|
   |
In the dark, the fuselage is shrouded in shadows. Only the moonlight and a few city lights nearby bring any visibility whatsoever. For Daredevil, this is no problem. No problem at all. As he creeps through the rundown tube from a 1930s Clipper, he can hear his prey's breathing. It won't be long now until the Devil of Hell's Kitchen finds him.
Dear Diary: It is very, very difficult to find a ride to India. You'd think plane tickets didn't grow on trees.
Stephanie Brown has had a frustrating few weeks, and she's been taking it out on her father's henchmen. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to find a hero to sponsor a trip to India for a share of the credit? Sure, Stephanie's got school and all, but…
One hand: School.
Other hand: Go to India and save a priceless, possibly magical relic that a gang of supervillains want to get their hands on.
At this point, beating up dad's goons is more or less sour grapes. Like, the bad guys probably picked up the relic already. It's been weeks! But Stephanie retains hope as she watches the city from a nearby rooftop. Hell's Kitchen isn't her usual beat, but she knows Lefty Quinn is in that bar across the road, AND that he robbed an old woman's mailbox two days ago. Left deserves whatever she does to him.
Normally Del doesn't snoop around junkyards, but in this case, there was something particularly precious that was left here. So, here she is, rummaging quietly through the shadows to find the thing before anyone else does. Her black suit blends well with the shadows, along with her dark green skin, though it doesn't exactly help when someone doesn't need their eyes to see…
At first there are just a lot of screams that come from the broken down part of the plain that sits off the main aisle of the junkyard. Then, there's a handful of thumps and grunts. Then comes a sickening sound of a snapping bone, followed immediately by another scream. Finally, movement. The body of a thug is literally thrown out into the light, stalked after by a man who looks to be dressed like some sort of devil. "Please! Don't kill me!" the thug screams.
Dear Diary: Lefty can wait.
L'Aubergine swings into action, for a variable value of 'swing'. She attaches her homemade grappler to the edge of the building and lowers herself — fairly quickly — to the ground, then sprints toward the plane, her grappler reeling itself in behind her. She hates being put in a position where she has to save the bad guys, but if they are eaten, they will not be able to face justice. And there will be fewer people for her to kick.
Stephanie Brown is a very angry young woman.
Delphyne smiles to herself as she finds the spear, picking it up reverently as she holds it in her hands. Then she hears the screaming, blinking in surprise as she hefts the spear and runs over towards the sounds, footsteps easily audible in the crunching junkyard.
Daredevil is about to give the knockout blow, but between the footsteps from Delphyne and the L'Aubergine's grappler, he pauses. Perhaps he's about to meet a few of these thug's friends. His pivots on his toe to get into a better position, and then simply waits. The crying thug on the ground seems thankful for the assist.
L'Aubergine comes into view of the plane, cloak fluttering around her and there's a final click from the grappler as the hook sets into place. She tucks it into her belt, then moves quietly toward the man on the ground to inspect him for wounds. "You had better have some serious injuries," she informs him in a gravelly voice, "or you'll have some when I'm done with you. Who's going to eat you? WHO!?"
Delphyne holds the spear at the ready, blinking in surprise at the crying thug, and the other two looming over him, "Now this is rather interesting, indeed. Not too often multiple people threaten the same lowlife." She hops off the junk outcropping, nimbly landing on her feet not too far away.
"H….Him!" the thug explains as he points up towards Daredevil. Now that it looks as though the situation is well in hand, the man in red slides the billyclub back into its slot upon his leg. "This is a very bad man," Daredevil says quietly.
L'Aubergine looks from the thug to Daredevil, back to the thug, back to Daredevil. Briefly she glances at Delphyne as well, then to Daredevil. "Are you planning on eating him?" she asks.
Delphyne smirks a bit, "That seems more like something I would threaten, even though it's not really my style." She puts her spear in a position that's more 'at ease', as she looks between the pair, "Don't think I've seen either of you before."
"Not today," Daredevil says with a tilt of his head. "But I'm eager to see him arrested." The guy is about to cry out in protest, but Matt cuts him off. "Tell it to the girl," he snaps, not meaning the two presently here.
The girl in dark purple utters a heavy sigh, withdrawing one of her own weapons — a wooden broom handle, sawed in half and painted black — and rapping the guy smartly on the head. "Somebody told me that criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot," she says with annoyance. "Add 'stupid' to the list. Sorry to interfere."
Delphyne hrms, "Sounds like something my ex said once." She looks over at the girl in dark purple with a curious expression, then glances back towards Daredevil, "I was just here looking for this, which is a bit of a long story all by itself."
"He's not going anywhere," Daredevil says, seemingly not annoyed at all. More curious than anything else. "Who are you ladies?" he asks, tilting his head towards them.
"L'Aubergine," says Stephanie, still using her gravelly Batman voice. It's a bit high-pitched for Batman, but she's clearly not Batman, so that's alright. She tucks her baton, such as it is, back into a loop on her hip. "And you… Daredevil, I think?" There are as many legends about the Devil as about the Bat, after all.
Delphyne nods, "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Heard about you, never saw you." She glances over at L'Aubergine, and smiles, "Nice name. I'm Delphyne." Because, well, the snakes for hair make a secret identity a bit hard to manage.
"That's me," Daredevil says with a nod. "You two come to Hell's Kitchen often? I don't get many visitors in this part of town. Haven't come across either of you, yet."
"I'm usually in Queens," the girl in purple explains. "And I keep as low a profile as I can." Because really, that's a better excuse than 'nobody knows who I am.' "But I was tracking a thug across the street. Lucky Quinn. Robs grandmothers of their pension checks." She gives Delphyne a nod of acknowledgement, because yeah, she hasn't heard of the gorgon girl, but really, it was only a matter of time. Snakes for hair.
Delphyne hmms, "I tend to keep a… low profile, and my clients are pretty discrete. Though I have had some run-ins with these red ninja types." She makes a bit of a face, "Keeps me busy in recovering relics from them, though."
"Never heard of him," Daredevil replies. Not really helpful, of course, but he's not trying to be rude to the young heroine. Del's mention of the red ninja's, though, brings him a lot of interest. "Relics…The Hand?"
"His boss is in Queens," says L'Aubergine with a shrug. "So far as I know, he avoids operating where you'd pay attention. The boss. Not so much Quinn. I'm sure he'd go anywhere there was a paycheck." Her eyes flick to Delphyne behind the opaque mask. She too has questions about relics — though this 'Hand', she knows nothing about them.
Delphyne nods, "I think that's what they were called… not exactly brilliant conversationalists, though. Not bad in a fight, I suppose, if you aren't an Amazon anyway." She hmmms, "Sounds like this Quinn is a real… what do you say, piece of work?"
"Hmm," Daredevil responds, even stroking his chin as he thinks about Delphyne's words. "Any idea what they would want with relics?" he asks. Then, to L'Aubergine, "If you need any help with it, this is where you find me." Pause. "Well, in the neighborhood. Not the junk pile, specifically."
"Of course," Stephanie agrees. "Actually… I'm looking for a relic too. Some people trashed the MMA last month. I know what they're after and where they're going — and I have no way of getting to India. If either of you have a clue…"
Delphyne blinks, "India? Well… that could be an interesting trip, though I'm not sure how I could get out there." She frowns a little, "What sort of relic was taken?" Then she looks back over towards Daredevil, "No idea what they'd want with them, honestly I'm not even sure what sort of mystical power they actually have. If any."
Daredevil rubs his chin, "India? Well, listen….I know a guy…"
TO BE CONTINUED