Strong Enough For Me (Open)

[Deleted]

Karen was just getting back from a long assignment, and it was nearing midnight. She wasn't as tired as she thought she should be, so she decided to walk the long way home. Still, she did want to get into bed before work the next day...

Not a chance.

She heard a noise nearby. Having thought that the streets were mostly deserted, this alarmed her. She didn't pull out her wand, because she didn't know if it would be a muggle conflict and she didn't want to deal with THAT whole thing... still, she hand her hand hover over the pocket where she kept it, like a gun in a holster. She turned the corner and BAM!

Kara ripped off the glasses and shoved them in her pocket. She always liked to make a grand entrance! Sadly, the people weren't even paying attention. It was a man and a woman, cornering this other man and threatening him with guns for his briefcase. The dude seemed pretty protective over his briefcase, but didn't necessarily seem equipped to handle the situation.

Kara casually made her way over there, trying not to startle anyone too much so that the man didn't get hurt. Then, finally, his eyes rested on her and they widened. His two attackers spun around to see what the fuss was about and Kara gave a little wave of her hand. "Hello," she said sweetly. The woman started to lift their gun toward her, and that's when she made her move.

In a flash she was closing the distance between them, grabbing their wrist and jabbing her thumb into the muscles there, causing them to drop the gun. The man turned his gun on her too, and she simply thrust a hand out to cover it with her palm and then ripped it out of his hands. She didn't really pay attention to what the victim was doing.

She brought a knee up to the womans stomach, causing her to crumple down. The man shouted angrily, lifting a fist and swinging at her. She ducked, using his weight against him to tackle him around the middle and back him hard into the wall. She lifted her own hand to jab him right in the throat, which sent him gasping. The woman had recovered from the stomach to knee debacle and was reaching for one of the guns on the ground. Kara sighed, rolling her eyes, "guns? Really? That's so tacky."

@open to adults

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn had been here too many times he thought to himself as he leaned against a wall. Dressed in normal muggle attire he staring a crossed the street. The building he was staring at was a nice little apartment complex, far better than where he grew up. The outside was kept clean and he could see a little playground off to the corner lit up and everything. Shawn could only imagine that the insides were nice as well, clean, no bugs or damage at all inside. Another thing that had nothing to do with the home he lived in as a child. These were always the same thoughts he had while he stood there weighting his options and what could happen. He was honestly surprised that someone hadn't called the muggle authorities on him yet. A random man just staring over at the building in the middle of the night, he would assume someone would. Still no muggle authorities came and he was glad for that. Shawn wasn't sure how long he stood there debating with himself as one by one lights went off in the building.

As yet another window faded to darkness and he shrugged once more like he had every other time he had come here. "Maybe next time." Shawn said in somber tone as he walked away from where his parents now lived. Part of him wanted to talk to them and have some connection with his parents and another couldn't forgive his father for how he acted. One night either of these sides would win but today wasn't that night as he proceeded to walk the streets of London.

In the past he would just get drunk on these days trying to have a good time but as a professor he didn't have as much free time and far more responsibilities. Shawn had to be back at the school at least by the morning. He shrugged to himself while he walked, it would just be better to get back to school and try to sleep this off. While he was about to do just that then he heard the sounds of other people and a man shouting. What he shouted Shawn wasn't sure but it sounded close. He was here anyway and ignoring something like that wouldn't have sat right with him as he ran to where he thought it came from.

What Shawn found took him a second to understand. There was a woman seemingly fighting two people, a man and a woman, while another man sat down clutching something. Shawn wasn't sure what was going on but as the woman standing commented about a gun he noticed the woman on the ground scrambling for a gun on the ground. Still unsure who was in the wrong he decided to side with the woman not trying to each for a fire arm, as the woman on the ground finally got a hold of one. She went to aim but Shawn was already close enough and grabbed her wrist to hold her arm and the gun up in the arm so she couldn't. "Didn't you're mother ever teach you it was rude to point... your.. gun? Why do you have a gun?" Shawn was playing dumb of course but still found it fitting right now as he still wasn't sure what was going on. "Why does she have a gun?" Shawn asked the other woman still playing dumb and non-threatingly as he was unsure just what he was walking into. while also still forcibly holding her arm up to keep her from aiming while she tried to break free.

@karen

[Deleted]

Kara was surprised when suddenly someone else was in her line of vision. She let him approach, relieved that she did so when he took the womans arm and aimed it away from Kara. He seemed to be bit... confused about it all, but he could have been acting... maybe. Either way, she laughed as he turned toward her, asking why the woman had a gun. Kara shrugged, "beats me. I think it's a pretty weak way to win a fight, honestly," she explained. 'They were robbing this guy here," she waved the generally direction of the victim, whether he was there or not.

She heard the man behind her, the one she had jabbed in the throat, start to move. She pretended not to notice, "I guess we should just take that gun and let them go?" she suggested, but she really didn't mean it... that much. She wasn't quite done roughing them up yet. The man behind her made his move, reaching as if to grab her hair but Kara spun around, lifting her foot high to kick him right in the jaw with her heel, then landing on that foot without a problem. It was a typical move, but she had been told her high kick was particularly impressive.

"I'd be glad to break your nose if you want to try that again," Kara offered to the man. He clutched his jaw and shook his head, looking over at the woman with the gun with wide eyes. Kara looked back over her shoulder at the new arrival, "well, take the gun."

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn waited for an answer as he did his best to only assume what might have honed if he was picking the wrong side. With some bad luck these two could have been the good guys and she was the one he need to worry about. Still the woman explained slightly all the while he held the other woman's arm amid the tugs and pulls from her to get it free. While she explained he had to agree about guns. Wands weren't much better sometimes but at least they had other uses than just hurting or worse killing someone. She waved to the man still on the ground and Shawn just assumed he was still there out of shock. "Makes sense I assu-" Shawn got out before the woman proceeded to tug some more which brought his attention back her as he was holding her arm upward still. "The grown ups are talking, just stop."

The woman said they should just let them go but take their gun. Shawn didn't really want the gun to begin with, part of the reason he didn't just grab for it. He hadn't ever used one nor wanted to learn how even now, his rough idea of how they worked was all he needed. "Hey look-," was all Shawn got out as he noticed the man was now up and trying to attack the woman he was talking to. He would have felt bad for not noticing sooner but it would seem he didn't need to as she was ready to defended herself with a kick to the mans face. It looked like something out of some muggle action movie as the man reeled back covering his face in pain while she landed the kick perfectly.

She offered to break the mans nose if he wanted to try again but he just shook his head. If it hadn't been for the tugs from the woman with the gun he might have forgotten about her completely after that display but the woman told him to take her gun like she was waiting for him to do it. The woman was even more focused on getting free now as the attention was back on her and Shawn. Either to get revenge or help the man he wasn't sure or cared right now. She started kicking at him and trying to hit and scratch his arm with her other hand. "Ow! Stop it! Listen I don't hit women but I'm sure she doesn't have a problem with." He motioned to the other woman. "Now just give me that," Shawn said now focused on yanking the gun out of her hand while keeping it pointed up. He didn't know every detail of muggle weapons but he knew where the dangerous end was. He was a muggle born after all but still spent his life in the magical community more often than not.

With the one final yank and pushing the woman back a bit the gun was now in his hand and the woman didn't look as determined as she did before. "Now you can take your friend and go hide in some hole or she can do another one of those amazing kicks and teach you a lesson. I'm fine with either personally." Shawn explained to the woman, far more serious than he had been before. He both had a gun that he didn't want in his hands now and he could tell that she had cut him with her scratching, still he wasn't a stranger to marks on his arms at this point.

@karen

[Deleted]

Kara laughed out loud when Shawn told the woman that the grown ups were talking. That was funny! When it got around to him trying to take the gun from the lady as Kara asked, she just stood there to let him handle it. When Shawn gestured to her, claiming she didn't have a problem hitting women, Kara nodded. "No problem at all," she confirmed. He yanked the gun away and Kara applauded lightly. He told the lady to go hide in a while or offered for Kara to kick her as well. He was pretty intense when he wanted to be, it seemed.

Kara took one step toward the woman and she turned and ran off, the man following her. She turned around to see if the guy being robbed was still there, but he had run off during the fight. Kara turned toward her new ally and raised an eyebrow, "I'll discharge that," she said, holding her hand out for the gun. She knew how to handle a gun, of course. She had learned at a very young age. That was pretty common with kids who had parents in law enforcement.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn just smirked slightly as the woman he had joined in the fight commented about having no problem hitting another woman, he could only assume she had already hit her at this point since she was on the ground when he had shown up. "See, I don't even have to hit you. Far less work for me." Shawn commented hoping it would have gotten her to release the gun now that she knew someone would actually hurt her here because as long as she wasn't a lethal threat he didn't plan on ever hitting a woman. Yet she still didn't calm down and Shawn still had to fight the gun out of grip.

With the gun in hand and offering to let the woman run away or get kicked again she stood there a few more seconds till the other woman got closer and she got scared and ran off as the man followed her quickly. Shawn was relieve that it ended as peacefully as it did. He didn't really want to worry about using magic in front of a bunch of muggles if he had to. That was a just another headache he didn't want to deal with on top of this. Shawn was also glad the woman was alright even if she did seem to know how to handle herself quiet well, if anything she didn't need his help. "All yours." Shawn commented as she asked for the gun to discharge it and he was more than happy to agree. Shawn was avoiding the trigger like it was cursed anyway, he knew the dangerous parts of a gun without knowing too many other details about it. "So, you get involved in crime fighting often? Or is this just a normal weeknight for you?" Shawn said with a small a laugh as he now noticed the other man gun along with whatever he was protecting, he did wonder when he had ducked out but he wasn't too interested as long as he was safe.

@karen

[Deleted]

Kara took the gun when he offered it and discharged it very quickly. She had been taught how to do that by her parents, and it was easy for her to listen to him as she did it. Soon it was all separated and she placed the bullet cartridge in one pocket and the gun in another, then looked up at him. "Often," she answered. "It's kind of what I do, aside from my day job," which was actually Karens day job. She took her wand out of her pocket to make room for the gun and tucked it behind her ear instead, not really caring if this guy saw it. He didn't know what it was if he was a muggle, so who cares? And if he was a wizard then all the better for them that she reveal it.

"Kara Dunstan," she introduced, taking a step forward and holding out a hand to him, "and you are?" she asked. She could be cordial and professional for a few minutes... when she wanted to be. It was late still, though, and she was all jazzed up from the fight, so this calm Kara couldn't last very long. She had to keep moving.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn stood there watching while the woman quickly started to take the gun apart with ease. He was a muggle-born but never spent much time around firearms by this point the magical world was more familiar than the muggle world. Still he wasn't lost in the muggle world like some other witches or wizards would have been. As the woman answered his question he was about to say something but couldn't help but notice her removing a wand from her pocket and putting it behind her ear. Which opened up all kinds of new questions as he was prepared for this to be a muggle woman not a witch. "Crime fighter by night, I can only imagine what your day job must be then." Shawn laughed slightly, he could be a little more carefree now that they weren't fighting muggles with weapons. "Auror? Hit-witch?" Shawn asked also letting on just who he was as well.

The woman introduced herself which Shawn was glad he now had a name to use as she asked who he was. "Shawn Ashcroft. It's a pleasure to meet you even if it took some fighting to make it happen." Shawn replied as he took her hand and shook it. Of course he didn't mind the fighting part either, he was always willing to help if not a little too eager at times. "So Kara, is there some place you need to go save the day next or you just wait till you hear someone scream for help?" Shawn said with a slight smirk, "I've always been interested in the life of superheros after all."

@karen

[Deleted]

He went on to guess her day job, going straight to 'auror' and 'hit witch' and she grinned. He had picked up on the clue. "Curse-breaker. You?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him, her wickedly mischievous smile in place. This was going to be much more fun now. She would have liked to have been an auror, but Karen really wanted something that had even more research. Curse-breaker was a good compromise the two of them had made over weeks, months even, of writing back and forth in their journal. Five years later, they were enjoying it quite a bit.

He gave his name and she gave a firm handshake, as she always did. Maybe a little too firm. Karens was more professional, Karas was more up and down and tougher than necessary. "Fighting is my specialty, so it's the best way to meet me," she said. Then he asked about her routine and said he was interested in the life of 'superheros'. She grinned, "generally I wander until I see something or hear something that I decide to interrupt. I often use extendable ears," she reached in her bag and pulled one out, "wicked stuff," she complimented, using the British slang term for 'cool', or whatever that meant.

"Care to join me, then? A superhero could always use a sidekick."

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Kara claimed what she did for a living was being a curse breaker, for the ministry or for someone else he wasn't sure. Either way both his guesses had been off but you couldn't blame himself, she was out fighting crime it was only the logic conclusion. Still you didn't need to be in law enforcement to be out doing the right thing after all. "Professor at Hogwarts." There might always be a little bit of pride in his voice when he said what he did for a living now. It was better than anything he had ever done before and pretty much was his dream in life come true.

Shawn hadn't expected Kara's hand shake to be delicate or anything, especially after the impressive combat display but he also wasn't expecting the grip that she had. He wanted to say it was probably the adrenaline but part of him was expecting it to be a test just to see if he would say it hurt. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever want to meet you sometime, I'll just be prepared to be kicked in the face I suppose." Shawn joked about it but his skills weren't in combat, he could handle himself sure but just from watching her he could tell she had trained for this type of stuff before. That or it just came very natural to her. No, his skills and natural talent rested elsewhere. As Kara explained how she found people that needed her help and it was very interesting. Normally extendable ears were just for eavesdropping not for trying to save the day but he could admire the dual purpose for them.

"Well I'm already out here, can't let you have all the fun to yourself. Besides how many times in my life will I get to be the sidekick to an actual superhero."

[Deleted]

He said he was a Professor and her eyebrow raised high. "Impressive," she said firmly. She didn't bother to ask what subject. That just wasn't really important to her. He was happy about his job, that was good enough for her. Then he said that he would keep in mind that if he ever wanted to meet her again he'd be prepared to be kicked in the face. She grinned, "I'll try not to kick you that hard," she winked. It was a promise. She wouldn't actually kick him... if she could help it. You just never knew with people though. He could do something stupid that warranted a kick. They just met, after all. What did she knew?

He said that since he was already out there he may as well join, since he wouldn't get many chances to be a superhero. "Sidekick," she reminded him. She reached over and took his hand, starting to pull him along. "Now, sometimes I like to lay low and creep around, but most of the time I just wander and listen... but since there are two of us, we could do it the fun way," she chuckled, "we'll walk on opposite sides of the street and if we hear something on our side we signal and then go for it. Yes?"

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn just nodded as Kara said it was impressive he was a professor. He was proud of it so far but thought what she was doing right now was bit more impressive. Sure teaching the future generations was a noble act and part of the reason he did it, the other being he just loved Transfiguration. Kara was out actually fighting crime and saving people. He also laughed as she said she'd try not to kick him too hard. "That's all I can ask for." Sure he wanted to see her in action once more but he just didn't want to be the one on the receiving end of her kick.

"Reporting for duty," Shawn replied as she called him her sidekick before taking his hand and pulling him along. While she pulled him she explained how she normally did this at times but with two people they could do it the fun way. It was all new to him so how every she wanted to do this was fine with him. Shawn was literally just along for the ride as she pulled him still waiting for his response. "Aw, so you're saying we won't be holding hands the whole time?" Shawn was merely kidding as it wouldn't be the best way to try and stop criminals. "Hey however you want to do this is fine with me, you're the expert here after all."

@karen

[Deleted]

This guy was going to be a riot, she could already tell. When she suggested they walk along opposite sides of the street he made a joke about holding hands and she laughed, tossing her head back to let out the full sound. Then he said however she wanted to do it was fine, since she was the expert. "Just give it a go. We can hold hands later," she suggested, waving him across the street. "You go on that side!" she commanded.

She started to walk, raising her eyebrow at him occasionally. Honestly, she wasn't really paying as much close attention to sounds as she usually did. She was too busy glancing at and raising her eyebrows at Shawn across the street. "Don't get lost over there," she said, loud enough for him to hear. She didn't have to yell or anything, the street was pretty empty so there really wasn't anything to hide the sound of her voice. They could talk easily, if they wanted to.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn smiled as Kara played along with his joke, promising they could hold hands later. "Well as long as that's a promise." Shawn replied jokingly back. He had just met this woman but it always already turning into quite the experience. From first fighting off some muggles trying to rob someone to now walking the the streets looking for more crimes to stop. Moments before he ran into Kara he was prepared to head back to Hogwarts and get some rest before the next day. Now he was more excited to see just how this all was going to turn out. If they would find more to do or if they would just be walking around the quiet streets. Kara told him to go to the other side in a commanding tone but he didn't mind, this was her outing after all, Shawn was just tagging along.

"Yes, Ma'am." Shawn replied with a smirk as he proceeded to the other side of the street. Wondering just where this night would take him. He kept an eye out for the woman a crossed the street and turned to look as she spoke to him. "I'll try but it's so lonely on this side of the road." Shawn replied with a laugh as Kara told him not to get lost. They didn't need to yell with it being this late. They kept walking and so far nothing, it was quiet. He would say to quiet but that was always a silly think to thing even for him.

@karen

[Deleted]

He joked about the hand holding thing being a promise and she shrugged, ”it is,” she said, not joking necessarily. She didn’t mind holding hands with random strangers. That was always fun! Then, he went to the other side of the street and he responded to her telling him not to get lost by saying that it was lonely. She laughed, loudly, tossing her head back for a moment before turning to look at him. ”Awe, so sad,” she responded, chuckling a little still.

Then, she heard a sound coming from her side, about two blocks down the street beside her. She stopped, turning to Shawn and nodding for him to go to her. She held a finger up to her lips, signifying that he needed to be quiet. She didn’t wait for him as she started to walk down the street, slowly, her shoulders slightly hunched over.

shawn lesley ashcroft