Description: A woman gets mugged in Metro City! ...Well, almost anyways! Enter Bartitsu Mask, crime's newest enemy! People are thrown! A mugger gets beat up! Uppercuts are issued like currency! Also, what's with the cape? (Winner: Fuj-- I mean, Bartitsu Mask!)
Metro City Park.
10 PM.
"Rocky! Would you stop pulling me!" The young woman in scruffy sweat pants and a jogging jacket pulls back on the leash, clutching her purple purse hanging over her shoulder. Her escort for the evening, a small pug dog, begins to gasp, tugging hard on its leash. Allison didn't want to take a walk this late at night; but a lot of things were on her mind. The test results came back on her father; it was cancer. Her boss laid into her when she couldn't get the report together on time. And now, Rocky demanded to go on her walk, no matter how stressed the woman was.
At least the park was peaceful tonight.
The walking path through the trees was serene, a brief glimpse of natural beauty rarely found in the heart of the city. A presence of isolation hovered over Allison as Rocky kept panting, pulling towards a nearby tree, snorting loudly as he picks up the scent of another dog. Allison looked towards the garden near the side, the flowers of spring blooming in the night. Taking a deep breath, she takes in the cool night air, exhaling the troubles of the day. Sometimes, it was best to be alone, to escape from the madness of the rat race.
But she wasn't alone.
A broad-shouldered, bald man dressed in a brown suit steps out from the nearby bushes, brandishing a knife. Looking at his mark for the evening from behind a pair of sunglasses, he growls at the woman. "Hold it right there, lady." Allison freezes, staring at the man in terror as Rocky sniffs at the tree, oblivious of the man. Allison takes a step back, as the man pushes forward, looming. "Your purse. Drop the purse, lady, and I might not have to cut you." Allison trembles, her mouth beginning to open. The mugger begins to shake his head. "Don't you dare scream, lady. You gonna regret it...." But a cry erupts, Allison dropping her purse.
"HEEEEEEEELP!"
Meanwhile, nearby....
She needed an escape. A nervous wreck, all the way to America. She was supposed to be in a hospital recovering overseas, but the very instant her legs were willing to bear her weight, she ran away. She couldn't confront her fears, knowing that the man who destroyed countless lives walked through her like she was not even there. But in a twist of events, he let her live.
Was she alive because he let her live? or was she alive because her will to live superceded his will to destroy. It left many a leaflet of doubt in Fuji's head. Thumbs rolled over the soft velvet of a midnight top hat with a red trim at the base of it. A face mask rested on her knee. It had a hockey-mask look to it, but was finely detailed-- side the fact there were no eye hole cutouts. Only reflective black paint in place where the eyes should be, and a wide smile, painted on the mask with reflective red paint.
The shriek picked up on her ears. She was also in this park. She lifted the mask, almost as if she was examining it. This mask would be her new identity, to forget that which happened the days and weeks previous. She was growing out her hair. The mask fitted well to her face, hiding her features, and the top hat adorned her head as she sprang forward. A cry for help always meant distress. Distress was that brief moment in time, where someone needed a hero.
The Great Bartitsu Mask.
There was but a brief delay, when, almost out of thin air, the dark shroud resembling a woman's body bridged the gap between the accosted woman and the knife wielding man. What was with the cape?
The Mask was facing the woman. "...You should go." said a woman's voice. It was deep sounding. "It's not safe here." She stood, and turned, addressing the knife wielding man, though she wasn't directly facing him.
"Please leave before you get hurt."
The mugger was just short of charging the woman, when the mysterious figure appeared before him. Stunned, he recoils long enough, giving what both Allison and Fuji needed for the moment. Time. Allison, stumbling back, falls to her knees, attempting to grab her dropped purse. She was panicking, tears welling up in her eyes. But as the masked figure faces her... the fear fades away, if only for a moment. Seizing her purse, the woman nods, letting loose a breathless "Thank you!"
With that, she turns to flee.
The punk switching the knife from one hand to the other, swaying back and forth like a horse at the gate. He was inspecting this strange, masked woman, eyeing her cape with dumbstruck awe. "What the... do you think your some kind of superhero?" The mugger scoffs, sizing up his prey. As the Great Bartitsu Mask turns, he tilts his head, looking upon the black-painted mask with seemingly no eyes. "What, it's like you are dressed for the opera or somethin'! Now listen Superlady, I don't take kindly to people messing with my business! So lets find out if you invinciblity as your super power, huh!" The mugger, finally having built the gall to take on this alien figure, lunges in with the knife, attempting to jam his knife right into the center of the Great Bartitsu Mask.
Rocky, however, continues to snort at the base of the tree.
COMBATSYS: Dug has started a fight here.
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Dug 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Fuji has joined the fight here.
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Fuji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Dug
COMBATSYS: Fuji blocks Dug's Aggressive Strike.
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Fuji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Dug
The Masked woman didn't need to say much to this mugger. He was loud, boisterous, uncoordinated-- yet he was armed. She must treat him with the utmost of uncertainty. The dark haired woman shifted herself to a more defensive standpoint. She listened. The blade had to have been no more than 4 or 5 inches in length, more than enough to be illegal in city limits, but lethal enough to earn its' way into someone's heart. She must stop this force. She could feel his energy-- weak, but still energy. He was coming for her, an extension of his arm-- presumably the weapon, to get a stab in. Her arms lifted, deflecting the blow, but she was unable to stop his momentum-- but she had the answer for that. She sidestepped then, trying to grab his arm and toss him using his own weight, but not before she'd slap him upside the head for being an idiot!
COMBATSYS: Fuji successfully hits Dug with Momentum Toss.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Fuji 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Dug
Allison runs. She runs blindly through the park. She had no idea who that masked man.... no, her voice. It was very clearly a woman. She didn't understand why she was there, or how did was there, or anything. She even forgot about Rocky. Rocky. No, she had to get away. Rocky would be safe. Rocky will stay put. As the thoughts swam through her head, she doesn't notice the towering, dark-skinned man strolling through the park, clutching a jeweled walking stick. She doesn't notice, until she slams into the man, knocking herself to the ground. Wincing, the slowly gazes up, terror running through her heart as the massive man, unmoved by the impact, looks down upon the woman. In a deep baritone, he rumbles.
"Pardon me, miss; Is there something the matter?"
******************************
Dug thrusts his knife at the strange caped woman, drawing blood. Drawing blood, but only from the flesh. A surface cut; not even worth a scar. Growling, he doesn't even have time to react when the masked woman is by his side. "Well, you are mortal, super-" The mugger is cut short, taking a blow to the back to the head as his own weight is used against him, hurling him forward, forward....
Right into the tree.
There is a sick crack as the punk smashes head first into the tree. Dug drops the knife, the weapon landing softly in the grass. Rocky, looking at the knife, does the only thing a dog aught do: pick up the knife, and run off with it. Groaning, the mugger grabs his forehead with his good hand. Blood runs down his face; but that wasn't where the real damage was. Dug's neck was where the crack was from; and when the adrenaline passes, the mugger was going to be only in ever greater pain. The man stumbles towards The masked woman, barking at her. "You little- Get over her!" Lunging at the woman, he attempts to grab the Great Bartitsu Mask by her cape, and throw punch after punch at the mysterious figure' gut.
COMBATSYS: Dug successfully hits Fuji with Strong Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Fuji 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Dug
What did the Mask do next?
Nothing.
The top hat and Mask was a cool idea, but for whatever reason, she let the man grab her by the cape-- which in hindsight seemed like an awesome idea at the time, but this seemed to backfire, as she was now being fed punches-- or rather, a single punch to the stomach. She hunched, absorbing the damage fully, though with a harried grunt. The second blow actually missed entirely-- while the man had the cape-- he only had it by the tails-- leaving her plenty of room to move and fully avoid a second or third impact.
"Not bad." The mask commented-- but then again, she still had room to move-- and they were on a paved surface. She didn't know the mugger was going to be sore-- but what she did know was that this man was going to have a hell of a headache when she was done. She pulled at her cape to try and lure him closer to her-- to get him standing. She'd lead with a slap-- Yes. This is a fighter who slaps. She'd follow up with a much stronger slap to the other cheek-- and if he didn't let go by then, she'd use her body weight and slam his head into the ground, wrestler style...!
Is... is that a D.D.T.?
COMBATSYS: Fuji successfully hits Dug with Ragtime Cat.
- Power hit! -
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Fuji 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Dug
Dug throws the first punch, releasing his pain into the masked woman. "Not so tough now! Huh! Huh! Who is the tough guy now?" Spat the mugger, throwing the second punch into where the mysterious figure stood, and the third and final one goes wild. "Get back here!" He snarls.
But then comes the first slap.
Dug grabs his face, wincing. "What the f-" But before he could continue, the second slap comes, knocking the glasses clean off his face. "Okay, you are really-" The final slap doesn't come; instead, the man finds himself grabbed... and driven hard into the ground; the weight of the mask figure only pushing him harder down.
Right onto the bleeding wound.
Blood was pouring down the mugger's face now. "What? You some kind of super star wrestler? Well, guess what sweetheart!" The mugger bellows. suddenly trying to REVERSE the grapple, to stagger up, and bring the superhero with her. "You are gonna, and do you here me? You are gonna find out, what the Dug is Cooking!" And with that, he attempts to grab the woman, and lean back, unleashing a fairly rough, and fairly improvised, piledriver into the hard path of the park.
COMBATSYS: Fuji blocks Dug's Pro-Wrestling Imitation Throw.
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Fuji 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Dug
Bartitsu Mask shifted. She actually kicked up out of maneuver, having drilled the can to his face. She stood over him, hoping it would keep the mugger down-- she had done what she needed to do, but this guy didn't seem to know the meaning of staying down. to her amazement, however, she began to realize that this was the type of bar room brawler who fought for money or gain. This was evidenced when he got up immediately and tried to grab her-- however, he didn't get much further past that, The grapple itself connected, he lifting her rather easily-- the Masked woman was incredibly light for a skilled fighter. She was pulled above his head--
But then she broke loose, leaning forward and tumbling the man down in some kind of reversal pin, the kind you see if it was actually a wrestling match-- She wanted to make sure this man stayed down-- or if he couldn't stay down-- affect his ability to reproduce. If she actually manages to pin him, he'd receive Bartitsu Mask's only punching move-- directly to his junk.
".....STAY DOWN!"
COMBATSYS: Fuji successfully hits Dug with Blue Monday.
- Power hit! -
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Fuji 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Dug
There is a rite of manhood. As Dug catches the Bartitsu Mask in a wrestling move right from TV, this rite doesn't even cross his mind. When the mysterious woman breaks free, and catches him in a reversal pin. Then comes the assault on his family jewels. This was the rite. This was the test of pure manliness, to endure the strike, and follow through with another sock it to them. There was a factual, unfortunate fact, however.
But Dug's junk could not take it.
Recoiling in pain, the mugger's eyes bug out of their sockets as the masked woman lands frightfully true. "UUUUUUUUGUUUUU" Came the shout, the man inhaling into a high-pitched scream. He was, for that moment stunned. And then, the thug surges to life again, wincing with every step, blood pouring over his eyes. "BRAAAAAAGH!" Dug would open in with a powerful punch, followed by a headlock. If he managed to secure the headlock, he would do what his father taught him when he was a boy.
Face punch.
Signature Facepunch.
COMBATSYS: Fuji just-defends Dug's Crude Rude Combo EX!
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Fuji 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Dug
Like Something right out of a Movie. Bartitsu Mask seemed so coordinated in comparison to her enemy, That her opponent was running on almost pure adrenaline, while Bartitsu Mask simply waited for her opponent to try and make a striking attempt and make them pay. So then why did she let her opponent hit her?
If the news asks, she let that happen. Uh. Yeah. That.
A punch to the junk would keep any man in their right mind at bay-- a woman who hits as hard as the Masked Superhero in the top hat would simply keep anyone down. But this man got back up again, and out of nowhere, there came a while haymaker right to the mask guarding her face. It looked like it was about to connect--
When the blow was instantaneously stopped, by nothing more than her bare hand, clutching his much bigger fist. This feat of strength alone seemed effortless at first glass, even with the labored waver of the man in front of her. The mask looked up. The light above caught the glint of the paint and the smile painted on the mask. "Hmmph." the mask commented. She still had her dominant hand free. She finally gave in with her fist, in hopes of pulling her opponent forwards, into a much needed uppercut-- the kind that would make Shoryuken users everywhere look and wonder who the masked bitch was who stole their move and renamed in.
"CHEEN MUSIC!" ...Her signature maneuver. While she couldn't escape her past, her style always followed her.
COMBATSYS: Dug fails to interrupt Chin Music from Fuji with PseudoSHORYUKEN EX.
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Fuji 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Dug
Why doesn't Dug go down?
Because this was Metro City.
The man was clearly on the ropes before Bartitsu Mask teaches the meaning of 'no sell.' The man doesn't even know what is happening with his punch is stopped cold. "Buh-?" Was the only word that escapes before he eyes what is coming.
Shoryuken
Or Chin Music. The guy doesn't know! He dropped out of street fighting academy! When he sees that fist coming, he tries to beat her to the punch. Throw another punch, give her the upper cut before she gives you hers. But Dug was a thug, a mugger. He was a street punk. He could dish out the punishment, but the simple fact of matter is that he just couldn't take it. The punch lands true against him, before he can unleash his own, The mugger is launched through the air, landing in a crumble on the ground.
But once again, the man rises up, still trying his hardest.
She felt better now than she ever did. Last time, she relied so heavily on her cane that it actually hampered her odds of winning. Now, however, she felt different. Happiness. It was an odd thing to feel such a sensation when you are fighting for your life. In fact, it was the first time she felt truly liberated. Losing her cane felt like losing a friend, and yet she soldiered forth and did something.
She became someone.
She became a hero.
She was the great Bartitsu Mask.
Her uppercut wasn't so easily countered, her blow immediately finding it's mark and blowing her opponent away from her. This was the first time she truly felt liberated. Her head lifted. She knew he was going to get up, and she felt her body pull forward. She began to summon forth a ball of energy. She must end this. She must protect those who are so important. Her ball of energy was no bigger than a soccer ball-- but by the time this thug stood up, this ball was being drop kicked towards him, which a dangerously sharp curve, coming hard and fast, eagar to blow him away and out of her and the victim's way. "I will end this... Here...!"
COMBATSYS: Dug interrupts Striker Blast from Fuji with Wicked Powerful HAYMAKER.
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Fuji 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Dug
He was down.
But not out.
As the ball begins to get formed, there was that surge in the mugger's heart. A mean surge. A nasty surge. An... experienced surge? Maybe it was Bartitsu Mask's own confidence getting the better of her, or the mugger's own dumb luck. But as the mysterious woman began to charge, Dug lurches forward, throw back a fist. As the ball was summoned, the man forces himself through the energy, letting it tear into him... to unleash a single, powerful haymaker right into Bartitsu Mask's breadbasket. A light comes through his bloodied face. And a shout of the arrogance rising.
"I'm the best! I'm the best! YEAH!! How do you like me now?!"
To the stomach? What an odd haymaker.
The woman was caught offguard by this weird attack that she thought for sure was coming for her head but instead lurched down. She keeled forward. This guy was good... But she was much better. She didn't even fall to her knees or anything. She clutched at her stomach, but stood. That creepy, happy smile on her mask. The light caught the mask again, and it glinted in the light. The dark haired woman shifted. She found herself snickering then.
"Not bad... I'll hand you that." She mused. "But it's over."
He was in her proximity now. Why boast when your enemy is neither down or out. She didn't need to charge then-- the mugger was RIGHT there. She took a step forward, slapping at his face with her left, and immediately following up with a much stronger right. Her body would sink, and she'd aim to punch with nearly simultaneous hooks, to blow him back. Finally, she'd finally step forward, and deliver a kick to his diaphragm-- all in an effort to suck the very willingness to fight out of him.
"I am..."
Kick to the Diaphragm.
"...BARTITSU MASK!"
...God, that felt good.
COMBATSYS: Dug blocks Fuji's The Great Bartitsu Mask.
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Fuji 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Dug
"Over?"
Dug's last question is answered when the first swing comes. Instinctively, the mugger throws up a hand to block the sock to the left. When the charge comes to the right, he goes into a turtling stance, hurling up the remainder of his guard. He wasn't going to react to the attacks, he was going to lock up, and lock himself down. The right meets another limb, another block. The mugger grins with a mouth full of mossy teeth, sinking down. When the hooks come, he curls up tighter and tighter, not giving the Bartitsu Mask the opening she wanted. Despite this, he was in her circle, following the moves she WANTS him to follow. Leaning back, his limbs swelling up more and more, Dug thinks he is so clever. He thinks he is so smart. But as the final kick to the diaphragm comes, he curls up into a ball, protecting his vital organs. The good news is that for all her effort, Dug had successfully prevented himself from spending six weeks in physical recovery.
Unfortunately, he would still need time for the emotional.
The mugger collapses to the ground, not uncurling himself from the defense ball he put himself in. Yes, he had deflected the assault against his vitals. But instead of broken ribs and a ruptured diaphragm... he had fractures on both of his arms, and at least one broken finger. There, he laid on the ground, wimpering like a small puppy.... to enough of a degree that Rocky, having taken care of his business by the tree, runs up to the downed thug.
And begins to lick his face.
COMBATSYS: Dug takes no action.
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Fuji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Dug can no longer fight.
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Fuji 0/-------/-------|
The woman with the top hat knew that regardless of the outcome, unless he outright dodged it all, he would not be getting up. The dark haired woman stepped forward. She knew that this mugger would be able to take no more-- but more over, he'd have a hell of a time trying to convince his buddies that he got jumped by a bunch of teenagers who beat the flying crap out of him. There'd be the skepticism within him, maybe one to cause him to rethink his pathways in life, for his upper body was in serious pain and a few casts worth of time to think, knowing that he had his ass handed to him by a woman half his size.
As he laid crumpled, but still tightly wound up, the woman stepped forth. She needed a witty line to really make him think.
"...If I ever see you again, I won't hold back as much as I did."
Perfect.
She was standing over the mugger.
Allison clings to the crook of the towering man's right arm. She did not know this stranger; she did not ask for his name. But when she ran into him, the well-dressed, dark-skinned man asked her. "Pardon me, miss; Is there something the matter?" So Allison told him. The mugger. Her dog. The strange, masked woman. The gentleman listened calmly, and when she reached the end of her story, the stranger asked if she could show him where the mugging took place, and should their be any trouble, he would take care of it. There was something about his voice, his presence.
So, she took him as an escort.
The giant of the man approaches the scene, escorting Allison with the true air of a gentleman. Allison releases the man, falling to her knees. "Rocky! Rocky! Come here boy!" Rocky, the good dog that he is, runs back to momma. Allison picks up her pug, holding her tight. Turning to the masked woman, she smiles warmly, shaking with joy. "Thank you! Oh my goodness, thank you! If you didn't show up, I would have, he would have... I don't know. Thank you so much!" The strange man gazes towards the masked woman, stroking his beard skeptically. Content with his thoughts, he rumbles in that baritone. "Thank you, stranger, for helping this woman, and disposing of the mugger. What is your name, mysterious woman? I am... greatly interested in those who are willing to fight in the streets for the protection of the weak and innocent." There was something odd about the man's tone at that last bit. Less benevolent or praising of her actions... but a calculating curiosity. But for The Great Bartitsu Mask, she would notice something else about the man, a greater warning.
She would sense great power emitting from within him.
The Masked Woman lifted her head. She wasn't deaf. As it seemed, there were more people coming to the scene. Those there would have witnessed the factual, non fabricated ending. Yet, as they grew closer, she began to feel a presence of someone she felt before-- a being of incredible power. To normal people, they sense unease. To a blind person, it's like they glow, and she can feel their presence more clear than others. Colors and shapes meant nothing to her, but that feeling of raw energy...
It was Allison's voice that snapped her out a near trance-like stare. His voice. Clearly unlike Vega, but similar in a sense. Evil? Maybe not. Better sounding? Moderately. She didn't let them get much closer than 5 feet away from her. The cut to the hand she suffered didn't even seem to show evidence that it was cut in the first place. fighters tend to heal quickly. "My name...?" She queried. She was trying to read this man-- but it was difficult. She had to leave-- she felt this uneage being around him. She turned her back to them, though she turned her head over her shoulder-- the mask did well to even hide profile features-- other than her blatant Japanese accent.
"I am Bartitsu Mask. That is all you need to know." With that, she took two steps forward, and jumped up high, disappearing into the darkness.
Batman had nothing on that kind of exit.
COMBATSYS: Fuji has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:29:11 03/28/2012 by Fuji, and last modified on 02:20:10 03/29/2012.