Turn the Beat Back! (open)

[cody]

"New York, heh. I remember saving this place from the gangs. What did I get for it, a couple years inside and a ban from sanctioned fighting tournaments." Cody said to himself as he walked through the streets of New York, hoping for something to alleviate his boredom. It was a common thing for Travers to simply just be bored with nothing to do and in times like that he did the only thing he knew how to: fight. Still, right now there seemed to be absolutely nobody around who he might be able to 'spar' with. Cody wasn't clad in his usual prisoner outfit this time. After all, he didn't need to draw attention to himself any more than a heavily tattooed bulky brawler usually would.

Travers leant up against a nearby wall, propping himself to it as he looked at the hustle and bustle of the streets. Cody often felt bad about his life and how he'd not really made much of himself. He wasn't really famous aside from the Street Fighter circuit and had such a bad criminal record that he's banned from most of the tournaments, having to enter illegal unsanctioned fights to simply make ends meet now. He stared at his bandaged hands, the wraps stained with the blood of past battles and serving a reminder of his previous days as an amateur boxer. Back in those days he was pals with Haggar and Guy, until everyone went their separate ways. Guy turned to being the vigilante New York needed. Haggar prioritised politics and Cody simply just was out of control in his methods.

Still, this wasn't gonna be a total waste of a night out. "Heh, a guy's gotta make the best of a bad situation." Cody said to himself as he stared around simply just looking for a reason for him to get in a fight. Honestly, he wasn't exactly going to pass up a chance on his first week on the outside to just punch out some thugs so he welcomed anybody around to battle him.

[Ruby]

It was infuriating, how some humans seemed to run on the instinct of banding together and preying on someone they perceived as an easy target. You could say a lot of things about Ruby - but she didn't spend her time targeting people who were alone and defenseless. And that was exactly what these idiot thugs following her (did they really think she hadn't noticed them?) thought she was...just a normal human woman, venturing across the streets of New York alone. Really, the human race was pathetic sometimes - well, most of the time in Ruby's opinion. It didn't take a genius to figure out what these morons wanted from her; their echoing snickers and crude comments just topped the whole thing off. Well. They'd soon be getting a little more than they'd bargained for.

It was ridiculously easy, stringing the little gang along down the streets, casting a brief glance over her shoulder and quickening her pace every now and then as if their presence actually frightened her. Tempting as it was to turn around and confront them then and there, slaughtering a bunch of humans in plain sight wouldn't exactly be...good for her image. She had to provoke them first; had to allow them to make the first move. Everything was so justified when you were acting in 'self defense', after all. So she took the first opportunity that came upon her, in the form of the next nearby alleyway she passed - turning sharply and ducking down it in the manner of someone trying to lose the people tailing her.

What she hadn't expected, however, was to find the alley already occupied - by a brawny blond man leaning up against one of the alley walls. One look at him answered the first question that sprung into her mind: he was human. Just...fantastic. Here she was, a demon in the body of a very non-threatening looking woman who at best scraped 5'2 - and what was she gonna do, take on a whole gang of thugs right in front of him? Not unless she wanted to kill him too - or reveal to him what she was. Neither of which...Ruby particularly felt like being forced to do. But now the gang was nearly upon her, and she was running out of options - so with her best wide-eyed, frightened expression, she turned to the man in apparent desperation. "Please, y-you have to help me, I..."

"Hey doll. You weren't tryin' to hide from us, were ya?" And suddenly the evidently self-appointed leader of the thugs was strolling up to them, his 'friends' not too far behind.

((These random NPC thugs are fair game, do whatever ya want with em!))

[freeman]

Having a Ph.D in theoretical physics made one well acquainted with the laws of physics. Indeed, physicists and other scientists relied upon, as well as get hindered by, the laws of physics in their various studies. These laws ranged from the laws such as gravity, thermodynamics, Lorentz force law, Joule's first law, conservation of energy, and unfortunately Murphy's law.

If it can go wrong, it will and at the worst possible time.

"What next in the constant parade of interruptions?!" Dr. Arne Magnusson, an off site employee of Black Mesa and the person Gordon came to visit in New York City, had proclaimed. Unlike most of Gordon's close friends at Black Mesa, Dr. Magnusson seemed to have an affinity for outer space. That probably might explain why he was stationed so far away from the Black Mesa Research Facility.

Tonight was going to be something special. Dr. Magnusson and Dr. Freeman were going to use the telescopes and computer equipment located at Empire State University to check up on a comet labeled C/1985 W2. C/1985 W2 is a non-periodic or long-period comet that was scheduled to pass between Earth and Moon orbit sometime tonight. As such, Dr. Magnusson in particular was eager to observe it.

But then the computer equipment malfunctioned, making it impossible for their instruments to observe the comet. When the problem was finally diagnosed, Gordon, Magnusson, and other people on site scrambled to look for spare parts. Sadly, one part they needed in particular wasn't anywhere on campus. Calls were made, but every store that carried the part was either too far away or not open at this time of night.

All except one.

Gordon walked out of the twenty-four hour warehouse, a cardboard box with very precious computer equipment inside it under one arm, along with the receipt for the costly electronics. With his other gloved hand, he fished into one of the pockets on his dark trenchcoat, plucking a cell phone from out of it. He checked his voice mail.

Sure enough, an irate Dr. Magnusson had sent him numerous messages in the thirty minutes he'd been away. Nevermind the only place that had the part they needed was located on the bad side of town. No, Magnusson seemed much more concerned with getting the computers and telescope equipment at Empire State University up and running. Nevermind Gordon's safety.

Dr. Freeman put his cell phone away and started walk back to his car, which he was forced to park some distance away. His immediate concern right now was that his 1969 Dodge Charger R/T wasn't burglarized. To Hell with Magnusson's comet.

It was cold out and it showed. Gordon could easily see his breath. He did his best to remain vigilant over patches of ice, keeping on the look out to avoid them. Then again, the boat shoes he wore should make going over ice easier than usual. Sadly, iced cement wasn't the least of his concern.

"Hey doll. You weren't tryin' to hide from us, were ya?"

It sounded like trouble was brewing. It was none of Gordon's business.....but he couldn't help but get involved anyway. Maybe he was being a good citizen, or maybe it was his scientific curiosity. Regardless, he dove into the back allies.

Still keeping his box under his left arm, he undid the top buttons of his trench coat to make reaching for his underarm holstered glock 9mm easier. Somehow, Gordon just felt less safe outside the Black Mesa Research Facility. As such, he tended to always carry a gun outside.

Finally, he came up behind the group of thugs. He kept his distance though and they hadn't taken note of him yet. If either Travers or Ruby, neither of whom he knew the names of, got a look at Gordon, they'd instantly be able to distinguish him from the thugs. After all, his hair was cut into almost a crewcut style, he wore glasses, had a nice kept beard, and they could see his blue dress shirt and striped tie underneath his trenchcoat. All in all, he looked neat and well kept, unlike the thugs.

He didn't say or do anything though. Indeed, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, if there was even anything going on. Maybe he'd overreacted or misheard. Maybe...

[cody]

"Please, y-you have to help me, I..." Cody quickly turned, the woman looked quite terrified. "What? 'eh relax." Cody said, heroic morals kicking in yet again. However, it seems he found exactly what he's asked for. "Hey doll. You weren't tryin' to hide from us, were ya?" the blonde brawler smirked slightly. "Look bub, you ain't gonna challenge yourself fighting this lady... he looked over to her with half lidded eyes. "No offence..." his gaze now turned back to the lead thug. "Anyway, if you wanna brawl that's fine with me. I got enough for you and your friends." Cody said with a smirk, cracking his knuckles and pacing forward, now inches away from the thug. However, yet another person walked up near the fray but slightly behind. He looked almost like your stereotypical geek with his neat haircut, glasses and well groomed beard. Still, at least that meant he wouldn't get in the brawler's way.

Cody smirked slightly as he noticed the head thug take out a small butterfly knife. "Just what I thought." Cody said as he stood in front, calm as ever. Suddenly, the thug attempted a lunge at the brawler's face. Quickly, he grabbed the arm and retaliated with a swift sloppy kick to the stomach. Cody's fighting style could easily be called chaotic due to the fact that he's never been trained in martial arts and uses only what he's learnt in his many years brawling on the streets of New York. The thug hit the ground and Cody took the knife, flicking it back and forth idly. "Ah, feels good to be back." he said while displaying great proficiency with flicking around the butterfly knife.

Soon, the rest of the leader's friends moved in closer. "No biggie, I'm used to fighting multiple people at once." Cody said with a smirk, taking out a pair of handcuffs and affixing them around his wrists. "Can't be fighting you without these, can I? Fair is fair and all." His cockyness never seemed to falter, yet would this fight really be as easy as he would have thought?

((Sorry it's so late and so short. >.<))

[kuro2]

Dank alleyways, thugs, brawlers, and all-around disgusting buidlings? Was this really what the Americas were like? it was a tad hard to believe; especially for an English Lord who had originally "died" in the nineteenth century. Even more so for this particular fellow. You see, Earl Trancy had found his own Victorian world to be incredibly vile, and this place was ten times worse. The boy's bleach-blonde hair shone in the dark streets of the 'bad neighborhood.' His elegant clothes caught the eye of many a thief, but for some reason they all backed off. It couldn't be clear why; unless, of course, you count the fact that each time, before the vermin slinked away, they would meet the eyes of the figure trailing shortly behind the little Lord. When the man looked at each of them, his glaring eyes seemed to say 'This is my prey. Touch him, and you'll wish for death.'

Yes, the man, clad in black, who followed Earl Trancy looked very menacing indeed. He seemed to exude Darkness, itself. Curiously, his wear was not that of your typical New Yorker, but that of a butler. The man kept close to the Trancy child, never straying more than two feet from him. Indeed, butler Claude Faust kept a close watch on Alois Trancy. The boys' heeled boots clacked down the streets of this vile neighborhood as he looked down his nose at the rubbish, filth, and trash.

"Look at them, Claude. Have you ever seen such vulgarity? It could make a person sick." Alois narrowed his eyes at a particularly daring thug who'd come awfully close to him. However, in the nick of time, Claude had appeared between the boy and his would-be-assailant. "This is the great United States of America that those dogs seemed so obsessed over?"

As Earl Trancy's voice was dripping with sarcasm and disgust, alike; so was Claude's empty of all emotion. His golden eyes swept over the street before resting on his master. "It has been quite some time since the appeal of the Americas held such sway over peoples' hearts. Young Highness has even missed the 'Roaring Twenties.' It was supposed to be the highlight of America's history."

"What dribble. Did you read that when we were still in England or after we had come here, Claude?"

"...After, master."

"I thought as much." Alois continued down the street with his loyal butler ever in tow. As they passed a specific alley, an amusing sight caught the Earl's eye. Quite a motley crew had gathered in the alley. A seemingly helpless victim, a brute hero, and an audience consisting of one man. A group of thugs were converging on the muscular figure. At first, Alois Trancy had deemed the situation simply unworthy of his time or energy, but then he started thinking, planning ahead. Could it be he'd happened across a gem, a diamond-in-th-ruff, one might say? The small Earl decided not to waste the opportunity.

"Claude, mop up the filth; and make sure they don't harm my new butterfly." For yes, indeed, Cody Travers was a butterfly, of sorts. A butterfly that was about to be caught in the spider's web of Earl Alois Trancy.

Immediately, Claude set to work. Above all else, the master's orders must be obeyed. Alois had ordered Cody Travers not to be harmed. Within seconds, before the thugs could even think to assault the man, Claude Faustus had swept on the scene. Some thugs, he snapped their necks; others, he kicked into the air; it was safe to say they would not be coming back down for some time. Frowning slightly, Claude noticed his glasses had slipped down his nose during his disposal process. The Spider-Butler pushed them back up the bridge of his nose as he rose back to a perfect posture. "I turn clean into ravaged; ruff into diamond; and creatures into corpses..."

"That's my Claude~!" Alois finished his butler's introduction with a smile as he joined the sullen group. Working his way to Cody, Alois smiled up at him, his pale blue eyes gazing at the taller man with an odd expression in their depths. "You're quite the large one, aren't you. Such dirty hands... But a clean face; I like that."

It was about then that Claude decided to take over and begin proper introductions. After all, what kind of butler wouldn't introduce his master in the best light possible? "Forgive our interruptions. You seemed to have been in quite a bit of trouble; my young master became quite worried for your safety." The demon's face betrayed no hint of whatever Alois' true intentions could be. Claude Faustus bowed to Cody, Ruby, and Gordon in turn. "I am, Claude Faustus, butler to the Trancy estate, and this is my master, Earl Alois Trancy."

[Ruby]

As expected, the man quickly decided to jump to her defense and face off against the thugs. It didn't take her long at all to realize that he was one of those cocky, tough-guy types who thought they were more than capable of taking on the world. Ruby had to contain an all but instinctive eye-roll, carefully maintaining her apprehensive, frightened expression as all of this went on. After all, a fight was about to take place in front of her...a normal, human girl would've found the whole thing downright traumatizing. Well, at least - wait, what? Was the man...honestly putting on handcuffs? Seriously? This time, the demoness was unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes. All she knew was that this guy'd better be one hell of a fighter if he intended to take all of these thugs on like this...and if he wasn't, well, at least the brawl would give her some time to slip away and ditch the pests who'd forced her into this ally in the first place.

It was around that time that she became aware of another shadowed form that had slipped into the ally - more back-up for the thugs, perhaps? That was her initial thought, but upon turning to gaze at the man who'd just stumbled upon the scene she realized fairly quickly that this couldn't be the case. His clothes, his generally good hygiene, and the lack of malicious intent in his face all set him apart from the thugs who'd followed Ruby here. But then...what was this man doing here? She met his gaze warily for a moment, still maintaining her seemingly fearful demeanor, while inwardly starting to wonder whether all humans were just crazy. If so many of them didn't have this goddamned heroic streak, it would be a lot more difficult to kill 'em all off. But in humans, Ruby was starting to realize, instincts of self-preservation (or common sense, for that matter) rarely won out.

Meanwhile, the blond man had already taken one of the thugs out - but Ruby was distracted when a sudden, lithe form swept into the ally almost more quickly than she could blink. Before she could even really register what'd happened, he'd set upon the thugs and made...pretty quick work of all of them. As much as the demoness was inwardly WTF-ing, she still had a part to play - and played it by all but flattening herself against one of the ally walls, fixing her gaze on one of the dead men now slumped lifelessly on the ground, and uttered a panicked "W...what...?"

The butler (was he a butler?) didn't seem particularly concerned about the lives he'd just taken, however. And he was not alone, it seemed - he'd been accompanied by a child who very quickly scurried over to them and...proceeded to hit on the blond man who Ruby'd originally gone to for help. She couldn't help it - for a moment the fear in her expression was replaced by a much more genuine 'are you freaking serious?' look, complete with one eyebrow quirked - before she quickly composed herself again. Okay. So. This was getting...ridiculous. The crowd she'd drawn to the ally was much larger than she'd intended, and she almost would have preferred dealing with the thugs...because it looked like she was actually going to have to play nice with these crazies.

"...Thank you..." she managed after a moment as the man named Claude introduced himself. Her dark gaze then darted to the silent man still waiting nearby, who'd shown concern instead of running to save his own skin, and then to the blond man who'd been ready to take on the thugs in the first place. "Thank you, all of you...I'm Ruby." She offered the group a small, if rather shaken smile, glancing over each of them in turn...and then coming to rest on Claude again. While her posture and expression maintained her little charade, there was something...calculating in her eyes as she stared at him. Her shoulders tensed ever so slightly. He...wasn't human. She could sense that much, if not tell simply from the way he'd dealt with the thugs. Something told her that all of this had just gotten a lot more complicated. But not wanting to appear suspicious, she eventually tore her gaze away from him again.

"I don't know what I would've done if..." Ruby trailed off, glancing at the thugs on the ground again.

[kairi]

“God dammit, you really have to listen to that old shit?”

“Hey, this is a classic. Don’t be hatin’.”

Kairi was barely listening to the two officers up front, his focus entirely upon the ‘old shit’ in question. It was a song, one that seemed to be a lot less loud in comparison to some of the other noises he heard around this city... a city that he still didn’t know how he arrived in. For a long moment, the melody succeeded in distracting his thoughts from the situation he found himself in: the uncomfortable feeling of the metal locks around his wrists, the incessant chatter of the other occupants of the cruiser, the whole reason he was in the back of a police vehicle in the first place... The song just spoke to him, somehow.

The raven-haired man bobbed his head to the song, a faint smile breaking across his usual frightened countenance; it took him a little while to notice the dirty look he was receiving from one of the law enforcers, and even then it took some time for him to realize it was, well, a dirty look.

“What the fuck are you smiling about, freak?” The officer’s biting tone was enough to interrupt the melody’s hold on him, and the raven-haired man recoiled back into his seat; his smile and calm demeanor was entirely absent, replaced with an almost childish fear. The officer snorted, turning around and killing the melody in its entirety. It made him a little sad to hear it go away, but at least the officer seemed to-

Kairi flinched again as the officer turned his attention right back to him; what could only be described as a sneer was etched onto the officer’s face, while the driver uttered a slight Yes! at finally being spared from the old-time music. “What’s the matter, boyo? You sad that the music was turned off?” He didn’t quite understand... what had he done to make this person hate him? Why was he being so mean? Why-

“I asked you a fucking question, freak.” Yet again Kairi cringed, and it took a great amount of self-control not to whimper. He opened his mouth a peep to give what would no doubt have been an inaudible response, but was interrupted by a sudden, screeching halt of the cruiser - his forehead slammed against the grating that separated himself from the officers. The whimper he tried to keep in escaped, the pain - slight as it should’ve been - being far too much for him to handle.

The officer in the passenger seat let out a string of curses, before shooting his glare at the driver. “What the fuck was that, you ass?!” Well, at least the person wasn’t yelling at him any more...

“What the hell... why are there raccoons this deep in the city?”

“Raccoons? You did that for a fucking raccoon? Run that thing over, you ass!”

“Hey, I’m not a s- Hold on... what’s that over there?”

In spite of himself, Kairi’s focus went from the officers and to the ‘over there’ the driver had indicated. All he saw were two men - one in a weird blue-striped outfit, the other in a black suit - a smaller teenager, and a woman... and a few other people that were lying asleep on the ground. He didn’t see anything wrong with that, so why...

.... Why was he feeling slightly queasy?

“Oh for f... First this bozo, and now another group of fucking... is that guy in a suit?!”

“I dunno, but we’d better handle it.”

“Just one fucking thing after another...”

Kairi felt the cruiser lurch forward, and redirect towards the gathering. Kairi shrank into the seat, the unease in his stomach getting worse as they drew closer and closer. The cruiser pulled over, directly across from the “gathering”, of sorts. “You stay here, freak, or this-” The officer withdrew a weird-looking black... thing... and waved it in front of Kairi’s face. “- is going straight up your ass.” With that, the two opened the doors and stepped out of the cruiser, walking towards the four with black-things in hand; Kairi simply looked on, staying put in the back of the cruiser as instructed.

---

“Oi. The lot of you! Put your hands where I can see ‘em!” The two officers raised their sidearms up, aiming at the four other people in the back alley. They knew a body - or bodies, in this case - when they saw it, and no doubt those folks were the reason behind it... especially the one in the suit.

(NPC cops. Kill ‘em, freeze ‘em and smash ‘em, do whatever you want.)