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The fire raged around them, thick smoke swirling like a living thing, clawing at Morbius’ lungs even as his unnatural physiology filtered out the worst of it. The woman in his grasp barely stirred, her breath coming in shallow gasps against his chest. He had wasted too much time. The structure beneath them trembled, every second they stayed increased the likelihood they wouldn't be leaving at all. And then, a voice cut through the roar of the flame.

"Hey, gruesome!"

Morbius turned his head, fangs bared instinctively as the silhouette of Luke Cage stepped through the collapsing hallway. The man stood like a wall, broad and unmoving, framed by the flickering light in a way that made him look even larger. His stance was set, ready for a fight.

"You best take your hands off that lady" Cage warned, cracking his knuckles, "Or I’m gonna send your ass back to Transylvania in a bucket."

Morbius let out a sharp breath, half a sigh, half an incredulous huff. Of course.

Of course, this is how the night was going. The silver lining was that it was Cage and not Spider-Man. He'd had more than his fair share of run ins with the webslinger and was thankful he'd at the very least not end the night webbed up against a wall for all to see.

With the fire raging around them, his own monstrous form silhouetted against the destruction, and a barely conscious woman in his grasp it wasn't hard to see how Cage had reached his conclusion. The fact that Morbius was saving the woman, not feeding on her, would be difficult to argue when every instinct in Cage's body was telling him otherwise. After all, its not like Morbius' reputation hadn't preceeded him, and evne if it hadn't his outward appearance didn't exactly scream [i]'hero'[/i]

Morbius tightened his grip on the woman and turned his glowing crimson gaze toward Luke.

"Ah, yes." he rasped, his voice raw from the smoke but still laced with that wry, unshaken arrogance. "Because clearly, I thought to myself 'Why merely feed in the shadows when I could dramatically incinerate my meal in front of a crowd?'" He adjusted his stance, shifting the woman slightly in his grasp to better support her weight. The fire was worsening, embers cascading from the ceiling like dying stars. They had no time for this. "We both know I'm not the type to like my meat [i]well-done[/i], I am attempting to save this woman, not drain her." he continued, irritation creeping into his tone. "But if you’d rather we argue until the building collapses around us, by all means, please, continue with the threats."

His eyes flicked toward the nearest compromised wall. It wouldn't hold much longer. He met Luke's gaze again, his brow furrowed. Cage was a professional, much more experienced in saving folk from burning houses than he was. He didn't doubt that the hero for hire could probably save the woman and make it back in time to go toe-to-toe with him.

"If you truly wish to help, then I suggest we move. Now." He held the woman up with one arm, the other hand slyly extending the claws just in case Cage leapt in for a punch.