Watching Heirs Unnaparent

Cloak and Daggers (عباءة وخناجر)

The transformation washed over him, more rapidly than before, which was fitting as Nicholas wasted little time, vaulting the roof effortlessly and dropping straight down into the midst of the thieves. The last of the golden light faded as he landed in a stance that would have gotten him laughed out of the city had the situation not been so serious. He slid between the first hostage and the man pinning her with his weapon (it didn't look exactly like a gun, but it wasn't like anything he had ever seen before either, so perhaps a rifle was the most accurate term he could give to it), already ready to defend them if anyone decided to get trigger-happy.

"Let them go!" he shouted bravely, dropping into a tight defensive position as the rest of the robbers whirled, suddenly realizing their grand escape hadn't been so grand after all.

"I want to see this"

"Nice costume, kid. Who on earth are you?" the head of the gang snapped, seemingly unconcerned about the superhero braced to attack. This wasn't extremely surprising, as Paris had never had a superhero before and no one had thought to roll out the red carpet for him upon his arrival. Oh, well, he would just have to make this entrance count, then.

"Griffon"

Four weapons clicked around his head and Nicholas only grinned, taking a step back and spreading his arms, his gaze never faltering from the man who had spoken, even as he sensed the other three moving to come him from all sides. He heard Lorr's whispers of warning in his subconscious but he pushed them away. This was just another backstreet brawl. He knew how to handle himself. Goodness knows he'd had to do it enough times over the past years.

"I'm the guy who's going to make you let these innocent people go and return all the money that you stole." Fury laced the hero's words, knowing from previous experience that the men would absolutely not do what he'd requested.

And he was right. They laughed, quietly at first but that pleasantry did not last long as they shared a disbelieving glance, one that spelled trouble for Nicholas. "Oh, really?" the boss--whom Nicholas had dubbed Talker (for obvious reasons)--sneered. He took a step forward and Nicholas braced himself for the strike. "And what are you gonna do, boy? There are four of us and only one of you."

"Four to one, huh?" Nicholas jeered, gloved hands clenching to fists as he weighed his options. On one hand, he had the advantage of incredible agility and speed. On the other, they had weapons and he did not. "Okay," he said, smirking as he called their bluff. "I like those odds."

Nino just rolled his eyes

He really needed to talk to Lorr about the whole weapon thing because this was totally unfair.

"Big talk for such a small runt," spoke another of the robbers and Nicholas heard the distinctly feminine voice from his left. "Let's see if you say the same once I blow your brains out!"

Nicholas chuckled. Oh, don't worry. I won't give you that chance. The weapon fired and he jerked away automatically, biting down on his tongue to prevent the yell of surprise from exploding out as the blast erupted from the mouth of the gun--a blazing, charged, blue blast of power that was entirely not a bullet--and whizzed into the nearest wall, evaporating instantly upon contact.

What in the world is that?! he screamed and he felt Lorr's panic mirror his own. He spun back into a firm preparatory stance, staring down the weapons--and the crater created by the blast; absolutely not what he'd anticipated come out of them. Dude, what WAS THAT?