10147/Another night in Gotham

Another night in Gotham
Date of Scene:	22 November 2019
Location:	Upper West Hill, Old Gotham
Synopsis:	Buffy and Selene team up to fight a lycan..Before a stranger delivers an explosive message from the Master.
Cast of Characters:	Selene (Underworld), Buffy Summers, Dracula

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Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Its a cold night tonight in Gotham, there's a light snow fall but its not quite sticking to the ground as it might be in another month or so. Right now the streets are wet and the snow is disolving into that. The sun is down and the air is growing colder though, so it may yet freeze over tonight and create quite a winter wonderland come later into the night.

Not too far from Blackgate penitentiary there's a series of buildings dedicated to storing goods for Blackgate. Its here that a fight has recently gone down, within the past 30 minutes. There were gunshots, though only a few and they were quick and to the point... rang out and then followed by silence.

Now, in the darkness between the looming buildings, there's a warm glow of a fire and a single person standing beside it. A woman, dressed all in black, her eyes are down upon the fire and what appears to be burning on the ground are three bodies...

The white powdery snow is falling all around her as she observes and monitors the bodies as they burn.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers had grown used to the regular commute going back and forth between Gotham and Sunnydale every weekend. Not that she was enjoying the extensive travelling, but at least it was turning into a regular enough habit that didn't disrupt her life. Too much.

Once she had got classwork out of the way, she was thankful to take a nightly stroll throguh the Gotham streets - pardon, a patrol - that somehow led her past the Blackgate Penitentary area..Okaay, maybe not a total coincidence, afterall, she's used to the hotspots of crime in Gotham right now, and while she'd prefer to leave regular street crime to the police, similar such places seemed to attract vampires and other demons and creatures of the night as well.

The sound of gunshots causes her to quicken her pace, following the sound as well as her slayer instincts, moving swiftly over freshly fallen snow with the speed and agility of a cat. when the gunfight suddenly ceases, she freezes a moment, senses alert for whatever might be out there..

She wasn't expecting to spot a lone woman standing over three bodies that seem to be the source of the bonfire..Okaaay, this is totally not good.

Dracula has posed:
There are no wolves in Gotham City. A coyote maybe.. perhaps a fox? Regardless the distant howl piercing the city's busy night sounds is no doubt out of place. Most people probably don't give it pause, after all this is one of the busier parts of the city, and people simply don't pay attention. A few certainly do raise a brow but there is a sense of safety here, even with the higher crime rate. Some clouds appear on the horizon, not too strange, except that there wasn't any rain scheduled for tonight. Fickle weather huh?

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's pale skinned face is illuminated by the glow of the firelight that is burning the three bodies away on the alley floor. The distant wolf howl causes her eyes to raise up and look off to the distance, but then the realization that someone was approaching draws her eyes in that way...

Toward Buffy. Selene stares at the young woman as she draws nearer. The girl doesn't appear to be the type of person who should be found in a location like this at day time hours, let alone at night. That suggests super powers, or a deceptive appearance.

Selene shows a glance toward the bodies burning upon the ground... there's no hiding them... then she looks back to Buffy. "They were murderers." Selene announces to the girl before she has to ask. "They've been put to rest, as they've deserved to be." She tries to offer some measure of explanation for the blonde, if its enough for her? Who knows.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers narrows her eyes, focusing on Selene. Her. She's met her before, briefly. In a dark and crowded night club. Her slayer sense alerted her to something unusual, but it was too busy and distracting to pay attention to her at the time. Now however, it's pretty damn obvious (to Buffy at least), that this woman is a murderer.

A vampire. Or worse.

The woman's response causes her to laugh as she approaches her shortly, cautiously, hesitating only briefly when she hears the distant howl of a wolf. Werewolves, too? Seriously?

"Okay, seriously, that's the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Especially coming from a vamp. Or demon or whatever you are. Werewolf maybe? Oh sure, put on the 'innocent' act all you want, I'm not buying it. Oh. And who appointed you judge, jury and executioner?" She's already got her stake out. Looks like a pretty cut and dry case to Buffy.

Dracula has posed:
Another howl.. maybe a bit closer? The clouds are relatively few in number but they seem to be heading in your direction. It's just a bit of rain if anything at all...

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's eyes are upon Buffy but she hasn't fully turned to face the girl yet who approaches with a stake in her hand which is fairly easy to spot and know precisely the intention of it. "You're a hunter then." Selene responds to the blond who vocalizes her understanding - at least to some degree - of whats gone on here.

"I've no interest in fighting you, or associating with you in any capacity. My presence here is related simply to them." Her eyes glance to the three burning bodies again and she motions toward them. "They're the wolves. The Lycans. They're infesting this city, growing in numbers every day." When the howl echoes across the horizon she looks up again and over to Buffy once more.

"If you're concerned about threats to this city, that is where you should direct your efforts. They mean to control the night, prowl in the dark and feed off of the weak." Selene makes no aggressive motions or any hint of which could be taken to put Buffy on-guard.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers takes another step towards Selene, continuing to eye her warily, although occasionally she glances at the burning body, wrinkling her nose. But she's seen worse. Way worse.

"What, you've never heard of The Slayer before? I mean seriously, am I really that unknown in Gotham?" she laughs, shakes her head, brushing a blonde strand out of her eyes. "Umm sure, I suppose..'Hunter' will do for now." Although she's not exactly gonna introduce herself to a demon or whatever she is. Or was it those in the burning bonfire that were setting off her slayer sense?

For a moment, Buffy hesitates, trying to size this woman up. Most vamps wouldn't have wasted words, would have attacked her by now. This woman doesn't even look like she's getting ready to fight Buffy. Still, she remains in defensive mode, still clutching the stake tightly in one hand, relaxing only slightly when the word 'Lycan' is mentionned.

"Lycan? Is that like, some fancy word for Werewolf? I've dealt with werewolves before. Why the heck did you have to burn them if that's the case? You planning on having them for dinner?" she smirks, "I mean, I doubt they'd taste good, and that'd be a waste of blood if you're a vamp."

And what the heck's with the howling? She's sure it's getting closer..For a moment, Buffy's gaze is not on Selene as she tries to pinpoint the source of the sound. "Lycans huh? I think there may be stragglers.."

Dracula has posed:
Some time later another howl can be heard, still quite far away apparently. The rain clouds are nearly overhead at this point and it starts to sprinkle. It is then that growling can be heard coming from a nearby alley. Whatever made that howl was not this creature. It's much too close.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Buffy's words elicit no defensive actions out of Selene. She's over 600 years old, she's seen it all and fought most all of it as well. Her eyes do look over to the young blond though and she shows a faint and momentary smirk. "I'm not from here." She says of Gotham and knowing 'Slayers' or not. Truth is, sshe has heard of Slayers, but she's heard of many different kinds of them. She's formed an opinion on which kind this is, but she's not prepared to make any guesses or assumptions, it wouldn't afford her anything if she did.

"Werewolves, yes." Selene confirms. She's clearly a Vampire, now that Buffy is close enough... in fact she looks like if Spike had a sister and they both enjoyed the same kind of clothing, what with that black leather trench coat on over even more black attire beneath it.

"I'm burning them to keep their remains from trouble anyone who isn't involved in this war." A 'war' huh? "Leaving their bodies only serves to complicate the lives of those who'd find them here. This is not something that I'm interested in doing."

Buffy's response to the distant howling suggesting that there are more stragglers to be had makes Selene glance to the horizon, then back to the girl. "There's hundreds of them here. They've come from Hungary. Where I've come from as well. My people and I are looking to eradicate them... You've happened to stumble across a bit of this... in progress. Lucky you?"

A Vampire with a moral code of ethics? Is that what she's hinting at herself being?

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smirks as she takes note of the woman's clothing. "Funny, don't tell me you and Spike have the same tailor. Or worse, another one of his creepy former girlfriends.." she grimaces at the thought. He sure surprised her with his feline visitor the last time.

But enough about that!

She lifts a careful eye brow at the war, starting to think that this particular vamp isn't a fan of Werewolves. "Wait what? A war? What the heck are you talking about? Do you mean...Vamps and Werewolves are fighting..?"

She hears another growl and lowers her stake. "We're being followed..What the heck IS that?" she's not so sure it's just a werewolf..But.."Over here.." Buffy moves swiftly towards the nearby alley. For now at least, she's decided that the growl just might be a more immediate threat, but the jury's still out on the woman in black leather.

Dracula has posed:
There's movement now and the sound of something climbing up the alley wall. Claws against brick and grunting. Then the creature jumps somewhere.. the roof? The howling has stopped for now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
The name 'Spike' does ring a few bells, though Selene has met a number of people who've gone by that name before. She's met 'Buffy's Spike' and in fact met him at the Magic Box in Sunnydale, but that was some time ago, not that long after she'd arrived in the United States in fact and had found the place online as a suitable supplier for magical associated items, that which she'd need some back then. Spike had let her into the store to buy a few things, though he didn't seem concerned if she actually paid for them and the money she left on the counter probably never made it into Giles' hands...

Buffy's questions are about to get a response, but the same distraction of that howling growing closer causes Selene to stop and to stare in the direction of it. When Buffy moves to a side alley, Selene doesn't follow. She'd rather wait and spring the trap, let whatever it is decide to attack if it felt it was the right action to take...

What Selene does do, however, is draw a metal spike into her left hand, it drops right out of her jacket's sleeve and is thusly gripped tightly in her palm... the metal shiny and very silvery. Selene's eyes just sweep this way and that before she glances in Buffy's direction. "It would be unwise for it to attack here and now, after what I did to its friends. It might just be observing to report back to its Lieutenant..."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers is still trying to get over this whole supposed 'War between Vamps and Werewolves' dealio, and makes a mental note to touch base with Oz in that regard at some other point in the future. She peers into the alleyway, but it's too dark to spot much. However, she hears sounds of scraping, climbing perhaps?

"Dammit, it's quick..I think it's on the rooftop.." She's not sure if the other woman followed, but she sure as heck isn't about to wait around for the creature, whatever it is, to make the first move. She swiftly follows after it, leaping about halfway up the wall, grabbing onto a jutting brick to gain her bearings, before leaping the rest of the way to the top, peering around in the darkness.

"Alright, enough with the hide and seek. How about you fight me face to face?" Buffy still holds the stake in one hand, ready for anything.

Dracula has posed:
The werewolf ignores Buffy now that he has divided his prey. Clever.. but only if they weren't BOTH experienced werewolf killers. The creature leaps from the rooftop, hellbent on grappling Selene to the ground and delivering a quick kill via bite to the neck.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
A glance is given over to where Selene can hear Buffy going, and partially see the young woman chasing after the werewolf but as she's come to learn, with them, they're impatient and generally will always come right to you if you just play your cards right and allow it...

Case in point, when this werewolf... however experienced or horribly inexperienced it is... makes itself known by lunging off of a tall height and toward her, Selene is prepared for its attacked. She steps to the side with the intention of jumping out of its grasping lounge, then sweeps her silver-spike-holding hand out to throw the deadly weapon right at the beast!

Meanwhile, her right hand dips inside of her Spike-like jacket and she draws out one of her pistols, loaded with the silver-nitrate bullets...

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers frowns as she peers around the rooftop. Fortunately, it's not too large a rooftop that would take a while to cross to the other side, but she does peer down towards Selene, and swears under her breath. "I can't believe I fell for that old trick!" clearly, this..Creature is a lot more clever than the werewolves she is used to dealing with.

With a snarl, Buffy leaps from the rooftop, jumping about halfway down to grab onto a nearby fire escape ladder, before leaping the rest of the way down. It looks like Selene is prepared for this with her bullets and jacket full of weapons, and she steps back for a moment or two, waiting for an opening.

Dracula has posed:
The werewolf rushes forward, bringing it's right arm down onto Selene's hand in an attempt to knock away the silver weapon, it's other arm coming up in an attempt to dig its' claws into her chest. Like many werewolves it is mostly bipedal and has full manual dexterity of its' hands. The rain is coming down now.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene's silver spike doesn't seem to make its mark, as the beast lunges for her hand and tries to knock it away. When it rushes at her to claw at her torso she just jumps backward, using her 600 years of experience in fighting these things to know when the beast will likely strike and where she'll need to go to avoid it.

But there's only so much room in this intersection of alleyways. So she can't go too far. She leaps back to place one booted foot against a brick wall while her other hand comes up to hip-fire her handgun, repeatedly. She'll squeeze the trigger multiple times to try to blast the beast in its midsection, ruthlessly and without a care for preserving its life.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers arches a brow as she watches Selene's impressive fighting skills in action. She's half tempted to just leave them there to duke it out and be on her way. As it is, at least one or both will fall, and really, they're both demons...Right?

..Except of course that the vamp woman seemed a little less..Evil than most vamps she has met. Heck, she might even be a *good* vamp, which are rare, but she happens to know a few.

"Dammit..Can't believe I'm doing this.." Well, Buff doesn't have any fancy guns, and she didn't bring anything more than a bunch of stakes, so she hurls a couple of them at the werewolf, with pinpoint accuracy and eye blurring speed, one aimed at its eye, the other for its heart. Of course, this might be a different breed of werewolf too, but she can at least try to slow the thing down.

"Seems stronger than I remember.." she murmurs.

Dracula has posed:
The werewolf shrugs off the stakes mostly but.. it hurts. However it's nothing compared to the silver nitrate bullets being unloaded into its' torso. The beast roars in pain and instantly doubles over. There's no shrugging off liquid silver flowing into your veins. Its' body seizes up and immediately begins to shift back into human form. The naked man now dying in front of you is pale, veins a silver color, causing a somewhat gray tone to spread over his body from head to toe.

It is at that moment that well dressed man holding a briefcase starts to walk towards Buffy, seemingly unphased by the battle, or the fact that a wolf-beast just shifted into a naked, dying man, nor is he afraid of Selene.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
The stakes that impact into the werewolf do help Selene in some regard. They gave her enough time to plant the shots into the beast's body. Four shots total go into it's chest before she watches it start to seize and succumb to the liquid silver that is pouring into its bloodstream now. He's going to fall down and die now, but he's going to do it with her physical assistance...

Selene steps forward and puts her right booted foot up on its bloodied chest, then shoves the werewolf down onto his back. As he starts to change back into human form, she walks right up to place that same booted foot down on his chest... to watch.

She stares down at him as he starts to die, and helps further by raising her handgun up, aiming down its sights and pulling the trigger to blast the man once more right between his eyes. Execution is the only way to be sure.

Selene's pale lips then part, she sucks in a shallow breath and she looks up to the man with the briefcase... Her eyes have changed colors now, her pupils are a silvery blue like a winter moon and her small fangs are barely visible between her lips. She's changed into her own Vampire-state... which is different from what Buffy would know from the Vampires she's most familiar, not as many facial alterations as Angel or Spike.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers steps back as she watches Selene make quick work of the werewolf, while her own weapons do little..With a sigh she steps towards the naked man. "Wow, guess you're a...Hunter too, huh? Nice guns.." she smirks a little, but still uncertain if she can trust this woman. This..Vampire. However, if she could take down a werewolf so quickly and effortlessly, Buffy would probably not stand much chance against her..As if she didn't have enough worries with rumours of the Master returning.

"Even so...He couldn't help being a werewolf, assuming he's the same type that I'm used to fighting. Surely you could have just locked 'em all up til the next new moon?" of course, there is probably no full moon out tonight that she is aware of, but it's hard to tell with the overcast sky and..Rain..? Like the weather here wasn't weird enough as is.

And then a business man walks towards her and she frowns, positioning herself between the dead naked man and the business man, trying to look casual. "Err..Can I help you..?" Like this isn't gonna be an awkard conversation.

Dracula has posed:
The man stops in front of Buffy, ignoring Selene entirely, "My Master wishes to send you his greetings. He wished for me to pass on a message to you. He says that "You are the one who will set him free. The prophecy remains unfulfilled. He has returned.. after all.. prophecies are tricky creatures are they not?" His voice is monotone and there is no fear or hesitation in his voice. With an equal lack of hesitation he pulls out a glock pistol and shoots himself in the head, his body falling close to the werewolf's.

And then there's that howl again, close enough to be heard with absolute clarity.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene lowers her handgun then to her side and takes her boot off of the dead man's chest. She hovers beside his body though and her pale blue eyes look up and onto Buffy. "Its a long story... suffice it to say there's likely more... variety... than you realize."

But the strange man with the briefcase garners Selene's stare next and as he moves to address Buffy with a very strange... statement... she's about to sweep her gaze back to the blond girl when the man produces a gun.

Selene's reflexes kick in and she raises her own gun up to aim at him, with a refined level of speed and accuracy she trains her weapon on hi--- and he blows himself away.

"Thats... not... normal." Selene says, after his body falls upon the floor. Her eyes go to Buffy then. "And coming from me, thats saying a lot."

She holsters her weapon inside of her long coat then, her eyes inevitably go to the briefcase...

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers's eyes widen at that name again. "No..Not again.." she frowns deeps, stepping towards the man as he reaches for the gun. "No, wait! Stop!" she tries to grab it from him, stop him...But it all happens too fast, and suddenly it's all over. "What the hell...Not again.."

Staring at Selene as she makes such a casual remark, her hands clench at her sides. "No...That was just another message..For me. I can't believe it..The master.." she sighs and hangs her head. Dammit. Why now? When her friends are scattered, when she feels at her weakest, when suddenly everyone seems to be stronger than her..How can she possibly fight a reanimated Master..And survive this time?

For a long moment, Buffy just stares silently at the dead man, at a loss for words. For a moment, she's lost in her own little word, having forgotten that the vampire woman is still there..

Dracula has posed:
The briefcase has in fact opened slightly, if it was ever completely closed at all. There are what appears to be papers slipping slightly through the opening. The rain has stopped and a mist has creeped in. The wind moves it ever so slightly as it passes through nearby.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
To be entirely honest, none of this is Selene's business. She knows its not her business, nor should it be any of her concern either... But seeing Buffy's reaction to this strange message delivery makes her exhale softly with some measure of sympathy for this strange Hunter / Slayer girl.

"I suppose thats one way to deliver a message, though a smart phone might be more reasonable." She quips then before she pulls a black cylinder out of her coat and moves to twist it. It lights up like a hot flare, creating a red and yellow illumination that glows between both of the women and all the dead things in the alley they occupy now.

"I'll burn him with the rest, if you'd like." She states then before she prepares to drop the flare onto the two fresh bodies. "You might take his briefcase though, looks as though it contains something. Could be important."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers is still trying to process this whole 'Master' thing, when the flare springs to life, snapping her back to reality. "Burn them? I...Suppose that would be the tidiest method.." right now, she's not thinking straight, she's tired, and confused. Dammit, what's going on? At least Buffy has the sense to grab the briefcase though, holding it securely in one hand. She'll likely look over the contents when she's not in the middle of an alley full of dead bodies, talking to a vampire who seems good - but you never know!

Buffy would leave right then and there, except.."Hold it..There's something else nearby..I'm sensing..Something powerful..A vampire..The Master...?" she pulls out another stake, holding it tightly in one hand as she peers around, still clutching the briefcase tightly in the other hand. "But..So powerful..How could he....?"

Dracula has posed:
The mist suddenly erupts into a cloud of bats which darts right towards Buffy. They screech and scream rabidly until RIGHT before they reach her. Then they disperse in opposite directions like hellish demons, screaming into the night.

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
Selene reaches down to take the arm of the man who'd shot himself, his gun is grabbed and slipped into a pocket of her coat, then she drags him over to lay beside the dead werewolf. Together, she drops the flare atop them and it does as its designed, pouring a flammable chemical out that coats their bodies and starts to burn them at an intense heat that will ash them up to a charred and unrecognizable form within moments.

This is becoming all too common Gotham, piles of ashed Lycans. Selene had done this same thing with Harley Quinn present about a year ago, they'd become friendly'ish contacts ever since. Even Batman was aware of Selene's operation, and closely watching it to make sure she was doing only as she'd described... handling a problem he didn't have a wealth of time to deal with himself.

Selene stops watching the bodies burn when Buffy speaks of 'something else'. She looks up in time to see the bats rush the blond girl and then veer off and fly back into the darkness. "You've got a secret admirer, I believe, Miss." Selene quietly comments in that husky voice of hers.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers is only vaguely watching Selene go to work, quickly and rather efficiently disposing the new bodies in a rather..Creepy sort of way - out of the corner of her eye..But her senses are still on edge, standing at alert, ready for another battle. What she was not ready for however, was the explosion of bats. But she does stand her ground without blinking, staring them down as if she didn't fear them; How can she, after all that she's been through.

..And then suddenly, they're gone, moments before they even reach her, dispersing in opposite directions. She grits her teeth, staring up at the sky. "Coward! Enough with the games! Why don't you just show yourself, dammit..." she sighs, staring down at the briefcase, peering at the page that slipped out. "Admirer? Hah..Not the kind of attention I need.."

Selene (Underworld) has posed:
With the bodies burning up, and being in the middle of a wet and open alleyway of concrete and brick, there's little to worry about now. So Selene's hands go inside of her coat pockets and she places her eyes onto the side of Buffy's face, watching her for a bit.

The snow is picking up again, white specks of little snowflakes falling around them in the dimly lit alleyway thats greatest source of illumination is coming from... bodies on fire.

"Right. I imagine not." Selene quietly says.

After a second of pause, she asks further then. "My motorcycle is at the end of this alley. If you need a ride somewhere... its offered." Her eyes have gone back to their brown shaded pupils, no longer in her Vampire-form. She hesitates then turns and starts to walk to the mouth of said alleyway. "Good luck, otherwise.... Watch your back, Hunter." She gets Buffy's title wrong. Again.