"Come on buddy, hand over your wallet." The man seemed nervous. His eyes wouldn't stay focused on one thing, and his hand was shaking slightly – not enough to throw off his aim, the gun was very much consistent in its direction, but he was definitely agitated. Of course, that tended to be true of any armed criminals, but still, it was... different.
"I haven't got any money."
"Sure you have. Everyone's got money, man. Just give it to me, and I won't give you any more trouble."
There was something in his eyes as he spoke – an unnatural panic, even for a mugger. Hard to place it, but there was something very off about the way he was looking around. His eyes were darting, scanning the area for unwanted company, and every few seconds his tongue whipped out to wet his lips.
"What are you so worried about?"
The man let out a short, sharp bark of disdainful laughter, and his wrist flicked up ever so slightly.
"Whadaya think, genius?"
He swallowed, his tongue flicking out again seconds later as he took a step forward.
"One last chance, buddy. Wallet. Or I'll shoot."
The gun was closer now, point blank, but his finger was barely on the trigger. He was not a man intending to shoot anybody. Up close, his eyes were even more frantic, wide and terrified, and, most bizarrely, looking up...
There was a rush of air and the man was catapulted back into the shadows. Then followed a yelp, a thud, and a gentle clatter before silence once again took hold.
"Um..."
The mugger sprawled unconscious, his head propped up by the wall of the alley. His victim was still stood, watching with a naive curiosity. Clearly from out of town – anyone with any sense would've been out of there by now. Although, speaking of curiosity – there was some kind of big blue... thing on the ground behind him, spewing smoke out into the night. Too big to have been brought by hand, but no reason to believe it could move of its own power either. It was clearly his – the guy was leaning against it, one hand idly tapping its side. But something about it sent a chill through the air.
"Are you ok?"
The question seemed to catch the guy off guard – possibly due to the heavy shadows rendering him largely blind – but he recovered well.
"I'm fine. I'm the Doctor, by the way."
The doctor? What gave him the right to call himself 'the'? He wasn't a cape, or at least not an established one, although his costume was certainly... unique. Hmm. Probably best to head him off before he got hurt
"Don't try to be a hero, kid. Not everyone's got what it takes to be a cape, no matter how cool you think it'd be. Just get back to your normal life."
The guy seemed amused.
"I'm just looking for a quiet life."
"Try looking someplace else."
Look somewhere else? That could only mean something exciting was going on here... It was time to find out what. Time for an adventure.