The Aerialist delivers a vicious beatdown

“It’s a hero!” shouted the man at the front of the group, a tall white guy with a shaved head and big dark beard who was brandishing crowbar.

“Who is it? Boom Blade?” shouted another of the men, a black guy with a similarly shaved head but a much shorter beard.

“Nah. Some chick, don’t know her” said the first. The shock of Gem’s landing fading off quickly and a new malicious smile spreading across his face.

Gem pushed down a wave of annoyance that she hadn’t been recognised and instead stood up to her full height and raised her fists, spoiling for the fight to come.

“Don’t recognise her either. How good a hero can she really be?” sneered the last man from the back of the group who looked to be holding a kitchen knife.

“I feel like having a double feature tonight lads” said the first man, stepping forward and raising the crowbar above his head.

Darwin didn’t rush her attack, shifting her weight to her other foot she just waited until the man entered her fighting arc and as soon as it looked like the man was about to swing the crowbar she flipped backwards, her body arching in a picture perfect flip, her form excellent and the positioning so precise that it would have made a great shot on the news if the press had been there to report on her heroics. What the press might not have likes so much was the sickening crunch as Gem’s boot connected with the underside of the man’s jaw. His mouth slammed shut with a crack before Gem felt the jawbone shattering from the impact of the kick. The man’s head snapped backwards and he was thrown from his feet to crash down into the wall of the alleyway before sliding down it slowly. Blood burst from his mouth like ketchup from a bottle and what few teeth the man had had left clattered as they bounced across the ground followed by something wetter. As Gem stuck her landing, back in the heroic three point stance she looked down to see something pink landing in a puddle with a soft splash and realised it was the man’s tongue, it must have gotten in the way of his teeth when the kick landed. The attacker didn’t move, out cold from either the impact or his body rapidly going into shock. Gem felt the warm rush of satisfaction as she observed her work.

“You fucking bitch!” shouted the second man, rushing at Gem with his fists raised as the second man followed close behind, still brandishing the knife. Gem leapt up, her boot hitting the wall and she rebounded over the heads of both the second and third thugs and twisted in the air to land facing their backs. A swift kick to the knee of the man with the knife gave her a satisfying pop as the man’s kneecap popped from it’s socket and the man half turned, half fell to try to face her, a scream of pain leaving his lips. Gem grabbed the wrist of the hand hat still clutched the knife and used it to pull the man towards her, turning the blade away from her body while delivering a knee strike to the man’s temple. This man dropped too, also **** leaving Gem alone with the last attacker. This man likely wouldn’t have been blamed for trying to flee at this point but to his credit he swung a clumsy fist at Darwin, aiming it squarely for her head but she quickly side stepped. The last attacker took a step over his fallen friend and swung another fist at her. This time Darwin spun around the man like a matador avoiding a bull, going up on her tiptoes and literally pirouetting around behind the man.

The attacker turned to face Gem but received a hard kick to the chest for his troubles, throwing him backwards into the alleyway wall. The man let out a wheeze as he tried to steady himself clutching his chest but Gem delivered three more kicks in rapid succession to the man’s chest, feeling broken bones with each impact and finally the man’s legs gave out and he collapsed forward, doing nothing to stop his fall and crashing face first into the floor. Gem looked around in case she had miscounted the muggers but she was now alone in the alley with the terrified woman and three **** attackers. Gem smiled. The fight had taken less than thirty seconds but she had enjoyed that all the same. She turned to face the woman who had curled into a ball in the corner of the alley and was shaking, looking up at Gem with a mixture of fear and awe. Her mouth was moving but no words were coming out.

“I’m The Aerialist if anyone asks who saved you tonight.” Gem said, her tone light and cheery.

And then Gem launched herself sky wards and out of sight, landing on the roof of the ruby again. As she stood in the open air again and looked down to check herself over she noticed the filth clinging to her boots and to the knee where she had taken her pose and grimaced. The grime was a grey brown and from looking at it she had no idea what on earth she could have landed in. She reminded herself of another reason she hated this city.

“Aerialist, report. Have you reached The Velvet Rose yet?” the voice of Walters suddenly barked in her ear.

“Not yet Ma’am, I had to take care of a few guys up to no good.” Gem replied with a self satisfied smile.

“Need I remind you that this mission you are on is time critical, you were to make to the Rose without delay.” Came the reply from Walters.

Gem paused for a moment, disbelieving that she was being scolded for being a hero.

“There was someone in trouble, her life could have been at risk” replied Gem

“And Mr White’s life may also be in danger, and I’m sure some random woman in the street probably doesn’t contribute quite as much capital to this city and as a byproduct, to G.O.O.N as Mr White does.”

And there it was, this was all about money. It always came down to money.

Darwin’s face turned sour but this time she managed to resists the snide remarks she was **** to make.

“I shall proceed to the objective now. ETA is roughly ten minutes.” Said Gem, keeping her language professional before cutting off the link, not wanting to hear anything else Walters may have had to say.