[MTW;OTA]

[modernholmes]

It was a dark and stormy night.  The kind of night that would prompt any law-abiding citizen to stay safely inside their homes.  Still, something was brewing in the gloomy streets.  And knowing the kinds of people that usually came out on nights like this, that something was probably big trouble.

In a dark alley near the Noirland museum, private

Comments

[sparrowhillrose]

Somewhere not too far from where The phantom is patrolling the rooftops, a young woman is having a little trouble with her car. It's not that she can't get it started - in theory she probably can, considering she's halfway under the hood with little thought to getting some grease or oil on her clothes - but she can't quite figure out why it won't start.

She also doesn't notice a couple of menacing-looking thugs heading towards her, grinning. Someone's boss isn't the most popular dame in town, and Rosie's a pretty easy target, if she's not behind the wheel. It might be she's in need of a bit of rescuing.

[invisibill]

Did someone call for a rescue? In a fluid blur of motion the black cloaked figure leaps off the roof and lands squarely between the thugs and the girl. He says nothing, but quickly approaches the approaching criminals with fistfuls of green light in each hand. In the darkness, the greenish light casts a menacing shade over the scene, washing out warm colors to a sickly paleness.

[sparrowhillrose]

Rose didn't hear the goons coming up behind her, or The Phantom drop down behind her, but she does notice the light, because it lets her see that some tubing of some sort had come loose, and that was her problem. She lets out a little triumphant, "Ha!" and reattaches it before closing the hood, wiping her hands on a rag, and turning around.

"Oh... oh dear."

teach me to tag when I'm mostly asleep

[invisibill]

Danny hastily finishes taking down the last of the thugs and takes a few steps away, intending on disappearing before the girl could notice him. Only to find out it was already too late.

[ledfromthepath]

The Phantom isn't the only one out tonight. Kat is on the prowl for a way to make ends meet, a story to feed to Dave when she sees him tomorrow or report to the cops if there's a reward to be had tonight. She looks like a thin-faced, effeminate boy, with her hair stuffed up under her newsie cap and her slacks and vest, just starting to rot at the edges. Damned rain. It's always raining, here.

She lifts her head and inhales, deeply, trying to scent past the downpour. She thought she caught something familiar, but now she's not so sure.

[invisibill]

Danny frowns as he peers down from his perch on a nearby lamppost. Had he seen that guy around before? Or was it a girl? The rain and darkness made it hard to see. But he was almost certain that the face under that cap was familiar.

[itchafes]

Neal, for his part, has no idea what's going on. One minute he was out collecting unfamiliar plants to try as dyes, the next he's standing with a camera slung around his neck at the edge of a violent crime scene, hair plastered flat by the rain. The surroundings could almost could be New York - or rather, a caricature of New York, done up by someone who'd seen pictures and read too many true crime stories.

He turns his face away from the sight of the body, that old rumble of nausea stirring at the thought of violence, and hurries on his way. No one stops him; so he must not be essential personnel. Fairy wood shenanigans, as Peter would say - that's who he needs to find right now, Peter. The sooner they're together the sooner they can find the rest of their people and a way out of this place.

[modernholmes]

In the best tradition of detectives everywhere, Conan stands up against the wall of the alley, peering around the corner to best judge his distance from the target. Taking the weather and the number of people in the streets into account, he calculates the distance needed. Close enough to keep track of the target, but far enough away to avoid raising any suspicions. He holds himself still, and then finally steps out acting as if he was just out for a walk.

[itchafes]

Neal isn't a stranger to being tailed. Being tailed in a situation like this just makes him twice as wary - kid or not. If there's one thing he's learned, it's that the normal standards of danger don't apply here. He waits, fiddling with the camera and taking a few snaps of the area- and then recognizes the kid when he draws closer.

He grins, with a flush of relief. "Conan, right?"

[modernholmes]

At first, Conan is prepared with any number of excuses. Being a child was occasionally useful when it came for coming up with reasons for being in places he shouldn't.

But then, panic. Conan did not recognize his face. But this man knew his name. How much else did he know? If he knew Conan's identity, did he know about what really happened to Shinichi Kudo? Was he involved with that group? Hurriedly, Conan pulls himself back together. First, gather more information about the situation.

But even as he speaks up with deliberately childish inflections, Conan is sliding one hand towards the sedative launcher concealed in his watch. If nothing else, it could buy him time if this situation went bad.

"Eh? You know my name? Have we met before?"