(Untitled)

[timeshadow]

 A shadow was passing over the city. Literally. There was nothing to be seen in the late afternoon sky, not even a disturbance in the clouds, but something was coming in fast across the Hudson. It was too high up for anything more than a faint flickering shade across the water, but in the pre-fabricated jungle of Lower Manhattan there were some,

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[rogersmith_bigo]

Roger looks up as the ship passes over. He touches it for a second, then backs off. "So that was what John was talking about."

[etherreality]

Somewhere in the security systems, the featherlight touch was registered. A small yellow light appeared on a console, flashed once - then stopped as the signal went away.

Arusha crossed the control room, looking down at the screen past Rak's shoulder. "Ground teams," she spoke into the console mic, "we have a lock. He's in the backblocks of Penn Station, 8th Street and 31st."

"Copy that." Boon's voice, just a little crackly from being in the midst of the city.

"ETA one minute." She flicked the comlink off. John was more than capable of organising his team from there. "Have you ever wondered why they have a Pennsylvania Station in the middle of New York?"

"No," Rak checked that the ship's cloak was still functioning and picked up her jacket, "why? Would you prefer Transylvania Station?"

"Under the circumstances," 'Rush followed her toward the transport bay at the rear of the compartment, "yes!"

[sharp_cold]

Spike, meanwhile, had managed to find himself a bit of bother. Not that he minded, in the least. Bunch of local sad-sacks who happened to have set up shop in the very same alcove he fancied for himself - a nice li'l terrace in the depths of Penn, one of the places where you could still find bits of the Old Station hiding away from the glare of the new.

That'd been a fucking crime, in his very blunt opinion; the tearing down of the Grand Old Lady to make way for modern glitz. It had pissed him off even then, back when he was still ripping throats out for fun. Now, well ... you could say it saddened his poet's soul.

In any case, it hadn't taken much effort to see off those local vamps; they were so damn stupid they probably spent their time trying to get blood out of a hotdog. Then he'd settled down to spend the day snoozing, boozing and catching up on the local news, courtesy of the papers he'd nicked on the way through - which was where he'd been when the locals proved themselves to be particularly stupid. As in, they'd actually

[john_boon]

" Copy that." Boon clicked his comm over to another channel; "Doc, you get that? You guys take the entrance on 33rd, we'll be going in on 31."

"Got it, Johnny." Doc's voice came back, "33rd. Y'know, after all this, the guy'd better be in there!"

"Tell me about it. And remember, low profile!"

"Lowest of the low, Boss." The comm clicked off. For all his bluster Doc could easily vanish among any crowd, and Boon was counting on him to be a steadying hand with Jojo and Kincaid - either of whom could get a little ... excitable.

John sighed and turned toward Zylyn; "Let's get on in there."

[notmichael_long]

A few yards away, Michael straightened up from where he'd been leaning against Kitt's side. He'd been waiting there for a while now, mostly keeping his ears open and his mouth shut. Earlier on he'd tried for a bit of friendly banter, but while Boon had seemed happy enough to join in, Zylyn was ... well, growly to say the least. Privately, Michael felt the guy oughta learn to lighten up.

Now, though, he pricked up his ears as the contact came through from what he couldn't help thinking of as 'the Mothership'. "OK, buddy." He patted a hand against Kitt's hood, "I think that's our 'Go'."

[ki2k]

"I think you're right, Michael." And even with Rak and 'Rusha and the rest there, he still couldn't help but feel overly concerned for Michael's safety. The man just wasn't as young as he used to be, and this wasn't the sort of situation they'd encountered before. Protecting him would be a challenge.

[notmichael_long]

Michael shifted a little. He was wearing a piece for the first time in a long while - long enough that the feel of the shoulder holster under his jacket was kind of unfamiliar. He also didn't know how effective bullets were likely to be against a ... vampire. A vampire, for Chrissakes. First aliens, and now ...

He still wasn't 100% sure that they were talking about what he thought they were talking about, but - as he got another look at the set to Zylyn's shoulders as he approached - it seemed likely that they were.

Or, and on that thought he glanced between the men and Kitt, they'd just figured out that the three of them in the Trans Am was going to be a fairly tight fit.

[etherreality]

They came down in a low, dusty corridor somewhere in the lower part of the station. Back to back, they scanned the surroundings, even though the sensors had assured them this particular point was deserted.

"Comm check." Rak's voice was in stereo, both live and over the silver buttons on their lapels, "One."

"Two." 'Rush followed suit, waiting for the confirming beep from Arc.

When it came, her partner checked the tracker strapped to her wrist. "Proceeding south-east."

'Rush fell in behind her, easing the compact Taser pistol from under her jacket. Using the teleport gave them an edge of surprise, and also allowed them to carry a little more in the way of arms. Strictly speaking this wasn't intended as a combat mission, but their target was still an unknown and they couldn't be sure what else might be calling the underground home. Despite recent appearances, they really did make a habit of being careful.

[timeshadow]

Soft-soled boots padded silently along the tiled floor, stepping over the portions that were cracked or broken. Overhead, a thick nest of cobwebs hung, shrouded with dust and giving back the glow of the bare electric lights; likewise the edges of this corridor and the one it led out to were thick with grime. Doors leading off were more often broken open than sealed, but the bolts left attached were coated with rust.

At the intersection, Rak turned and glanced back. "You seein' what I'm seein'?"

"Uh-huh." A nod and another look around; "This section hasn't been used for years."

"Yep. So who you figure's been changin' the bulbs?"

[etherreality]

"Ohhhh - !" 'Rush grumbled, "I hate that kinda logic."

She nudged a switch, dialing up the amps on the modified Taser. "Any bets they won't be the sort of nightlife we see in brochures?"

[timeshadow]

Rak shrugged and clicked her tongue. "Let's find out."

Reaching over her shoulder she drew the slim sword from its sheath across her back. The Tasers they may have gotten away with in polite company, so long as the modifications weren't looked at too closely. The live steel - well, that was another thing altogether.

"And hey," she glanced back, "look on the bright side ... we may just be about the scare the living crap out of a spelunking club."

[sharp_cold]

Well now, this was a turn up. Not that the excitement of the fight hadn't been waning - the sheer stupidity of these boys lost its novelty after the first two or three. And not that he was resistant to a little help, totally unexpected as it was. But when there were suddenly two complete strangers in the midst of the fight and they seemed to be on your side ... a body couldn't not to wonder who the bloody sodding hell they were.

Credit due; they were good, they had weapons, and - as one of the vamps settled to the floor as dust - they knew what they were dealing with. None of which, in his books, was necessarily encouraging. Spike threw a punch that broke the face of another opponent, then shot a sharp glance toward the nearer of the two; "Alright, ducks. Just what crevice did you pop up from?"

[etherreality]

"Us?" 'Rush sidestepped an attack and brought up her blade, handily cleaving the vampire's arm from his body.

"We're," the sword came around and took off the creature's head, "the Welcome Wagon."

[sharp_cold]

Oh t'riffic. And they were comedians, to boot.

"Nice shot, blondie," he returned, breaking the neck of the vamp he'd just punched and letting it drop to the floor, "but I was hoping for a mite more information."

[timeshadow]

"OK then, try this." Rak blocked a wild swing, stepped in and gave her assailant a knee hard in the groin.

"You crash-landed last night in the middle of Central Park. You were someplace totally other, but suddenly you were there. This place seems normal but there's bits that just aren't right. Something's screwy. If you want answers on what's happened, then you wanna stick with us."

[rocksalt_sam]

The brothers Winchester never seemed to be very far from trouble - it had a knack for finding them. So when Sam saw a group of people running towards him, he figured he must be in the right place.

[etherreality]

What the - ? A civilian - ? What the blazes was a civilian doing down here - ?

Dammit, there went the option of just teleporting the hell outta there. 'Rush turned, Tasered a couple of chasing vamps and waved urgently toward the newcomer.

"Hey! You! Get outta here! GO!"

[timeshadow]

Oh, hell ...

"Ground teams," called into the comm, "we're gonna need backup down here!"

[rocksalt_sam]

Sam smiled grimly. Yep. This was EXACTLY where he needed to be. He'd seen enough to know what they were dealing with, too.

"Vamps?" Piece of cake.