Second Impressions [Sanduleak]

It was a shame that the Bulwarks didn't really bother much with the slums. Given how their headquarters were located in downtown, most Bulwarks would play it safe, resulting in an unneeded congestion of heroes paying more attention to a place already being covered by others that were doing a decent job themselves. This had the side effect of making the more unfortunate places being neglected. One of these places were the docks, and the slums by extension. It was a cesspool of crime and debauchery, with the police and Bulwarks sharing equal blame for not doing anything about it. Titan himself had staked out the docks once or twice, his altercation with the murderous super (who he later found out was referred to as 'Gilgamesh') and his meeting Siren were both clear in his mind. Granted, a substantial amount of property damage was the result of his excursions out here, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

What motivated Titan to return to the docks this time was something that he became aware of following the ill-fated jewelry theft incident. The men that he fought were suspiciously well-armed. More well-armed than a dockside gang had any right to be. Someone must have been arming them, and after the revelation that the Keepers actually existed, Titan had an idea of just who was arming these gangs. Why they would do so was a mystery, but the reason for trying to collapse a road tunnel was also odd as well. Whatever, the reason, Titan needed to investigate, despite detective work not being his strong point

And so he prowled through the alleyways of the Emerald City slums. He was an intimidating figure even at regular size, and the dark hoodie he wore to conceal the mask added to the menacing effect. All he had to do was find the right person to interrogate and he'd be on the right track. The only problem was that doing so was a lot easier said than done. He needed someone quite high up, with enough authority to have made personal dealings with the people that armed them. And so the 6'7 man strolled through the slums, ignoring the glares shot at him from both inside the buildings and on the streets. To find the right people, he'd need them to find him.

It was when he was at a fairly empty street of the slums that a group of ne'er do wells decided (quite stupidly) that he was a viable target. While he would be able to deal with them easily, the risk for collateral in this place was at an all time high, given how cramped it was. Instead, Titan went into a narrow alleyway, where he could deal with a large group of thugs more easily at his normal size. 

Just as he predicted, both sides of the alley were suddenly blocked by some very angry looking men. They slowly approached him, before a large man (who almost rivaled Titan in size) with a mohawk spoke up. "You a mask, huh? Long way from home, buddy. Let's show this dumbass how we deal with supers in this part of town, boys"

Loud whooping filled the alley as tattooed men brandished knives and other assorted weapons like pipes, chains and baseball bats. Fortunately, Titan only needed to deal with them two at a time. The first pair, made up of the ringleader and a crony, charged in first. As the mohawked thug came closer, he made a wild swing at Titan's head. The deceptively fast man simply ducked and grabbed the thug's legs before slamming him hard enough into the ground to incapacitate him. The crony attempted to stab him, but was simply met with a large fist slamming into his face, shattering his jaw and sending teeth flying. The other thugs were reluctant to charge, but still weren't letting up. Titan simply glared at them and readied himself. Who's next?


Sanduleak