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Post by Krepta on May 10, 2011 3:24:12 GMT -5
In rainy Westchester, Illinois, a faint figure made it's way through the haze of drizzle, and down a quite side street. The only thing that could be heard was the faint hiss of the rain and the gentle tok, tok of hoofsteps. Those who weren't usually inside because of the rain had been told to remain inside anyway, for there was a creature about that no one was quite sure what to do about. It had rampaged through the streets upon it's appearance, and nearly gored a disbelieving police officer before vanishing into the depths of the city. The League had been contacted, and ever since then it had been sighted here and there through the city. The mythical beast could be trailed by the cracked cement and tufts of grass it left in it's wake. Some called it a miracle, but the wounded police officer and his squad just wanted to pretend this whole mess had never happened. Honestly, it had to be vaguely embarrassing to have been beaten by a fairy tale animal. This was no dragon, or gryphon after all, it was a unicorn. There was no mistaking that snowy white, though soaked coat and main, or that lion-like tail that whipped back and forth behind it. The long, spiraling horn between it's ears lit up the dreary day and pierced the mist like a lighthouse beacon. Children leaned out of their windows to watch it pass, and to marvel at the trail of lush foliage it left in it's wake. Despite their parents frantic attempts to pull them back into their respective houses and out of harms way, they seemed unafraid. Who could blame them though? It was a truly marvelous, if dangerous creature. Either way, it certainly didn't belong in rainy Westchester, Illinois.
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Post by ZiggBot on May 10, 2011 3:40:24 GMT -5
As they landed, everything actually seemed peaceful. The rain was the first thing Creeper felt, before the gentle breeze or chill in the air. He rain drop landed right on his cheek, running down his jaw line. He looked up at the sky, then around the town. Looking around brought up a few of the empty memories of Jack's that Creeper held. Mostly the times his mother dragged him to the store, or picked him up from some fancy private school. Some of them were worse, like the times his mother locked him in a closet for interrupting her shows. But there was still one memory...
** It was pitch black. Jack had been crying for some time, at least half-an-hour. He had tried to claw at the door to open it, but it wouldn't work. It was locked from the outside, and every time he got to loud the door was slammed on by his mother. He remembered her saying "Be quiet! Just be quiet!! You're interrupting Mommy's shows!" and then... the song. But it was still so unclear to him. He couldn't remember any of the words. The moment he remembered most from then was when Jack's father came home.
There was a slow build up into an argument downstairs, most likely about her being drunk, or indecent, either was possible. After a short time, Jack began to slam on the closet door, begging for someone to save him. There was silence, then a few more yells, and then a series of quick thumps up the stairs. Jack was still crying, scared and alone, but just then, the door opened. At first, the incandescent light in the bedroom hurt his eyes, and all he could see was the silhouette of a tall, broad shouldered man with a fedora. Then, his eyes cleared, and he saw his father's face, just as he bent down and hugged Jack tightly, picking him up as the young boy cried. It was the only memory Creeper had with any emotion tied to it, and he often dreamt it, as well. **
He had only drifted into though for a few moments of silence, but he looked like he was clearly thinking during those silent seconds. He then began to look around the buildings and streets more. The only strange thing he noticed right off the bat was the trail of plant growth left in a trail heading east. "Do unicorns make plants grow out of asphalt?" He perked a brow.
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Post by Krepta on May 12, 2011 4:41:52 GMT -5
The world spun. The Watchtower faded out of existence, and for a moment, there was a strange sense of in between, and then she was in Westchester. The rain drizzled gently down and cooled the dull anger Krepta could feel burning her way up her cheeks. Anger at the world, anger at herself. It was time to get down to business though. She could beat herself up later. So far, she could see no sign of the beast, except maybe-- ah, yes, there it was. "Yeah," she answered, squinting into the distance where the trail of foliage and cracked cement faded into the fog. "Most of them are kinda forest spirits. They're embodiments of the places they come from." It was too bad that this thing had likely been driven mad in the journey here. Maybe it could do this place some good. It was no New York, true, but there was the definite sense of city here. "If we follow the plants, we should find the animal," she said, already on the way down a narrow back-street. "C'mon."
Somewhere ahead, the sleek white creature paused and craned it's head down to gently touch it's horn to a puddle slick with motor oil.
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Post by ZiggBot on May 12, 2011 12:43:30 GMT -5
Creeper followed, but instead of following on foot, he leapt onto the walls of the buildings lining the streets. He was swift as he climbed along the walls, looking almost like a lizard. His hands gripped onto the newly formed plants that had crept up the bricks once the unicorn had passed. He glanced at Krepta, then back forward. "Do you think you should turn into the 'big-bad-dragon' again?" If these unicorns were as dangerous as she said, he didn't want her trotting around in a pink fleshy form.
"There." He noted as he spotted the unicorn. He dropped down to the ground, almost silently. The unicorn didn't exactly look like the ones from fairytales or Lisa Frank. It's tail was interesting. Like a lion's. He noticed the motor oil, eyeing it closely. "... Ew. I don't care what you are. Sticking your extremities in motor oil is never a good idea." He began to step forward. How exactly was he going to stop this thing? It wasn't like he had watched that much rodeo.
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Post by Krepta on May 12, 2011 19:20:59 GMT -5
"I will," Krepta replied, eying the narrow street they were on distastefully. "But there isn't a whole lot of room here. Once we get out into the--" She quickly fell into silence, spotting the unicorn. The last thing she wanted to do was spook the animal. It was much faster than either of them. The best way to go about this was-- And then Creeper spoke. Damn it! This guy wasn't really into formulating plans of action, was he? This was going to hurt.
Before their eyes, the oil in the puddle shimmered, like glass in the morning sun, flashing with fierce light. And just as soon as it had happened, it was over, and the oil was gone, like it had never even been there to begin with. The unicorn's sleek head snapped up, blue eyes wide, and it screamed in rage and alarm. Quicksilver mane flashing, it reared and bucked, then charged straight for Creeper.
It slammed into Krepta in passing, throwing her back into a wall with it's shoulder and knocking her senseless. She slid down the smooth brick, and the world pain and bright flashes of light for a moment before her senses dulled, then faded to black.
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Post by ZiggBot on May 12, 2011 20:39:37 GMT -5
Creeper didn't have any time to really respond. When he saw Krepta get knocked to the side and slowly slide down the wall his heart began to race. "Krepta!" He shouted, out worry, guilt, and anger. He didn't know what to think. It was his fault, wasn't it? He alarmed the unicorn. He was the reason why the unicorn hit her. Wait. If she was in the way... He snapped back to attention just as the unicorn was coming within three feet of him. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.
He was hit square in the chest by the horn, which knocked every ounce of air out of him.The air escaped him in a rough grunt of pain, and after the very first moments of shock passed, he immediately tried to get off the horn. It hurt. it actually hurt. He had never been run through before, and usually anything that hit his chest took a long time to heal, at least for him. Once he'd fall off, whether by his own efforts or whenever the unicorn decided to buck him off, he'd hit the ground, knocking what ever air he had gained back out of him again. He'd land in the mud, chest down. It was loose, watery mud, but it still stung in his wound.
He stayed down for a while, still, silent. Eventually, he worked up barely enough strength to get onto his hand and knees, and once he lifted up, the watery mud would be more red than brown. He coughed again, pain pulsing through his entire chest. A wounded heart meant that any of his regenrating blood cells would take much longer to circulate, and that wasn't good when you were loosing most of it in dirty water.
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Post by Krepta on May 14, 2011 1:33:42 GMT -5
The unicorn tossed it's head with another scream, dislodging Creeper before taking off further down the narrow street. However, it wasn't done, oh no. Turning again, it looked down on the fallen hero with mad rage in it's eyes, and lowered it's bloody horn. It minced forward slowly and menacingly, shaking it's mane at him and snorting threats, as if to frighten him off.
From behind Creeper though, a blur of crimson and burgundy exploded with a roar. It slammed into the tainted animal, sending it crashing down into a ditch with a startled snort. It did not get back up. Krepta turned, head throbbing, to crouch over Creeper. Her large saurian head lowered almost cautiously, and she sniffed. She could smell blood, lot's of blood, but he wasn't dead. If she didn't act fast though, he soon would be. She turned him over as gently as she could, and swept her tail around to prop him up. She had to find something to stop the bleeding, and she needed pressure. The wound was deep, and it was hardly clean. He needed help. Glancing around frantically, Krepta spotted a clothes-line above. Someone-- in this rain-- had left their laundry out. Thank god for little miracles. She stretched her neck until she could pluck a sweatshirt off with her teeth, then transferred it to her claws. It was damp, but she could use that to wash the wound out a little. Gingerly, she did her best to dab the mud away without hurting Creeper too badly, or aggravating the wound more. Having done the best she could, she squeezed out the bloody water and pressed the semi-dry shirt to the wound, applying as much pressure as she could to it without hurting him. Normally, she would cauterize her own wounds, but she had never had to deal with something so deep before, and he wasn't her. She didn't know how much he could take without her making things worse. She needed to call for help. The JLA communicator! Swiftly, she ran her claws through the mud, trying to find the small com device. It wasn't on Creeper, so that meant that he had to have lost it sometime during the fight-- and-- ah-hah! She fumbled with the little button, and finally hooked it with a claw. However, it was nothing but static. It must have been damaged by either the unicorn's sharp hooves, or the rainwater and mud. Either way, this was bad, very bad. And then, hope. Something was coming through on the radio. A local police band. It was faint, but it was there. "Hello? Hello," she barked into it, "I need an ambulance!" There was silence for a moment and then, "Who is this? Where are you?" Krepta sighed in utter relief.
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Post by ZiggBot on May 14, 2011 2:16:27 GMT -5
By the time Krepta had taken down the unicorn, Creeper had fallen back down into the mud. He was still awake, but he couldn't move any more. Everything felt stiff and cold, especially his joints. He could barely breathe on his own, let alone with his head half in the mud. He felt the scales slide under him and roll him over, then the tail support him, and he opened his eyes slowly to look up. He was pale, no longer as vibrant as he usually was. It took a while for his eyes to focus, but eventually he could make out, just barely, Krepta's face. Her bright green eyes staring down at him.
He couldn't take very deep breaths, but he still tried to talk. "You're... okay." He mustered, wincing after he spoke. "Thought... You were out. My fault." He felt so tired. All he wanted was to close his eyes, but the pain. He'd never felt real pain. At most, he'd feel the equivalent to a tough punch in the gut, or maybe a bad headache, but never real pain. This was worse than he thought it would ever get. "Out of... Out of all the things that could have... taken me down... it was a damn--" he coughed and winced, "my-little-pony."
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Post by Krepta on May 16, 2011 2:48:05 GMT -5
Krepta looked relieved; he was coming around. Awake was good. Awake was alive. She could hear the ambulance coming down the street. If he could hold on a little longer, he would be okay. "Try to stay conscious," she told him, sounding shaken. She had never had someone die on her watch, and she didn't plan on Creeper being her first. "I couldn't get a hold of the Watchtower. There's an ambulance coming though... there's some kind of lab they're going to take you to nearby. They apparently specialize in metahumans..." She glanced at the said unicorn, still unconscious in the ditch. She wasn't sure how long it would stay that way, but as long as it stayed out of it until the ambulance arrived, she was sure she could find something in the truck to tie it up with. "What... what do I do with this thing," she asked, then shook her head. "Nevermind, we'll worry about that later." She grimaced and shifted her tail, trying to make him more comfortable. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. You're the one who's in bad shape. Just try to stay awake. I'll find a way to contact the League." How hard could it be? Creeper was damn lucky she liked him though, not that she wouldn't help if she hadn't but... the entire situation scared her. What would she say when they started asking questions?
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Post by ZiggBot on May 16, 2011 3:37:35 GMT -5
Creeper let out a short breath and closed his eyes for a moment, a weak smirk on his face. He seemed to just be caught up in the comedy of it all. It was all he could focus on to make him stay awake. But the more he stayed awake, the more he could feel the pain. It was enough to make that smirk disappear after a while, and change to a pained expression. It didn't look natural on his face. It made him look like someone entirely different. If Krepta watched any news in Gotham, she might get a funny feeling of knowing who that was.
Two EMTs climbed out of the ambulance and ran over. One was a tall, blonde man, the other was a redheaded woman of average build. Both of them immediately stopped and marveled at the large red dragon in front of them, not knowing how to handle the situation. The man, wide-eyed, said under his breath, "Great, first the unicorn and now a dragon. Things are getting weird."
(Bah, short post is short. xD)
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Post by Krepta on May 18, 2011 18:54:59 GMT -5
(( Nah, that's okay. xD I think it's a busy time for all of us. They still manage to be wonderful. ))
Krepta shook her head in amazement. Still mostly smiling through all of this. Creeper had quite the sense of humor! Still, it worried her when it faded. He wasn't doing well. Where were those damn EMTs?! "There's help on the way, Creeper," she said, peering into the distance. At least, she hoped there was help on the way. "Just hang on a little longer." She kept applying pressure to the wound in hopes that the bleeding would stop, or at least slow. She thought, maybe, that it was slowing slightly, but maybe that was her tired mind trying to give hope to a grim situation. She had lost too many people in her lifetime. She didn't want to lose her, so far, only ally in this place. And then the sirens came up around the corner and she allowed herself to relax a little. They were here, and despite all the odd looks and the snide comments the pair of EMTs were giving her, Creeper would be okay. He had to be okay. "Can I help in any way," she asked tiredly as the two began to pack Creeper into a stretcher. The man looked startled that she was capable of speech-- a reaction, though she was used to it by now, that was beginning to annoy her. He back peddled a few feet and gaped at her with an open mouth. The woman looked startled as well, but seemed to be able to gather herself enough to speak. "N-no, we've got it," she said, sounding just as shocked.
She watched them load Creeper up into the back of the ambulance and speed away down the street in a whir of red lights and sirens. He would be okay. Rising to her feet, she moved to tie the fallen unicorns hooves and head with the clothes-line she had gotten the shirt from, then moved the still stunned animal out sight. The line would have to hold. She wanted to tail Creeper from a distance to make sure he was safe, and she couldn't be in two places at once. She'd find a way to contact the League. They could pick it up and do with it what they liked. They were supposed to be the good guys after all. Scrambling up the side of the old building she had stashed the animal in, she launched into the air when she got to the lip. Powerful wing muscles and sail like wings carried her upwards and over the rainy city until the ambulance she was following looked like a tiny toy car. The two in the ambulance had no idea just how weird it could get.
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Post by ZiggBot on May 19, 2011 0:18:24 GMT -5
All of his senses were fading in and out, but he could feel the sensation of vertigo as he was lifted onto the stretcher. He was still covered in muddy water and blood, which made him feel iced to the bone. His joints were stiff, his chest weighed a thousand pounds, and his head was light as a feather. To others, it looked like he was drifting in and out of sleep, purposefully waking himself to try and stay aware. He was entirely limp as he was lifted, as limp as someone in this cold could be. As he was moved, the pain flared up in his chest and he managed a quiet groan.
He felt something being put on his face, with cold, tingly air being forced into his nose and mouth. In actuality, it was an oxygen mask being placed on his face by the woman. She had turned the oxygen percentage up in order to keep him from falling into shock. Every time the car made a turn, his head would swim as he tried to adjust again. He could just barely make out voices or sounds anymore, they all sounded like they were far away and under water. He felt so different. Almost... human.
Luckily, all JLA communicators are installed with an automatic check in system, which would monitor its function. Surely the watchtower had gotten the report of non-functionality back from Creeper's communicator, and had contacted the nearest JLA member. Hopefully he or she would get there soon to investigate, and would be able to take care of the unicorn.
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Post by Krepta on May 23, 2011 19:53:25 GMT -5
Had Krepta not been so focused on keeping an eye on Creeper, she might have noticed a faint shimmer materialize next to the fallen unicorn. Vaguely man-shaped, it bent next to the pearly animal. One moment they were there, and the next, they were gone, bindings and all. The Justice League, when they arrived, would find nothing.
Krepta meanwhile, was feeling the dull ache of that crack to the head. She figured she probably had a mild concussion, but that would have to wait. They were approaching this... lab. It was a squat white building, oddly neat and manicured in the midst of all the old brick buildings and giant old trees that lined the rest of this part of town. A cold looking sign rested over the top of the main entrance that read: 'S.t.a.r. Labs.' Briefly, as she banked to come to a rest in one of the large trees across the street, she wondered what s.t.a.r. stood for. Still, if they could help Creeper, she supposed it didn't matter. Likely a regular hospital would have trouble figuring out his meta-human physiology, and they were supposed to know what they were doing. Still, she wished she could have just gotten in contact with the League and told them what happened over the com. When they caught up with her, there were likely to be a lot of unavoidable and uncomfortable questions asked. She glanced over her shoulder at the horizon and shifted uncomfortable. Maybe she could fly away now and no one would notice. Creeper would be okay, right?
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Post by ZiggBot on May 28, 2011 5:26:38 GMT -5
It was quite a ways to S.t.a.r. Labs, but the EMTs took good care of Creeper on the way. By the time they had gotten there, the area around Creeper's deep, grizzly wound had been wiped clean, and it was both good and bad. It was good, because it was clean, and might help to prevent infection. It was bad, because it only showed just how bad the wound really was. As he was pulled out of the ambulance, one of the EMTs placed a hand pumped oxygen mask over his face, while the other steered the gurney and held a large bit of gauze over his chest.
Two doctors and one professor stood, waiting by the doorway, and two security guards soon came out on either side of them. The two doctors rushed over to the gurney, getting all the necessary details from the EMTs as they rolled him inside. The professor watched as he was rolled by, eyes seeming cold and logical. He took the arm of one of the EMTs, holding her back. One of the doctors took her place holding the gauze and helping to steer the gurney. The EMT looked at the professor oddly. "Do you have the name of this meta-human?"
She nervously stared for a moment, then spoke, "Well, he looks like The Creeper. I'm not sure. I've only seen him a few times on the news." The professor stared for a few more seconds, then slowly nodded, releasing her arm and allowing her to continue inside. He glanced to the security guards, and that seemed to be all he needed to do to give his orders, as the guards nodded and took their places by the entrance. The professor silently turned and walked inside.
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