i want to be in bryant park hotel [active, open]

[inmyothertights]

Characters: Billy Superpowers Wiccan, and anyone passing through the Bryant Park Hotel lobby who's liable to pay attention to a flash of blue light and the sudden presence of a teenager in a cloak and tights.
Content: Having previously been shut up in an empty and partially destroyed apartment building a fair way from anything civilised, Billy

Comments

[breakyourfinger]

Rorschach was on his way home to that apartment he had lived in in the alternate New York he came from. After spending the entire night getting very little out of the scant residents of the city, his path took him past the Bryant Park Hotel. He was as concerned as someone of his particular outlook could be. He could find nothing on his previous comrades. Even with an extra 20 years, he had expected at least one or two of them to still be around. After all, one of them was said to be indestructible and appeared to not have aged a day since he gained his abilities. But he could not even find so much as a news clipping that mentioned them. The idea of an alternate universe was starting to become more substantial, and it was not one he wanted to be true. He had few friends. He did not want them to be gone as if they had never existed.

So when that flash of blue light shone from the hotel lobby windows, he halted. The wind plastered his jacket to his thighs as he looked up at those windows. After a muffled grunt, he muttered, "Dr. Manhattan?"

He crossed the remaining distance in a few strides. He threw threw the door open with such force it was surprising the thing remained intact. Scarf hanging loose, tugged at by the wind entering behind him, he scanned the hotel lobby, masked head swiveling one way then another. But he did not see the imposing figure emitting constant, blue illumination. Only a young, non-glowing man. He took a few measured steps, heading for this single person.

[sky_courtesan]

The light attracted Inara's attention from over by the fireplace, where she had been curled up with a hot cup of tea and a book she had managed to borrow from one of the hotel's other residents. Curiousity getting the better of her, she rose to her feet and walked towards the lobby... only to see a strangely-dressed young man surrounded by a glowing blue light appear. Behind him, a darkly-cloaked man with the strangest of faces walked in from the street.

By now, Inara was used to the strange folk that seemed to be drawn to this city, and the two newcomers didn't really shock her by their appearance. She only paused for a moment, and then smiled kindly. "It seems as if this hotel is a hub for activity."

[inmyothertights]

Billy didn't think he'd been so pleased to see strangers for quite a long time. The masked guy was a little unnerving, sure, but maybe that was just because he hadn't said anything yet.

At least the woman seemed friendly. He smiled back at her, slightly awkwardly, and shrugged. "That's what I heard," he said, shooting another cautious glance towards the man with the mask before looking back at Inara. "The rest of the city's kind of ... activity-less, isn't it?"

[breakyourfinger]

Though the masked man agreed with the two, he did not mention it. His head turned toward the woman. The manner in which he regarded her was difficult to discern through the material of the mask, under those shifting black and white symmetrical patterns. But he did not linger long on her. He'd get to her if he needed to, but not just yet. The one on his feet was of more interest to him.

Pulling his black gloved hands form his trench coat pockets, he approached the young man. Even with the extra elevation in his shoes, he did not reach six feet tall. So by stature alone, he was not imposing. But there were so many other methods of displaying confidence and prowess than mere vertical position. Though he made no obvious threatening movies, the manner in which he held himself seemed threatening in itself. Arms at his sides, back straight, almost featureless face directed toward his target. He came to a stop within arm's length of Billy, close enough to make out every subtle shift to the patterns on his face. Whether they were mere random shapes or reflected some form of expression or inner thought remained to be determined. After a brief moment of silence, he just said "Where is he?" Flat. Unemotional. Straight-forward.

[sky_courtesan]

"It would seem so, with such an abundance of visitors," Inara replied smoothly, stepping further into the lobby. The boy couldn't be any older than his mid to late teens, and she couldn't help but be amused by his overwhelmingly relieved expression.

She glanced over at the masked man then, refusing to break her calm exterior. Perhaps the boy knew who he was looking for - such a direct question from a stranger obviously wasn't meant for her... but still. Best to keep her guard up. Not everyone on the island could be trusted.

[inmyothertights]

Billy stared at Rorschach for a moment or two, taken aback by the suddenness and bluntness of the question and the certainty this guy seemed to have that he was asking in the right place.

"Uhh ..." He glanced at Inara in the hope that she might be able to clarify the situation, but if anything she looked as if she thought he might have an answer. No such luck. "Where's who?"

[breakyourfinger]

Rorschach wasn't one to waste time, nor did he worry about witnesses. He was under the impression that only one person had super powers, and he could clearly see that Billy or the woman possessed no device with which they could have created such a brilliant flash of light. That led him to only one conclusion. Having already asked once, he wasn't one to give warnings.

There was no hesitation. No pause to consider circumstances. Only action. He lunged forward, gloved hands going for Billy's chest. His intent was to shove the young man against the the wall. But he didn't anticipate the abilities the other might possess. Nor did he consider any interference by the woman. He was accustomed to a certain mindset of the people he dealt with. Accustomed to people knowing who he was, and fearing him. Unfortunately, such things as reputation tended to not follow across dimensional boundaries.

[sky_courtesan]

Inara's polite smile slipped into a frown when she realized that the boy had no idea who the masked man was talking about either. She gave him a nod of understanding, turning towards the man with the shifting mask, "I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name-"

She was cut off before she could complete her sentence as the man dove towards the boy. She reacted before she could think, moving quickly next to Billy and putting her arm out slightly to block him. "What do you think you're doing?"

What was with these people? Aiya.

[inmyothertights]

"Whoah - wait a second! I don't even know what you're talking about!" Billy backed up a couple of steps, blue lightning already starting to crackle in his hands. That was reassuring, at least, to know he could still do that, but he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep it up if this turned into a serious fight ... He just hoped Inara knew what she was doing - and that the guy in the mask wasn't about to unleash any kind of cataclysmic super-powers.

[breakyourfinger]

Rorschach was halted before his hands could grasp anything substantial. Unlike Billy, the masked man posessed no supernatural powers. But that had never stopped him before. Granted, he'd only met one person with powers, and they happened to be on the same side of things. "Dr. Manhattan," he said, his voice flat, lacking aggression or apology. "He is--" That's when he saw the blue lightning.

He hesitated.

His head twisted slightly to look at the woman, then back to Billy. Those shifting patterns did not linger in any one position to give way to any hint of underlying emotion.

"Dr. Manhattan must be found." He continued in that same tone.

[sky_courtesan]

Inara's surprised look settled into a glare, and she took a more solid stance against the masked man. He hadn't gone through with his attack against the boy, so that must have counted for something.

She levelled a look at the man, focusing intently on his face. "I have been at this hotel for a few weeks now, and I have never met nor heard of this Dr. Manhattan." She frowned at him curiously. "Has no one explained to you about this city?"

[inmyothertights]

Okay, no-one was hurting anyone else. That was good. Billy allowed himself to relax a little, but a little light still sparked between the fingertips of one hand. Just in case. He was rather grateful for the way Inara was being so much more articulate and firm about this than he would have been if it was just up to him, but the name Dr. Manhattan was vaguely familiar - he just couldn't work out where.

He realized why after a moment or two, the light of recognition dawning on his face, and raised a finger to point at Rorschach. "Hey - you're the guy from the internet, with the sentence fragments!"

[breakyourfinger]

Had the masked man been inclined toward expressing himself, he would have groaned, pressed his hand to his face and otherwise made his frustration known to the pair of them. His manner of speaking (or of writing, for that matter) had not been an issue before. And everyone knew who he and Dr. Manhattan were. The big blue man was respected in most ways, and the masked one was feared in even the most respectable circles. The idea of re-building that level of infamy was not a pleasant notion. If he was going to return to his previous status, he could waste no time. 'Never compromise' was his motto, and he didn't intended to change it now.

"Aware of this city. What it has become," he said in monotone. With out further warning he moved to push past the woman. He was not at all gentle in the manner with which he did this. And despite his smaller stature, he was surprisingly strong. His target was Billy, and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

[sky_courtesan]

Inara took in a sharp breath as the masked man shoved by her in an attempt to get to the magic-wielding young man behind her. She knew she was going to bruise from the push, but shoved the thought to the back of her mind. There was obviously a more pressing matter to attend to.

Keeping her temper in check, she took a step backwards, moving along with the shove. But she didn't stop the man - she just stood her ground, and frowned at him. Straightfowardness she appreciated; uncalled-for rudeness, even after living on Serenity as long as she had, she did not.

[inmyothertights]

"Get out of the way!"

Billy had fought enough thugs, masked and otherwise, to be able to tell when just standing your ground and being determined wasn't going to stop someone. Now seemed to be one of those times, and he wasn't about to just stand there and let someone who didn't need to be involved get hurt for his sake. So he moved quickly around Inara - before they were collectively backed into a wall or something - to face Rorschach with nothing between them, letting the lightning come back at full force (it was, apparently, not quite as forceful as he would have usually hoped, but it would be enough).

"Are you saying you're aware of it or she is? I think you could really benefit from some pronouns, they're great for clarifying stuff like that."

[breakyourfinger]

With Inara to the side, and Billy apparently not backing down, Rorschach saw he wasn't going to need to keep him there. So his lunge halted when he was close enough for the magic-weilder to hear the faint movement of breath through the fabric of the mask. Not that the man was going to give the smart-mouthed young man a chance to notice it. Nor did he intend to answer the question on his word usage.

He reached to grab Billy's hand, active powers or not. It certainly wasn't a greeting or gesture of affection. Instead of trying to graps the other's palm, he went to grab the young man's fingers, to bend them back to a very uncomfortable level. At least, that was his intent. He didn't pay too much mind to what those crackling bolts of illumination would do.

"Answers. Both of you," he said. He was not going to waste time.