[IC] The City of Masks (Watchmen-inspired RP)

[fluorescent]

Graffiti gawked. This asshole actually had the gall to try to control her like that. He believed he had the upper hand, but now surprise was on her side. She had neither the respect nor the patience for men that believed that they could do anything they wanted without repercussion. She had been severely underestimated, and now Mafia Gump was going to pay.

She quickly formulated a plan of her own, and adrenaline began to kick in. She was leaving, and this bag of dicks wasn't about to stop her. Graffiti could only hope Lily reacted quick enough to get herself to safety. If things went to plan, and Graffiti knew they would, Lily would have just enough time to find her own way out.

She smirked bitterly, as she reached to unstrap the spray can attached to her thigh. There was a sharp click as the buckle released. Graffiti let the spray can dangle as she held it by the straps it was attached to, holding it above her head.

"I don't know who you think you're fucking with..." Graffiti said, cocking her head slightly. "And I don't know who you think you are..." Her smirk soured into a scowl. "But I'm gone."

She moved like a flash in that next instant. In one swift, graceful motion, she tossed the spray can at Mafia Gump, smashing the nozzle on its way out. The tainted can released a mist of paint infused with chlorine gas - this particular can held only a light dosage of chlorine, unfortunately, so Mafia Gump would be getting off with a bad cough and possibly some irritated eyes. In the same motion, Graffiti dropped low, contorting her body to make herself an impossible target to track or shoot, and in a matter of steps crossed the gap between herself and the edge of the rooftop, hopping over the edge. She grabbed the windowsill below her as she fell, the rest of her body slamming into the side of the building. From there, Graffiti hopped from windowsill to windowsill until she hit the ground and ran, making sure to keep as much cover between herself and the rooftop she had just abandoned.

[Doc Doctor]

@fluorescent@Xandrya

*BLAMM*

The revolver went off the moment Graffiti finished saying the word "fucking". Had the killer aimed for the spray can above her head? No, far too obvious and a waste of ammunition. His gun flicked two inches to the side in an instant, there being practically no time to register the untelegraphed adjustment before Graffiti's lower jaw and neck were, if Donny had his way, pulped by a bullet big enough to provide a dentist with enough filling to correct a polar bear's tooth cavity. She might even be decapitated, considering how smaller caliber M16 rifles severed enemy arms in Nam.

Donny's expression and body language scarcely changed as he fired. If anything, a faint look of tolerant curiosity crossed his features, as if he were actually interested enough to let the heroine finish her sentence. To escape death, Graffiti would need to somehow know the exact moment that Donny was going to fire, or know that he was going to fire in the first place. Many experienced aimdodgers and bullet timers had met their match in Donny, for as much effort as they expendef in avoiding gunfire, Donny trained just as much to be able to hit them. The same with Lily, who would likely be acting in vain if she tried to push her companion out of the way or the like. She'd leave herself open by doing so. It would be harder than guessing which mole was going to pop out of the hole in that arcade game with the foam bat. Such was being on the wrong end of a gun.

But unless Lily tried something too, Donny wouldn't shoot her, though he'd have no problem trying, for Graffiti's surprise wouldn't at all make the killer miss something that Lily did.

[Xandrya]

In that moment of pure tension, when a thousand thoughts were running through Lily's head, Graffiti tossed a spray can at the man despite his warning before she managed to escape from the rooftops. Lily wanted to disappear with her, but the fact that the goon had fired at Graffiti, and surprisingly failed to strike her in the process, was enough to prevent Lily from making a move she would indeed regret. Instead of running to safety, Lily slowly picked up the handcuffs, although she didn't lock them around her wrists as he had originally requested.

"Listen, there's no need for you to be shooting that gun anymore, alright? You and I have a common enemy now: Red Claw. I'll play along, pretend to be your hostage, and then when he's drawn in, you two can work it out amongst yourselves. It's a win-win, don't you think?"

Lily took a step forward and offered him back his handcuffs, hoping that he would change his mind about actually taking her hostage. Not that she was worried about that as she would eventually find a way to escape, but Lily really wanted to get home to get some rest and put this awful night behind her.

@Doc Doctor
@fluorescent

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

It was gold. Pure gold. Donny stood there, his ever present slight smirk persisting, but his eyes blank. As if he was having trouble processing that he had actually just lost a hostage. It was the look of a man whose house had just been knocked down by a twenty ton pink dildo.


(Donny's expression as portrayed by a sad clown)

But, he was still Donny by God, and as sharp as a razor. He pointed his gun at Lily when she stepped forwards. He kicked the cuffs back over.

"Ayuh, shah. But thah's only one way off this roof, an' Ah ain' climbin' down fahst or with yuh havin' yuh hands free. Unless yuh wunnah try an' land like a cat, ah'course."

As expected, he didn't mess around with any notions of partnership with a stranger. Lily would have a better chance of convincing a cow to tap dance than of lowering the hitman's guard. The only safe thing to assume was that he would and could take and abuse all possible advantages. Somali pirates, Libyan extremists, Ugandan warlords. They are all utterly ruthless and practical, as was Donny. If given even the slightest opportunity, he'd probably kill off every hero and villain in the city for a chance of getting an advance on his pay, or perhaps just for kicks, and he'd do it without any ceremony or fanciness. He wasn't a fun person to be around.

[BCTheEntity]

The Red Claw

The Red Claw's momentary distraction by the abrupt gunshot was more than enough for the girl to make her break. Rather than following after her, the Red Claw strolled up to the pistol, picked it up just long enough to eject and break its magazine in half, then swung his gauntlet down on to it, suit-enhanced strength and extremely hard metal letting him shatter the pistol into pieces in a single hit. With this done, the Red Claw considered his options, shortly deciding to continue his patrol, given that there were always more crimes to be halted. The Red Claw moved on from the area, paying little mind to the second gunshot echoing identically to the first. With any luck, that'd be Graffiti getting shot and killed.

@fluorescent@Xandrya@Doc Doctor

[Xandrya]

Lily had to be careful with the man. Not because he had rejected her idea to work together, but because the expression on his face frightened her more than it should.

"Alright, that's fine. Whatever you need me to do." She grabbed one of the cuffs and locked it around her left wrist, then she did the same with the other one locking it around her right wrist. "See? I can follow orders. It's not that complicated." Lily was selling herself to him at this point, but from now on she would do whatever needed to be done in order to get away unscathed. She stared at the man with an undecipherable look before speaking again.

"Shall we go now?" she asked, walking towards the same fire escape she had used to get to the rooftop. "You might be able to catch Red Claw if he's still around, and you and I both would love to watch him suffer, wouldn't we?"

She smiled a little bit at that last part, which she had truly meant. Anyone that threatened her life for a reason as terrible as Red Claw's deserved nothing short of a terrible death.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

Donny nodded, and followed several good paces behind her. Usually at this point, the bad guy would start rattling off his brilliant plan. Instead, the killer gave short and specific orders to Lily, one step at a time as they went.

"Yuh think yuh can give me thah slip bah reachin' the bottom first an' dartin' intah an alley? Do yahself a favah an' don't think no thoughts of thah like. They'll getchah kill't, missus."

If Lily climbed down the ladder, Donny would follow suit a safe distance above her, continually staring down at the heroine. He wasn't aiming, but he'd probably be able to point it at her faster than she could jump up to grab at his feet or sprint away.

Once on the ground, if all went as planned, Donny would lead Lily to his van and tell her to open the back doors.

"Ayuh, and now turn yuh back an' close yuh eyes fah twenty seconds. I need tuh load somethin' that ain' fah yuh eyes tah be seein'. Yuh might speak 'bout mah lil' secret weapon when yuh free, if yuh see it."

[Xandrya]

"Come on now, do you really think I would risk my life for such a desperate move? In case you haven't noticed," she continued, bringing up her hands in front of her so that they were visible to the man, "I don't really have the advantage here. You're bigger, stronger, have a gun and who knows how many other weapons on you, and all I have are a pair of handcuffs restraining my wrists. In all honesty," she sighed, "if I were to try anything, then I deserve to be shot."

Lily turned away from the man before carefully stepping on the fire escape to head downstairs. She moved slow, descending one step at a time to avoid any accidents. Lily wasn't necessarily scared of heights, but given that she didn't have much use of her hands, she couldn't help but be extra careful. As expected, the man was following her downstairs. He wasn't too close to her, but he kept a reasonable distance just in case she made any surprise attempts.

Once downstairs, he guided her to his van. She was asked to open its back doors, and she casually obliged as if the man had been her best friend for years. "You know, if I'm going to be doing favors for you, you should at least give me a name to work with." She turned around, but she didn't close her eyes. "I don't think anyone likes to be called Ginger, not all the time at least."

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

"Call me Fuhst-Duhgree Donneh."

The next thing Lily knew would probably be a white flash of pain, and then darkness. When she turned around, Donny pulled out his high powered stun gun and attempted to jam it into the small of her back. It made police tasers look like joy buzzers. The brief shock could be compared to sticking a fork into an electrical socket. She'd live, but would be rendered absolutely senseless. Only for roughly thirty seconds though. Donny would aim to shock her twice more before he'd have finished bundling her into the back of the van and strapping her into a wooden kitchen chair with nylon cording, after patting her down for equipment of course.

If this all came to pass, Lily would wake up with sore muscles and a headache in the back of the van as it cruised through the night. The vehicle stank of smoke and blood. In fact, there appeared to be rusty dried blood staining much of the big, nearly empty back. The rear seats had been removed to make room for whatever it is that freaks like Donny needed room for. Taking hostages, torturing for information, performing executions...

Cigarette stubs and bullet casings littered the floor and rolled haphazardly about as the psychopath steered sharply from side to side, weaving through traffic. By far the strangest thing though was the front seat radio, to which Donny was listening. It was simultaneously tuned to the chatter of police in conversation over their walkies, and to some ridiculously unfitting Bobby Brown song that had been used in Ghostbusters. There was no accounting for taste with maniacs these days.



At least it was more interesting than going to the dentist.

[Xandrya]

"Alright, Donny." When Lily heard him finish up with whatever he was moving in the van, she turned around to face him. "If we can go over--"

But she wasn't able to finish her sentence. She gasped the second the felt the painful shock in the small of her back as she couldn't make any other sound. Her legs gave out from underneath her and she took a painful fall, that which thankfully relieved her from the pain in her back. Her body twitched, somehow not unconscious from the taser. As Donny leaned down to shock her again, Lily managed to gather enough strength to kick him in the knee. He went down, rather unceremoniously to say the least, but he was not out. Not by a long shot. Lily attempted to push herself up, but felt the same painful shock on the side of her leg, just above her ankle. This time, an enveloping darkness followed.

--

When Lily woke up, she found herself tied down to a chair. Her body felt numb, ever single inch of her except for her head. That's where she felt the most pain. That, and the areas she had been shocked with the taser. Lily looked up and around the van, noting how filthy it was. Was that blood? She attempted to speak, but her mouth was terribly dry so it took her a few times, especially to be able to be heard over the awful music.

"W-Why did you do that to me? It wasn't fucking necessary!" Her heart rate increased a little bit as the realization suddenly dawned on her. "You're going to hurt me again, aren't you? YOU FUCKING PIG!"

She screamed those last few words, making her throat hurt in the process. Lily was done playing games, and Donny would regret every single action he had taken against her.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya
@BCTheEntity

Donny cast a lazy glance over his shoulder, waving a hand dismissively.

"Yuh'll be fine. Everahthings undah control. We jus' needah work out yuh trust issues. Evah thought of seein' a therahpust missus?"

Donny needed to make several stops. The first was an electronics store, where he purchased a camcorder. Then he hit a Walmart for some common items. On the way to the local news station, he held the camcorder over his shoulder and videotaped Lily.

"Abaowt time fah thuh evenin' news. Don't yuh cuss naow, yuh gonnah be seen nationwide. Ah, heeyuh we ah. Scuse me..."

He effortlessly killed the studio guards, in some inexplicable way if seen from a distance. One moment he walked up to the pair of men, arms spread as if he remembered them as old friends. But then Donny suddenly crouched low, and the men before him literally fell to pieces. Arms and legs and shoulders and heads tumbled to the ground. Not a noise could be heard. He used their keys to access the building. The weekly weather report was on. What occurred next was obvious. Lily went on the news for all to see, including Red Claw. It would be all over. Donny's message? Go to the place where they first saw each other in exactly twenty-four hours, and come alone or the girl dies a death so terrible that people will remember it for hundreds of years. No doubt Donny would know if Red Claw is alone or not. At the proper time, a payphone will ring at the nearby curb. Answer it or the girl dies and a random school will be shot to pieces, Columbine all over again. No, worse. Sandy Hook times ten.

After Donny finished making sure his message got through, he left the studio leaving a dozen more guards stone dead. By the time the cops arrived, Donny had left in his van. Nobody had witnessed him enter it. They cordoned off roads for miles around, but somehow were unable to find the killer. As if he knew what they were doing...

[Xandrya]

Donny's message to Red Claw had burned into her brain. Lily felt sick, nauseated to be exact, at the thought of what he would do to her once the 24 hours expired and his friend refused to show. Her walk back to the van was grim, and she could only focus on how to get away from this madman as well as her plan for vengeance. She let him do his work of once more securing her inside the back of the van without complaining. As he finished up with her and walked back to the front to get in the driver's seat, Lily thought about an escape plan that might possibly work. She couldn't help but a smile a little bit as the idea played out in her head a few times, each with a different outcome but all eventually ending in her favor. She heard sirens in the distance, but then they began moving. Figures. After all the atrocities Donny had managed to get away with, what was another massacre at the local news station?

He's really going to kill all those kids as well...

Lily managed to hold back the onslaught of curse words she was ready to throw at Donny. Obviously not out of politeness, but in order to not make her situation worse. Instead, she tried to gauge more or less in which direction they were heading.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

Donny lived in many places. Mostly various small homes and apartments, so that his location couldn't be pinpointed. Whenever he traveled in his van, he did so by night and at high speed, avoiding police routes. There was no primary base of operations, only safehouses stocked with everything he needed to carry out his job. The place he took Lily to was a high rise apartment. The desk clerk ducked below the counter and began whistling loudly as Donny dragged the hostage chair through the lobby and to the elevator. Chances are everyone that worked here was on Donny's payroll, and the mere absurd notion of alerting the authorities probably only entered their thoughts during early morning bad dreams.

Donny's taste in music was bad. His taste in décor was good.



He must have been fond of crimson. Figures. There was also a bong, yoga DVDs, and some accented candles on a table. No wonder the man could be so damn mellow and ruthless at the same time. He was one of those "inner peace" freaks, who disconnected from their negative emotions as easily as they disconnected their phone from a charger. He'd prop Lily in front of a nice big television and tune it to the news as he spoke.

"Don't yuh worrah, missus. Ah ain' that bad, ayuh. Ah'm not killin' nobodah if Mistah Red Clah is a no show. Jus' felt like a lil' extrah motivation'd help him smart up an' come fah sure. Heeyuh, have some vittles missus."

By now Lily had probably guessed that to Donny, words were just another tool to abuse. There was absolutely no way to know when he was telling the truth or lying. He only said what was most useful under the given circumstances. Unless, that's just what he wanted her to think. Or was it? Ugh, what a bastard. On the bright side, there was some real fancy food and drink he was offering.
He sat down on a couch opposite Lily and opened up a jar of beluga caviar, the tin lid popping with freshness. He likewise opened up a fresh bag of rye bread squares, a container of organic cream cheese, and a bottle of thirty year old white wine. He'd try to feed Lily, all the while droning on in his unusual dialect about the most boring shit possible. International sports, minivan paneling, the best kinds of detergents...

[Xandrya]

Lily simply shook her head as indication that she didn't want any of the caviar Donny was offering her, but it was late at night, and the organic cream cheese did look good.

"I'll just have that," she motioned towards the spread. "On bread, please," she added to make sure Donny wouldn't be a smart-ass and give her just a spoonful of it. "And wine. As a matter of fact, I'll have a few glasses of it." She gave him an odd smile before turning her attention back to the TV. As he prepared her the food, he rambled on about the various topics she wasn't particularly interested in, but she occasionally nodded, adding a few words here and there in between bites. As promised, Donny served her a glass of white wine, and she gulped it down faster than she should have. Lily slowed down for her second glass and eventually her third, and it was then she interrupted Donny's conversation on Interpol policies and procedures.

"Donny, can you please untie me now? I need to use your bathroom. Look, I've had a few glasses of wine, and to tell you the truth, I'll be extremely happy if I can manage to walk without feeling like the entire world is spinning around me."

@Doc Doctor

[Eviledd1984]

Il Corvo was on the move having recently killed about seven Italian mobsters he needed to leave the scene of the bloody crime, He was not planning on getting caught by the police or the mobster's in questions.Walking bloodied on the street was not a problem for him since he was use to it and stealth was not his strong suit either.Walking down the dark alleyway and into the street on the other side taking a moment to look at the supers fighting.

"Idiots.." He muttered underneath his breath shaking his head and heading on his way back to his hideout making sure to actually keep hidden when it came to police or civilizes.If he was too be stopped by one of the heroes then he would have to fight them in his current condition, If not then he would go ahead and be walking down the street.

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

A bad idea. Donny stood up with a placid, creepy smile.



He walked out of sight and into a another room. A half minute later he returned, carrying...

A genuine M249 light machine gun.

"M'kah, missus. But yuh got two chausses (choices). Yuh can drink thuh restah the wine from thuh bottle, an' use thuh toilet with Ol' Donneh watchin' an' pointin' this atchyuh..."

"Or, Ah stick yuh chair in the showah an' yuh mess yuhsahlf theyah, so that carpet don't get ruin'd."

To outwit the hitman, she'd have to think like him. Be willing to do literally anything to win, no matter how dirty or cruel.

[Xandrya]

"Dammit, Donny, neither of those choices are very appealing to me!" She looked away, considering the best option for herself. "You don't have to aim that thing at me like I'm some sort of terrorist you know. Just drag me in there, but at the very least, you will untie my legs," she added with a serious expression her face, "I'll figure out the rest to try to preserve as much of my dignity as possible, one that you obviously have no regards for."

With the wine now clouding her judgement, Lily grew a bit concerned. She hoped that she could eventually find her way out of the apartment. Donny's back-and-forth attitude left her guessing as to what he'd do once the 24 hours expired, regardless of what he had said to her.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

As if he had caught a whiff of her thoughts, Donny addressed the issue of her mortality in this situation.

"Yuh know bah knaow that I don't need yuh. Red Clah thinks Ah have yuh alahv, an' that's what mattahs. Ah could kill yuh an' he'd be none thah wisah. Plus Ah'd sleep easiah with yuh dead, an' not in muh home. Only reason yuh breathin' because yuh fun tah have 'round, an' Ah can't letchah go till Red Clah's dead."

"Sah don't give muh a reason tah staht dislikin' yuh, missus. If yuh buried in severahl pieces innuh unmarked grave innuh woods, who'll miss yuh? How long'll yuh be missed? Yuh'll be rottin' bug food, an' that'll be thuh storah of yuh life. Nothin' else'll be remembered, if at awll. Yuh'll be sittin' in thuh showuh and wettin' yuhself."

Without his face changing in the slightest, Donny dragged the hostage into his clean, roomy bathroom and propped her beneath the showerhead without letting her legs loose. He'd turn on the water to a comfortable temperature before pacing to the door, pausing only to tell her to give a yell when she was done.

So this was how a true psychopath acted. Mercy was a whim, and only a thin line separated the realms of life and death. He didn't see people as people, but as objects to be used for gain and amusement.

[Xandrya]

Lily sat alone in the shower, the water drenching her as if she were outdoors in the middle of a downpour. With Donny outside, she looked back at the right leg of the chair which had become loose after dragging her weight around. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Lily shifted her weight a few times, as that was the only thing she could do at the moment, but nothing occurred. She knew what she had to do next, although she didn't like the idea. She closed her eyes and pushed herself back in order for the chair to fall over. Luckily for her, it didn't fall all the way down as the wall and the edge of the bathtub held the chair up at a certain angle. She looked toward the door, but there was no sign of Donny. Good. Lily then rocked herself some more until the chair was fully vertical on its back. Much to her surprise, however, some parts became extremely loose in the process. Must be the fact that the chair was old and it had just gotten wet. Lily wiggled around until she was able to break off some parts, and eventually, loosen up the ropes around her. She wasn't completely free though as she was still handcuffed, but it was definitely a great start.

Even though Lily was cold and wet, she left the shower running as she grabbed a piece of one of the broken legs which she would use as a stake. As quietly as possible, she opened the bathroom door and was glad to see Donny stood with his back to her. The sound coming from the TV was definitely a life-saver. She slowly took one step forward, then another, and then she rushed up behind Donny and hooked her handcuffed hands around his neck, pulling backwards toward her with the wooden stake menacingly pressed against his jugular.

"Alright Donny, enough games. Drop whatever weapons you have on you--each and every single one of them--and tell me where the handcuff key is. You don't play nice, but neither do I. Try anything remotely suspicious and that'll be the end of you." She was whispering in his ear, something she often did in order for her threat to have a greater effect on her victim.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

When Donny was seized, something unexpected happened. The front of his pants went dark as piss spilled down his legs. He shuddered and then went stiff, his eyes wide like silver dollars and froth flowing out from between his lips. His hands came out of his pockets, empty, and began feebly clawing at his chest.

If allowed to, he'd fall over like a log, one leg juddering. It made sense. The man spent his entire life preparing for everything, painstakingly contemplating every outcome to avoid his own death and kill others. How high was his blood pressure? What condition could such a man's heart be in, who had to live in such a way? No wonder he owned those inner peace DVDs and a bong pipe. He probably had a ton of medication in his bathroom cabinets. Something he hadn't expected at all had occured, and the result was humiliating. Some hardened killer, brought to such a poor state by a little peek-a-boo.

The froth turned red, his chest no longer heaving as breathing ceased, and his green eyes went unfocused and glassy. The sights they saw now, none could guess. The irony. The surprise.