It was hot and wet. But then, this was Atlanta, and it was July. Of course, it was hot and wet, even now that the sun had gone down in the west. In other news, ice was cold, and damned if they were going to see any of it that didn’t come in a drink or in a freezer.

Mad Dog didn’t care about the weather. He was Super, one of those people that had powers mere mortal humans didn’t. His own brand was a mutation, instead of using magic, or super-science, or alien tech. He wasn’t A-list material, but he had pretty good Durability and Super-Strength, with slight Regeneration. That was enough that he could laugh off smaller bullets, and street fights were a breeze. In the three years he’d been leading the Hellions, they’d grown to be the biggest gang in Buckhead.

Tonight was a slow night. Nothing much planned, except hassling some late shoppers around the Lenox Square Mall. He had four guys with him, not Supers, but still tough guys who knew how to lay a beat down on anyone that didn’t show respect. They got respect real quick, most of the time.

Now, though, they were going to have some fun. Couple of birds just dropped into their laps! Pretty little things, probably out shopping on Daddy’s credit card earlier in the day, and now they were partying, enjoying their summer vacation before college started again in the fall. Well, Mad Dog had no idea whether that was true or not, but he liked to make up backstories about the people he hassled. Kept the mind sharp, right? Made everything more fun.

The five men quickly moved to trap the two co-eds, and force them down an alleyway where they could have some fun without being disturbed. One of the girls tried to scream, but a backhand from Mad Dog (he was sure not to kill her, though she’d have the mother of all black eyes) was enough to convince the broads that they should be good little girls, and do whatever the mean gangers wanted.

Of course, they wouldn’t be needing their purses for that. Or their clothes.

Mad Dog had the girl he’d slapped in one hand, raising her off the ground as she squirmed, and was about to go into some quality intimidation and persuasion on why she should stop fighting, and go ahead and transfer all her money to his account before they got to ‘playing’, when a sound like a strangled cat came from behind him.

He whirled, in time to see Johnny fall to the ground, blood coming from his throat. Standing where he had been was a woman, dressed all in black leather, with a sword in her hand. Her eyes glowed a brilliant gold, but that wasn’t the most disturbing thing about her. No, that would be the blood covering her face, and the long, white fangs in her mouth.

Then the fear hit, and it was all Mad Dog could do to stand there without pissing himself. One of his buddies couldn’t. Frozen in fear, the three other goons were easy prey for the woman and her sword, as she swiftly dispatched them one by one. By the time he forced himself to move, despite the fear, Mad Dog was alone.

“Blood-sucking whore! I’ll rip you to pieces for what you did to my boys!” With a yell, Mad Dog unleashed his most powerful punch at the woman, who merely grunted as she CAUGHT his punch with her bare hand! At least he had the pleasure of seeing that the woman was injured somewhat by the attempt, but when he tried to pull his hand back for another blow, a golden light surrounded the pair of them, and Mad Dog began to feel funny. His strength, his pride since he’d become a Super, was being stolen away, feeding this demon whore who attacked him!

And there was nothing he could do but scream.

Soon, silence fell, broken only by the whimpering of the two women. Stepping over to the two of them, the dark-skinned vampire placed a hand on the injured woman, and the golden light surrounded them again, but this time it caused the woman to squirm, as though in pleasure, as her wounds were healed.

Before they could ask any questions, however, the woman simply looked in their eyes, and said, “Forget.”

When they returned to their senses, the two women looked around at the alleyway where they had been, the bodies of their attackers still littering the blood-slicked alleyway. And while they had no memory of who, or what, had saved them, the police who came shortly thereafter did. Looking at the scene of carnage and the desiccated corpse of the street-level villain Mad Dog, the officers knew that this was the work of the mysterious vigilante they only knew as Blood Raven.

In a lair protected from the sun’s light, the vampire from the alley considered the notification she’d just gained, telling her that defeating the villain had earned her a single character point. The police may call her Blood Raven, since she’d never let anyone remember seeing her face or hearing her name, but her true ‘handle’, as it were, was Vampyra, and she hunted the night, preying on those who preyed on others.

Had it really been only a couple months since this craziness had begun?