"So are going to buy something or...?" I asked the woman who'd been wandering around the store for an hour. It was almost closing time and I really wanted to get home as soon as possible. It was Comedy Thursday on NBC and I was not going to miss my shows for the second week in a row.

The customer glanced over her shoulder at me, holding a box of Japanese candies. I admired her stunning red hair. She really was beautiful, which was very odd for this part of the city. Everyone here was weird and unkempt, but she looked half-way decent. She took her time coming to the counter where I rang up her purchase.

"That'll be $7.50," I said putting the candies in a brown paper sack.

"No problem," she replied, taking a checkbook from her back pocket and filling it out. I shifted on my feet, wishing she would pick it up a little. It seemed to take her forever to write the check.

The awkward silence getting to me, I asked, "You from around here?"

"Not exactly," she said, tearing the check from the book and handing it to me. Smiling, the woman went to the door. "Have a nice night!"

I nodded my thanks and placed her check in the register. I then hurried to the back room and grabbing my jacket, flipping off all the lights on my way out the door. I made sure to lock up on my way out. "Comedy Thursday here I come," I muttered to myself. I turned to make my way up the street to my apartment.

But a noise grabbed my attention. Angry voices echoed through the night, coming from the nearest alley.

"Give me your goddamn wallet and I won't shoot you, bitch!"

That didn't sound good.

I rushed to the noise, but stayed back around the corner when I reached the alley. Near a Dumpster, three men surrounded a woman. It was the woman from earlier. I knew if she wasn't from around here, there was no way she could get herself out of this. I strode towards them, building up my will to kick some butt.

"Hey, pal. Leave her alone and keep moving," I said loudly, trying to take the thugs' attention away from their victim. I was right up on them now. Close enough to take care of all three. The woman gave me a wide-eyed 'thanks for the help, but you're probably going to get us both killed' look.

"Back off, bitch," the leader said, turning to me and stepping closer. I rolled my eyes.

"You really like that word, huh? Get a thesaurus, then we'll talk," I taunted, crossing my arms. He sauntered even closer until he was facing me, a little too close for comfort. We stared at each other for a good thirty seconds until he pistol-whipped me. Hard. I was a little taken by surprised, but I didn't show it. I brought my hand to my cheek, my head turned away from the others. I was going to have one heck of a bruise. I smiled and faced the leader again.

"Nice hit," I sneered. He was about to reply, but I cut him off. With my fist. I sent a punch into his jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. Before his friends had time to react, I grabbed the one who wasn't holding the woman captive. He tried to get a hit in, but I kneed him in a very sensitive place. Gasping, he sank to the ground. I felt a presence behind me and whirled around, finding the leader aiming his gun at me, gangster style.

"Now what, bitch?" he smirked. I was really getting tired of this dude's lack of imagination when it came to derogatory terms. I grabbed his wrist and twisted as hard as I could, ducking a little just in case he still managed to shoot. He couldn't, and the gun fell from his reach. But he still wanted to fight. He put his hand around my neck, using all of his strength to force me against a brick wall. I struggled, but he only increased the pressure around my throat. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I could hear the other two thugs laughing.

I knew what I had to do.

I pretended to be giving in slowly. I concentrated on my right hand. The bones stretched and rearranged until it resembled bird's, complete with talons. I retaliated by grabbing the thug's shoulder, digging in as deep as I could with my talons, until I was sure I touched bone. He shrieked, letting go of me and holding his shoulder.

"What the hell? What the hell is that?" he shouted frantically. I punched him in the jaw again, while he was distracted, and kicked him. He fell, landing on his injured shoulder. I squatted, grabbing onto his collar, then sent my fist into his face as hard as I could. His eyes rolled back and he passed out.

I rose, turning my attention to the other two. They both rushed at me, but the woman stayed back, ignoring her opportunity to get away. I slashed at the two, landing deep scratches on one of the thug's torso and on the other's arm. They still attacked, sending several hard hits my way. I managed to dodge them and kicked out, taking both off of their feet. Seeing my small window of opportunity, I kneeled down in between them while they were still stunned. I latched onto their hair, lifting their heads up off of the ground, then slammed them onto the concrete. I assumed that would leave them unconscious for a while.

Panting, I stood. I tensed my hand as it morphed back into its original state. I approached the woman, who stared, rubbing my cheek where the thug had hit me with his gun.

"You alright?" I asked. She blinked. Then, she put a finger to her ear, as if speaking into a headset.

"It's definitely her, Director. This is Blakeley Devon."