New York: Bryant Park

        Bryant Park is the largest privately maintained park in New York
City. Located in a picturesque area behind the New York Public Library on
42nd Street and the Avenue of the Americas, Bryant Park is home to
numerous public activites like the JVC Jazz Festival, HBO's Movies in the
Park and many other free cultural events. The park is located next to a
few private schools, that offer an education for the teenagers of
Manhattan.
        The park itself has just recently been renovated, it contains
several famous statues including the venerable statues of Goethe and
Stein. One of the more beautiful parks in the city, the flowers, trees,
bushes, and plants make a picturesque view, no matter what season it is.

It's a quiet night, mostly, in the City of Cities. Really, not that much
happens in this part of town on a Sunday night: mothers may tell their
kids it's hellishly dangerous, but generally it's as tame as Archie
Comics. Generally. Tonight, however...tonight, in Bryant Park, as the wind
whistles through the treetops and an acoustic band is finishing their gig
on the other side of the green, it seems a citizen of our fair city is
being assaulted..! Assaulted, in fact, by a man in a trenchcoat - with a
mask! And a gun!

Of course, this could be concsidered an unchallenged mar on the face of
decenc, but hey, this IS the town that the Last Emerald Guardian makes his
home. At present, the artist-turned galactic savior (not TOO humble) is
winging his way back to his Greenwich Village homestead following a brief
JLA meeting. His altitude is low enough to enjoy the myriad of
architectures... and low enough to notice the transgressor in the park
below. He arcs downwards, heading straight for the altercation...

"...don't think you can escape me," comes a grating, low, muffled voice.
Presumably it's that of the attacker. "I know where you live, I know where
you work, and I expect you to cooperate. If you don't give me names in the
next thirty seconds, I will -take- them from you. Do you understand?" The
guy, whose back is up against a tree and whose shirt is grasped up around
the collar by the trenchcoated man, whimpers softly. Trenchcoat puts a
little more pressure on the strange-looking gun he's holding to the man's
face.

Another voice is then heard. "Hey, buddy, no one tell you you have to
check your guns in at the gate before entering?" Should the gunman turn
around, he would see the rather interesting sight of Green Lantern seated
in a riding box atop a gigantic green elephant. He looks like a scene out
of one of those Arabian movies, even with a ring-energy desert hat atop
his head. "I swear, I'm gonna have to have a talk with the NYC Park
Authroity... should tell people these things, for cryin'; out loud..."

The man with the trenchcoat scowls behind his mask and doesn't turn. He
cocks the safety - there's an audible click as he does so. "You would do
well to leave, Lantern," comes the deep voice again. "This situation is in
hand."

Green Lantern hops down off the elephant and floats to the ground.
"Uh-huh, sure. Then if everything's copacetic, mind just cluing me in a
little on just why you've got this gentleman at gunpoint? Sure there's a
logical explanation for it, right?" His tone maintains a jovial air, but
GL stays at the ready in case things get gruesome.

"He's PSYCHO!" screeches the 'victim' suddenly, eliciting a quick tensing
from the trenchcoated man. "He's trying to KILL ME!"

With a disgusted snort, Trenchcoat pulls the trigger on his weapon...

...and a beam from Green Lantern's ring finds its home between the two
men, forming into a sheet of rivetd green alloy that is strong enough to
defend aghainst small-arms fire. "Hey, easy, Tex, no shooting, till I get
the full 4-1-1, OK?"

...and a cloud of gas dissipates against the green construct. The sheet
metal also has the effect of forcing the trenchcoated man to lose his grip
on the man he was holding - and the guy, realizing he's somewhat more free
than he was before, stumbles a couple of times and starts to run away.
Finally the trenchcoated (and gasmasked!) man turns, crossing his arms,
and says irately in that chickenscratch nightmare typeface, "I'd
appreciate it if you detained him, since you caused his escape." He holds
up the weapon. "And learn the difference between a pistol and a gasgun,
will you?"

"I bet Batman never has this problem," mutters Sand, spinning the back
chambers on the gun, and pointing it at the squid-beset future information
source. He fires, and the man's head is enveloped in a cloud of the same
gas as before. He goes limp in Kyle's grasp, and Sandy reholsters his
weapon. Finally, our Hero With Image Problems pulls his mask up and
glances sideways at Kyle. "Well, see, giving you a heads-up would've taken
the fear out've this guy, and that's exactly what I was trying -not- to
do. It's bound to happen, I guess." The guy on the ground starts
murmuring.

Green Lantern nods. "No problem, my bad. And remind me to have Batman tell
you that story about when Guy Gardner interrupted him while rousting a
perp." He commands thwe squid to reel the miscreant in and it sets him at
theior feet before dissipating. "So, what'd this guy do, if I may ask?"

Laughing quietly, Sandy shakes his head. "You're not Guy Gardner, don't
worry," he says, then holds up a gloved finger; the fellow on the ground
is starting to make sounds like sentences now. The Sandman pulls his mask
back down and crouches beside the fellow. "You will list, now, the
associates of VonZell that reside in New York. Full names," he intones,
pulling out a pad and pencil.

Green Lantern smiles at your reply to the Gardner comment, then clams up
at your prompt. As you begin to collect info from the mope, he crosses his
arms and glares at the man in an attempt to help the intimidation a
little. The finger wearing his power ring taps against his forearm brace.

"Sch...Schneider, Rudolph; Wehrle, Simon; Hombach, Wolfgang; Holst,
Johann; Kirstetter, Karl and Felix..." the man starts to recite - his
voice lacks inflection. It sounds almost as though he were hypnotized...or
influenced by some sort of truth serum. Which, uh, he actually is. "
Schultheiss, Lukas."

The Sandman pauses in his furious scribbling, looking back at the prone
figure. "Any more?"

Unmoving, the man responds dully, "No."

Yep, definitely freaky. But it gets results apparently. If you cast a look
towards Kyle, he cocks a thumb towards the sky and nods in the same
direction, a silent sign that he sees you have thigns under control and is
going to take his leave.

And Sandy does glance - even as he stands up. He nods to the gesture, then
makes like he's gonna say something...but pauses. Finally he says, "He's
an associate of neo-Nazis who've attached themselves to an oldschooler."
His hands are doing something as he speaks - folding a piece of paper.
"And not only is that a bad thing in itself, but they rather have it in
for some friends of mine. So it's gotten, well, personal. Or I would've
asked the Titans..." Is he justifying himself? It's hard to tell; his face
is covered, and his tone is difficult to make out. He sets the folded
paper - now a tiny origami crane - on the man's chest.

With an invisible half-smile, Sand nods. "You got it, pal," he says, voice
curiously light. He watches as Kyle retreats, for a moment, then steps
back into the shadows.