I am Vengeance. I am the Night.

Taken aback by how seriously she took the situation – that is to say, seemingly not at all – Shadow moved backwards, ever-wary of his supposed ally.
"I don't need help."
His reply was short, and to the point, with his voice altered to throw off anyone attempting to recognise him by it. He turned abruptly, walking away from Glacier – there was to be no further conversation, if he could help it. If she tried to stop him, he would stop her. He had a job to do, and if she thought she was going to muscle in on it, then he wouldn't argue – but, he didn't want her pestering him or getting in his way.
 
"Everybody needs help from time to time. Whether it's beating up drug dealers or finding your way around school." Glacier said, following him.
She smiled, loving how serious he took everything. It was the complete opposite of her. Maybe, just maybe, she could get him to loosen up. First she had to gain his trust though. That would be a long journey, but she was willing to take it. She was curious about him. Just like she was curious about the boy she had met earlier.
 
In response to Glacier lecturing him on the "fact" that everybody needed help, Shadow ducked a knife that seemed to come out of nowhere, and delivered an upwards elbow into his aggressor's chin. This was followed up by a brutal roundhouse to the man's side, winding him beyond any further action – though, the knife had been a bother to Shadow. He pushed it aside with his foot, and once again turned to Glacier, his barely-visible eyes still displaying nothing but a staggering amount of indifference. To be able to see anything in his eyes would be a strange talent indeed, given that he worked on not showing emotion, but invoking fear in his enemies.

"You were saying?" he finally said, staring down his new acquaintance, her lackadaisical mannerisms annoying him. He did not show it, but would gladly incapacitate her, given the chance. A gunshot rang out, but the round missed – in response, Shadow ducked low, lunged towards his opponent, and launched his fist into his adversary's stomach on the way up. His head was pulled low, straight into a savage blow from his knee, one that broke the druggie's nose. He wouldn't be getting up for a while – but the operation would have to be stopped from ever starting.
"Either get on with fighting or leave," he said, without turning to face Glacier, "But don't follow me around and make remarks on my rules. I don't need a backseat driver."
 
"Alright, alright... I don't like fighting normally but if you insist." Glacier said as she dodged a man who came at her with a knife. She did a backflip and used her powers to freeze the man's feet to the ground. He tried to hack away at the ice and slash at Glacier. She just giggled and froze more of him, freezing him up to his neck. "Now, remember. Drugs are bad for you." She pet his head as she said that.

She turned to Shadow. "So, what's next?"
 
"You get ready to stand trial for manslaughter. If he dies of hypothermia or frostbite, it's your fault."
With this – rather cold – response delivered, and not even to her face, Shadow continued further into the den. To be more accurate, it was actually more of a large room, with a table in the centre for junkies to sit around. Except, there were none – in fact the room was empty, save for one man sprawled out on the table. Tentatively, he paced over to the male figure, and took his pulse.
"Dead. Cause of death… Likely that… gunshot…wound… Oh, God damn it."

The rounds embedded themselves into the cheap wooden flooring, though they missed Shadow by an inch. He looked to the source of the gunfire – a guard, standing in the corner taking aim once again. In fact, multiple goons had now emerged from the shadows, and the haze that proved to be little more than stage smoke.
"A rather basic trap," he muttered under his breath, ducking underneath more bullets, and winding his initial aggressor, "But it's been so long since you people tried anything intelligent."
Evidently, they had also attended Imperial Stormtrooper shooting classes – their aim was atrocious. Even so, one bullet managed to scrape his cheek, though it was little more than a graze. In response, Shadow drew a catapult from his pocket, and fired off a metal ball bearing. It was not deadly, but it was likely to fracture a few bones in the hand it hit.
 
Glacier dodged the bullets though one grazed her arm. "God, where did they learn how to shoot? Wait... their drugees..." She said to herself. She flipped and moved, giggling.
 
The supposed druggies were poor shots, yes – but most of them weren't even addicts, they were just hired goons. Low-quality ones, judging by how easily they succumbed to a ball bearing hurtling into their hands, but hired goons with guns nonetheless. John let out a rigid punch right into one's nose, breaking it, making him reel back in pain. He kneed the man in the stomach, finalising his incapacitation with a gut punch. Eventually, however, each mook had been defeated, and their purpose failed. Shadow Man and Glacier had – supposedly – taken down everyone they needed to.

"That was probably a trap," he said, pacing out into the night, "They knew I'd be coming. I had a suspicion that the information I gathered was too obvious – but the fact that they went out of their way to put that trap there means someone wants me dead."
 
"Gee, I wonder who?" Glacier said almost sarcastically. "When you do things like this, it's no wonder someone's gonna want your head. Just wish they would hire better shots. That was too easy to dodge."

She looked around at the unconscious bodies, tilting her head slightly. He definitely was a good fighter. She might have to up her game if she wanted to continued observing him.
 
"I'm this city's guardian. I know what I signed up for when I put on the costume. And I hope you know as well. But make no mistake – tis section of Gate City is my turf. You so much as sneeze out of line, and you'll have me to answer to."
What would have worried most people was how the little speech was delivered. It was not delivered threateningly, matter-of-factly, or in any way but flatly. Though he was only human, Shadow Man was more than capable of taking on people twice his size, and was rightly feared among average mooks.


If Glacier happened to peer outside as Shadow Man left, she would not have seen him. It was a habit of his – to disappear into the night, without leaving even a single hair as a trace.
 
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