[Rina Carmen]

Raven was not really the type of person who was able to stay in one place for too long. Granted it was something that she was somewhat trying to work on. She had been recently in New York, and even though in a way it was starting to grow on her she couldn't help but take to the sky.

She had only really meant to take a bit of a relaxing flight not far from where she was staying, but she ended up taking a higher altitude and flew further afield. Before she knew it she had ended up in California. Somewhere where she had been about before. Plus there was a bonus that it was by Nevada, the home of Las Vegas. Now there was a place she enjoyed whenever she went there. A place full of history, and especially corruption.

This time she decided on staying in California for a little longer. Her flying about, and wandering below. There were enough well known areas throughout the state. This time her making her way to San Francisco. In particular she was up above, staying on rooftops and peering below whenever she could. A lot of the buildings making it easy for her to stay out of sight.

Now that the day was getting on and it was becoming darker, she ventured down onto the streets. In a way the people that milled about didn't seem all that different to anywhere else that she had been. It was likely yet another place where trouble could easily be caused. Granted she wasn't sure if she was really in the mood to create such chaos.

For now she paused in her footsteps in order to light up a cigarette, before carrying on on her walk. Her idly gazing about at those not all that far away.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Jack didn't get into trouble. They were too smart, too careful, and too well-prepared to get caught out like that. Naturally that meant that this situation had to be a dream, or rather, a nightmare. Perhaps it would help if we rewound a little. Jack had been out. Which was unusual. They had been out alone, which was even more unusual. Usually when they went out they had CBE-177, or Anna, accompany them. They were paying them very well for it after all. They'd taken a shortcut home, stepping down an alleyway they knew would cut at least ninety seconds out of their trip by taking this route. That added to several other time saving decisions would result in at least three minutes saved. It was a petty measure, but Jack liked to create petty efficiencies. There was certainly a degree of satisfaction that came with it. Currently that satisfaction was rapidly receding, as one large figure blocked the light from one end of the alleyway, and as they turned to retreat, another two blocked their exit. They pursed their lips in frustration. They had tools, of course, they always did, but only one of them was suited for self-defence, and likely would only suit to dispose of two of the potential threats. That still left one, and Jack was under no illusions as to their ability to compete physically.

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[Rina Carmen]

Raven casually smoked on her cigarette as she continued to stroll along. She vaguely spotted what appeared to be a teen who turned into an alley up ahead. She didn't take it too much to mind until she spotted another two figures appear to follow them.

It didn't really mean a thing, but it did seem a little strange when both figures just seemed to stop right there at the alley entrance. Now that did peak her curiosity. There was a couple ways in which she could nose in on what was going on. One was to just straight over and to muscle in. Or there was the more subtle approach where she could peer down from above.

The subtle approach won out. Half jogging to a more discreet area, she floated on up until she was able to stand and peer over down below into the alley way. From there she was able to see the teen she had spotted, as well as the two that blocked their path. Only now could she see that there was another on the other side.

For now she remained where she was. Not about to jump to conclusions as to what was going on below.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Jack looked both directions, then at the walls of the alleyway. It was in vain. There were no doors, no conveniently placed fire escapes. Not that they would have been able to jump up and pull down a ladder anyway. No, their best chance would be to remove the threat from one side and attempt to escape that way. Once they got into the crowds they would likely be left alone. It would likely be better to approach the individual, at least that way it would be easier to hit their intended target. Feeling not at all confident about, they started heading towards the end of the alleyway they had originally been aiming for, thrusting one hand deep into their pocket to grasp the small device they had secreted there. Under their breath they began to count down, striding as confidently as they could towards their potential assailant. They pulled the small rectangle from their pocket as they drew closer, holding it in front of them like a gun. It fizzed, sparked, and resolutely failed to do anything. Then the fist hit Jack in the stomach.

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[Rina Carmen]

Raven kept on observing from above. Her continuing to smoke on her cigarette, which she had managed to keep lit up. It appeared that the little gather below was certainly more for sinister purposes. Considering the size of those that were hounding the teenager she wasn't so certain that the teen was able to handle it.

Still she watched to see just how the teen would react. So far they seemed to be going on the defensive. She wasn't certain that heading towards one was a good move or not. Just as she was wondering whether there was an ability or something that was going to help, she spotted something in their hand. Not that she could make out fully from the distance exactly what it was. Apparently it wasn't all that helpful since they ended up with a fist in their stomach. A punch like that could easily wind someone enough so they wouldn't be able to retaliate at all.

She had an internal debate with herself for the briefest of moments, then flicked her cigarette down towards the alleyway. She soon followed suit, by dropping down close by. "Now that wasn't the nicest of things to do. Now why don't you nice folks go and pick on someone your own size?" She spoke up as she casually strode on over.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Jack had doubled over and was currently coughing and spluttering in a desperate attempt to regain their breath. That punch had hurt, there was a dull ache in the pit of their stomach now, and no doubt there was another coming. They braced themselves for the next impact, and was surprised when none was forthcoming, instead, they heard a females voice. That had been unexpected. She was confident, that much could be told from her tone of voice. And, once Jack managed to look up, her appearance. She was walking over as if she was hitting on a guy in a bar, not like she was intervening in a potential mugging. Potential? What was Jack kidding. This was a mugging, without a functioning gadget they were effectively defenceless, and it was unlikely this one woman could provide salvation. Then again, she was walking with an awful lot of confidence. A metahuman perhaps. Jack racked their brains, attempting to recall anything they could about brunette metahumans. They couldn't think of any that matched this woman's description. Perhaps they didn't have a file on her. Not that the current state of affairs would last for long. Jack managed to stand sort of straight just in time to see one of the thugs throw a punch at the woman.

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[Rina Carmen]

Raven looked on over towards the teen who was currently doubled over after being hit in the gut. Getting winded like that was always something that took a little time to recover from. She figured that perhaps just her presence would help give them a chance to be able to at least stand fully again. Then again that depended on the braincells of the current group. Her initial thought on that however was that there was likely barely one braincell floating between them all. Just a group of Neanderthals. Picking on what they thought were the weak.

She didn't bare too much surprise as one of the group threw a punch towards her. She merely rose a hand up and caught the fists in her palm before it could make contact. A feat that looked much too simple. She held the fist in place, not allowing any movement, locking the entire limb in the pose.

"Now now. That wasn't very nice of you was it. Did your mother never teach you to not hit a poor defenceless woman?" She remarked as a grin began to spread over her lips.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Surprisingly, the woman caught the punch, almost as a second thought. Hunched over a little, Jack leaned against the dirty wall of the alleyway, grateful for the solid and unmoving support offered by the slimy bricks. She was definitely a metahuman then. No normal woman would be able to catch a fist and hold it with so little effort. The individual that had assaulted Jack moved past the slender figure and deeper into the alleyway, heading in the direction of the girl. She was clearly strong, but was she strong enough to take on three men at once? Especially, Jack now saw, that one was armed with a wickedly sharp looking knife. Stooping, they picked up the small device they had dropped when they were punched. It had stopped sparking at least, which meant the short circuit was probably connected to the mechanical parts of the gun, and not necessarily an overload or a fault in its, admittedly unstable power core. Holding it to their ear they shook it, then pried it open with ragged fingernails. A loose wire fell out where it's soldering had come apart. The connection was black, clearly it hadn't survived the current forced through it. They swore, then awkwardly twisted the wire about the contact before clapping the case back together. Hopefully it would hold up for at least one use. They started stumbling down the alleyway towards the oncoming confrontation.

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[Rina Carmen]

With her still keeping that arm locked in place, Raven peered back towards the teen to make sure they weren't getting into further trouble. From the seems of things the attention was more placed on her instead. Something she was somewhat used to, and in all manner of ways. Trouble granted was normally at the top of that list, so this was nothing new.

She shifted the male she had hold of via that locked grip, barely paying attention to the expression over his face. Her own attention on the small gathering of the gang. Her witnessing a blade wasn't anything new. It was something she tended to look out for, mostly out of habit of dealing with shanks while in prison.

She had her own way of dealing with multiple people. Jerking the arm she held towards her, she used the males own weight to twist the arm behind his back. Then with a sharp strong shove she let go, in order to send the bulk to towards the one with the blade. She might as well have been throwing an empty cardboard box with the lack of effort required. It was a quick and easy way for her, more or less doing the two birds and one stone method.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Jack was not entirely surprised to find two of the assailants hurled towards them with no more effort than they might use to throw an empty mug across the room (Anna was surprisingly proficient at catching them). They stepped back as quickly as they could, narrowly avoiding the collision that would have no doubt left them under the two bigger and heavier individuals. They looked up to see the woman with one arm extended. She'd done that with just one limb, that in itself was impressive, even if it was a metahuman arm. They turned back to the pile of humans on the floor before them, now shifting as they attempted to untangle themselves and climb to their feet. Unwilling to let them do so without opposition, they aimed the small device at them. Hopefully it would be able to deal with both of them, after all, Jack was fairly certain they only had one shot. That shot did a little more than they expected. The electrical blast that emerged from the, for want of a better word, barrel looked like an expanding net, until it hit and sank into the forms of the two men. They writhed for a moment as several thousand volts coursed through them. One of them started smoking slightly. Then the charge subsided and they both stopped moving. Jack was worried, for a moment, that the blast might have killed them. Then one moved slightly and groaned unconsciously, and the second began to drool. They looked back up, almost able to straighten fully now, to see what the woman had done to the last man.

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[Rina Carmen]

Raven stood there a moment as she assessed the situation once more, particularly now that a few had been dealt with, and with ease at that. Her attention was briefly caught by the teen who had what reminded her of a stun gun, not that she had used one before. If this is what happened around here, then she could understand why someone would have one.

As the final attacker decided to make a move towards her, she merely shook her head. With a simple punch she heard a crack, as what was a nose shattered. Mild compared to what she was capable of. But quick enough to drop them like a sack of spuds onto the ground.

Stepping over the form she casually walked towards the teen, shifting a few strands of hair from her face. "You okay kid?" She spoke up, her gaze casting down at the pair that had been shocked. Both seemed to be fairly out of it. "Nice. Think they'll be feeling that for a while." She spoke in mild amusement, a smile playing over her lips.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

"That is the idea." Jack tucked the now spent weapon into a pocket. They would have to make sure they opened it up as soon as they got home. It had proven itself effective, but really it needed to be more reliable. Its initial misfiring had earned Jack what was now a dull ache in their stomach. It could have been worse, but it would likely stay with them for most of the rest of the day. They turned to observe the young woman more closely, though she was clearly much older than the teen. They winced as their stomach twinged, then kicked one of the unconscious men. It made them feel a little better, although their stomach hurt as they did so. Jack mused that inflicting that pain had been worth their own. They turned back to the woman. "So what brings you to San Francisco…?" They trailed off, clearly expecting a name in response.

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[Rina Carmen]

Raven gave a brief nudge with her foot on one of the still forms, her chuckling under her breath. "Was that a taser or something?" She asked as she set her eyes on the teen. She wasn't a stranger when it came to tasers, not that she had ever used one. She had known someone who had a fondness for them, of no surprise she had known them inside of prison rather than outside.

Now she was closer towards the teen she settled her own sights on them. She stood by her initial guess of them being a teen. She however couldn't quite make out the gender. She wanted to lean towards a male, but then there was that soft spoken voice which gave nothing away. She didn't really want to make an assumption either. Just to be on the safe side. Instead she decided to see if they gave off any other hints as to what they were.

Her gaze flickered down slightly as they winced. Her figuring that they had managed to get hurt during the altercation.

At being asked what brought her to San Francisco she gave a brief shrug of her shoulders. "Oh, we could say that I just dropped in for a visit." She stated, her voice filled with amusement. Her angling to just how she had made her entrance. "Name's Raven. And just who did I happen to help out?" She asked, her gaze remained settled on the teen.

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + Rina Carmen

Jack shrugged, they were fairly sure that it would take to long to explain the principle behind the device, and even if they managed to, the woman probably wouldn't understand it. "Or something." The comment about her arrival seemed to be a hint, at least judging from the apparent amusement in her voice. Jack was less amused, their stomach still ached, even if kicking their erstwhile assailants had lent some salve to the wounds to their pride. Jack was smart enough to get it. Maybe she'd dropped from the roof, her clear enhanced resilience would have fit that situation. On the other hand, it was possible that she'd received a power that granted her more than simple increased strength. They held out a pale, slender hand. "Jack, I appreciate your help." This stranger had effectively saved their limbs, if not their life. And the three men heaped on the ground were testament to that fact. Jack certainly needed to keep an eye on this strange Raven, if this was the way she introduced herself into a new city it shouldn't be hard to establish a history for the woman. "What can I do to pay you back?"

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[Rina Carmen]

"Well whatever that something just was, I'd say it packed a punch or two." Raven remarked with an eyebrow raised. If the teen was going to say anything more about it she figured they would have done it then and there.

Raven looked to the held out hand, then after a beat she took it. Making sure to keep the touch light to be on the safe side. There had been more than one person in which she had inadvertently broken hand bones. "No problem Jack." She nodded as she gave their hand a quick shake.

She thought briefly on the name. Leaning straight away towards male. But it was one of those names that could have easily been short for Jackie or Jacqueline. The curse of unisex names. She for now wasn't going to think too much about it.

As she was asked about what could be done to repay her, she gave a head a shake, and half waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. You appeared to be in trouble, and I'm no stranger to trouble." She gave a partial admittance. She then gave them a grin. "Besides normally I'd just request to buy me a drink in thanks. But you don't exactly appear to be legal there." She let out a small chuckle.