HOLY mackrel! Captain Marvel went hypersonic that way amd he stepped over Ninette in a gesture to 'catch' and deflect the sound. Nanette could wait, his wondow could not!
Noooo! Not his stuff!!!
Echo's teeth ground together until they squeaked; both hands went up as if to catch the world's largest invisible beachballtrying to pull that wave back at the last second. Glass this way started to just explode out in a fashion he knew alltoo very well. He cried out mutely as the tinitus presssed into his eardrums until every thought had it's own echoing pulse in his head in THX surround. And then, wrestling for that half fragment of a second, blocked the building, his 'the building' before forcibly pulling that excess energy to ground with a much lower rumble like a heavy truck was driving through there.
He wobbled and leaned setting one hand on the concrete for balance, exhausted, and winded. He did it. He saved what was important.
Someone should look on Ninette though.
*
Ninette belts the werewolf with her icy fist, and while it's not fun, it's hardly as damaging as it would be coming from someone stronger. She's got the ice, and the will, and maybe even a decent left hook, but it's just a distraction, and the wolf is able to shake her like a rag doll and throw her on the ground. She screams, and she clamps a hand over her bitten shoulder. The fashionable dress is a lost cause, but the bloodied and torn flesh beneath is the greater issue. Frost forms on her fingers. She all but freezes the wound in a vain attempt to stop the pathogen and an effective attempt to keep herself from bleeding out. Ice bandage. It's all the rage. She hasn't shivered from the cold at all up to this point, and the trembling now has nothing to do with it.
*
Lorna is knocked over by the Carol's sudden flight by toward the wolf, she falls to the ground, slipping and rolling, skinning her knees and the palms of her hands until she manages to catch herself on the rain slick road. It was pure luck that she wasn't covered in shattered glass from the nearby buildings as she rolled to a halt in the drainage of the road.
Carol's slamming the werewolf into the building lends to even more property damage and the creature snarls, flailing in her grip as it gags at the grip on its throat and tries to bite at her in vain.
Lorna gets up, finally, dazed, as she rushes over toward Ninette. "Oh my god." She rips off her raincoat, looking over the poor girl. "It's okay. It's okay—" And of course there's ice. And her brows shoot upwards. "Well damn, that's useful." She mumbled, her gaze going to Kaleb. "Are you okay?"
*
Kaleb barks that confident remark to Morbius and the vampire nods once to the young man. He's got this, right? Totally got this. "/Watch her/. Do not let her leave!" What happens afterwards between the group is lost on him as the vampire runs at a blinding speed, though not nearly as fast as the Captain, running in her wake, the force of it absolutely incredible, he arrives to where she's crashed the last werewolf down precious seconds later.
*
Carol Danvers tosses the werewolf down and pins it by the throat with her boot, her fist glowing almost as bright as a star as she just says, "Try it." Her eyes are hardened, as she glances over her shoulder towards Morbius as he approaches, "Think a live captive could help you figure out some sort of cure?" Sure, he's a living vampire, but he knows what the hell these things are. Cure first, worry later.
*
Kaleb called out to Captain Marvel with a terse tone that he mailed over there like it was tied to a sonic carrier pigeon. "Hey! Someof us live here! Hit em withthe road or something." He didn't drive, the roads were not his concern.
At the request from the aenemic super hobo, still Morbius, Kaleb called back, "Stay put. Sure thing." He looked like like he'd been slapped hard, but otherwise alright and only aa bit dazed. He squint at Lorna trying to make out what she said and muttered, "Yeah. Fine, I'm… fine. She ain't. Nothing fell on us luckily." He paused and looked her over. "You?" The slamming of werewolf into masonry? That had to stop and a hand extended in that direction to just keep the bulk of that noise all over there and fianlly, mercifully she did just that.
Kaleb let Lorna actually take a go at playing triage nurse in the rain. He had no doubt she knew more than he did. He offered to Ninette, "Reste ici. Nous pouvons t'aider. Ce gars est m decin de quelque chose." He wasn't watching her though he was watching the line of the building for number five if there were a number five. Well at least he wasn't one to exaggerate. He was both an awful person, and pretty adept at French. Sometimes more the for- okay mostly the former and occasioanlly more the latter.
*
Ninette is sitting up and trying not to hyperventilate. Trying. "It's all right," she tells Lorna, her accent thick and her voice pitched on the edge of panic. "It's all right. It's just a scratch. I won't get sick. It'll be all right." At least the ice has caused the wound to stop bleeding. She smiles weakly at Lorna and says, "The ice, it started happening when I was sixteen." She nods to Kaleb quickly, her lower lip trembling. "That man said there's no helping." She nods toward Morbius. "Don't let him hurt me."
*
The creature in Carol's grip continued to struggle, snarling and thrashing. It didn't respond to her words, or her threat. It seemed, for the moment at least, an unthinking creature. Other than the proof that it had sat in ambush waiting for a moment of distraction before pouncing on Ninette. With every indication that it had hit to change not hit to consume her.
Lorna glanced back toward Kaleb, "I'm fine just a little scraped up from falling on the pavement." She grimaced faintly, looking over the ice on Ninette's shoulder curiously. Her green hair plastered to her cheeks and she had to blink hard to keep the rain from her face. The storm still going full blast. And likely why no one else had been out to get hurt, or why there was no sign of cops. Yet. But time would run out eventually.
Lorna smiled weakly at Ninette. "Hey, I know a guy. He's a doctor, like us. He can heal you. I've seen him heal a person back from the dead. He can heal this. I know he can." She patted Ninette's arm gently, where ice wasn't all over it. "But I'm gonna need you to trust me, I'm gonna take you to a safe place and he won't be able to hurt you." She whispered, "Give me your hand and we can get out of here."
*
Morbius stands beside Carol, nodding curtly as he grabs for one of the beast's flailing arms. "I have one. I have been running tests…they have shown little. But the subject is not human, it's a dog. Yes, a subject from this last leap to species would be best. I need to /speak/ to them." Morbius eyes the cut in Carol's uniform anxiously. "Were you harmed? You and that woman should be observed. Five days. Five days since the last attack. I need to confirm these were the souls from the first attack to confirm incubation." To confirm how much time they have left, he means. A nervous glance down the way toward the others and the other wound werewolves. "They regenerate. We need to remove them from the street. I can secure them." His confidence says he's telling the truth. His jacket says he lives in a cardboard box.
*
Carol lets Morbius grapple the beast, and shakes her head, "Didn't break the skin, but if you insist, that's alright. I'll keep an eye on that, though I think the other woman there." She nods towards Ninette, "Is in more danger." She hrms, "I'm pretty strong, I can keep them subdued if you need the help, ah…" She looks at Morbius, tilting her head, 'Who are you, exactly?"
*
Kaleb kept tabs on the other converdation and Ninette's short story was sounding too familiar. A few scrapes though? He nodded wiping his wet hair out of his eyes. "Good." Yup, not the friendliest of young persons, but he went so far as to ask and corroborate her story saying flatly, "Yeah she's weirdly not terrible." HIt wa sort of even like a compliment. The corner of his mouth turned up in faint amusement at that.
Did he question her about if she thought the Doctor she knew of could fix it? No because she wouldn't have said as much if she thought otherwise. The words 'observed for five days.' and 'incubation'. Was he a doctor? Not even close but that didn't stop him from having an opinion on the bit mutant. He stood up and looked back to Morbius not knowing what the hell he actually was but it sisn't matter much when one was a bit of an overzealous mutant nationalist. "We got this. This isn't over. More people are going to ruin our afternoon. Again." Way to undersell it, Kaleb. "We got our own, worry about the live one." Bossy little cuss. Defiant, soggy, and not about to see other mutants go under any sort of 'observation' for science and science alone.
*
Ninette nods slowly to Lorna. "Okay," she says. "Yes, please." Her English is usually so good, but at the moment, she's reduced to simple phrases and taking a moment to suss out the words spoken to her. "I go with you." She struggles to her feet. Under her breath, she murmurs over and over, "Ne le laissez pas me blesser." The ice starts to ease up around her, and the temperature rises, making it no longer horribly unpleasant to be around her.
*
Lorna glanced back at Kaleb. "Get back inside, we don't know if there's anymore of these things. I'm taking her to a safe house." She pursed her lips as she glanced back at Morbius and Carol. They clearly were man-handling the furious werewolf well enough. The other two that she'd wrapped in lamp posts were still there. Alive and bound. The third… She froze, her eyes going wide as she stared through the rain where it had been. It was gone. Not even a mark on the road to show where its throat had been ripped open.
"HEY! It's gone! The last one is gone!" She called, and leaned to grab Ninette's hand. "C'mon I'm getting you out of here." Here's hoping that she could levitate in the rain to her car at least.
*
The torrential rain slicking off of his harsh features, Morbius looks up at Carol from his crouched position, the whole of his eyes red in an inhuman fashion. "My name is Doctor Michael Morbius," not credentials he normally throws around, but he needs her to believe he knows what he's doing. "I am a biochemist." And I drink blood. He also leaves that out with another anxious glance down toward the others and bossy Kaleb. "We need to move. There will be others alerted. Someone needs to watch the injured." His eyes flick back to Carol. "Irritability, irrational rage…watch for these things in yourself." He cringes while he watches the group right Ninette, eyeing Lorna down the street. "The girl with the green," Morbius gestures to his own head to note her hair. "She is terrified of me." Then looks to Carol again. "They will not let me come near. Can you watch them? I can manage the wolves. I have…friends, near."
*
Captain Marvel nods to the doctor, giving him a smile, "Pleasure. Captain Marvel." Which, well, if you watch news or the like, is pretty obvious, as she hmms, "Think I might make them a bit nervous too, but I'll hover from a good vantage point to intercept anything." And with that, she flies up into the air, hovering about fifty feet or so above the group while keeping an eye for trouble.
*
Kaleb looked back to Ninette and said with a mutter, "Personne ne vous fait mal aujourd'hui ou nous aurons des mots. Lorna vous aidera." He picked up his coat which wwas now begging to be drywashed. He looked to Lorna and squinted at her and said, "Call me. Keep me posted?>" There might be something else he had but he flicked a hand waving them off, "Go. She needs help. I'll handle the cops. Cops I got."
*
Ninette lets Lorna lead her. A slow trickle of blood starts from her wound once it starts to thaw, but she just frosts it over again. She doesn't freeze per se, but the cold does slow down the flow. Kaleb gets a mute nod. She's not even shoving him or snapping at him. Shock might be setting in. "I am Ninette," she tells Lorna, haltingly as she sucks in a breath from pain. Oh, that shoulder's going to be fun once she's no longer numbing it. "Ninette Laurent. Thank you for helping me."
*
Lorna flashed Kaleb a grateful look, darting over to him in the rain to try to give him a quick hug. Then she was off before he could so much as respond, making to take up Ninette's hand in her own. "Alright, just hold onto me. I'm Lorna. My French really isn't so good, so you'll have to be patient with me." She flashed the young woman a smile, and up into the air they went to Lorna's car.
*
Morbius watches with gut-wrenching uncertainty while Lorna and Ninette flee, though he has the nod from Captain Marvel. He tries to trust in it. Murmuring to himself something low in Greek, shaking his head lowly. It'll be a little disquieting to Kaleb, undoubtedly. Morbius moves with terrifying speed through the rain, hefting up the bound werewolves and bringing them… somewhere. Honestly, it's hard to tell because one moment the figure is there next to the werewolf, the next, they're gone. One at a time in torrential rain until Kaleb stands alone. The blood washing out of the street.
*
Kaleb blinked at Lorna as she hugged him and really did not know what to do with that. So he did what came natrally which was deflect and get bossy. "Ooooh mygod, GOooooo." Well they were going to be in good hands and there was zero he could do there. He turned and watched Lorna and Nanette go. He put his coat back on not that it was much of a help as he was already soaked but he'd be damned to look 'out of sorts' when the police arrived. He walked over and picked up his umbrella giving it a faint shake before holding it overhead.
By the time he was done Morbius had gone strangely as he arrived. He took a deep breatha nd waited to tell them the best story he had on hand that htey'd believe because he said so: Captain Marvel stopped some crazy burglars in ape suits who had an explosive. She was heroic and this is totally the safest neighbourhood west of the five borroughs. Sure. That'd work even though the woman almost broke his house and… he supposed daved their hide. Yeah he could do that.
His hand dropped into his pocket and he had to wonder why everytime he tried to have lunch there was threat of a body count. New York isn't what it used to be. Deep down- wait that's not feelings, that's a cookie. He pulled it out of his pocket and finished eating the last of the ones he'd grabbed. Heate it and spent the rest of the waittrying to measure how far out the sound was. Too far. What are we paying these cops off for anyways?