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There was something nefarious going on in the park tonight, Spei could feel it. Of course, this being Destiny City, there was something nefarious going on every night, at least when it came to the Negaverse. The parks were not safe to be in at night, unless you were one of the powered people – and even then it could be a dodgy proposition. Spei could feel, though, that the individual in the park near his usual patrolling route wasn't one of the big guns. Still, nefarious goings on were nefarious, and he intended to stop whatever they were doing.

Leaping silently from rooftop to rooftop, the Moon Squire approached the park in question, then dropped to the pavement below. He slowly followed the Negaverse aura deep into the park, trying to keep himself under as much cover as he could. As he got closer, he caught glimpses between the trees of the agent he'd felt. The smell coming off of the victim lying on the ground finally reached his nose, and he squinted and gave a short, sharp sigh. Why did these people think it was okay to take advantage of those in unfortunate situations like this poor soul? The city's most vulnerable population were easy targets. Too easy.

That made him a little angry. Filled with such righteous indignation, Spei stepped out from behind a tree and summoned his shield, golden eyes flashing. "I suggest you leave this man alone and move along," he intoned flatly. "He's done nothing to deserve being drained."

Spei listened to the lieutenant's words berating the vagrant man he was standing over and only got angrier. "Tempting," he snarled, "but I'd prefer that no one got their energy drained tonight. I'm not about to surrender myself to your oh so tender ministrations." Looking at the weapon the Negaverse agent had summoned, he raised an eyebrow. A child's Skip-It toy. He knew lieutenants, like Pages, initially manifested with pretty useless weapons; his own weapon had been so useless he'd never summoned it before he became a Squire. This guy's weapon, however, looked like it would do some damage if he swung it at someone.

Before Spei could say -- or even think -- anything else, the lieutenant charged him. Reflexively he raised his shield arm to deflect the incoming blow from the swinging toy; it connected with a bone-jarring clang, causing Spei to take a step back to keep his balance. Rather than engage in close quarters with the Chaos agent, though, he leapt into a double backflip, landing a good few yards away from him. Now he had room to counter-attack.

"Moonlight Blast!" he shouted, aiming the face of his shield at the lieutenant.

As he watched the Negaverse agent get knocked back by the blast from his shield, Spei felt a bit of satisfaction. b*****d deserved the hard landing he got on his butt – and maybe, just maybe, the other effect of the concentrated moonlight would work as well. Maybe, just maybe, he'd give this guy cause to reconsider his allegiances.

But no, the lieutenant got to his feet and walked back to the poor unfortunate man on the park bench. Spei watched the agent slip his hand partway into the man's chest and immediately realized he'd made a miscalculation: by jumping away from the lieutenant, he'd left the hapless victim of all this even more vulnerable. The Moon Squire couldn't stand by and allow the Negaverse agent free rein to do whatever he wanted. And apparently what he wanted was the vagrant's starseed.

Moving as fast as he could, he ran and leapt to ricochet off a tree and fly at the lieutenant, aiming a roundhouse kick at the other man's head. With luck, he'd connect and at least ring his bell a bit.

Spei saw the Negaverse agent pick up the unconscious vagrant, using the man as a meat shield as the Moon Squire whipped his leg around to deliver a solid kick. He couldn't twist his body around mid-air to avoid hitting the unfortunate victim, and his booted foot connected hard with both the man and the lieutenant.

Down they went, and down he went, struggling to land in such a way that he could roll and get back to his feet. He dismissed his shield so he could better recover his balance; this was a mistake. The lieutenant's weapon was swinging again, and this time it connected with Spei's shoulder joint, sending a sharp jarring pain and numbness down his arm. He fumbled his roll, ending up on his back on the ground hissing, perilously close to the Nega.

Quickly collecting himself, Spei scrambled to his feet as the lieutenant shoved the homeless man's body away. Still clutching his numb arm, the Moon Squire headed for the hapless vagrant, who was laying in an awkward and unnatural position face-down on the ground. He had to see if the man was okay. He kept half an eye on the lieutenant, though, just in case the other man tried something. Which he didn't put past him.

Spei caught the sarcastic bow the lieutenant gave him before walking away, but the Squire didn't care. He was more concerned for the Negaverse agent's victim. Even though the man was "only" a homeless guy, he was still a human being, a person. Who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was a bit of a struggle to flip the man over without further hurting him, further complicated by the fact he smelled like he hadn't had a shower in a year. Holding his breath, Spei finally managed to get the guy on his back – and what the Moon Squire saw made his heart sink. Somehow, in the chaos of the fight, the lieutenant had managed to take the man's starseed anyway; a glassy-eyed, slack-jawed expression was fixed on his unshaven face, a sure sign that he wasn't long for this world.

Bowing his head in defeat, Spei gently closed the man's eyes and stood. He'd have to figure out who that Negaverse lieutenant was and add him to his s**t list. In the meantime, he'd have to remember that the Negaverse played extremely dirty, not caring one bit about human life. With a deep sigh, he turned away from the dying vagrant and bounded away into the trees, where he powered down and headed home for the night.