Blub the Club

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Tobias sighed. It didn't seem like it was going to be a good night. He tilted his head and watched the club with a bored mind. About to give up for the night, Tobias stopped when he heard the sounds of club grow louder. He heard harsh, male voices yelling and the sound of something being knocked over.

"Perhaps the back alley?" Tobias said to no one in particular. He carefully sneaked out of the shadows and moved towards the alley behind Blub.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Tobias rounded the corner, but quickly ducked back. He carefully peered around the edge of the wall. Two well-dressed, tall men were standing over a scrawny man sprawled on the ground amid the contents of an overturned trash can. The trash can had made the crashing noise. The two standing men had their backs turned towards TK. He could hear them talking, but didn't take notice of what was being said.

TK thought about the situation. He didn't know the circumstances, nor did he know the identities of the men. Would it be ethical for him to take action? He wouldn't know which side he was supporting. He took another quick glance around the corner.

One of the tall men had a knife in his hand, the other had a pistol pointed at the man on the ground. That decided things for Tobias. He wasn't about to let a man get murdered in an alley.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Now the voices came back to Tobias, but louder and angrier.

"What did you think was going to happen?! Did you think that you could get away with it?!"

"I-I-I didn't know. I swear! I'm sorry! Please, please don't kill me!"

Tobias felt his body tense in anticipation for the upcoming conflict. He closed his eyes and focused on controlling his breathing as he released his shadow from its special device on his wrist. TK silently used his power to connect with his shadow. It instantly knew what he was planning and agreed.

A few more seconds. Tobias hesitated as he tried to calm himself. His gear was made to intimidate and protect from minor physical harm. A bullet would surely wound him.

[†Øߡ§™ Knight]

Banishing his fear, Tobias took a deep breath and turned the corner just as he used his shadow to temporarily block out the floodlight that illuminated the back alley. "Stop right there, criminal scum," TK growled, using his voice modifier.

The two armed men lost their concentration when the light flickered off and then returned. At the sound of TK's voice, they turned to face the newcomer. "Who is this? Better question, what is he supposed to be?" The gunman motioned at Tobias. The man with the knife advanced on Tobias who was standing a few feet away.

The man on the ground stayed still. His eyes flicked back and forth from the gunman, still pointing at him, to Tobias's impressive figure.

"Bring it," Tobias taunted, taking up an offensive battle stance. His face turned into a vicious snarl beneath the mask. The knife-wielding man scoffed. In the blink of an eye, he had lunged towards Tobias, planning to stab the masked figure and end it quickly.

Tobias flicked his wrist upward to signal his shadow which solidified before the attacker in the form of a wolf. Powerful shadow jaws closed around the man's hand, forcing him to drop the knife. A strangled cry escaped the man as he frantically looked to his partner for support.

The gunman spun around at his friend's outcry and froze for a second. "What the-" Reacting without another moment of hesitation, the gunman pointed his weapon at TK and fired twice in succession. The roar of the gun mixed with a yell of triumph from the man.

Tobias was still staring at the first man when the gunman turned on him. With lightning reflexes, TK recalled his shadow and formed a protective barrier between himself and the bullets. Too slow. A searing pain exploded in Tobias's left arm and he gasped out in pain. The second bullet bit into shadow and fell to the ground without doing any harm.

With his focus shattered, Tobias's shield dissipated. The man on the ground whimpered. "I don't know what kind of crap you pulled on my buddy, but you messed with the wrong guys, chump," the gunman told Tobias.

Clutching at his wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood, Tobias grimaced and looked at the pistol in fear. He had made a mistake, but it wasn't over. He forced himself to connect with his shadow. Go, go, go, go! he thought desperately. The shadow acknowledged his wishes and jumped out at the gun, knocking it out of the man's grip.

Turning in terror, the disarmed gunman saw the hideous monster of a shadow looming over him and fled. His partner struggled to his feet, nursing his bitten hand and followed. Now only the man on the ground and Tobias remained in the alley.

One glance at the shadow was enough. The stranger jumped to his feet and ran in the same direction as his captors, screaming about monsters. So much for a thank you. Tobias turned to leave the alley, but just then, the back door to the club opened.

A skimpily dressed woman and a man stepped into the alley where Tobias was returning his shadow to his wrist guard. The woman, upon seeing what appeared to be some sort of creepy rapist or something, screamed and pulled out pepper spray. She hastily sprayed it at Tobias, who looked up in time to get a face full of pain. Crying out, Tobias tried to rub at his eyes while he stumbled backwards. At that point, the man, hoping to appear brave, ran up and struck Tobias a mighty blow across the face. Of course, the ballistic face mask prevented the attack from causing any real pain, but the blow knocked Tobias off balance. He flailed and fell into a pile of garbage.

With his eyes burning and his wounded arm, TK struggled to get up and stumble out of the alley. Neither of the two assailants followed Tobias as he put as much distance between himself and the club as possible.