Every pad of her feet on the concrete and every gust of cold air in her face was a taunting reminder. She needed to get home now. Of course, that's easier said than done in Gotham City, as she was so kindly reminded when three burly men smelling of alcohol stepped out of an alleyway to block her path.
I do not have time for this.
"Hey, little girl, you look lost," drawled one thug with a missing tooth, "How 'bout you just spend the night with us?"
She, not a being of many words, just gave him a disgusted look and said, "No. Sorry."
His friend, noticeably more drunk than the other two, swayed on his feet as he took a jagged knife out of his bulky jacket. "Ya see," he said, "That wasn't no question, Missy. Let's go."
The girl sighed in frustration and quickly looked up at the sky. It was still evening, but getting dark fast. She needed to get home. Her family would kill her…Okay, no they wouldn't. But they would be worried sick, and her family was dangerous when its members were worried.
She glared back at the thugs and said, "Out of my way."
The third man, who hadn't spoken yet and possessed a little more common sense than his companions, felt something foreboding about this girl. She looked like just another teenager, but…The way she glared made him want to get as far away from her as possible. And she was so calm. Definitely not like the other women he and his friends picked up on the streets. One of those girls would have been crying hysterically and going along with them from the moment she spotted them. This girl was just…different. He didn't like that.
"Guys," he said, trying to get his friends' attention, "Maybe- Maybe we shouldn't bother with this one. She ain't coming easy. Just let her go home."
"Nah, man," said Mr. Obviously Inebriated in a predatory voice, "You kidding? I want this one."
The girl scowled. She really didn't have time, but she supposed these losers would only persist, and that would waste even more time. Without using another breath on words, she jumped into the evening air and planted a strong kick on the offender's chest. He choked on his own breath and flew backwards into a trash can. Shocked and angry, one of his friends charged the young woman, only to be punched once in the guts and elbowed once in the neck, which rendered him unconscious. She turned to the last man, the one who'd tried to reason with his companions, and said, "Still letting me go?"
He numbly nodded his head and stepped aside for her. She gave him a grateful, but intimidating smile as she passed.
The smile quickly faded though, when she looked back up at the sky to find it darker than when she last checked. I really need to get home.
She took off running down the street.
The man she left standing shook his head, not believing what he just saw, both when that girl took down his buddies and when she smiled. Is it just me, or…Did she have fangs?