James had managed to predict that walking down this shortcut home from working overtime to avoid the suffocating press of the subway (Which was delayed from construction and would take even longer) was a bad idea only about halfway through the darkened alley, and by then - well, it was too late. The crime rates in Sheffield where he grew up was significantly lower than New York City, and all James had to defend himself was a small multi tool and his fists. He learnt sharpshooting in college, but against proper criminals with guns, he had no chance. They were trained in hurting people, and sharpshooting was quite useless for gun fights. James didn't even own a bloody gun. He briefly considered running away, but he knew that he wouldn't be fast enough to avoid -

And there they were. Being attacked out of nowhere in an alley during the late hours of the night was probably bad. James believed that was correct this time. His attackers were several young men seeming roughly around his age, wearing inconspicuous clothes and ragged trainers. He wouldn't have enough time to predict their next moves, only enough time to dig out his wallet and make sure they didn't realise he was one of the Mutant Scum. Again, he contemplated running, but they had guns and it would be dangerous - a gunshot might alert the community- but by then, it might be too late for him - how long did it take to bleed out again? From - Stop it, Maxfield, focus on your surroundings! They closed in on him quickly, 5 of them, an expression James couldn't read on their faces. This was unfair fight, but James was more lithe, and he might stand a chance if he ran. Money. He had money, not much but a few twenties. Most likely enough for them, but... Let's hope they only wanted the money, then. He could see the glint reflecting on a sharp blade, and there was no doubt to them carrying at least one firearm - likely silenced. This was why he should have remained in the UK, or taken the job offering in London. He offered the small wad of greenish bills to his attackers.

"It's not the money we want, kid." The shortest member said. He had a typical NYC accent, but - Oh - maybe running had been a good idea after all. Well, he had this coming a long time ago. It was his own fault for choosing back alleys instead of the safer alternatives. Maybe he could run now - maybe he'd be fast enough, duck into a building, an alley, find some shelter, anything - A strangely metallic-feeling fist - Oh, no - connected with his mouth and his head exploded with pain. He could taste blood, feel the tooth shards, the burn of nerves-

Was there someone coming?

It was rare that PD Linely came to these areas, but sometimes it was necessary. He had just come back from giving some rather bad news to a family. Oddly enough the news that their son had been arrested was comforting, as seeing him at the door-they thought he was dead. In these parts getting a police officer at the door was never a good thing. Peering eyes and shut doors were very common.

So through the dark alley he went-it was quicker to go home this way. He walked carefully , stridently, a clear air of "don't mess with me" was necessary in places like these. Most of the gangs knew not to attack a lone cop-just in case they were a mutant. But some were less clever and experienced.

Then a gang of youths advancing upon a rather frightened looking young man. Linely heard one thing that made his blood go cold. "It's not the money we want kid"...time to snap into action. The first blow had already been struck, a fist colliding with the poor young man's face.

He saw a gun on one of them. That would be his first target. They weren't focusing on looking out for others either. Arrogant idiots. The first -and last thing his target heard was the rush of wind from Linely's overcoat, and the impact of a police baton to the face.

The other 4 were looking at him now, one of them was cursing over and over again. "I suggest you leave now, before I take out the rest of you" Linely coldly threatened them as he prized the gun their compatriot had, and aimed it at them. "I should mention that I'm not that good a shooter, so the likelyhood is if I try not to kill you with it, I might end up doing so."

He was already reaching out to the nerves of the other armed individual, looked like a significant pain in the ribs-enough to knock someone out. "Just so you know that you are way out of your league..."

((OOC Category 8 Pain attack allowance 4/20))
He pulled the pain of the youth to the surface, the youth's face turned pale and then he fell to the floor, unconscious, with a dull thud.

"He did that without laying a finger on him...I think we should run" The cursing youth spoke , between his colorful language. The others that were still standing clearly felt the same way as they turned to run. They were gone in moments. 

Linely then turned to the kid they were beating up. He was bloodied, but conscious and alive. "Are you alright there? PD Linely, NYPD MRC, and it seems you've helped me catch a couple of n'er do wells.." He offered a hand to the kid to help him to his feet.

Well, this was a surprise. A good one, at least, that had essentially saved his life. Another Mutant, an English Mutant, and a NYPD copper at that, who had made one of the muggers drop out cold without lifting a bloody finger. James didn't inherently trust policemen - he had always had trouble accepting authority, even though it was repressed - but this particular PD had got him out of a fair amount of trouble, which he appreciates, and his Mutant powers were extraordinary - fascinating. It would be fun to analyse him. He let the breath hiss out between his teeth and automatically regretted it. There was the rusty taste blood in his mouth, likely more blood coating his lips, and a tooth was definitely chipped because he could feel his exposed nerves burn. Oh, well. That wasn't the worst that could've happened with steel knuckles, as he had learnt in his history books.

"Thank you, sir." James said, squinting up at the older man clad in an overcoat - Linely, that was his last name - standing over him. His teeth and jaw hurt with every single syllable he pronounced. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, then accepted Mr. Linely's hand. The physical contact made him flinch internally, but he stood up, letting go a little too fast. Rude, James, that was rude, you shouldn't have a problem with contact anymore. Apologise. His head spun, slightly, and his mouth was filling up with the sickly taste of rust and salt. Schoolyard bullying in secondary had involved punching a few times, but evidently 14-year-old boys with oversized egos and clothes couldn't pack a decent punch. "Thank you so much. I'm .... alright, " That should suffice. A quick hospital visit might be worth it, thought. "Thank you. My... My name is James. James Edward Maxfield."

"You need to go to the hospital" the man had been roughed up pretty badly. That was just a punch though...probably a mutant with some kind of strength ability. Unsurprisingly the man was flinching away from his hand quickly, after standing up with it. "You really shouldn't take short cuts at this time of night, fortunately I'm not that far away from the precinct, so we can take these two" pointing at the two unconscious people "to a cell for assault."

The man looked quite out of it, but was able to come up with a reply -so his name was James? "James, good to meet you, and no problem, it's part of what I do as an officer...one does wonder why they didn't just want money...and what they wanted" The mood darkened considerably "there are thugs around here James, and you need to bear that in mind"...looking at him now, James was only a few years younger than him...why then would he think  walking in a dark alley like this was a good idea? "First let's get these guys to the precinct, then we're taking you to the Hospital."

James spat out the blood that had been pooling in his mouth onto the street. Of course, it was not a polite thing to do, but in this area of the city it was likely no surprise to see blood on the streets, and swallowing blood causes complications. He managed a smile. Of course he shouldn't be wandering around these areas, taking shortcuts like these through the night. But most of the things people are paranoid about are usually safe, and the subway is equally as bad this time of the night. He didn't have an excuse, though, for being impulsive. His mutation should help him avoid danger. He cursed at himself.

"Yes. Hospital, thank you, " James paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. PD Linely had referred to him by first name, which was new. "Good to meet you too. I would fathom a guess, " Another pause. "That they wanted either an outlet, for anger, or... " James trailed off. "I'll avoid these areas from now. I just.. don't like - " Another sentence cut off. "Okay. Let's go." James cursed at himself again for ruining yet another conversation. He had been bad with people for as long as he remembered. And it wasn't exactly his fault that his words couldn't catch up with his thoughts.

This guy wasn't much of a conversationalist, not really surprising given how shaken up he was. "This is PD Linely, have a couple of individuals that you need to pick up, they should be out cold for a while." He spoke into his radio. The affirmative came through "I'll be taking one conscious victim to the Hospital, my car isn't far away".7

He gestured to James to follow him, as he led him out of the alleyway and into the street. His car was your standard police car, fortunately he didn't have to drive that much, even as a PD, New York was relatively pedestrianised, but for a little emergency case like this, it would be needed.

He walked to his car "Get in the front" , and quickly opened the door for his passenger, hoping the man wouldn't be too bashed up so he could understand and be questioned once he recovered.

James nodded silently and slipped into the car, buckling up in the front seat and shutting the door. He couldn't help but feel nervous about his entire situation. He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, but something about being in a police car set his mind edging closer and closer to panic mode. He drew in a shaky breath and let it hiss out through his teeth. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, the pain is starting to creep in. His lip was split, a tooth had likely been shattered, and something's wrong with his jaw.

The police vehicle moved steadily along the road. Even at this time of the night, there was plenty of activity in the city. New York City never sleeps. Doors were locked and curtains drawn as the NYPD car passed by. Police was always bad news in this neighbourhood. The traffic conditions would be same as usual for this time of the night. An accident had likely happened near this area tonight, so that may cause a jam.

"You're a mutant." James stated, blankly. The silence was dragging on, and it was impolite to create awkwardness for other people. He wasn't sure if being in a police car counted as an exception.

"I am, but I'm one of the good ones, so you don't need to worry. Pain is a tool, much like any other. It's no more different to firing a taser...most of the time..." there was that one time when it hadn't been so simple, and the police had recruited him. But James didn't need to know that.

"Are you a mutant then? " Perhaps that would explain the weird mannerisms coming from him. Sometimes mutants with weird cognitive abilities had difficulty with socialising...the wave of closing curtains as he passed through the street reminded Linely of where he was. He locked the doors "Car-jackers aren't uncommon, and we're not going to stop for red lights here." As he said this, he activated the siren and lights. That would get him some way to dealing with any traffic that might come up.

"That's interesting." The man had a pain-related mutation, then. Something to do with inflicting pain, and he felt some of the effects, as well. James had never heard of pain manipulation before. It would be useful now if the PD could absorb pain. James had realised that the effects of the punch was a lot worse than he had expected. Not only one tooth had been chipped, and his lip was split. Something hurt within his jawbone. Hopefully this wouldn't need surgery or anything - he couldn't afford that. "Your Mutation, I meant. Pain manipulation. Yes, I'm a Mutant too. I... I'm good at spotting patterns, so I can technically predict the future." James had a difficult mutation to describe. It's weak, and often useless, but....

He dropped into silence and instead watched the traffic outside. They were out of the worst bit by now, and the city was starting to look more awake and less dangerous. The junction they were planning to enter was a dangerous one at best - common spot for drunk drivers and texting drivers, so a common spot for accidents, not to mention the place being busy. Accidents were rare this time of the night, usually, but he hadn't seen an accident and the patterns he had analysed before told him that there should be an accident very, very, soon-

Now.

"Sir, please stop the car. Trust me. Miss that junction, don't go near it." James said quickly. He knew he sounded pathetic and the PD likely wouldn't believe him, especially since the stupid shortcut he took, but he didn't want to risk this anymore. If he could predict the future, he might as well use it. An accident was going to happen any second now. And James didn't want to be involved in it.

So this guy had an ability to predict the future by doing lots of calculations? No wonder it was difficult to talk to him. Cognitive abilities were often difficult for young mutants, and this guy seemed not to have a full grip on his powers yet. The man looked worried, seemingly scared of the traffic-it was mostly fine...

>>"Sir, please stop the car..Miss that junction, don't go near it"

PD Linely jammed on his breaks. The car screeched to a halt just as blue Cadillac in that junction started drifting into the wrong lane...everything started happening in slow motion as a mint-green Honda ploughed into the back of the Cadillac at high speed. The two cars entered a rapid spin, quickly roaring through the Police car would have been if Linely hadn't been wise enough to stop. Then...the cars hit concrete , grinding to a halt, small amounts of debris flying...

The dust cleared. Looked like the drivers were OK, they were out of their vehicles. Arguing with one another and one swearing profusely."I'm going to have to take witness statements James. Well done, if we had been caught up in that I daresay we'd have been a lot worse for ware."

"T-thank you, sir." James replied, still looking significantly out of it. He blinked a few times to made sure that his vision wasn't playing tricks on himself. A car had just slammed into another car. It happened a lot sooner than James thought it would, but it had happened. Traffic was usually easy to predict, and he shouldn't be surprised, but he was still always a little uncomfortable missing bad accidents by seconds, thinking of what might've happened if they were caught in the accident instead of missing it. He smiled hesitantly and rubbed at his jaw, watching through the window.

PD Linely had already left the car, closing the door behind him but still letting in the acrid scent of burned rubber and dust anyways. Usually, people who choose to drive at this time of the night are thrill-seekers, night shift workers, people getting to the airport, delivery workers, drunk drivers or unsavoury personnel. He hoped it wasn't the last two. James could tell that both men involved in the accident were yelling, significantly upset that their car had likely been totalled. He knew that it was highly unlikely to get violent, but watching the conflict made him uncomfortable anyhow. He rubbed at his jaw again, staying silent.

So this was a simple case of getting in between the two swearing drivers. "Come on guys, time for you to cool it down, it's a dark night, and bad things happen..I may have to arrest you if you don't calm down"...the two men were in standard suits, looked like night-shift workers. He made sure to flash his badge at them so as to make things clear.

The two guys were pretty cross with one another, but they calmed down nicely after that. "Which one of you was driving the Cadillac?" the man responsible put up his hand. "Right, you are getting a formal warning, and a ticket" he promptly wrote the fellow the appropriate documents, and gave it to him. He didn't have time for this.

"This is PD Linely, send a traffic officer to junction 8E...we have two write offs here", Linely promptly got back in the car. "You alright there James? We need to get you to the hospital..so I'm not waiting around to meet my fellow officers".

"I'm okay, yes." James said, wrinkling his nose a bit at the scent of burnt rubber. Well, not really. He wasn't okay. But he had learnt that he should keep as much as he can to himself, from his childhood. The punch had been with brass knuckles, which meant that there's probably some damage James hadn't noticed before. He just hoped it wasn't a fracture. His mouth still tasted like rust and there wasn't much he could do about it. "It hurts a bit, but I'm fine for now."

He turned to the window and observed the traffic conditions. They had taken an alternate route which is significantly less prone to accidents but slightly more prone to jams. Thankfully, this route was not frequented by drivers at this time of the night, and it should be a quick trip.

"Good, but we need you to get to a hospital quickly" He looked more bashed up than when he'd first got in, and some blood had got into the car. Fortunately Linely wasn't too possessive of it. "Don't worry about the mess James, I think that's understandable given your condition". There wasn't much he could do to assuage James' pain, sadly.

Linely got back into the car and started the engine, making sure his safety belt was on. If the guy predicted another accident, he didn't want to go flying into the windshield. Back went on the Sirens and lights, they passed by many houses and junctions.

Then they came to the hospital, a tall grey building , now lit up for the night, they weren't the only vehicle coming in with sirens a blazing. The building looked almost pretty in a certain kind of way, even though it was a place where less than glamorous things happened. It was also expensive. Still-as this fellow was a witness it was in the polices' interests to pay for a certain amount of his healthcare (they couldn't afford all of it.

The hospital car park was reasonably quiet , and so they had little difficulty finding a car parking space. "Time to get you seen to by a doctor." He spoke calmly, opening the driver side door and closing it behind him.

James nodded, quietly leaving the police car. He figured that he should probably go to the Emergency Department. had never liked hospitals, and Emergency Rooms always made him want to throw up. Something about the smell of disinfectant and seeing other people's blood didn't go well with him. He wondered whether he'd be able to afford the treatment needed. He saves up, and he had plenty of money, but it would still put a good dent in his paycheck. And Isaac would be worried.

The wait was a lot shorter than he had expected, maybe because he had a police officer with him. The doctors must've thought he was a criminal. A bruised bone, lip split that required stitches, several stitches inside the mouth, and a broken tooth that required treatment by a dentist. Overall, the damage wasn't as bad as James thought, and it didn't hurt all that much. Still, he cursed at himself for going down that alley. The treatment cost would be billed to his place.

"Thank you. For bringing me to the hospital, sir." James said, holding the ice pack to his jaw after exiting the hospital. He knew he'd likely be taken in for questioning later, and winced at the thought of it.