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

[Xandrya]

"Donny?"

He became dead weight, taking Lily by surprise. She struggled to keep her footing for a moment, but eventually managed to ease him down to the floor without hurting him or herself. When she was able to take a good look at him, she was surprised to see how much of a mess he really was.

"What the hell happened to you?" she whispered, pushing two fingers against the side of his neck. Lily couldn't find a pulse, and she rushed to get his phone from the coffee table. Why she was helping him was beyond her, but she had a feeling that she would feel somewhat guilty if she didn't.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Yes, I need an ambulance sent to this location immediately, there's an unresponsive male on the floor. I don't know the address, but he's not breathing."

Before the dispatcher was able to ask any questions, Lily hung up his phone and silenced it, wiping it off with her shirt before placing it back in on the table. She then grabbed her bag from one of the couches and looked over at the rest of the living room. Everything seemed fine there, so she moved to the bathroom to turn off the water and grab the remains of the chair. With her handcuffed hands full, Lily walked by Donny again, staring at him for a moment before deciding it was time for her to leave.

"Don't worry, help will be here in a few minutes."

@Doc Doctor

[Eviledd1984]

@BCTheEntity

Ill Corvo heard the gunfire and had to investigate the shot right away, Running over to the source keeping his hatchet ready in case he would say any wrong doers that will have to be dispatached. Once at the location of the first gun shot he looked over to see Red Claw someone he paid no mind too but their was something about him that he didn't like, "Mhm...you see the criminal?" The crow masked man said looking around now touching the hatchet inside of his jacket pocket.

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

Yes, Donny's pulse couldn't be found. But then again, he did study yoga...

http://skepticmeditations.com/2015/05/17/can-yogis-stop-their-heart/

He couldn't outright stop his own heart, but he could slow it to such an extend that only an electroencephalograph could determine whether or not he lived. A damn good actor indeed. Whilst Lily was dialing the 911, suddenly the stereo system kicked on, the blasting noise making it impossible to speak into the phone. It was Huey Lewis's "Hip to be Square". When she turned back to Donny, he'd be sitting up and holding the remote in his hand, head nodding to the catchy beat as he lazily grinned at her.


(Something to listen to whilst reading the rest of the post)

High blood pressure? Stress? No, not this one. He truly was as calm as he seemed, and many times more calculating. He had played possum better than most opossums do. To make the froth convincing, he had even bitten his tongue to draw blood. He slowly and deliberately rose to his feet with a single easy motion. The only other thing that had surprised him was how Lily hadn't even bothered to take away his gun when she had the chance. Not that she'd have been able to shoot him in time if she had, as he'd turned the safety on before his hands left his pockets during the act.

He turned the music down to speak.

"Yuh had thah chance tah kill muh, but yuh skiffed it. Howevuh, luck an' circumstance means nuthahn' in life or death. What mattahs is who's on thah wrong end of thah gun. Which is yuh, missus..."

"But Ah see yuh actions don't lie. Yuh're a bodah I can trust. Yuh don't wannah take on Ol' Donneh, an' yuh wanna see Red Clah die, thah's right?"

It seems that she had actually managed to earn Donny's trust, to some degree, and now he was repaying her by offering her a chance to accompany him, freely and as a partner, to kill Red Claw.

[Xandrya]

Unbelievable. The man truly did have talent, and she was lucky. Yes, Lily made the right choice by following her gut instinct. You simply don't kill a man like Donny and get away with it, even if his own heart stops beating before you deliver the final blow. Could all this have been a test then? She had quite a few questions she was dying to ask him...

"Yes, you and I both want to see him dead," Lily finally said, her blank expression refusing to betray any sort of emotion. She didn't say anything else; she refused to. Given that she was, in fact, on the wrong end of the gun, Lily would proceed with extreme caution from this point forward. She would cooperate with Donny on his quest to bring Red Claw down, but she wouldn't turn into his hostage again, not as long as she was alive. He may be playing nice now, but Lily knew what the man was capable of.

"Although, if we're gonna be working together, you're gonna treat me like an equal," she added, dropping the handful of stuff on the couch before putting her hands in front of her. "And you can start by taking these off now."

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

Donny reached into his jacket, and there was a slight tearing sound as he ripped the stitched in key out of the fabric. He tossed it to Lily, and then went up the stairs that led to his bedroom, pausing halfway up.

"Ah can trust yuh wahn't kill meh, but I can't trust yuh wahn't leave an' try tuh save Mistah Red Clah. While Ah'm sleepin', yuh free tah do that."

Donny paused for a few seconds, looking up thoughtfully as if contemplating a nice sunset.

"Not somethahn' Ah'd do, iffah were yuh. Help yah'self tuh anythin' in thah fridge. Make yah'self at home."

He continued on up, and a door could be heard closing. Nothing after that. His room, and probably all of the other rooms in fact, were likely soundproofed and reinforced to stop anything short of a tank cannon.

[Xandrya]

Lily unlocked the handcuffs, happy to finally have full use of her hands once more. She rubbed her wrists as Donny headed upstairs, where he subtly threatened her with a passive aggressive statement. Great. At least Lily knew what not to do now to piss him off and send him on another rampage.

"Have a good night," she replied, tossing the cuffs on the couch. After he turned around and left, Lily reached for her phone. Still dead. She knew it couldn't magically charge without being plugged in, but if he had a cable which fit her phone then she'd be set. The AC kicked in then, and given that she was directly under one of the vents, Lily couldn't help but shudder.

Goddammit I'm cold...

She went back to the same bathroom she broke out of a few minutes prior, smiling to herself when she found a white bathrobe hanging from behind the door which she hadn't noticed before. After she removed her wet clothes and put on the robe, Lily looked around the cabinet to hopefully find a spare toothbrush, and luckily for her, she did.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom and lay down on the couch. Lily made herself comfortable before grabbing the remote and settling on one of the local channels showing reruns of some reality TV show. After the long night she'd had, it took Lily 10 minutes to drift off to sleep, the TV still playing in the background.

@Doc Doctor

[Doc Doctor]

@Xandrya

Donny was up at 8 A.M, the scent of fresh brewed coffee permeating the suite. He was drinking his black and out of a mug with a skull and crossbones on it. Perhaps he had a sense of humor after all, on some ironic meta-level. He'd make sure Lily was wide awake and endowed with a cup of coffee all her own before going over the plan, at long last.

"Aftuh Red Clah answahs thuh payphone, Ah'll be on thuh othah end tellin' him where tah go. A short mile away is a park. In thuh middle of thuh park will be this."

Donny hefted a large object out from behind the couch. It looked like a mummy, or at least a human shape wrapped up in duct tape and gauze.

"This is yah decoy, missus. A fake yuh, that's all fullah C4 an' a tape recordah. Bein' a hero an' all, Red Clah'll have no choice but tah get close an' inspect it, if even tah jus' see iffis' a human in need. Anything within thirty feet-ah this'll be creamed flat. Ah'll blow it if he gets tah within' three yards, might let 'im get closah if he seems intrest'd. If it fails, Ah'll shoot 'im dead from behind yondah tree, twenty yards on thuh left. If Ah don't kill 'im then, Ah'll break 'cross thuh street and intah thuh neigborin' alleyway, an'll handle Mistah Clah the ol' fashioned way if he follahs. Yuh job is a simple'un. Wait in thaht apahtment complex cross' thah street from thah fahst payphone, where Ah'll be callin' Red Clah. Be muh spottah an' make sure he is alone. If he ain't, call me on this cellulah phone."

Donny tossed a track phone to Lily.

"If he don't answer thuh phone, shoot 'im withis."

Donny unzipped a large black duffle bag that he had brought downstairs so that Lily could see inside. It was a grenade launcher. A fucking grenade launcher, really.

"Yuh don't needah be an expaht tah use it. Jus' aim in the general direction of what yuh want dead. Be in yuh position at 11:20 shahrp. Don' worrah 'bout not seein' 'im if he cuts thah block's powah an' tries to go awll nightvision. Ah got goggles uh mah own. Yuh jus' need tuh fire where yuh saw Mistah Clah last."

With everything set, the two waited until nightfall and then set out to their respective locations. Donny'd toss Lily a set of car keys. They went with a white Sedan parked on the curb outside. Donny himself took his black van. Whatever was going to happen tonight, it was going to be violent to the extreme.

[BCTheEntity]

The Red Claw

It hadn't taken long for the kidnapping of a civilian and the hijacking of a news outlet to reach the Red Claw's ears. Or eyes, rather, via one of the television shops that inexplicably displayed its contents in the front window, running on certain channels for all to see. If the Red Claw hadn't had a reason to pursue Donny before, he certainly did now.

The night, however, was not over yet. Out of nowhere, the Red Claw was approached by a figure in an ensemble that clearly indicated another vigilante, in particular the crow mask over his head. Likely an amateur to the role. He asked if the Red Claw had seen the criminal, and quite rapidly, the Red Claw saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Or at least wind up to throw a stone at one of the birds.

"There are two," the Red Claw explained in the same modulated monotone he consistently used, "called Graffiti and First Degree Donny. The former carries a gas mask, and engages in needless torture; she has claimed the Blood Blocks as her territory, and if you wish to hunt for her in the future and end her monstrosities, you are welcome to do so. The latter has kidnapped a civilian, killed innocents, and threatens to kill more if I do not do as he says. Given his nature, he likely intends to lure me into a trap in an effort to end my life. I intend to kill him regardless. If you would like to assist in this endeavour, I welcome you to join me, assuming you do not engage in torture or other such activities yourself." The Red Claw could not, of course, guarantee that this man would not lie to save his own skin, but it would be unreasonable to leap to conclusions when he may just as well be perfectly reasonable in his vigilante activities.

@Eviledd1984

[Eviledd1984]

@BCTheEntity

The crow masked wearing man looking over to Red Claw taking in the information he was being told,Part of him wanted to believe the other vigilante but some other part of him wanted think he was being lied too and go on his merry way."I will follow this Graffiti and interrogate her...show me the direction of where she went?" Ill Corvo said now pulling out his hatchet form his jacket to both show that he was serious and to prepare himself for a battle.

Waiting for a moment to be told where she went.

[BCTheEntity]

The Red Claw

At the crow-masked individual's question, the Red Claw was forced to shrug by his lack of knowledge. "She escaped across the rooftops. Her current whereabouts are unknown. Rest assured that she leaves a trail of her foul activities behind her, and that if you search the Blood Blocks, you will eventually encounter her." With that, the Red Claw began to trudge off in search of new monstrosities; since he had not offered to help deal with First Degree Donny, the crow-masked man held no further interest to the Red Claw.

@Eviledd1984

[Eviledd1984]

@BCTheEntity

"Thanks..." The crow head man said before climbing the fire escape of a near by building,Once he was on the roof he started to search around the whereabouts of the person named Graffiti.Moving form one building to the next scanning the surrounding area trying to find her,Pulling out something form his pocket a small tape recorder pressing a large play button while music started to play loudly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4JCehDOy54

Searching the area jumping form one rooftop to the next in hopes to find the other hero or villain.

[Orlan]

"You hear that tosser on the telly? He wants to fight a ghost story for chrissakes!" "Yeah, must think he's hot shit eh? Saw the TV studio in a mess as well, was helping old No Knob pack up the Gem Store on the corner, paid well but I heard this god-awful music comin' from one of the vans goin' by. People need taste in music again." Two grunts converse, their voices like gravel and their smell as good as a rubbish tip. No knob? Is that a nickname you want on your criminal record? Maybe old Greg got them, ah good times with this beauty. Ah hell time to go into action.

"Ey lads, what is this of a van with bad music leavin' an area of death?." The Tempest groans, mocking the two criminals as they turned to get a close shave from the Cult Classic. The room itself is a ground floor living room, open window with boxes around a sofa and TV set playing a repeat of some reality show. The only other thing of interest is a walk-in cupboard-like alcove.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The first victim of the Tempest hollers in surprise and fear, his bald head quivering. "You don't know him?! Heard of the Knifeman? He slaughtered Big Little Hemmy in the Blood Red Exhibition! What is it?!" The second thug whimpers in a terrified quiver, a face of emotion and a shaking body. "Did you not hear me? Oh you pathetic little things, I asked about the van that played music, I also want to know more of this No Knob." The Tempest taunts, nutting the first sod with a swift knee, which forces the target on his knees in a sobbing growl of pain. "It was a van I think, decent enough thing... Oh my... How much for the..." The slightly wittier second thug realizes, being cut short on his negotiation with another low kick. "Tell me now, and you'll live, don't and I'll get the information my own special way." The Tempest demands, a hint of boredom in his voice as the masked bloke begins fiddling about with the butterfly knife, putting the Cult Classic away carefully.

"The van might've had the telly bloke in it! No Knob... She's a new gang leader, pays well in... ye needn't worry about where but she's striking crystals, thinks they'll go up in price or somethin' 'bout economics... Just please let me go!" The criminal begs, crying on the beer-stained carpet. "Both of you enter the cupboard now. Chop chop!" The Tempest encourages, booting the first bloke to the nearby cupboard alcove. The unwilling captives obeyed, as soon as the door locked the Tempest drags two stacks of boxes down from the sides of the alcove down, trapping the two inside. Then the Tempest proceeds to go through the small flat, taking anything of value before calling the police with a knock-off phone made in Mongolia to mimic a popular brand. With the police called the Tempest escapes by the front door.

After a few hours spent gathering more information on No Knob Sarah Hamish retires to his normal life. At midday the antiques dealer is sitting in a pleasant park, one short mile away from the alley of conflict between the three vigilantes a while ago, behind the park is a known auction house and hall, where at two o'clock in the afternoon there will be an auction on antique knives. So, the money's in the sales account, there should be some real bargains in there if it's locals, hope they haven't spoken with a professional yet or that's a steal gone instantly. Hamish thinks to himself, getting used to the new crisp cream suit and hat he bought a few days ago and is now wearing.

[Guess Who]

Since his run in with Vixen, Victor hadn't found any other crimes occurring. Even Ankora had its slow nights. He knew that just a few blocks away there was probably a mugging or robbery in progress, there always seemed to be in this city, but with no clues to lead him to the crime scene like a gunshot or a scream there was no way he could possibly find it. The night was also nearing its end as there were only a few more hours until morning. It was time the hero headed home, though at least he had the day off from work.

Arriving in his small one room apartment through the open window, having sold his large house after the divorce as he no longer made enough income to keep it, the vigilante pulled off his mask and threw it into the corner. The rest of his costume soon followed before he sat down at his desk. Before him was an empty page, another letter he planned on sending to his kids. With each message he sent, the more hopeless Victor became. Ever since he began this routine he had never received a reply back. Even still, it wouldn't hurt to try one more time.

"Dear Wesley and Cynthia..."

Victor would awaken the next morning still in his desk. He had been so tired that, after finishing the last paragraph, the enticing embrace of sleep finally took its toll on him. Cracking his neck and back to help ease the knot he felt in both from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position, he rose from his chair and changed into a clean set of clothes. Shit, it's already the afternoon. I need to start bringing a watch with me on my patrols. With that, the vigilante left to deliver the letter and get a few other errands done.

[Doc Doctor]

@BCTheEntity@Xandrya

Nothing happened. Donny frowned. He had miscalculated Red Claw's pragmatism.

Donny had lied to Lilly. Instead of going to a park a mile away, he had driven straight to the meeting spot, placed plastic explosives atop the phone booth, and then broke into a nearby building to wait on the third floor with his .950 caliber sniper rifle. He was wearing a curly black wig. The plan hadn't been complicated. Give Lilly false information and a grenade launcher filled with blanks, to ensure that she couldn't interfere if she decided to switch sides. Then simply shoot the target when he neared the booth, and then blow up the booth for good measure.

If Claw survived or managed to locate Donny, Donny'd have taken out an airsoft gun similar in appearance to a police issued 9mm, ran to a nearby alley, squirted fake blood all over his online-bought inspector's uniform, tossed a lit cigarette further down the alley, and then played the part of a well spoken lawman who had been wounded by a fleeing Donny. The idea was that the moment Red Claw turned his back on the fallen "policeman", Donny'd whip out his Magnum. In that alley, every piece of cover had a hidden c4 on it.

But no, all the planning was for naught. Donny returned to his van via back building entrance and drove off without telling Lilly. She was free now.

Donny still had another psychological weapon to use against Red Claw. Dread.

When would Donny attack a school? Tomorrow? In a week? A month? Which school? How many could he kill?

The impending doom of potential cancer, waiting on a doctor's prognosis.

Your college loan is over sixty grand, and the text test determines whether or not you fail.

It all pales in comparison to the reality of the situation. A merciless psychopath will kill many children as a direct result of your choice. But he hasn't done it yet. He's letting it stew, letting the black core of inner turmoil boil, allowing time for the icy claws of fear to grip the heart and squeeeeze...

[Xandrya]

Lily waited...and waited, but Donny's plan had apparently fallen flat. She informed the front desk attendant she would return Donny's vehicle back to their custody, although she didn't mention all the "gear" neatly stacked in the trunk of the car, and she also told him she'd drop off the keys so that it would be ready for Donny to pick up whenever he pleased. And that's exactly what she did, after driving herself to a local eatery to get a bite first.

Once the guy at the front desk took the keys, Lily double-checked a message had been sent to Donny. After everything was confirmed, she exited the building, glad to have her freedom back and not be in the middle of a Donny-Red Claw war. She headed home, most of the journey there thinking about the people she'd met, and what sort of impact they'd have on her life from that point forward. She wasn't too concerned with most of them, except for Donny, obviously. But in a way she was lucky he didn't want her dead, not yet anyway.

@Doc Doctor

[Eviledd1984]

Ill Corvo was inside of the building where Donny,The Doctor and Red Claw would be.Of course he did not know that they were there of course he was doing his own thing.Some drug dealers that had recently been selling their vile drugs to the youths in the middle school near by,Moving though the hallway of the smelly hallway pulling out his hatchet keeping it close to him keeping his eyes and ears out.His senses heightened because he was not going to be taken down by some druggie.

Making his way down the hallway getting prepared for the incoming battle,Voices could be hear probably the druggies so he knew where they were and could figure out how to deal with them.