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It's closing time, no one should be at Greens Bank — a local, community bank in Brooklyn.
There's no obvious trouble from the outside, it's just a bank.
And then a woman pushes open the door, screaming and trying to run— only for a loud crack to echo through the street and for her to go down, dead, blooody.
She lays there quietly for a full minute before anyone notices, and the man that notices is a man dressed all in black — including a black mask. He's not likely to be seen, because he's high above on the roof. But he leaps and dives, spinning in the air before landing several stories down with a soft thud in a crouch: he seemed to slow at the very last moment. He pulls from holsters on his back two black lengths of metal, batons, and he looks at the woman for one long moment before he decides she's dead. He stalks towards the bank and in the last moment leaps — and then somehow seems to fall to the door, crashing right through it at rapid speed and fall farther within.
Inside are eight goons, all with guns.
As the Night hours rolled in and the woman was shot down, with men all around and the masked man's interesting entrance, an engine revving would be heard in the distance…loud and clear. A '63 dodge charger, black rolled down the street and stopped a small ways from the Bank.
And out came…a rather casually dressed man. Jeans and a Black Leather jacket with decal on it's front, and strangely enough, a long chain wrapped diagonally on his chest. Robbie walked until he reached the body, looking at her for a small moment, realizing very quickly that she was dead. He glances then to the busted down door, and walks in fearlessly.
He looks at all present, cracking his neck. "This all you brought?" he says as he cracks his nuckles, though his eyes were intense and there was no smile on his face. This was apparently a very serious question.
To say the people were surprised to see a man for all intents and purposes fly feet-first through the door to land against the far wall— and just.. stay there, standing on the wall? Is an understatement. Robbie's casual words just throw more chaos into the mix, the goons not knowing quite who to pay attention to. But Freefall doesn't wait before acting. He's running along the wall in an instant, and suddenly a foot-long blade slides out of one end of each baton and he jumps, spinning with almost inhuman grace and landing upon the ceiling as if the ceiling was suddenly 'done' for him, even as a man turns a gun towards him, recognizing a threat, even if its a crazy one.
Recognizing the threat too late as one of the blades slashes out and is pushed down from shoulder into his heart. He falls dead, but Freefall is already moving. Some bullets ring out and impact where he was, but the bad guys seem disoriented by how he's simply absolutely not paying attention to the whole gravity thing.
And doing so utterly silently.
After taking a minute to hear a response only to be met with none. "Good. Time to pay for your sins." he lets out simply, pulling the chain off him with a flick of his wrist as his eyes glowed a flaiming color. His chain suddenly ignited with fire, and he swings it at the gunman closest to him, wrapping around his neck and with a strong yank from Robbie, it breaks his neck. One down. He looks to Freefall, giving him an almost targeted look as he keeps moving, bullets being fired at him as he steals some of the gunmen's attention.
Poor souls didn't know who they were up against. Robbie just keeps walking as their bullets simply bounce off of him. He shoves a gunman and he goes -flying-. almost seven feet in the air in fact in distance, and he smashes against the wall, falling immediately unconscious from the whiplash. Robbie keeps moving, working his way around as another gunman gets used as a human shield to take the bullets for Robbie. It seems he was all business as his eyes glowed slowly more…hellish like.
It becomes quickly apparent that changing planes is a key part of Freefall's strategy. He doesn't stay with one 'down' for more then a few maneuvers before— with grace— he's flipping and changing to another. After the blades slide back into the batons and yet he cracks a man clean on the head so hard he might not survive just that as he crumbles to the ground, he turns to regard Robbie for a long moment with his black-masked face. He nods to the fellow consideringly. The man being bulletproof is a surprise, a surprise that gives him pause; pause long enough for him to take a bullet to the arm — and while it digs into his armor and doesn't quite penetrate, its enough to get his attention back on the matter at hand.
Freefall does a standing back flip, though halfway through it up becomes down and he lands on the ceiling and is in a run, only to this time fall down behind another goon and tap him on the shoulder. He flies upwards, crashing into the ceiling with a loud crunching sound. The man stays there, on the ceiling, crumpled. Hitting the ceiling with your head? Not good. "I think this bank robbery is over." There's only half of them left, after all. "Who wishes to surrender?" His voice is calm, cool, and detached.
Even as the Chaos continues to reign, Robbie hoists a man up by the throat who thought melee would be a fantastic idea, holding him there a moment with a turn of his head to Freefall as he starts to speak, even though he's still choking out the fool. Robbie takes his chain and wraps it around his wrist this time, the flames dying down to nothing. Surprisingly enough, he does seem decently surprised at Freefall's apparent flying ability…or something. He's seen some shit lately.
His eyes lock on Freefall, and he hears a few whispers in his head….'killer…..' is one of the more urgent ones, he narrows his eyes at him. "or…you'll end up like him." the man he strangleholds suddenly catches on fire via Robbie's hand, and eventually…he gets incinerated, turning to dust. "Your choice, asesinos." (assholes)
The last three?
They wise up and run.
Freefall, for his part, does not seem inclined to chase them. He does hold the ends of his batons together, and through some mechanism they seal to become a single staff, and then a staff bladed at each end as the foot long blades come out. The staff spins expertly and though he's standing on the roof, Freefall holds the staff in a ready position behind his back. He stares at Robbie for a long moment, his expression ready, steady, and while it is not an open challenge, it speaks in body-language a single, clear question: Are you my enemy? Without saying a word.
When they run, Robbie follows them with his eyes, turning as if he was about to pursue, his car even pulling itself up to the bank for easy access…but then Freefall catches his attention. He turns his head to him, and stares into his eyes through that mask that Freefall wears. and for the longest moment, they just stand there in silence before Robbie cracks his neck and turns his body to him, his chain falling from his wrist to dangle from his hand.
That may be in fact, all the gestures that Freefall could need..though he could see something. He could almost see flames in Robbie's eyes, though he still looked very human. "Who are you supposed to be?" he asks, though every now and then hsi head turned as if hearing a sound…but it was dead silent by now where they were.
"I am called Freefall." And with that he leaps and spins, and lands back upon the actual ground this time, but there's caution as he approaches the other man. He has to go nearer to him to get outside, "They murdered that woman, and may have killed more. So I intervened. Its what I do, I save people." Though he killed *at least* one today. "I do what others can't because I *can* do what *no one else* can do." There's no fear in his voice as he holds his bladed spear, but there is caution. The man is obviously powered, but still. The flames in his eyes?
Listening to Freefalls speech, his eyes remain locked onto his own. "…." he replies with silence a moment as Freefall approaches him, but suddenly, his eyes grow more fierce and he starts to approach him. "Freefall." he says simply "You save people because you can. That doesnt change the past." another voice starts to takeover, then suddenly a darker voice appears "Murderer."
Then it happens, his skin begins to peel off and catch fire like embers to wood, his eyes glow like the gates of hell rest within them, a skull begins to emerge from his skin with cracks towards the head that only seem like trails for flames to follow. Eventually, all the skin on his head burns away, with only a..malevolent skull remaining, eyes like darkest of terrors. he stares straight at Freefall as if it may as well say 'target acquired'..but instead, he's met with a bone-chilling silence as he slowly approaches him. Methodical in his steps.
There's a sweep of the spear as it comes up between them in a swift, graceful gesture, "Murder is the killing of someone without just cause; I have never killed anyone who did not deserve death for what they have done; I have never killed save in defense of myself, others, or in the name of justice denied." He pauses in his approach when the skull appears, his eyes narrowing behind the mask, "I am justice where the law fails. That is not murder. Name me killer, yes, and I will accept that. And I will name you the same."
The -clearly- supernatural creature before Freefall continues to approach. Cruel, methodical steps, with eyes staring into his own as if he was peering into his very soul. hmmm…no guilt. Perhaps Vigilantism was him already serving his penance? he thought, still approaching, until the tip of the spear itself touches it's chest and only then does it stop moving, staring into his eyes, before speaking in it's cruel voice "Murder is the unlawful killing with malicious afterthought." he states simply, he points then to the dead woman without looking "I claimed vengeance for her soul that roared in it's terror. I avenged one who could not avenge themselves." approaching still, and if Freefall kept his spear against his chest, he might even slide backwards. "But you….you are another matter." it growls at him, looking into his eyes as if reading his very soul. He says nothing right now, meeting him with cold silence. "mmmmmmm." it almost whispers out with a dark tone. Then, suddenly, it turns to look in the direction the robbers went. "Guilty." he says to the robbers who fled, only pausing to turn his head to Freefall…as if perhaps something was influencing his decision…but the Rider was having second thoughts?
Freefall has no idea quite what it is this thing is, but he's seen much in his years, and what fear there is is controlled. He moves back slowly, cautiously, unwilling to give ground but unwilling to put his strength against the … creature, directly. His voice has an edge and he truly feels no guilt, "Tonight I killed at least one: not for the dead woman but for the people here.." He gestures with his free hand to those cowering before their display, mostly at this hour bank tellers. "I have killed one in my life who did not offer threat to other lives: and that one was my vengeance." His voice is fierce on that point, "I claimed vengeance for the soul of my father, against the man who bragged of his murder, but who got off on a 'technicality' and was set free by a system that failed. If that death I am to answer for, then I will answer for it. Without hesitation. If you are the claimer of vengeance, then you failed me/ and //my father, and I claimed what you did not."
Keeps moving forward as Freefall backs away from him. "admittence……" is all he replies, apparently not spurred by comments of hate or rebuke, as if the only emotion this creature needs and feeds on is the strive for 'justice' in whatever form it means to it and as such, his chain falls from his wrist and it ignites, and with a flick of his wrist, the Rider reels back the chain like a wip to be cracked as his arm pulls back, and with no word, it roars at Freefall as he attempts to wrap the chain around the man, hellfire and all! "Your soul…will BURN!" he roars as his final exchange of words it seems….diplomacy appearing to have failed.
It takes a heartbeat for Freefall to react: the very second the chain begins to fall he is already in motion. Falling away towards the far wall at terminal velocity, only to slow quickly before he actually touches the wall at all, landing deftly and in a crouch. He moves, and a hand touches a desk and it 'falls' towards the Ghost Rider with incredible force, but it isn't moving more then an inch before he's running along the wall and then leaping and twisting through the air to land on the true ground. He has the grace and dexterity of almost any human, augmented with an intuitive and complete control of gravity itself.
After seeing Freefall dodge, it follows his movements seemingly rather well…and then a desk get's sent flying at it. Putting both hands on it, it slides back a few feet, but it's like it caught it. He then tosses the desk itself at Freefall, making it catch fire with just his touch to give it an extra kick as Freefall wall-runs. A roar being given at the young man as he avoids the Rider. It says nothing though.
A flaming desk comes flying towards him, but Freefall reorients himself to a sidewall instantly with a quick flip, falling rapidly to it and then running after a heartbeat in a crouch against the wall. As he runs along the side wall, his hand reaches out and grazes a lamp, a desk, a chair, all sent falling at 10G's towards the guy suddenly trying to kill him. Not likely enough to do serious harm to someone who isn't worried about bullets, but problems that need dealing with as he runs for the door.
the Rider growls as Freefall manages to dodge another of his attacks. He's just too fast! Getting ready to leap and spin with a strike prepared with his chain, he seems fast enough to cut down the lamp, but the desk and chair smash into him, causing him to slide backwards into the wall. One problem…it didn't appear to do anything in terms of bodily harm. The specter looks up to Freefall making a dead run for it, and the Rider attempts to use his chain to possibly strike him at least at his ankle if successful! hoping to burn him clearly. He does roar after him as he attempts the strike.
Just as Chance twists in the air and begins falling down, a lash of chain strikes his shoulder, burning through his armor even if only for a moment, but Freefall falls *away*, to the door, at bone breaking speed, and he vanishes through it even as the remnant of a cry of pain is heard when he vanishes out. Outside? He immediately begins falling *up* at a similar speed, even as the pain of the burn becomes something more then merely physical pain.
The Rider walks towards the door, but knows full well he's long gone. He knows he burned him though…though that was not enough. The rider let out a roar of pure, unadulterated rage, rising back to his feet, He returns to the Hellcharger, and enters, the wheels catching on fire as well as the engine. and with a simple push of the gas, the car bolts off into the night, leaving a trail of fire in it's wake…what direction did it go? The same direction the robbers who fled went.
The Ghost Rider hunts tonight.