Jebediah was not a stupid man, yet that did little to dissuade him in sticking his nose where it didn't belong. He knew nothing about the girl nor the situation she had gotten herself into – all he knew was that it was five men against one woman and that just wasn't right in his book. "Don't know what the lady has done to piss y'all off…don't really care. But it definitely ain't fair of you fellas' ganging up on her" he told the men as they turned to see who had dared to interrupt their little meeting visit with Madame LeAnne.
Startled by the new voice, LeAnne looked passed her assailants to the newcomer. He was dressed in black, from head to toe and while she couldn't get a good look at his face, she could see the dimly lit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was tall and definitely athletic but it would still be many men against one. She took the moment of distraction to reach for the little blade she carried in her boot, steeling herself against the coming onslaught.
"You just took a wrong turn partna'. Do ya'self a fava' and head right back on around before we decide to properly welcome ya'" stated one of the assailants. He had a nasty scar running down the left side of his face, yet Jebediah had the feeling that he was the weakest of the bunch. He was at the center of the group, acting as leader; the two on his left were similar in height and build, probably brothers; the one to his immediate right was large and fat, probably slow but packing power; but the one he was most concerned with was the one on the far right who was hidden in the shadow cast by the buildings in the alley. His breathing was steady and calm, unlike that of his co-conspirators; his eyes, reflecting the little light that shone, bore an eerie quality that rubbed Jebediah the wrong way. He was confident he could take on the other four, even with the big brute mixed in there. But something about this one told him he might have bitten off more than he could chew.
"Well, you see I am new in this here town and wouldn't mind a proper welcomin'" he told the ring leader. "Ya' hear that boys, the stranga' is new in town. How 'bout we give him a good old Gotham welcome" said the leader as he stepped forward. As they all moved towards Jebediah, except for the man in the shadows, LeAnne stowed her blade and moved towards the door she had originally been walking towards in the alley before getting jumped. However, before she could make her escape, the man in the shadows was behind her with his own blade pressed against her neck. "Don't…Baron Savage still wishes to see you and he will not be disobeyed" he whispered into her ear. LeAnne stood deathly still – she was willing to die for doing what she believed in, but this man had scared her more than she thought possible.
Jebediah noticed right away that he alley was too narrow for the rifles the men were carrying and that the confrontation would start and end in melee. The leader was the easiest one to dispatch for Jebediah: a quick jab to his nose had blood gushing onto his face – taking advantage of his immediate distraction, Jebediah placed a solid kick to his sternum and put him down for the count. He immediately focused his attentions on the brothers who he expected were more coordinated in their hand to hand combat. Luckily for him, he had been trained by a traveling Shaolin Monk that he had rescued from Barron Savage's slave line working on the railway. While not a master, Jebediah could definitely hold his own. The brothers, coordinated and decently skilled, were not ready for the onslaught of speed and agility that Jebediah displayed. The roundhouse kick to one was then met with a solid back handed fist to the face by the other. Jebediah delivered a crushing elbow to the back of the neck of the brother he had just kicked and quickly swept the other brothers foot while smashing his sternum with his other free elbow as the brother was falling towards the ground. Both brothers lay writhing in pain on the ground, allowing Jebediah to focus his attention on the big brute. Yet, as quick as he was, taking on the three men had left the big ox of a man time to come around and get at Jebediah from behind. Feeling the big arms of the brute crushing his chest, Jebediah let out an angry yet painful yell. He had to get out of this before the freakishly big man broke some ribs or literally crushed him to death. Jebediah snapped his head back fast and hard, wincing in pain as his skull met the face of the man holding him in the life crushing hug. He felt the arms slack for just a second, enough time to stomp down his feet upon the dorsal of the other man and slide down to freedom.
Jebediah regrouped and put a few feet of distance between the brute and himself. He was breathing hard and suspected that he might have a few cracked ribs. While he wasn't in the bear hug for long, his opponent was amazingly strong and deceptively powerful. His breathing was shallow to keep the ribs from causing him any further pain and he was trying to quickly determine a plan of action. He needed to deal with his one quickly because his real concern was the man in the shadows. He had seen how the man moved with grace and finesse – exceedingly quick to come around the lady and hold her at knife point. He could see no fear in the man's eyes and knew it would be a true contest of will and power.
As he was determining his best course of action with the brute, he felt a whipping gust of wind that nearly blew his ear drums out. Before he could register what was happening, the big brute fell forward flat on his face; unconscious but breathing. Behind where he had stood was another man in shadows, but this time the eyes gazing back at him were warm and open, fearless yet humble, and perhaps the purest shade of blue he had ever seen. Something in his gut told him that he had nothing to worry about and that this new stranger was of no threat to him. His gut had saved him a million times over by now and he had no reason not continue trusting it.
Jebediah turned around to see LeAnne still held in the grasp of the dangerous man, knife blade tip still held securely against her jugular. "Alright mista' – hows' 'bout you let her go and we can act like this never happened?" stated Jebediah. The new stranger that has just felled the big brute spoke up "He is an assassin that works for Vandal Savage. His only mission is to obey his master's command and not to fail. He won't leave here without the girl." "I am with the Society of Shadows; I hope you have made peace in your life, for you are about to die" said the assassin as he moved towards Jebediah with such speed that he could do nothing but stand there, frozen in disbelief. As he saw the glint of light reflect off the sword the assassin seemed to pull out of thin air, a gust of wind blew his hat off his head and darkness overcame his vision. Within a second, the latest stranger had moved in front of him, countering the assassin's attack and had immobilized him. Jebediah was at a loss for words – he had never seen anything like this before and had no idea what had just happened. He had never been a religious man, but he thought that perhaps he was witnessing demons and angels for the first time. The stranger moved out from in front of Jebediah and into the little sliver of light that the alleyway allowed. He was a tall man, broad of shoulder with an unruly lock of hair that hounded his forehead. He appeared elegant and powerful, but radiated warmth and calmness. "The assassin will recover…he is just unconscious and will ultimately be punished by the society for his failure" the welcomed stranger told Jebediah. Jebediah could only nod his head. He had never before witnessed anything like this and wasn't sure what to say. Luckily the stranger began talking once again. "You have two cracked ribs, but nothing that won't heal on its own. What you did to help a woman you didn't know was courageous. There aren't many people like you in this world. I know you probably have a lot of questions, but now is not the time for us to talk. Take this card…just follow the instructions on it if you want to learn more. I promise I am no threat but I can't promise that your world won't be turned upside down form what you will learn. Think about it and make a decision when you are ready. I will take this lady to the authorities so she can get some help." Jebediah watched the man walk towards LeAnne, grab her and then disapper from sight. For a second he thought he saw the man fly off the ground, but he just couldn't believe that was possible. Then again…what does Jebediah Wayne really know about anything?