We Sons Of Daley [Manhattan Blues]

> Casually back out of the room

A little late for that, mister! You're too FAR IN and a little too SURROUNDED to make that call.

They're dolls, magically or some other way animated dolls but they're only dolls. Which means you can set aside any form of morality concerning humanoids, really. Try to knock one over and steal its knife, then dismember it.

You'd do this, except you're better with your BARE HANDS than you are with a knife. It's always been the case, really. You're not sure why, but you have a lot of peculiar bits of SECOND REFLEX that you never remember learning. Which means...

Punt them like footballs.

Is exactly what you're about to do, looks like, even as they start floating towards you. They begin to glow with a BLUE-WHITE LIGHT while this is going on, kind of like what you hear WILL-O-WISPS look like.

This isn't going to be fun... it is time for INITIATIVE! Sort of. Thankfully, I won't be making you do any of the book-keeping or making you read LINE AFTER LINE OF TIRED MECHANICS.

Enough references! It's time to punch something!

Of particular interest is the one that almost GOT THE JUMP ON YOU. You BAT IT ASIDE, casually. Unlucky for you that there are four more of them.

Luckily for you, you have an ACE UP YOUR SLEEVE. Specifically, your ONE TECHNIQUE. It's not much, but you'll take it. It'll be another round before you can use it, though.

... Mind, you may not need to; they might as well be sending you a TELEGRAM on when they're going to attack. The second one never sees your attack COMING and is SHAKEN APART. The WISP hangs for a moment before vanishing with a POP.

Or not, one almost gets you through your LONGCOAT. The other two follow suit, and soon enough, one of them causes you to sport a NEW CUT. That's gonna be a PAIN IN THE ASS, but you're too HOPPED UP ON ADRENALINE to notice.

The last one comes around out of a bank- they seem to know their way around an ENCLOSED SPACE, even while FLYING. Stupid MYSTIC BULLSHIT.

But, now it's time for you to bring some hurt... One makes like it's about to shank you, but you activate CROSS COUNTER, your ONE AND ONLY TECHNIQUE. You can SUSTAIN IT for a bit, but the most you've ever been able to pull it for is THIRTY SECONDS, and that was WITHOUT any other KI USAGE.

... These things aren't the most STURDY in the universe and with CROSS COUNTER and your SUPERIOR REACH you can go ahead and CLOBBER THEM. Like you just did. Wow. Look at those splinters FLY. The last one after that is made SHORT WORK of.

Okay, so you managed to get rid of those... WHATEVER THEY WERES before they could SET OFF THE NITRO or KILL YOU. Unfortunately, you've still got four unconscious HOSTAGES, and a conscious one who is now looking at you like SHE HAS GONE INSANE. And should the PIANO WIRE snap, the entire place could still GO OFF ANY TIME.

You shut off CROSS COUNTER. It's not going to be useful here. You have another ONE in you, MAYBE TWO IF YOU CUT OFF THE FIRST ONE IMMEDIATELY before you're DONE as far as KI is concerned for the day.

So. What now, genius?