This version is the 'redux' of the champions. I have taken many things out yet have also put a lot more stuff in. An example of things I have taken out is any song lyrics and such; they may be mentioned in the story but will not really appear.
As far as A/N's go there won't be many, just enjoy the story.
Rain, it seemed to be a permanent part of the city at night. It never stopped until daybreak broke, after that it was just gloomy and cloudy, something which seemed to reflect the city's constant mood. The people who lived here were prime examples of this, they were nothing short of people who were just sick of everything in existence, and if they had the choice they wouldn't even give you the time of day. Dean was unsure if it was because of the constant rain or the extremely high night crime that made the locals so gloom and doom. All this rain made it both dangerous to be out and difficult to catch criminals, practically making it a safe haven for them. He was fairly certain at least 2 or 3 high end criminal team headquarters were situated in this city, all probably paying off the politicians into turning a blind eye, no doubt the reason why there are so few police officers at night.
Shrugging as his thoughts came to a halt he looked up into the sky overhead; the black void swirling above him showed no signs of stopping, not that it ever did. Mother nature took this time to show how powerful she truly was, lighting up the entire city for a brief moment as lightning raced across the sky before touching down out of sight, the thunderous boom following shortly thereafter.
Pushing off the broken lamp post that he was leaning on, Dean started his nightly wander, looking for just about anything to do other then let the rain pelt him in the face. It didn't take long for him to come across one of the smaller restaurants that were situated in this backwater part of the city. Somehow it had always seemed to evade break-ins or muggings, it wasn't exactly popular so they probably didn't have much money to begin with, either way it was a regular place to catch a bite to eat, if he had any money that was.
Dean sighed as he strolled past the lights shining from within; being homeless was hard enough as it was, getting food to eat was more so. If anything he could use the cover the building provided to have a quick rest before plotting the rest of his night, not that there was much to do it was more or less where something interesting might be happening.
He sat down on a conveniently placed wooden box under an overhang just outside the restaurant, drawing back his raincoat's hoodie to expose the rest of his head to the elements. The light flooding out of the restaurant only just seemed to reach him, but it wasn't far enough so that any passing stranger wouldn't be able to see his face.
Dean swept his right hand through his unkempt dirty honey blonde hair as he sat there, quietly wondering to himself what he looked like to passing strangers, not that there were any at this time of night but still. He knew he hadn't shaved for a while, not that there was much to show of it, that much was certain. Neither had he had a decent haircut in god knows how long, it reached just past his shoulders. It was a good thing hair took so long to grow on him in that case. Next he thought about his eyes, it had been a while since he had a good look into a mirror but he was positive his eyes were still a deep bright green, at least he hoped they still were.
Standing up he stretched, propping his raincoats hoodie back onto his head, as he walked back out into the rain he still silently moved onto his height, last time he had checked – and that was a couple years ago – he was around 6 feet tall. He was slightly taller than the general populace of the city, probably due to his different heritage of birth but he wondered if he had grown taller since the last time he had checked, it was an almost certain bet being that he was still 19. After that he couldn't really think of anything else someone might see of him, sure he had cuts, busies and scars but they were relatively minor and wouldn't be seen unless shown.
With that he resumed his silent aimless walk, determined to do something of note tonight other than dwell on how strangers saw him. Alas the night did not go silent, amidst his aimless walk he happened across a woman, alone, at night, during the pouring rain on the opposite side of the street walking in the same direction as he. The thing was he had could have sworn he had seen this woman before, sometimes in a crowd, sometimes in the little restaurant he frequented. He had never spoken to her – never any reason too – but he always got the feeling she was constantly looking straight into his soul, it was a strange feeling indeed.
Dean didn't plan to do anything to her; on the contrary, he actually planned to berate her for being out this late in this weather with no protection from it what so ever, at least her clothes weren't white and provided some form of decency. As he started in her general direction he at least was happy he did something tonight, it was a good thing that no thugs had found her yet.
Dean spoke to soon and jinxed it, the moment those words formulated in his head he could have sworn 4 men practically appeared out of a nearby alleyway, right in front of the damsel in distress. Dean stopped; a lamp post was up a head, one that was working and he wasn't sure if they were the type to shoot on site so he had to play his cards safe, or at least as safe as he could. With that in mind he backed into the closest alleyway on the opposite side of the street. He hid behind a dumpster and peered around its corner to see what they were going to do, it was a miracle he could even hear them through the rain.
"Wot do we 'ave 'ere lads?" The largest one asked his peers with a thick accent of what sounded like cockney English; Dean assumed this one was probably the boss. "Looks like someun got lost tonight ey? Maybe she needs our 'elp then? What ya say then lads? Fancy a bit of an escort duty tonight ey?" His peers laughed, hearty yet sinister, he is toying with her. "If yool be so kind 'mlady," He actually pulled the hoodie back to expose his head and mockingly bowed down with one arm extended towards the nearby alleyway and the other held in front of his chest. "would ya please make yer way inta da alleyway? We promise it be a shortcut." If his grin told Dean anything it was that he wasn't being serious, a toddler could see through that.
"Um, no thank you kind gentlemen, my house is not too far from here so if you'll just let me pa-"
The mood swing the 'leader' took as she attempted to sidestep them went from sinister playfulness to sinister annoyance in the blink of an eye. "Dis ain't an invitation miss, you will be commen down dis alleyway, whetha you want to or not."
She froze as he brushed aside his coat to show her something, Dean couldn't tell what it was but it did briefly glimmer, if he'd have to guess it would be either a knife or a gun, neither were good signs. She hastily nodded her head, taking a step back before turning her head and looking straight at Dean. Her eyes didn't even search the darkness looking for something to latch onto, they just fell onto him as if she knew he was there the entire time, the feeling of being looked at from all directions came back to him and he quickly broke their line of sight by hiding back behind the dumpster. It was a good thing too, the leader had gotten suspicious of what she was looking at and looked at the ally as he dipped behind the dumpster, not that the chances he'd have seen him were high to begin with.
After seeing nothing of interest the leader got agitated, slapping the woman full force on her face before picking her up by her shirts collar, her feel dangling off the ground. "Dun know what yer were starin at pretty lady but 'if yer be looking for a savior then yool be sourly mistaken. Aint no one gonna take my toys from me." He set her down enough so her feet were touching the ground but he kept hold of her shirt. Turning around he said some things to his peers before laughing and almost forcibly dragging his prey into the alleyway.
Dean swore on the inside, he had heard the slap but saw nothing else due to the fact that he was still hiding. Common sense told him that he should both run and help her, it also told him to call the police but chances were they wouldn't even care in the slightest, that and he had no way to call them.
"Shit, shit, shit. What do I do?" Dean silently asked himself, each of his hands resting on either side of his face as he sat there in the pouring rain. "I can't just leave her, nor can I just charge in. Fuck, I can't even fight worth a damn in the first place, what the hell am I even supposed to do?" Quickly checking around the corner of the dumpster to see if any of the thugs were still present he deftly moved out of his hiding spot and onto the street, staring into the alleyway from whence they came.
He stood there and stared into the alleyway, the chances she was coming out of there ever so slowly shrunk each second he waited, another life lost and for what? So he could live? It wasn't as if he was going to live long anyway, being homeless and without a job did that to people. Finally making up his mind he put his reservations and half of his own common sense aside he stealthily made his way over to the other side of the street, avoiding anything that could potentially give his position away.
As he neared the entrance to the ally he could hear the group not far up ahead, he poked his head around the corner and guessed they were 30 or so feet in. "Looks like we snagged ourselves a beaut tonight ey lads? Looks like this one 'asn't seen any action yet. Maybe we can change that eh?" The same sinister laugh erupted from what Dean assumed were two of his grunts standing nearby.
Dean stopped moving, if memory served correctly then there was a third grunt, he hoped to high heaven that he was behind them or had not seen him yet as if he had then this rescue mission is going to be very short lived. Dean carefully looked around, keeping himself close to the ground as he looked for the third. As luck would have it the third grunt did not see Dean, as luck would also have it this grunt was about 6 feet away from him on the opposite side of the ally looking in, the only way Dean even noticed him was a glimmer from his hip that shone into his eyes as the grunt shifted slightly. Dean was close enough to tell this grunt at least packed a knife, he only hopped he didn't know how to use it.
Peering around the corner again to check on the situation, Dean was relieved that they were still taunting the poor woman, at they had not actually done anything too bad yet but if Dean were to leave it any longer then he wasn't sure how long that statement would hold true.
"Well shit, what do I do now? The obvious thing to do is to take out this grunt, but in view of the others? Bad idea that would be, wait if I could lure him out though..." Dean stopped his scheming and looked back up to the nearby thug; he was still watching the others taunt the woman. Quietly moving around Dean found what felt like a rock near his left hand, watching the guard as he did so he picked it up and passed it to his other hand by sliding it underneath himself. Now as ready as he'll ever be Dean raised his right arm and quickly tossed the rock over onto the street on the opposite of the alleyway.
It seemed to work, the closest one turned around and moved his hand over to his knife, ready to pull it out at the slightest hint of trouble. Dean snuck a peek into the alleyway once more and was relieved to find that the others had not noticed yet. Focusing back onto the task at hand the grunt stalked out of the alleyway and onto the footpath on the opposite side of the alleyway, now out of view from his friends.
It was now or never and Dean slowly got up from his lying position, carefully making sure not to make too much sound while doing so. Checking once again in the alleyway and confirming that this was as safe as it was going to get, he noisily sprinted at the grunt who heard him all too late. He had time to spin around and draw his knife but not enough time to defend himself as Dean put his entire body into his right fist as he threw it at the grunt, getting him under his jaw and knocking his head upwards, he thought he heard some sort of snap.
Dean had gotten lucky, that much he knew, but the sound of the grunt hitting the ground would be sure to give away his position so relying on his gut he quickly moved behind the grunt as he fell backwards, muffling a good portion of the sound but not all of it.
"Oi, Griml, where did you go you loaf? Don't yer want to get a good look at this beut before something bad happens?" The leader called from inside the alleyway, obviously curious as to where the forth wheel went and probably what those sounds where.
As Dean was about to grab the knife and find another hiding spot to take advantage of he thought up of a better idea, by the looks of it he and 'Griml' were about the same height and build. Oh the gods must be smiling upon him for some reason as if this were to work then he would have a much better chance and doing what he came here to do, if the thugs were as stupid as they sounded that was.
Quickly taking off the man's black overcoat and flat cap and donning them on himself he stood back up and dug his left hand into a pocket and his right hand rested on his waist where the stolen knife was before making his presence known to the group as he rounded the corner of the alleyway.
"What was that sound Griml? Sounded like someun was runnin but it was probably some idiot out for a late night jog eh?" The leader asked Dean as he started to walk towards the group, the blackness of night obscuring his face from the group. Dean nodded in response while continuing his walk forwards, he had kept his head angled downwards but he could still see enough that he knew only the leader was looking at him.
"Did yer grow in the three minutes that yer were over thar? I swear yer got about two inches taller, heck I can just see over yer head." The leaders tone shifted halfway through the second sentence, adopting a more cautious tone, perhaps he even stood back and studied the approaching figure but only the gods would have known.
The leader was still looking at him while the other two were still seemingly fixated on their captive whom was now looking at Dean with a newfound terror and, respect? The hell was that doing in there.
Looking up for a brief moment he watched the leaders hand slowly start to glide towards his right hip, if anything the man was suspicious of him, enough so that he is probably going to draw his weapon very soon.
With only having seconds left of saving grace Dean to started to pull out his snatched knife as he quickly surveyed the situation once again. The three remaining grunts were arranged in a triangle, one so that the leader was placed furthest away from Dean. The other two remaining points of the triangle were situated fairly close together, still largely engrossed in taunting the woman and seemingly not noticing Dean yet.
"Get down! He is not un of us!" The leader fearfully yelled as he drew a small firearm from his hip, sloppily aiming it at Dean. Dean took the short lived confusion of the other two grunts to quickly come up behind the closest thug and ram his knife into his lower torso before pulling it out and jumping back to avoid the his partner who had had enough time to come to terms of what was happening and had attempted a swipe with his own knife.
Dean stood there, the woman looking at Dean with a newfound hope but that mattered little in the current situation, his attention was fully focused on the two remaining thugs. The rain pouring down overhead mattered little anymore, he couldn't hear the soft patter as it hit the cement, all he could hear was the thrumming in his ears of his heart, running almost entirely on adrenaline.
The leader's visage seemed to break; he was terrified and no longer seemed to hold mental dominance over the situation anymore, his hand shaking violently. Yet he still held dominance over the situation at hand, he had a gun, there was little chance Dean would be able to get close with a knife, and he still had another thug to get past.
"Y-yer want thar woman for yerself? Take 'er. I aint gonna stop you." Dean was thrown off by what the leader said; this man, who was taller than Dean, much more muscular too, was afraid? He even held his hands up in an 'I surrender position', his gun falling to the floor. The other grunt was seemingly thrown off by all this as well if his confused glances gave any indication.
It did not matter, if they were willing to let him go with the woman then so be it, but the entire scenario seemed off to him, it was too easy. He didn't even think he would be able to accomplish anything yet here he was, making off with the damsel in distress, bad guys scared out of their wits. He picked up the woman off the ground, helping her stand so that she leaned heavily on his left shoulder; apparently they had already started some form of abuse.
Once she was on her feet he made sure he walked backwards out of the alleyway just in case they were thinking of trying something. They were almost out, almost free, so close he could taste it, just another 10 feet and they'll be good as gold. The sound of wet feet against the drenched concrete behind them however stopped them both, the sure tell sound of a gun cocking made them both freeze in place.
"Say ya prayers ya fucker." A slightly groggy and very angry voice from behind them told him. It was all Dean could really process before the voice from behind shot him, the sound ringing in his ears as pain filled his body and mind. The bullet had ripped through his right lung, blood immediately starting to fill it.
He only stood for a couple of seconds before collapsing onto the woman he was trying to save, she was yelling at him, he couldn't hear what it was but it didn't really matter. There was little he could do, the blood pooling outside and inside his body due to the bullet was almost untreatable. Either he would die with his lungs full of blood, drowning on it, or he would die by the extreme amount of blood vacating his body.
His hands and legs started to go numb, even if he were to try he would not be able to move them, his ragged and panicked breaths were the only thing he seemed to still have control over but even that didn't last very long. Soon enough he saw a bright light of what he assumed to be death envelop his vision. He wished he could stay, to live, to fight, but he was out of time. The reaper was here.
Again, this is a re-write, expect better quality, better story telling and just about better everything.