[IC] VIGILANCE: Blood & Justice - A Superhuman Roleplay (Always Open)

[Lord Wraith]

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^{◼ G M: Lord Wraith ◼ C O - G M ( S ): BlackSam3091 ◼ G E N R E: Superhuman, Modern Fantasy, Slice of Life ◼ T Y P E: Linear with Sandbox Elements}
_{"The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them."
-Lois McMaster}

N A V I G A T I O N:

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P R E M I S E & P L O T S
S Y N O P S E S
C H A R A C T E R P L O T S
A N N O U C E M E N T S & D I S C U S S I O N
R U L E S & F . A . Q .
H I S T O R Y A N D T I M E L I N E S
S E T T I N G
H O M O G E N E R A
R O S T E R A N D C H A R A C T E R A P P L I C A T I O N
P L A Y E R P L O T A P P L I C A T I O N
O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
P E R S O N S O F I N T E R E S T
D I S C O R D C H A T

P R E M I S E:

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After nearly a month of heavy rain that has left meteorologists baffled at its cause, Crescent City is in a state of pandemonium. Flooding from both the coast and the internal rivers have stretched not only emergency services but also civilian volunteers to their limit as they fight back against the downpour. Numerous areas of the city have been evacuated as more and more people are driven from their homes by the seemingly never ceasing waters.

However there are those who have taken advantage of this situation. Evacuated areas are constantly being raided by criminals and those who have been driven by desperation to break the law in order to survive. Due to dealing with the natural crisis at hand, there’s few spare officers to deal with the rising crime wave. As such, numerous individuals have decided to stand up for the victims of the city while others have noticed how unnatural the rain besieging the city is and have begun to hunt for the cause of the torrential downfall.

P L O T:

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^{This section will be used to keep players updated with both the ongoing GM plot and approved general Secondary Plots. Secondary Plots will be divided by Urban Center within Crescent City.}

P R I M A R Y P L O T:

After a month of no natural reasoning for the constant storm over Crescent City and with no leads from any of the experts, many conspiracy bloggers have begun to believe that the source of the storm is something supernatural. The only clue seems to be the large formation of cloud circling around the peak of Old Stone Mountain.

The storm has only worsened as time went on and now is causing chaos all over the city. Ice has began to form in the Southern regions of the city while lightning strikes have begun targeting buildings in the East near Old Stone Mountain. The storm seems to display a degree of sentience and appears to react to the actions within the city, almost as thought its feeding off of negative and positive energies alike.

S E C O N D A R Y P L O T S:

THE POINT:

◼ DARK NECESSITIES: With emergency services distracted by the ever growing storm over Crescent City, a budding arsonist has taken in interest in the Kilbride area. Over the course of the last week, several attempted fires have been reported but no real damage has been done. However, a fire has been rapidly spreading just outside of the Power District in Jethrull. Emergency Services have arrived on the scene but are struggling to contain the fire. Evacuation of the area is currently the immediate need.

◼ DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN: Having escaped capture at the hands of Joseph Thoreau and Vernon Thompson, the accused arsonist, ‘Nina’ remains at large. As a result of her actions, the Michaels Nuclear Power Plant was compromised and has been taken off line until the damage can be repaired. At this time, a blackout has rolled over the Northern and Eastern sections of Crescent City, plunging them into darkness without heat or hydro. From Pointe Bordeaux, to Shasta Bay, up through New Lilith to Jethrull, the city is in darkness with strain on generators and outside power sources keeping the South West region active.

EDEN:

◼ CRY FOR HELP: Several police officers have failed to report in over the last twenty four hours. Patrol cars and other police vehicles and equipment have gone missing. About an hour ago, a platoon of police officers entered the Spires of New Lilith to enforce a martial law over the area. These officers claim to be acting under orders but in reality are men belonging to Raul de Vitis seeking to lock down the area for his own purposes. Citizens are scared and cowering within the walls hoping the real police soon arrive.

◼ MONSTER: Something is feeding off the people of Larissa. Over the past week, several victims have been found completely drain of blood, their throats ripped out. No one wants to voice the first thing that comes to mind, but the whispers at the crime scenes tell the same tale. Many believe a vampire has come to make its home in Larissa although the police refuse to take these claims seriously. One man is said to have survived the attack, however the attack has rendered him mute, or at least unwilling to speak. The man now resides in the Murdoch Mental Hospital while the rumors continue to swirl and at the very least a killer is still at large.

ORLAITH:

◼ SUCKER FOR PAIN: Thanks to the storm and perhaps too much to drink, the Third Street Roughnecks have begun looting downtown Los Paraíso. With the police force already stretched thin due to the city’s emergency status, so far no first responders have reported to the scene. To make matters worse, the Welcome Crew has gotten wind of the Thirds’ activities leading to an emerging gang war.

◼ THIS IS WAR: The Familia Fierros are preparing for war against the De Vitis Crime Syndicate. As Raul De Vitis’ number one enforcer, the Russian was allowed to escape with Dante Del Fierro in toe, Francesca Del Fierro has put a hit on not only the Russian’s head but also that Raul De Vitis’ daughter Veronica. In an effort to capitalize on the hostility, the Welcome Crime and Third Street Roughnecks have aligned themselves with the organized crime families, gaining access to the firearms they desire after watching their brothers cut down in cold blood by an unknown woman.

L E G E N D:

◼ - U R G E N T: "Situation requires immediate attention without delay."
◼ - P R E S S I N G: "Situation is rapidly escalating but is not top priority."
◼ - S U S P E C T E D: "Situation is still developing, may be worth checking into."
◼ - R E S O L V E D: "Situation has been taken care of, area is currently safe."
◼ - F A I L E D: "Situation has eroded beyond resolution. Area is unsafe and may remain unstable."

[Lord Wraith]

S Y N O P S I S:

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^{This section will be used to provide summaries of completed arcs and chapters within the IC in order for current and new players alike to enter into continuing stories.}

C H A P T E R O N E: A Storm Rises

◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - A Plan Meant To Go South
◼ 003 - My Task, Not Yours
◼ 004 - Waiting On Thunder

S E C O N D A R Y S Y N O P S E S:

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^{This section will be used to provide summaries of completed secondary plots as they occur.}

C H A P T E R O N E:

◼ DARK NECESSITIES:

^{With a fire rapidly spreading towards the Michaels Nuclear Power Plant, emergency services were dispatched to assist. Among them was paramedic Joseph Thoreau and 'Nurse' Annabelle Fitzgerald. However tragedy struck and Annabelle's ambulance went off route, never arriving at the scene leaving Joseph and his friend, Travis Young as the only responding paramedics. Deciding to rush into the burning building, Joseph made it his mission to activate the plant's fire suppression systems. This brought the young paramedic face to face with the arsonist. Underestimating the woman, Joseph was rendered unconscious while another man, Vernon Thompson arrived on the scene to help. Entering the building at the behest of one of the staff members, Vernon helped Joseph to safety while the plant was consumed by the flames leaving a large portion of the city in a blackout state.}
◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - "Can't Hear You Over the Sound of Me Going!"
◼ 003 - Big Damn Heroes
◼ 004 - Shop Smart, Shop Super E Mart
◼ 005 - A Vow To Save Lives
◼ 006 - And Make S'mores
◼ 007 - Blackout

◼ CRY FOR HELP:

^{In an effort to take 'cattle' for a human trafficking operation, the De Vitis Crime Syndicate posed as police officers and enforced martial law over the Spires. This event was broken up by the unlikely cooperation between Detective Priya Khurana and the vigilante known as Duos. As events transpired, the situation spiraled out of control and while the Detective was able to save many inside, a van escaped carrying a load of guests. The leader of the operation however paid the ultimate price when he encountered the vampire Eli after being abandoned by De Vitis' right hand, the enigmatic Russian.}
◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - That's Why She Did What She Did
◼ 003 - A Rubber Ducky And A Spoon
◼ 004 - Every Officer Knows That
◼ 005 - Dante's Inferno
◼ 006 - My Name Is Duos
◼ 007 - Weird
◼ 008 - Okay E.T.
◼ 009 - You Already Know My Name
◼ 010 - Explosions Are Your Signals
◼ 011 - Piece By Piece
◼ 012 - Two Down, Many More To Go
◼ 013 - Heavy Resistance
◼ 014 - Give Her Space To Work
◼ 015 - Resistance Is Futile
◼ 016 - What The F@#k Did You Do?
◼ 017 - You'll Owe Me One
◼ 018 - Fun Time Is Over
◼ 019 - Aftermath

◼ SUCKER FOR PAIN:

^{Determined to prove her mettle as both a vigilante and a hone her Hyperhuman abilities, Lisa Walker took the the streets of Los Paraíso clad in black. Coming across a gang fight between rivals Third Street Roughnecks and the Welcome Crew, Lisa injected herself into the conflict, temporarily finding herself overwhelmed before her abilities kicked in, turning the odds to her favour. But when her moment of triumph was within reach, a stranger appears, ending the lives of several gangbangers and scattering the rest. Lisa is left to ponder if this person is a friend or foe.}
◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - Why Did Tonight Have To Be The Night?
◼ 003 - #SorryNotSorry
◼ 004 - Not My Fight
◼ 005 - You Shot Them

◼ DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN:

◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - Maybe, Possibly
◼ 003 - When Has Fire Ever Stopped You?

◼ MONSTER:

◼ 001 - Introduction

◼ THIS IS WAR:

◼ 001 - Introduction
◼ 002 - Traffic Was A Bitch
◼ 003 - Untrained
◼ 004 - Manners
◼ 005 - Salvatore Sends His Regards

[Lord Wraith]

C H A R A C T E R S U B P L O T S:

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^{This section will be used for individual character plots. Links will be added as posts are completed and once the arc is complete, a summary will be added by the player or a GM.}

B L A C K S A M 3 0 9 1:

Growing Pains

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - A Dance With The Devil In The Pale Moonlight

F A N T A S Y C H I C:

Fighting The Status Quo

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - What Was She Going To Do?

F E R R O C E R I U M:

Written In Blood

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - The History Of The Draoi

H I L L A N: - I N A C T I V E

Guardian Angel

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - Puerto Rican, Dickhead
◼ 002 - Dibs On The Big Guy

H I L L A N: - I N A C T I V E

Under Pressure

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - High Functioning Alcoholic

K A L A S:

A Shadow Descends

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - Nobody Likes Bloodstained Floorboards
◼ 002 - Lilac And Gooseberries
◼ 003 - Time Is Almost Up

L O R D W R A I T H:

IllAdvised v. The Origin Story

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - The Call
◼ 002 - The Patient
◼ 003 - The Kings
◼ 004 - The IllAdvised
◼ 005 - The Fire

L U R K I N G S H A D O W:

Monster

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - We Hunger

R O M A N:

Hunger Pains

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - What Makes You A Maliceet
◼ 002 - Love To Meet Ya

S U P E R B O Y:

Hunter And Its Prey

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - You're Welcome By The Way
◼ 002 - Go Home Hero

T A C K Y T A F F:

Come Hell or High Water

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - Been In This Job Too Long

T Y L E R: - I N A C T I V E

Crescent City's Savior

^{'Summary to be added upon completion.'}
◼ 001 - It's Freddie

[Lord Wraith]

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C H A P T E R I

A S T O R M R I S E S

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"Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability."

I N T R O D U C T I O N :

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Fifty years ago, humanity would never have thought that a man could fly unassisted through the air, shoot laser beams out of his eyes or stop bullets with his skin. Yet in 1967, the Hyperhuman was confirmed to be living among its evolutionary predecessor. But there will always be those who abuse the gifts given to them. As such the world witnessed the dangerous side of Hyperhumans and began to resent those with abilities and reject them from society. But not everyone immediately wrote off that which they didn’t understand. Pro-Hyperhuman groups such as H.E.L.P. and 3HA, lobbied for equal rights and treatment towards Hyperhumans. A long, hard uphill battle to claim equal footing for men who could stand as gods among mortals. But yet after years, they had the public beginning to accept the existence of those with extraordinary gifts.

What the world at large remains unaware of however is that there are others among them besides Hyperhumans who have abilities that are almost incomprehensible. The mysterious and mystical Draoi had been living among humans since the dawn of early civilization, and even still today endure despite being hunted by the dreaded Venari. Furthermore beyond even these, Earth has been visited by Celestial visitors for eons, most coming and going without anyone being none the wiser.

Fear of the unknown has always plagued humanity, and continues to do so as unnatural storm clouds circle around the coastal city of Crescent City. For almost the past month, rain has pelted the city introducing flooding along the coast and along the other bodies of water within the city leading to whole neighborhoods being evacuated. With this rain has come damaging winds ripping through the vineyards outside Los Paraíso and landslides burying many of the main routes in and out of the city. Meteorologists are completely baffled by this storm as it seems to only be suspended above Crescent City and not moving anywhere. The storm clouds appear to originate from above Old Stone Mountain where a huge concentration of black clouds can be seen swirling around its tips leaving the resort that resides there completely closed down.

This weather is causing a lot of tension within the city as the people are beginning to panic. Many of the people of Crescent City have begun to believe that the storm is the work of a Hype intent on eventually holding the city hostage. Furthermore, the city is in the midst of a mayoral election putting a lot of stress on the candidates to provide results to the pandemonium plaguing the city. In the midst of all this, crime has begun to spike as the local gangs have taken advantage of the situation and the evacuated areas. Neighbor has begun to turn on neighbor stretching the already strained emergency services to their breaking point. The city needs help, the source of the storm needs to be found and the only ones able to it are those who the city fears most...

_{You don’t know my kind, you don’t know my mind…}

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D A R K N E C E S S I T I E S

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Status: URGENT
Time of Day: Night
Weather: Rain

Clocking out for the night, Greg O’Connor rolled his eyes as a sign for the mayoral election blew by in the strong gust of wind. Guarding warehouses in the Power District was never something he had desired to do and each ten hour day dragged on for what seemed an eternity. Coming around a corner, he heard a noise as he turned his flashlight on. Seeing nothing, he tucked the tool back into his belt as he fumbled for the keys to his car.

“Evening O’Connor.” A voice startled Greg as he nearly jumped out of his skin, feet slipping on the wet pavement beneath them before he managed to catch himself on his car. Turning to the source of the voice, Greg sighed in relief as he held a hand to his forehead, shielding his face from the ran.

“Didn’t see you there, Nina.” Greg said with a slight chuckle as the mocha skinned woman stared at him. Cursing inwardly at the fool he had just made of himself in front of the beautiful woman, Greg tried quickly to recover himself.

“I didn’t realize you were working overnights.” He said.

“I’m not, just forgot something. Have a pleasant night Greg.” Nina said with a slight wave as she quickly walked away.

“Stupid, Greg, stupid!” The man muttered to himself as he tried to think of anyway the previous conversation could have gone smoother. The smell of smoke drifted into the air as Greg looked around for the source before shrugging his shoulders and assuming someone nearby had lit a cigarette. Shadows danced along the pavement at his feet, causing Greg to turn around as a horizon of orange caught his eye. Nearly a block away, fire could be seen dancing along the rooftops of the few houses that dotted the Power District. Flashes of red and blue could be seen through the streets as a single fire truck rushed to the seen. Stunned, Greg looked on in awe before looking skyward as if to ask whatever power was out there ‘Why?’.

“How does a fire burn in this weather?” The words stumbled out of his mouth, giving his head a shake before turning around to climb in his car.

Suddenly, a large rumble echoed from the other side of the warehouse as Greg barely had enough time to look up before a large explosion lifted him off his feet and threw the heavy man across the parking lot. Flames rocketed into the sky as the night became filled with smoke and the smell of burning. Alarms went off all across the district as staff prepared emergency measures but no further sirens sounded from the emergency forces. Stretched far too thin due to the typhoon-like weather that had been plaguing the city, the fire department had been trying to stop flooding in other areas of the city.

“God help us…” Greg muttered as he struggled to stand up, looking at the flames that continued to spread despite the soaked ground and pouring rain. Staring beyond the warehouses, Greg could scarcely move as his body froze in fear, realizing the fire was on a direct path towards the plant itself.

_{'Cause when you lie like, the devil himself, no angels gonna hear your…}

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C R Y F O R H E L P

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Status: URGENT
Time of Day: Night
Weather: Rain

“Stay inside and no one has to get hurt.”

Violet Parr heard the words echo inside her head over and over as she peered out the windows towards the street below her apartment. Vermilion and cobalt illuminated the street corners where commandeered cruisers sat while gangsters dressed in blues walked the pavement below. Screams echoed out of a nearby hotel as guests were escorted out of the lobby, gunfire exploded into the air as a volley of warning shots were fired. The screeching of tires could be heard a large vehicle came to a sudden halt, the gangsters opening the back of the vehicle and forcing the citizens inside.

“Hotel lobby’s clear.” A voice echoed over the radios as a handful of officers entered into the hotel. “Clear the kitchen, check the rooms. Floor by floor check.”

“Can do Antonio.” Came the reply as the one who initiated the orders nodded and stepped back outside. The cold rain pelted against his face before he adjusted the brim of the officer’s cap to shield himself.

“Load the truck up and take off. See if any of them are worth anything to anyone.” Antonio ordered as he waved off the truck. “Cut the phone lines and set up a jammer, we don’t need any more company here.” He ordered to the remaining men standing around. “Del Toro, you’re with me.” He added with a pointed finger towards one of the men.

“Sure thing.” Del Toro stated with a nod as he jogged to catch up with Antonio. “So what exactly is the outcome here?” He asked, “What exactly does Raul hope to accomplish?”

“That’s not for us to know at this moment. If Mister De Vitis wants us to know his plans, he’ll let us know. Until then we do what he says and hopes he keeps the Russian away.” Antonio stated shortly.

“Boss,” The radio suddenly crackled to life. “There’s someone special in the penthouse you might want to meet.”

_{Pressure from the man got us all in rebellion, We gon' go to war, yeah, without failure}

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S U C K E R F O R P A I N

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Status: PRESSING
Time of Day: Night
Weather: Rain

Despite the storm hanging over Crescent City, Los Paraíso’s Avenue Rogue had been seeing even more activity than normal. It would seem that the threat of the alleged end of the world drove people to indulge their base instincts and desires. Laughter and yelling could be heard from outside the strip club as the audible ‘THUD’ of another shot glass hitting Piquante’s counter as cheers filled the room.

“No one has ever done that many!” One member of the Third Street Roughnecks could be heard as another one yelled.

“Again!” A notion which was quickly seconded and then carried as another shot was filled up. The reigning champion suddenly shook his head before holding up a wad of cash.

“A round for all my boys!” He yelled as Thirds cheered yet again. Money was easy to come by when people were leaving houses behind left right and center, especially in the city’s richest districts. Most of the home owners in Paradise on the Water had at least two other homes and with the storm were among the first to leave.

Stumbling out of the club, the Thirds made their way downtown. Giggling like idiots, one of them picked up a rock and chucked it at a nearby window. The glass shattered as the alarm went off, but the alcohol in their systems had the Thirds feeling far too good about something as simple as the police showing up. Suddenly another rock flew, followed by another as the Thirds climbed through the broken window panes and began to loot and trash the various empty shops that lined Los Paraíso’s downtown.

“HEY!”

A voice suddenly cried out, interrupting the chaos that had overtaken the downtown.

“This is Crew territory. No Thirds allowed.” The voice said as suddenly a gang appeared from the various alleys in between the shops.

“Then I guess, I’m taking a piss in your territory.” The Thirds’ leader yelled as he unzipped his fly and let a stream loose. “Looks like I just marked it as mine.” He slurred with a laugh.

“You fucker.” The Crew member replied as he picked up a loose rock and chucked it at the Third. The rock bounced off the edge of the nearby building, clipping the Third in the forehead as he stumbled away bleeding, tripping over his undone pants.

“Get that bitch!” He yelled as he scrambled to stand while the Thirds rushed towards the Crew.

[Tyler]

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FREDERICK BLACKWELL

_{Tiger Works, Milk Street, Pointe Bordeaux | 11:00PM}

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"Hey there."

Freddie looked up from the empty glass into which he had been ruminating, and found himself before a man who looked to be around his age, if not a little older. He was dressed in the style typical of this part of town; his brown brogues were brazenly battered, and Freddie was certain that the thick-framed glasses which sat on the tip of his nose had to be non-prescription. His hair was fairly short, and yet still pulled up into a small tuft of a bun at the man's crown; a smattering of well-kept hair framing his jaw and his upper lip waxed into place. The man was decidedly 'hipster', and Freddie would have bemoaned him were his features not so attractive... Through his beer-goggles, that was. Freddie was two or three pints into one of Tiger Works' famous craft ales, having been sat in the rustic establishment (all raw brickwork and exposed beams) for the past hour and a half.

"Sorry, hey," Frederick apologised, snapping himself back to reality.

The man smiled. "No worries," he said. "You're looking awful glum. Penny for your thoughts?"

Freddie smiled meekly. "I guess I have a lot on my mind," he confessed, blushing a little. "It's a long story."

It was true. Freddie did have a lot on his mind. In fact, he'd had a lot on his mind for almost a week now, ever since he first touched down in this dreaded city. He had been absolutely certain that his self-assigned mission would be a walk in the park; that, by now, he would be basking in the glory of being Crescent City's saviour, and enjoying all those particular benefits that came with such a role. But alas, here he was, for the fourth night in a row now. Alone at a bar, drinking and thinking. And whilst the former was ordinarily a favourite leisure of his, he found the latter was decidedly good at ruining his fun.

"I like long stories," he said. "Can I buy you a drink?"

***

The man had revealed himself as Oscar; in his own words an 'events-planner-cum-photographer-cum-graphic-designer', who had moved to the city to study at Grimm University and never left. Two rounds later, the pair were still chatting; though admittedly, it seemed that Oscar's favourite point of conversation was... Well, Oscar. Freddie was silently thankful, since it allowed him to remain vague about his reasons for being here. He had a feeling that 'Oh, actually, I'm a Hyperhuman and I wanted to get rid of this storm, but I can't and it's driving me insane' was perhaps not the answer Oscar was looking for; and so it was a relief that the hipster didn't press further when being told something vague about Freddie 'having a project lined up that fell through'.

"I gotta say, that's a cute accent you got there," Oscar blurted, seemingly finding a spare breath between his life story to talk about something pertaining to Freddie. "Where's it from?"

Perhaps it was the booze, or perhaps that it was that, beneath all his insincerities and cliche, Oscar was a reasonably attractive man, but Freddie instantly perked up upon receiving the complement. The truth was, he had had very little luck in Crescent City at all; he'd chatted to people in various bars, but the people he met were different than those back home. He ordinarily found it so easy to impress Americans, but for some reason he'd found that his usual schtick just didn't wash here.

"Thanks," he replied. "It's from England. And no, I haven't met The Queen. But I have met Prince Charles, and Princess Eugene," he said. "My dad actually met Princess Di, when she was al--"

"Ugh," Oscar interrupted, seeming to recoil at Freddie's words. "I hate the Royal family. They're like, a symbol of everything that's wrong with the world. Haven't you heard of Karl Marx? He's a sociologist who said that--"

"Yeah, I know Marx, thanks," Freddie cut back, even sharper than Oscar had. For a moment, the tension between the two lingered; palpable in their locked gaze. But Oscar clearly wanted something (and truthfully, so did Freddie), and so the American seemed to skim over the tiff.

"Hey, it's getting late," he said, pretending to check the time. "You wanna move on some place else?" he asked, his eyebrow raised and words loaded with implication.

"Yeah, definitely," Freddie agreed. "I'm staying in this apartment down in South Beach. We could head back there, if you wanted. Great views of the city..." he said, trailing off as he noticed the smirk that was now plastered across Oscar's face. "...What?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"South Beach?" Oscar giggled.

"Yeah. Why?" Freddie asked.

Oscar laughed again. "I dunno, man. I guess I thought you had taste."

"Well, I mean, I know the flooding's pretty bad, but it seems like a nice area to me..." Freddie argued, not entirely sure what Oscar was hoping to gain from this particular exchange.

"Sure it is, if you like Starbucks and white people," Oscar laughed. "Plus, it's too far out. I don't know why anyone would live out in Los Paraíso when it's so... Boring... All the action's right here."

"Well, where do you live?" Freddie asked, getting irritated with the judgement being passed over him. Heck, he didn't even live in this city, but he still found himself getting defensive of his temporary South Beach pad, if only as a response to Oscar's snobbery.

Oscar smiled. "Me and a couple friends rent this awesome pad in a converted factory, just a couple blocks from here," he said, smugly. "It's super similar to here, too, got a real cool vibe to it," he gushed. "But we can't go there. The guys get weird about me bringing dudes back."

The two shared their second awkward silence of the night, as it became clear that neither of them were getting what they wanted from each other that night. Freddie looked around sheepishly, hoping to fix his gaze upon anything but Oscar's eyes.

"Well, gotta dash," Oscar broke the silence, getting to his feet and yawning obnoxiously. "It's getting real late. But it was great meeting you, Philip," he added. And with that, he was gone. Freddie sighed, slumping forward onto the bar and waving for another drink.

"Freddie," he muttered to himself. "It's Freddie."

[Sisyphus]

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ANNABELLE FITZGERALD

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The sound of raindrops on the window had become a familiar companion - always there, always tap, tap, tapping away in the back of her mind like a count, like a rhythm, like the dead and dying, they're out there but I'm in here, I need to be out there they need me, they need me, I have to go I have to go to them, I will walk through the flame and the flood and I will be with them -

"Annabelle?" The familiar voice shook her out of her ruminations. Annabelle turned from the dark window she'd been leaning against to see Dr. Graham entering the employee lounge, his spectacles in his hands. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

Annabelle scrambled out of her chair in an instant. "Is it another patient?" she blurted.

"Ah, no," the stout, brown-skinned man answered slowly. "It's the rain, it's... well, our ambulances are having a lot of trouble. Are you feeling alright, Annabelle?"

She waved his question away. "What did you need, Dr. Graham."

The doctor extended his glasses to her, revealing a web of cracks and fractures in the left frame. "I, uh, stepped on my glasses. Could you give me a hand?" She accepted the spectacles and quickly blew onto them, not even looking as the cracks sealed filled. He took them back with a smile and placed them onto his face. "You're a lifesaver, Annabelle."

"I try to be," She answered, halfway turned back to the window when one of her fellow nurses slid into the room, wild-eyed and gripping a clipboard.

"Nurse Fitzgerald! We need you in an ambulance, there's a fire in the Power District in Jethrull."

Dr. Graham furrowed his brow. "A fire, in this weather?"

The nurse shrugged. "Look, I don't know. I just work here. We don't know how big it's gotten or how many affected, but Nurse Fitzgerald is the best way of treating burns or smoke inhalation we have. We need her."

For her part, Annabelle was already throwing her rain jacket around her shoulders. "I'm going," she said as she walked past the doctor.

"Absolutely not, in this weather you could - "

"Can't hear you over the sound of me going!" she shouted, already running down the hallway to the ER.

[FantasyChic]

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Priya Khurana

_{Carpenter Home, East City, Lilith | 7:00 PM}

---

She knocked on the door three times. After a brief wait, she tried again. She heard shuffling inside and decided to wait. The door opened finally and an elderly man stepped out. Peter Carpenter was closing in on 80 years old. His face was wrinkled to the point where she was sure it would cave in on itself. However, despite that his eyes were fierce. They bore into her like he'd been doing it for years.

"Mr. Carpenter?" she asked. The man nodded slightly, "Yes. that's me. What do you want?" To the point she thought to herself, Fine. She took out her badge and showed it to him. "My name is Priya Khurana. I'm a detective." She could swear she saw the fire in his eyes after he glanced at her badge. "I'm not talking to any cops!" he said and made to slam the door in her face. She rushed forward and held it open, "Wait, Mr Carpenter! It's about Sarah. I have news." Although the heat in his eyes didn't die down, he opened the door again. He looked her over, probably gauging her, before he nodded, "All right, come in."

She entered the man's home and looked around. It was sparsely decorated. It had the bare essentials: some chairs, a TV, a desk. She noticed the pictures on the wall and on the desk itself. Peter stood in one, in his military uniform back when he was probably in his 20s. Then another picture of his wife Marie on their wedding day. She looked beautiful in her dress. The others were of a little girl with long, brown hair in various ages, but no more than 10 years old.

She knew who this girl was. After all, she spent the better half of last month delving into the lives of the Carpenters. The little girl was named Sarah and she was kidnapped. The man responsible was currently serving his time in prison. Sarah was never recovered, though. There was a manhunt, they questioned the man responsible, but he never disclosed where she was and if she was alive. The man was said to be smiling all through his trial.

That was over 40 years ago. Sarah was presumed dead and her family never had closure. Never did a proper funeral because they didn't have her remains. So they spent years quietly grieving their loss. His wife passed on 5 years ago.

Peter went to the kitchen table where a half-done crossword puzzle sat and a cup of coffee. He sat down but made no motion for her to do the same. She took a seat opposite him. "You have a nice home," she started. Peter just stared, "I'm not here to talk pleasantries. Say what you have to say and get out. I've heard it all before, anyway." She could detect the pain in his voice, though. She nodded, "I'm a Cold Case detective with the Crescent City police department. For the past month I've been working on your daughter's case," she paused, waiting to see if he made any inclination to say anything. He did not. "Well, I've been looking into it. Trying to find out what happened and where she is. Mr. Carpenter, I'll be brief. I know you and your wife put her to rest in your hearts and minds and I am sad to tell you she is dead. But, I am also here to tell you that we found her remains." That was when Peter finally smoldered the fire in his gaze. Instead, he looked like he might cry. His lip trembled a bit, "What did you say?" he asked. "We found her remains. After years her body has perished, but DNA tests were done to figure it out. She is in the process of being turned over to you and your family."

Peter brought a hand up to his mouth to cover the soft cries he was letting out. She stood up and walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He took her hand in his and wept openly now. "Thank you!" he said.

---

That was why she did what she did. The closure was needed. Life needed to move on and if you had blocks that prevented it, you suffered. For years the Carpenters suffered in silence. They tried to move on with their lives, but there was always that grief. That trouble. The constant thought of trying to understand when you couldn't.

She worked hard. The case was definitely not easy. She had to go back, re-discover the crime. Talk to witnesses. Talk to the man responsible. He was still smug. She was sure he expected some type of deal to ease his sentence. She had the pleasure of going to see him after they found her body. Seeing the smugness drain out of his face was particularly satisfying. She left him to rot in his cage.

Her own ghosts haunted her still, but they pressured her to get results. And she did. She was considered one of the best. Closing cold cases was satisfying, whether it led to good news or not, closure was needed. Her own battles were still being fought. Prisha deserved closure and justice.

Her phone rang and she answered, "Hello?" The voice on the other end was Paul Cortez, a fellow detective. "Hey Priya, you are near The Spires right now, yes?" "I am, why?" Paul sighed, "We are getting some weird reports going on there. Some panicked phone calls about other police officers there. Do you mind checking things out? Shouldn't be more than that, but you are near there and we are short-handed as it is." She let out her own sigh. She really wanted a cup of coffee and to sit down for a minute. Especially to get out of this constant rain. "Fine, but you owe me Starbucks coffee for a week." Paul chucked, "Like a date?" She hung up, expecting Paul to still be chuckling.

She got into her car and made her way over to The Spires. She would check it out, report back, and hopefully be home in time to catch Grey's Anatomy with her roommate.

What could go wrong?

[An Outsider]

---

L I S A M A R I E W A L K E R

_{Conquistador University, Paradise Hills, Los Paradiso | 11:00PM}

---

Tonight is the night. The night that all the pieces were going to start falling into place, and the puzzle would become a picture. The picture, of course, was going to be of Lisa finally making this whole ‘vigilante’ shtick work. Tonight was the night.

Some part of her, the part of her brain that had always insisted on being a negative Nancy, was telling her not to get her hopes up, saying that ‘Lisa, you’ve been wearing a mask and beating these streets for almost two weeks now, and you haven’t seen a single crook yet. Haven’t even spotted anybody so much as jay-walking, littering even. Why should tonight be any different?’ “Nancy’s” logic was compelling, and the fact that it was probably true that Lisa’s bad luck would hold, and all she was in for was another night of getting soaked to the bone mixed in with a healthy bout of mind numbing boredom should have conspired to make her realise that her new interest in extra-curricular activities was a terrible idea, but the truth was it all had very little effect on Lisa’s optimism. She was going to do this, didn’t matter how hard, how boring, how illogical it might be.

She waited until she could hear Vronnie’s snoring from the room next door – the walls in their dorm were paper thin – before grabbing the duffle bag she kept stashed at the bottom of her closet, and pulled the costume out from within it. The dark material was still damp from the night before, eliciting an involuntarily shiver from her when she slipped them on, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Maybe she should have tried to sneak them into the drier earlier. At the time she had worried someone might have seen her and asked uncomfortable questions about why she was spin-drying ballistic vests and combat trousers, but now she wondered if that wouldn’t have been a small price to pay for a dry t-shirt.

She cracked her window open, driving rain near instantly gusting into her small room. T-shirt wouldn’t have been dry for long anyway, she consoled herself. She clambered out the window and onto the fire escape, pulled the shutter down behind her, and set off on her now nightly patrols. She was soaked, cold and bored within ten minutes.

Tonight better be the night.

---

An alarm broke the monotony of the night, cutting through the constant patter of rain hitting concrete, and electrical hum of old street lights. It was so sudden and unexpected that Lisa nearly jumped in surprise. Got to work on that. You never see Daredevil jumping at car alarms. He’s got nerves of steel, not nerves of … copper, or whatever inferior metal it is my nerves are made from.

Fright aside, it may actually be a blessing in disguise. Alarms meant trouble, and trouble was just what she was looking for. She knew that if she wandered Downtown long enough, she’d eventually get lucky. Knowing that it was best to strike the iron while it was hot, she took off running in the direction of the alarm.

The closer she got, the louder the commotion got, raised male voices beginning to mingle with the blaring sirens. Angry voices. And lots of them. That negative Nancy voice struggled to make itself heard again, trying to warn her of how bad an idea this was. Nice girls like her really shouldn’t be getting themselves involved in what she was no doubt about to get involved in. By that point it was too late though. Lisa was at full tilt, with adrenaline and excitement coursing through her veins. The time for common sense was long over, it was all instinct now, and even if there was a cold, forbidding knot forming in her guts, she couldn’t stop her legs pumping forwards even if she wanted them to.

She turned a corner onto a wide street that looked like it was playing host to a ‘Warriors’ re-enactment. There was over two dozen young men and women involved in a chaotic rumble, every single one doing their level best to kill the others. Rocks were flung, bats were brandished, bottles smashed. There didn’t seem to be any sides to the brawl, or at least if there were sides they’d long lost any semblance of order.

She’d never seen a fight before, or not a real one at least. She’d seen plenty fight-scenes in movies – Her dad had made her watch every Chuck Norris movie out there – and she’d played enough video games that she’d thought she had a pretty good idea of what a fight should look like, but in her mind she’d pictured it flowing, like a beautiful dance or a well-choreographed street performance, moving from one perfectly planned form to another like an award winning ballerina who had been rehearsing her moves for months.

This … wasn’t that. It was dirty, and quick, and all so confusing that she had to take a moment to try and pull some sense from it, try to figure out the narrative here, figure out who was who, which guys were the bad guys and which the good. Then she watched one man stick a switch blade into another’s arm, and the severity of the situation hit her. There weren’t good guys or bad here. Just stupid people trying to hurt each other, maybe even kill one another. And if she didn’t do something, then they might just get their way.

Tonight is the night. She reminded herself. A small part of her wished it wasn’t. This could end very badly. Very, very badly. And not just for her, but for everyone involved.

Lisa took a great deep breath, set her feet apart, and –

“STOP FIGHTING” She bellowed, her voice coming out firm and strong, surprising herself with the volume and commanding tone. She had no idea she had that in her! To say she was pleased with the effort would have been an understatement. To say she was pleased with the effect on the brawlers would have been the opposite. Whether they didn’t hear her, or just plain ignored her, not one ceased their efforts in trying to brain the others. Maybe it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t pay that much attention to her, they did have their own stuff going on after all, but it was still rude all the same, and Lisa was more than a little miffed.

“Hey! I’m speaking to you!” That rod of iron that had seemed to strengthen her voice last time was gone now, replaced by the weedy tones of a petulant child not used to being ignored. It got the same results her last effort did. She took a few steps forward, berated the group again, got ignored for her efforts again. Now she was getting plain angry, and so she bent over to pick up a stray rock, and hurled it at the back of the nearest scrapper. The throw was beautiful, the aim sublime, and it cracked against the man’s bald dome, driving him from his feet and throwing him to the ground. His opponent, a teenager who had just been biting his arm like a rabid dog, and the combatants nearest too him, all looked up to see Lisa standing there, feeling quite sheepish now that she had their attentions.

“Who the hell is that?” Demanded a burly tattooed pugilist.

“Fuck knows, thought they were one of your guys.” Responded a tall, skinny woman with a crew cut, wearing shorts that showed off far too much of her pasty flesh, especially in this weather.

“Like Hell! Look how shitting tiny they are. No way we’d let them in the Crew. That’s Thirds material if I’ve ever seen it.” Tattoos retorted, before turning to Lisa and pointing a finger at her. “Hey! Cunt! Who’d the fuck you think you are?”

Lisa, quite taken aback by the exchange, and the profanity displayed, struggled to find a suitable response, eventually settling for a confused “Uhhh…” Before she had a chance to improve on that unforgettable introduction the skinny woman piped up once more.

“Fuck it, let’s just splatter the fucker, then I can get back to fucking you Crew-Bastards up.” There were several nods of approval to this, and before Lisa really knew what was happening, five gang-members were advancing on her, intent on making her vigilante career a remarkably short affair. She took a back step, all of a sudden regretting the recent life decisions that had brought her to this place immensely.

Why did tonight have to be the night?

[SgtEasy]

---

T A R I Q

_{New Lilith | Shasta Basin}

---

The Basin is a relatively small district in the grand scheme of the CrescentTriad but had one of the worst records for crime and poverty in the metropolitan tri-city. Home to working class dock workers and fishermen, crime was used frequently as a "get rich quick" scheme, armed robberies and subsequently the murder rate has steadily risen. An unfortunate place stricken with poor luck and impoverishment, a stark contrast to the beautiful city that surrounded this scar within Eden. The media was certainly lacking when it came to coverage inside the Basin and no one really cared about what happened to people inside. It was like a small community, away from the high-life and bustling streets that wrapped around the water district. It was the perfect place to lie low and stay hidden, organised crime was basically nonexistent aside from smaller groups of ruffians and this meant that a vigilante could do their work without being in the centre of attention all the time.

It was here that Tariq had set their base of operations in. An old decrepit warehouse sat near the edge of the Basin, sat in a row of other warehouses like it. Once used for the booming fishing markets that thrived here, now abandoned and left to rot because of Eden's sudden loss of interest in fishing. Apparently, once city officials started gathering millions of dollars a year from tourism alone, the fishing industry suddenly became obsolete. There was no need for government funded fishing, no need for the large and expensive fish auctions, no need for a market that rivalled the hustle and bustle of the Japanese Tsukiji Fish Market. Money left the area and so the Basin was forgotten, turning into a neighbourhood now used mostly for freights, water deliveries and small-time fishing by underfunded companies. The warehouse that they had set up in was once alive with people, dozens upon dozens of humans inspecting various fish from the day's catch, now left to the tinkering of a vigilante.

Having arrived three weeks ago, Tariq had set up a secure perimeter around the small warehouse. The rows and rows of warehouses created a suitable maze and they had made sure that the chosen warehouse's exterior did not differentiate from the others. They had spent two solid days memorising the different routes, pathways, narrow alleys and dead-ends that were contained in the layout of the complex. They had gotten lost more than once and often had to ask a local to find the coast so that they could work back to their main base from there. They had also made sure that the garage for their 2015 Ford Mustang, a relatively new but popular car in the streets of Eden District. Old surveillance cameras were also tapped and wired to the large array of monitors within the HQ, several newer and more discreet ones also being bought and placed around.

With enough time, Duos could probably make this place a trapper's heaven with enough high-tech gear but that was lower on the priority list. If you were to enter the HQ, you would be met by a wall of crates and old freight containers stacked on top of each other, similar to the other warehouses surrounding it. However, if you were a particularly strong human and able to push very hard against the wall of one of the containers, you would be able to push a secret door. You would then be greeted by another door and an eye scanner. If you weren't Tariq or authorised to enter the premises, you would be shot repeatedly with a pop-up experimental LSAT Light Machine Gun armed with rubber bullets. If you are still standing, lethal rounds would be loaded and you would be warned.

Tariq had set up rows of weapons for their armoury, a wall filled with monitors flickering between main Eden District cameras and the warehouse complex. Their computer was in the corner of the room, wires tangled around messily, shining brighter in the shadows of the room light. A black table with a holographic projection of a map of the city sat in the middle of the room along with a bed and some pillows strewn on the floor. The room is largely occupied by crates and unopened boxes filled with equipment, things that Duos had yet to set up. It was here that we find our unlikely hero (heroes?), donning their robes and equipment.

'Al, you sure you've got everything? Sunscreen, lotion, a snack on the go? Are you bringing spare clothes? You might dirty your clothes from all the blood. I just cleaned those you know!' Annoying, intrusive but familiar thoughts filled Tariq's mind, most of them unnecessary reminders and suggestions that came from Human. Alien had mastered the art of blocking thoughts that were technically his own, pushing the Human out of the forefront of their mind and focusing on the task at hand. He grabbed small but sharp knife on a table and shoved it into his boot. With their pistol strapped to their hip, a metal staff mag-clamped to their back, knuckledusters in pockets. He looked like some sort of black and white futuristic version of a desert bandit, the red holographic interface placed over their right eye only adding to the intimidating appearance.

Tariq flexed their muscles, releasing a breath of air in a slow relaxed manner. Alien had taken control for the first time in three weeks and he was getting used to the sudden overload of the senses. When you existed merely in a conscious state within the mind, your five senses were too numb to truly feel the outside world. Now that he was out, he could finally do simple things like breathe air, taste food and feel the clothing hiding their alien body. It was almost overwhelming at first. 'You're enjoying yourself a little too much Al, it's like your preparing to have a quick rub of our-'

"Human, I swear that if you finish that question, I will mentally castrate you in a sickeningly creative way armed with a rubber ducky and a spoon." Tariq's mind was silent once more and now they could focus at the task at hand. Over the three weeks since their arrival from Saudi Arabia, they had stuck around the Shasta Basin and parts of New Lilith, having little time to explore the city. Now that they had finished truly setting up headquarters, it was time for some research into the hotspots of crime and any noteworthy locations. Normally, they would conduct this research in casual attire but the increasing crime rate meant that this research patrol could quickly become a look-out for crime. Especially with their new police wire-tapping headset, they could listen in on 911 calls or police radio chatter if there was anything of importance.

They confidently walked out of the warehouse towards the one opposite, making sure that everything was secure and the security protocols were in place. It was strange, having such a small base. Duos was a name revered in Saudi Arabia as a national hero, starting and securing an age of safety within a country that would have fallen without their help. It was why they were cautious in going out in their full get up, they had gotten some worldwide attention after their actions during a hostage situation within Abu Dhabi. Tariq hoped that they weren't as famous here in the West than they were in Human's home country, it started to get difficult fighting crime when the media was there all the time. Besides, the government was more stable than it has been in years, local law enforcement was funded by their offshore banking accounts and the country's crime rate was at an all time low.

The rain that fell on Tariq once they stepped outside was thankfully stopped by the waterproof clothing. The water would have a slight affect to their superior eyesight but it was minimal at best. As Tariq entered into their parked 2015 Ford Mustang, slightly worn from use. It was their car of choice after all and old Betsy, as the Human affectionately called it, followed wherever they went. Placing their staff in the back seat and revving the engine of the car, they felt the roaring engine startle to life. Tinted windows giving a little privacy, they hooked their headset to the radio, making it blare out any transmissions the headset could pick up. They gripped their steering wheel and grinned collectively. 'It's been far too long.' He drove out, eager to explore the cities beyond Shasta Basin. Excited for new possibilities and new crooks to conquer. This would become their metropolitan, their domain, the warrior without peer.

The radio crackled to life, a 911 call coming through announcing the arrival of suspicious policemen in the Spires. Seeing that the call was very near to their position, Tariq stepped down on the accelerator and speeded down the roads towards Old Lilith. It seemed as though that luck was on their side, their first mission in a new town. Even now, as they weaved through the traffic, they checked the calls that flooded from this particular spot of the city. 'Well, this seems easy, seems like a buncha thugs Al. Nothing we haven't dealt with before.'

This would be an easy first job, right?

[Lord Wraith]

F L A S H B A C K:

---

^{A Night in April 1985 | New Lilith}

The shadow of darkness coated the entire city. Not a single light shone for miles around as the blackout took its toll on the city. The city was quiet, almost eerily so as the general population had opted to stay inside rather than risk the streets of the crime-ridden city. Hanging suspended from a lamp post, the blood rushed to the head of one Mister Luke Bard as he tried to reach for the bindings around his ankles only for the masked man to suddenly push him, spinning the former high school jock before he came to a sudden stop, face to face with his captor.

“What's a burnout like you doing here? Little far from the Wharves for a King.” The masked man growled, his voice low and gravelly like someone doing a bad Clint Eastwood impression.

“Go fuck yourself.” The other man grunted as his face began to turn purple. Luke was dizzy, disoriented even. He had been minding his own business, waiting for pick up when his feet had been swept out from underneath him. Now he was upside down, face to face with a psycho whose wardrobe choices resembled Mad Max crossed with a ninja.

“You’re not that tough.” The mask growled as he cracked his fingers and delivered a blow to Luke’s abdomen. "Eventually, you're all cowards."

“Won't tell you nothing, I can’t… tell you!” The man protested only for the vigilante to hit him again. "They'll fucking kill me!" He protested as the masked man delivered another blow. A wave passed through Luke's body, a sensation like his organs were rupturing before he started coughing and spat blood towards the ground.

"Not if I kill you first." Came another growl as the vigilante drew his fist back.

“New Lilith National, fuck!” Luke yelled as the vigilante held his fist and released the gangbanger to the ground. "It's the damn bank! The Kings are going to hit New Lilith National."

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” The vigilante replied slapping Luke's face lightly, a smirk crossing his face beneath the masked around the upper half of his head. Pulling a grappling device from his belt, the vigilante ascended the nearby building, headed towards the bank.

J O S E P H T H O R E A U:

---

^{Friday, April 07, 2017 - 9:41 PM | Club Nevermind - Milk Street}

The pounding bass helped the block the thoughts haunting Joseph Thoreau as he sipped on a strong drink. Lights flashed from the dance floor as numerous people threw everything they had into the beat of the music. There was something about living in a state of emergency that made people connect to themselves on a deeper level, they suddenly made time for fun. Carpe diem, seize the day. If death was going to stare you in the face, then it was best to ensure you died with no regrets. Fulfil your every desire, live out every whim.

The city’s main routes had been blocked in the storm, therefore everyone in this club were just as trapped in the city as Joseph was. Not that Joseph considered himself trapped per say, he felt a duty to stay behind. The city needed as many trained professionals now as they ever had. More importantly however was his mother’s murder.

Son of Crescent City’s District Attorney, it wasn’t like it didn’t make sense for the family to have enemies. Silas Thoreau had been as hard on crime as the Mavericks themselves except unlike the vigilantes, Joseph’s father was limited by the law. During a political rally to gain support behind mayoral candidate Emilie Blake, one of the local crime lords ordered a hit on Silas, a hit that went south and resulted in the death of Joseph’s mother Samantha. Since then, Crescent City’s police force had proved to be rather incompetent in solving the murder, their forces stretched far too thin by the increased crime brought on by the city’s state of emergency.

The city had a strict anti-vigilante by-law, Joseph of all people should have known that, his father had passed it after all. But the dead could not cry out for justice, it was his job to do so for his mother. As such, Joseph had begun his own investigation into the shooting, tracking down gangbangers and any other manner of scum in the Larissa area to find out what they knew. When you had access to medical grade sedatives, it wasn’t hard to subdue a target and put them into a vulnerable position.

“I kind of feel like I’m carrying this whole conversation.” The voice of Ellara Valentine brought Joseph’s attention back to his surroundings as he ran a hand sheepishly through his hair before giving his date a broad smile.

“Sorry, I was lost in your eyes.” Joseph replied as Ellara rolled her eyes and playfully punched him in the arm.

“Well if you could come back to me, I’d like some actual company.” She said with a bat of her eyelashes. “I didn’t get out of the hospital for a night of talking to myself.” The resident added with a raised drink.

“I mean, we’re both on call so don’t count yourself out yet.” Joseph added toasting her raised drink with his own.

“And you just jinxed it.” Ellara pouted as Joseph’s cellphone began to ring. “Way to go, Joey.”

“Sorry, El.” He muttered as he quickly slid his thumb across the screen and put the phone up to his ear while covering the other to block out the noise from the club. “Rhodes, got it.” He stated as he climbed off the bar stool and grabbed the paramedic jacket off the back of the chair.

“We should do this again…” He began to say as Ellara’s cell began to go off. “When the world isn’t ending.” He added with a slight smirk. Reaching over, he kissed the girl on the cheek as she quietly waved goodbye while listening to her own call. Placing a twenty on the counter, Joseph headed for the door.

Rain hit his face almost immediately as he exited the club. Cold and blowing off the coast, it was the kind of wet that would chill you to the bones if you weren’t careful. Walking briskly, Joseph climbed into the large paramedic SUV before starting the engine and turning on the interior heat. Putting the vehicle into gear, Joseph guided the vehicle out of Club Nevermind’s parking lot before turning the sirens on and taking the main route towards New Alexandria.

[Hillan]

F L A S H B A C K:

---

^{A Night in April 1985 | New Lilith}

The warehouse in the Wharves, one of the many used by the Harbor Kings, where they would store their goods they have stolen from the shipments coming in. They had just gotten a large shipment of heroin, packing it and going to package it and ship it off to their dealers in the morning, but for now, there were only a handful of guards keeping watch over the shipment.

Two of them watched the outside, three on the inside, among them was Carlos Suarez, one of the Lieutenants of the Harbor Kings, a right-hand man of the boss. His wrap sheet was longer than most, assault and battery, breaking and entering, attempted murder, and murder were all among the things he had been booked for.

Yet, he had slipped through the system, on his last case the chain of custody had been broken, and key evidence had vanished. The witness that could send him away for life washed up on the beach, body broken in so many places that she had to have been run over by a truck. Tonight, justice would finally be served. This shipment was risky, it belonged to the Fierro’s and the Kings had stolen it, killed a couple of their guys, this could very well mean war, and they didn't have the resources for that. Not yet, anyway.

“Keep watch. Some of them fuckin' Mexicans might show up to try and steal our shit.”

“Aren't yo-”

“I'm Puerto Rican, dickhead.” Carlos immediately snapped back at one of the guards.

They heard cursing from outside. ”Hell is going on our there?” One of the guards asked, Carlos waved him to go check, the man turned around to grab his gun from the table, one of the blacked-out windows broke as the limp body of one of the guards was sent flying in, a broken nose, knocked out cold and barely breathing.

The three men began moving towards their guns, when they heard the cocking of a handgun behind them, followed by a voice. ”Wouldn't try that if I were you.” The biker-looking man, in his black leather jacket, a hood over his face, but one could see his short blond hair and black sunglasses, his look wouldn't betray his identity, the one truly defining feature to his figure was the belt buckle in his Jeans, a golden A.

”Guns didn't help the guys outside. It ain't gonna do you any favors, either.”

”Think you're the terminator, or some shit?!” Carlos shouted, as the man in the hood grinned, but remained quiet. ”Get him!” Carlos shouted, as his two men charged at the man in the hood, whom smiled, twirled his pistol in his hand and put it back into it's holster as the two men charged at him, one of them picked up a baseball bat from the floor while running, the other a knuckleduster from his pocket.

The hooded man took one step backwards, as the bat came towards his face, dodging the wooden weapon with less than an inch, his arm came down hard on the man holding the bat, snapping his wrist, his hand went limp and a cry of pain rang out, the next guy came along, bring the bat up from the ground, he smashed it against the man's skull, shattering the bat and knocking the guy out cold. The first man whimpering on the ground about his broken hand.

”No guns didn't seem to work, either.” He taunted, as Carlos backed slowly, the masked man heading towards him. ”You lot have been making big moves lately. You planning on starting a war? Lot of innocent people are gonna get hurt, can't let you do that.” He said, as Carlos turned towards the shipping container, getting out the blowtorch and turning it on.

”I'll fucking burn you, Puto!” He shouted, and the hooded man chuckled.

”You think I'm afraid of fire?” a golden flicker could be seen from inside of his shades, as the entire room lit up with bright, warm light as six violent, yet beautiful flames, like tendrils, spawned on the figure's back. Carlos let out a gasp.

”Dios mio..” He dropped the blowtorch, falling to his knees. The torch burning his hand, and he cried out in pain. The vigilante walked to him, grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against the container, a heavy 'THUD' from his body hitting the steel door.

”You tell me what you got planned, or you'll be burned a lot worse than that!” He shouted, and Carlos said a prayer in Spanish, before nodding.

”B-Bank, we're gonna pull a bank heist. Oh god, he's gonna kill me. We need the money to fight the Mexicans.” He said, and the vigilante smiled, kicking the blowtorch to the side, it rolled out of the way from hurting Carlos again.

He grabbed his wrist, put his gloved thumb right next to the wound, still holding the criminal by the collar.

”You'll turn yourself in, and confess to every crime you've ever committed. Or I'll be back. And it'll be a lot worse than this.” The hooded man growled, Carlos nodded, crying, his sobbing turned into a cry of pain, as his burned hand began healing at the vigilante’s touch, a pain he couldn't even imagine as his skin wound closed, and his tissue began re-growing in a matter of seconds.

”Be good, Carlos.” The man simply said, turning around and taking to the air, out of the warehouse and into the sky.

[Lord Wraith]

J O S E P H T H O R E A U:

---

^{Friday, April 07, 2017 - 9:53 PM | Rhodes Lighthouse - New Alexandria}

Rain hammered on the windshield of the large Dodge Durango as Joseph guided it down the empty main street of New Alexandria. While he called the Pointe Bordeaux home, something had always drawn him to New Alexandria. Grimm had been among his top picks for post secondary education but unfortunately it didn’t offer the courses he needed and Joseph had been forced to settle for Slater in Larissa. Still, he had spent some time on the island while dating a girl from Grimm and something about New Alexandria called to him.

What was her name?

The name seemed to escape Joseph, shrugging he decided it was best not to dwell on it, the relationship had ended for a reason and he had moved on. The road transitioned from well maintained pavement abruptly into rough gravel as Joseph felt the vehicle’s tires sink slightly as the softened mud sank under the weight of the vehicle. Climbing the hill to the Rhodes Lighthouse, Joseph was forced to reduce speed as the soft road threatened to give way, sending both him and the Durango spiralling down into the crashing pacific as the echo of the waves slapping against eroded stone could be heard over the rain. Tire tracks were all over the road indicating that more than just the victim had been out here recently. Finally coming to a stop in front of the abandoned lighthouse, Joseph noticed a black Bentley with its rear windshield smashed. Climbing out of the large SUV, Joseph pulled out a utility flashlight as he tried to illuminate the dim area.

“Paramedic!” He called, as he approached the car. Glass littered the backseat indicating the window had been smashed in while a ring of tire tracks surrounded the car. The driver’s side door hung open, but the occupant was gone. Walking over to the side of the car, Joseph couldn’t see any evidence of blood but the rain could have very well have washed it away.

“Who even called me?” He muttered as he slicked back his wet hair, pulling the bangs from his eyes.

“I did.” A feminine voice answered from inside the car. Shining the flashlight inside the car, Joseph looked around confused by the lack of a person.

“Who’s talking?” He asked continuing to shine the flashlight inside the car.

“I am.” A faint glow came from the car’s dashboard before suddenly the projection of an attractive young woman appeared in the passenger seat. “My name is Serenity, I work for Mr. Charles Michaels.”

“Nice…” Joseph took a step back. The whole situation was rather odd. “Nice to meet you Serenity. In the emergency call, you mentioned an older man who was injured, where would he be?”

“Charles is inside the lighthouse. He asked me not to call for any emergency services but that was a direct contradiction of my programming. Charles had programmed me to ensure the safety of my riders and to contact the appropriate emergency services in the event of an accident.” Serenity continued.

Half listening to the prattling A.I., Joseph turned his flashlight towards the lighthouse. The Rhodes Lighthouse had stood on the edge of Crescent City since World War II. Disguised as a lighthouse, it had been constructed for use as a watchtower after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the war it fell out of use, although rumors certainly circulated the abandoned tower. When Michaels’ Industries purchased it, many assumed they would be restoring it but no action had come from the company yet.

“How do I get in the lighthouse?” Joseph asked, turning back towards the car.

“You don’t.” Came a gruff reply as Joseph turned to see a man limping towards him, leaning heavily on a cane. His features were hidden behind unkempt hair and a scraggly beard, silver with streaks of black throughout, the man pushed past Joseph before scolding the car.

“I told you not to call for the emergency services. I can take care of myself.”

“Your heart can not handle that kind of strain.” Came Serenity’s reply as Joseph studied the man. His knuckles were bloody, so whatever had happened had obviously resulted in some kind of alteration, and it had been messy. A blood stain took up the majority of the man’s right thigh, Joseph noted until he realized that it wasn’t a stain but a wound.

“You’ve been shot.” Joseph exclaimed, swinging his bag around for use.

“It went clean through, it’ll be fine.” The older man said dismissively as he tried to close the door to the car only for Joseph to hang onto it.

“I need to treat that wound Sir.” Joseph argued back.

“I have a legal right to decline treatment.” Came the other male’s response as thunder boomed overhead, lightning illuminating the dark night sky.

“And you’d be an idiot to do it right now.” Joseph snapped right back. “Why won’t you let me help you?” Joseph said as he dropped his paramedic bag in frustration, the name on his jacket becoming visible to the other man for the first time.

“Thoreau?” The older man questioned. “As in D.A. Silas Thoreau?” He asked.

“The one and the same,” Joseph replied not bothering to hide his annoyance. “He’s my old man.”

Faking a wince, the older man suddenly moved to get out of the car. Allowing himself to stumble to the ground without making it apparent to the younger man, looking up, he forced a sheepish expression on to his face as he addressed Joseph.

“Well Mr. Thoreau, it looks like I may have let my stubbornness get the better of me. Perhaps you should take a look at my leg.”

[FantasyChic]

---

Priya Khurana

_{City Streets, The Spires, Lilith | 7:20 PM}

---

The drive to The Spires was almost uneventful, but people had a habit of driving like mad men whenever it was raining. Why was that? On an otherwise clear day, people drive normally, but water gets on the road and people panic. Priya thought about that as she listened to the music on the radio. Some catchy tune was playing. She didn't like it, but it got stuck in her head and she ended up singing along.

Finally, she got into The Spires. The feel of the place was...off. There was no one walking around. Even on a rainy day, there would still be people on the streets, walking home, going shopping, dining out. She drove casually, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything. Something didn't feel right. Her detective instincts were on high alert.

As she turned the corner, she saw two uniformed officers underneath an awning. She didn't recognize them, but there were a lot of officers in different sections and precincts. She pulled up to the side and got out. She could feel their eyes on her. Some cops didn't like others milling around on their turf, so it was to be expected. But she could feel the unease and the distrust.

"Evening gentlemen. Detective Priya Khurana. Got word of some trouble coming out of this area. Anything of note?" The two officers sized her up. She could see one of them grin a bit. Obviously, he didn't think she looked like a detective. Made things easier in her line of work, usually. "Fraid not, lady. Been a quiet night," one of the officers spoke. Priya stood firm, "That seems unusual in and of itself, don't you think? There's usually something going on. Drunken patrons at the bar, domestic disturbance, hell even a jaywalker. But nothing out of the ordinary?" The two officers stood at attention now. They did their best to look formidable. Their posture spoke as if to say "You're asking a lot of questions" and that made her even more on alert. "Nothing, Detective," though when he said detective, she detected the venom behind it, "Been real quiet. It's nice to have a quiet night, now and then, don't you think? Rest assured, we got it handled." Priya narrowed her eyes. These two were being real cheeky, but she had no proof of any wrongdoing. "All right officers. Thanks," she turned and made her way back to her car, but she stopped midway and turned back, "Oh, before I forget. We're taking up a fund for Martha's birthday gift. You remember Martha right? Dispatcher everyone loves? She's turning 60. You can donate it at headquarters." The officers nodded "Yeah, good ol' Martha. We'll come give when we're able to. Goodnight detective."

Priya made it back to her car and drove off. She turned the corner and parked her car again and made a call to Paul. "Priya, my lucky day." "No time for jokes, Paul. You were right. Something is not right over here. I need help figuring out what." Paul got quiet briefly "No kidding? I didn't think much of it. What makes you so sure?"

"Because Martha retired years ago and she was the biggest bitch I've ever met. Every officer knows that."

---

Her and Paul talked back and forth. Something was going on here. Something that made people not go outside.

"What places could you check out? If it's big, they would need a big place to do their business." Priya thought about it for a bit. "The hotel? It's big, could see them defending it while they did whatever it is they are doing in there. It's gotta be big, Paul. There's no one on the streets apart from the officers. And I use that term loosely. I don't think these men are cops."

Paul's tone dropped a bit, "Be careful Priya. If what you say is true, you could be going into somewhere dangerous. Let me call you back-up." Priya spoke up instantly, "No, Paul! If you do that, we could spook them all into hiding. People could get hurt. It seems like the police are here already and adding more may cause panic. Let me see if I can handle this. If you don't hear from me in 2 hours, then call for back-up. Thanks Paul." She hung up after that. The message was there. In 2 hours, she could be dead.

She did have back-up though. Her power. She didn't understand it much, but she put the pieces together. She was a Hyperhuman. They were interesting, to say the least. Targets to some, victims to others. She had a unique gift. Whenever she was in danger, she would adapt and grow a power to help her. She remembered when she first learnd of it. Some freak was trying to drown her and she was able to breathe underwater. It scared her, at first. But she adapted to the best of her ability. The power didn't stay, but she learned it happened whenever danger was around. No one knew of her power, except for her. She didn't want her job in jeapordy.

So at least she had that in her pocket. She drove quickly towards the hotel. Every instinct told her that's where she needed to be. She just wondered what she would find when she got there.

[Lord Wraith]

_{'Cause when you lie like, the devil himself, no angels gonna hear your…}

---

C R Y F O R H E L P
^{U P D A T E D}

---

Status: URGENT
Time of Day: Night
Weather: Rain

As the elevator opened to the penthouse floor, Antonio's radio crackled.

"Antonio." A voice said over the radio. "Uh boss, we may have a small problem."

"What is it?" Antonio responded.

"CCPD Detective poking around, Priya somethingmiddleeastern." Came the reply. "She asked us a couple questions, we answered them. Don't think she was convinced."

"Then shoot on sight and dispose of her quickly." Antonio stated coldly. "Use a silenced weapon if you got one, if not grab a pillow. There's enough panic on the street as is without weapons' fire." His expression soured as his eyes rolled at the incompetence of these men. Turning his attention back to the penthouse in front of him, Antonio nodded to the two guards standing outside as he approached.

"So what's this big surprise?" He asked, "Who exactly did we find in here?"

"Of all the gin joints." The gangster said with a smile. "Brucie, why don't we just show him."

"One of you had best show me before me I take it personally." Antonio answered, his hand on his gun as he pushed his blazer aside.

"Easy, easy." Bruce replied as he pushed the door open. "Dante del Fierro, fucking hookers and snorting coke in this fine establishment."

"The nerve of some people's children." Antonio mockingly chided as he looked around the room, Dante was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, a pair of red panties stuffed in his mouth while a silk tie was wrapped over his eyes. Handcuffs held him to the chair while the hookers sat terrified on the bed.

"Call the Russian and move Dante downstairs, Francesca will be so happy to hear what her boy has gotten into." Antonio said with a smile as he moved to leave the room. "Oh and good job boys," He said looking towards the girls. "Why don't you treat yourself to some fun."

Chuckling darkly, Antonio entered the elevator punching the button for the lobby. Despite the hiccup with the detective, this night could turn out positive yet.

[SgtEasy]

---

T A R I Q

_{New Lilith | The Spires}

---

The pitter patter of the rain intensified as Tariq drove, police communications and emergency calls cutting the silence every now and then. It was an eerie sight, a tall man dressed in black robes driving in silence, completely immobile aside from the few movements you would need to drive safely. Inside their mind however, it was a long range of conversations between two individuals, discussing the task at hand. They were on the outskirts of the Spire, the lack of traffic and people unnerving them. It was unusual, it should be hustle and bustle within a city, even with the pouring rain. 'You think this is another Mecca? It seems way too quiet Al.'

As Islam's holiest city and one of their most famous, many would think that the Saudi government would have intense security and law enforcement patrolling the streets. After all, even with the power eclipse that pushed the country to the brink of collapse, millions of Muslims still made their way to Mecca annually for the haji pilgrimage, a practice that most Muslims are required to do at least once in their lifetime. After the destruction of an Ottoman citadel, the Aiyad Fortress, to construct a mega skyscraper complex, there was much international outcry, particularly from the Turks. The Abraj Al-Bait was planned as a sign of Saudi Arabian progress in the light of their near-collapse, seven skyscraper hotels and apartments. It was to be a sign of the country's rise back into the first world, turning a once destitute country into a beautiful marvel that travellers around the world would love to visit. It was a part of King Abdulaziz's modernisation project for the city, a pearl amongst the sands.

It was never finished, having a predicted 15 billion dollar cost in construction. The demolished Ottoman heritage site ultimately led to nothing, all that was left were unfinished skeletons of planned skyscrapers. It became a squatter's paradise, containing one of the largest homeless populations in the world, most of them previous workers who were hired for the construction but subsequently fired for their effort. It was a multi-billion dollar disaster and hit the government hard, so funding was taken away from different departments to make up for the economic costs and debt. One of them was the law enforcement. The homeless paradise became criminal heaven, neither the military nor the underfunded police bothering to patrol such a lawless place.

As it was meters away from Islam's holiest sight, there was many people who sought to demolish the unfinished buildings but the government couldn't afford to. Unfortunately, some extremist Turks decided that the eyesore was both an affront to their heritage and to the Prophet Muhammad himself. They decided to take action themselves and purify the construction site by demolishing it, regardless of any casualties. When Tariq had tried to stop them, many of the squatters were hiding from the armed terrorists as they "discreetly" placed bombs around the foundation. It was unsettling, bustling populations of people stricken with fear, turning their communities into ghost towns.

Alien broke the silence with a grim tune. "Mecca is different, this is something intelligent. Planned. Unlike the unorganised rabble we encountered back then, this is organised." The Human huffed mentally, stamping down on any memories rising from that time. Past mistakes were unfortunate but should be out of mind during a mission. Mecca was a mistake of grand proportions and almost ended their career. Fortunately, they were still living and breathing, scars and trauma aside. As they drove further through the city, another call of significance was picked up and voiced through their radio. As it did so, they were halted by a pair of officers.

"-no one in the streets apart from the officers. And I use that term loosely. I don't think these men are cops." A voice of authority, feminine. A policewoman maybe? There seemed to be another investigator on site, probably someone who was sent by the real law enforcement. Not like the "police" who were reported by civilians and currently knocking on their window. "Sir!" One of them knocked, peering into the window while the one behind him tried to hide a grin. Unprofessional and slack were the first thoughts that came to mind. "Please lower your window sir, this is police business."

Tariq turned the radio off as the call ended, taking their holographic UI off with the headset. They opened the window, their head turned directly at the officers, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Instead, the dialogue became nervous rambling "Ah, officer. Nice day, is it not? I am looking for my aunt. Matilda." The Human face palmed, dragging his hand over his face. He knew that his partner could be a bit thick when it came to human dialogue, it was natural after all. He was an extraterrestrial, someone who's customs and culture were literally out of this world. But after two years, you would think that the ET would have learned how to speak normally but unfortunately, you would be wrong. He also knew that Alien was a horrible liar and was starting to regret letting him take over. Sure, his combat skills weren't as good and shots could go loose in his hands sometimes but at least he was better suited for an infiltration mission. The officer looked at them weirdly, nodding slowly with a skeptical look as the accompanying man took a phone call.

"Right. Matilda. Your aunt, you say? Look pal, I'm sorry but there has been a situation here and the Spires is off limits." The policeman then indicated around the place, pointing out the empty roads. "We've closed it down and we've been ordered to take any suspicious persons. I'm gonna have to ask you to step out of the car, we'll need to conduct a search on your vehicle." He crossed his arms and tried to look threatening but Duos had caught the small mischievous smile the policeman's partner had before it was quickly wiped away. Suspicious, definitely suspicious. 'Good job Al, we're going to get robbed and 'arrested' by crooked cops before we even get to investigate the calls.'

Tariq let out a small sigh, currently under the influence and control of the Alien. "الشرطة سخيف." They muttered under their breath before exiting out of the car with their hands on their head. They were slammed on the car roughly, the rain hiding the small grunt they made. 'I hope you have a plan Al, otherwise we are fu- Oh. OH! I like your thinking. Make it quick, we gotta get outta here.'

The policeman that was previously interrogating them made Tariq put their hands on the roof of the car in front of the driver's side, while the other cop hung up his current call and started to open the side door next to them. It happened instantly, quick and efficient just how they liked. Alien willed their body to spin right, trying to deliver a hard backhand to the "officer" behind him. He backed away in instinct but their body kept coming. They followed with two punches in the gut before grabbing the man's extended arms as he bent over. They placed their foot on the man's stomach before pulling hard, pulling his arms out of their sockets. A sickening crack was heard as the man fell screaming, his painful outcry masked by the intensifying rain. He fell to the ground, shouting curse words and obscenities unfit for a true law officer. Then again, they had just delivered a frighteningly painful injury to the man.

Tariq was suddenly brought out of their musings by a cry of anger behind them. They spun, turning to look at the other officer who had reared his arm. They ducked, letting the man swing and miss before rising quickly to deliver a punch of their own. They buried the fist into their opponents abdomen, feeling tensed muscle and hearing a small exertion of breath. Surprisingly, the young man stood strong and tried to grab them by the neck, rearing his head for a headbutt. Unfortunately for him, the otherwise vicious blow was quite ineffectual to the thick skull of an alien lifeforms, only serving to knock himself unconscious. They threw the pair back into their car, making sure that there was little evidence of them even being there.

As Duos entered the car, they quickly noticed a ringing cellphone in one of the officers pockets. They picked it up and let the person on the other line drop the call, unsure of whether a voice message would come or not. A thick foreign accent came through the speakers, screaming heard in the background "Juan? You finished dealing with the Muslim freak Boss told you to pop? Its fuckin' crazy here at the hotel man, these fuckin' hoes are some good A-class bitches. Finish up and come have some fuckin' fun." The message ended with a large whooping noise and a harsh laugh. The phone was thrown to the back as the car accelerated forward. Crime like this was commonly found in their line of work but it still made the Human sick every time he heard of it.

They speeded down the roads towards the hotel, rapidly looking back at the previous intercepted calls using the holographic UI over their right eye. Tariq looked at the last one and traced the original caller's number, owned by a certain Priya Khurana. Since the headset was relatively small, it was difficult to find more information on an intercepted caller aside from their phone's registered name. Throwing all caution to the wind, they sent a quick voice message to the woman, hoping that she would receive it before she arrived at their shared destination.

"Ms. Khurana? You are headed to a very dangerous place with a possible hostage situation forming. You are dealing with some organised criminals here, your suspicions were indeed correct. I have been tracking your calls ever since you stepped into the Spires. I do not have time so I will make this short. My name is Duos, I am here to help. Come to the street four blocks over from the hotel at the Fifth, I am in the black Ford. We will need to work together to keep these hostages alive." The Human told Al every word, making sure that the dialogue sounded as reasonable and clear as possible while also making it short. They avoided any patrol cars like a plague, any hint of them caused the duo to turn the other way immediately. It was through this constant zig zagging that they finally reached their destination, a street corner with many cars parked in front of a group of apartment buildings. They parked in front of one, hoping that none of the patrols had caught them in the act of parking. They turned the car engine off and formed plans in their combined heads, hoping that the woman would come soon.

The clock was ticking and the sudden weight of another hostage situation began to go down on them. 'Please let this be an easy one. Anything but Jeddah, anything but that...'

[Lord Wraith]

F L A S H B A C K:

---

^{A Night in April 1985 | New Lilith}

Anthony 'Tony' Cleaver was a large man, impressive in size to the point of intimidating nearly everyone he met. The result of the Dark Eclipse nearly twenty years ago, a young Tony had undergone virumosis turning him into one of the world's first Hyperhumans. This transformation had lent itself to his size and incredible strength. Thanks to his size and strength, Tony had found himself constantly in charge of others, people naturally had looked to him to lead and because of this he developed into something of a bully. Arrogant and cruel, it came to no one's surprise when Tony and his friends began to commit petty crimes. But it only grew from there, with more and more people claiming to be Tony's friends and following his lead. Thus, the Harbor Kings were born, one of Crescent City's many gangs but one not to be trifled with.

The blackout had forced Tony to accelerate his plans to rob New Lilith National Bank. While originally, he had an elaborate day time heist planned, with the power out he was finally able to add a personal touch. Climbing the stairs leading to the large doors, Tony grinned and cracked his knuckles, flexing his broad shoulders as his skin-tight wife beater struggled against the massive muscled chest. Coming to a stop as he reached the doors, Tony smiled as he reached forward and smashed his fists through the glass panels before wrapping his hands around the door frame and pulling them from their hinges.

"We're in boys!" He hollered as those with him cheered as they moved forward only for a figure to suddenly drop from the roof top.

"I'm afraid the bank is currently closed." The figure growled, "If you're looking to make a deposit, feel free to return during regular hours." Cracking his neck, a smile crossed the face of the masked figure. "Withdrawals however, feel free to go through me."

"As you wish, princess." Tony replied, reaching forward and grabbing the vigilante before tossing him like a ragdoll back towards the street.

J O S E P H T H O R E A U:

---

^{Friday, April 07, 2017 - 10:04 PM | Rhodes Lighthouse - New Alexandria}

The man’s sudden change in attitude didn’t go unnoticed by Joseph after the older man fell out of the car. Helping the older man to his feet, Joseph escorted him to the back of the Durango, opening the back of the rapid response vehicle.

“You’re okay if I cut these pants right?” Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk as the older man, rolled his eyes.

“No, I’ll have my butler stitch them up and wear the bloodstains as a trophy.” The older man replied dryly.

“Just checking.” Joseph replied with a slight smirk as he went to work. Sure enough the older man had been correct about the wound being a clean shot. The bullet had paced through without damaging any of the muscles or bones. The older man also appeared to know what he was doing, despite the stains on the pants from the blood, he had bandaged himself. The stains must have been from the conflict.

“So,” Joseph began. ”How about we start with your name? You know mine after all.”

“Correction, I know your surname.” The olderman replied. “The name’s Charles Michaels.” He said extending a hand as Joseph’s jaw dropped slightly.

“The Charles Michaels? Crown Prince of Crescent City, Software guru? Power industry magnate? Genius inventor?” Joseph asked incredulously.

“The one and only.” Charles replied as he concealed a small smirk beneath his stern features.. “And you are?”

“Joseph Thoreau, paramedic, nothing else really notable about me personally.” Joseph replied with a smile as he grabbed some fresh bandages. “So how exactly did you get shot?”

“New Alexandria is home to the Harbour Kings, apparently they decided to try and break into my lighthouse.” Charles stated, the lack of fear in his voice was unnerving. Any other citizen that Joseph had rescued from a gang incident was usually quite shaken, but Charles was acting like it was just another day in the life.

“Right, you own the lighthouse.” Joseph noted before asking another question. “So why not just have your security team look after it? Not many men your age rushing to fight gang members.”

“My age?” Charles asked with a raised eyebrow. “I believe certain jobs require a personal touch. Sometimes the risk is worth a few ill-advised actions.” Charles stated, the expression catching Joseph off guard as his mother had been the only person he had heard say it. Continuing to answer Joseph’s question, Charles concluded his statement with a final offhanded remark. “And I’m hardly too old to put a couple deadbeats in their place.”

“Vigilantism is illegal in Crescent City.”Joseph stated flatly if not reluctantly as he parroted a fact that had been beaten into his head every time his grandfather had regaled the stories of the Mavericks around Silas.

“Your father made sure of that.” Charles spat back, bitterness evident in his tone. “This city was a better place with a couple of vigilantes roaming its street.”

“Can’t say I disagree.” Joseph said as he finished applying the bandage. “My grandfather served with the force during the time of the Mavericks. Worked closely with IllAdvised, I grew up listening to stories of the Demon of New Lilith.”

“Fought like he had a devil in him.” Charles said in agreeance. Pushing off the back of the SUV, Charles leaned on his cane and began to walk towards his car again. “Thank you for your help Joseph.” He began only to be interrupted by the revving of an engine.

“Fuck you, ya old fucker!” Came an ‘intelligible’ taunt as members of the Kings appeared. Gun shots rang out through the air, Joseph’s fists clenching as he looked around at the gang members. Dismounting from their bikes, Joseph could see them reaching into their jackets for various weapons as they began to brandish chains, knives and knuckledusters.

“You have one chance to back away.” Charles answered as he straightened his back, dropping the blazer, beginning to roll up his sleeves.

“You can’t fight them all.” Joseph stated as he stepped forward.

“Y’all fuckers is dead.” Another member of the Kings yelled as he charged forward. Tucking his cane under his arm, Charles stood ready and at the last second turned, palm outstretched as he delivered a blow to the man’s chest. Time seemed to freeze for a moment before suddenly the gangbanger was thrown backwards, tumbling head over heels until he came to a rest in the mud.

“Charles! Your heart!” Joseph suddenly remembered the talking car as Serenity cried out. Some sort of alarm was going off inside the car as Charles suddenly grabbed at his chest, his cane dropping as he fell to his knees. Cheers rose from the gang surrounding the pair as Joseph locked eyes with each one of them, slowly pacing around Charles. Looking down at the cane and back at the gang, Joseph sized up the situation with a heavy sigh. Flipping the cane into his hands, Joseph let out a yell.

“Let’s get it over with then.”

[Hillan]

F L A S H B A C K:

---

^{A Night in April 1985 | New Lilith}

As the vigilante was sent through the air and onto the street. Another figure descended upon the steps of the bank, clad from head to toe in black leather. Much to the newcomer’s surprise, the other vigilante wasn't dead. Quickly climbing to his feet, the first vigilante made a move to give chase to Tony only for the newcomer to step in front of him and calmly put out his arm, blocking the first man’s path.

”You don't wanna go in there.” He stated. “Get yourself killed. Wait for the cops and let the pros handle this. ” He said, with genuine concern in his voice.

Finding himself caught by the other man, the first vigilante brushed the arm aside before commenting, his mouth twisted into a sarcastic smirk.

"Looks like you can call me ill-advised then." He snarked looking towards the gang bangers as they began to draw their weapons. "I can handle myself, I don't need a guardian angel. So unless you're planning on hitting the bank yourself, I'm going assume we're on the same side." Two batons fell into 'ill-advised's' hands as he spoke. "So, how about we kick some ass."

"Guardian Angel, huh? That's pretty fitting 'Ill-Advised'." The somewhat larger man said, as he cracked his knuckles. "Stand back." He said, the six glowing wings erupted from his back, momentarily illuminating the entire street.

"After you."

Motioning for the other vigilante to go first, the newcomer quickly followed as the pair entered the bank. Inside, a handful of thugs had scattered across the lobby, ransacking the building. In the middle however, was the hulk of a man from outside, impossible to mistake as anything but the group’s leader.

"Dibs on the big guy."

"Be my guest." IllAdvised replied. Focusing the Vis in his body as he had been trained to do, the Lotus tattoo on his chest burning slightly, the vigilante leaped into the air, far further than any human could ever have done. Using his momentum, he ran along the side of the nearby wall, avoiding gunfire as he flipped through the air, throwing one of the batons as it connected with a gangbanger's skull before bouncing back to IllAdvised. Landing, IllAdvised swept the legs from another member of the Kings, the gangbanger's head connecting with the hard marble floor, a sickening 'THUD' echoing through the lobby. Moving to his feet, IllAdvised threw another baton as he knocked a gun away before delivering a blow to the throat of its holder.

Angel grinned softly as he watched IllAdvised’s acrobatics. This wasn't some run off the mill vigilante, this was someone who actually knew what he was doing. However, Angel’s attention was needed elsewhere as Tony, the Behemoth, turned towards the leather clad hero, fire burning in his eyes as he spoke to Angel..

"You wanna take a swing at me?" He taunted, as Angel cracked his neck.

"Let's dance." Dashing off the ground, flying at him faster than the Behemoth could have predicted, Angel charged the larger man and tackling him before taking flight. With a flap of his wings, Angel carried both of himself and Tony several meters before hitting the floor hard. Sliding across the smooth marble, the pair came to a halt as they collided with the bank vault door. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Angel delivered three quick punches to Tony’s face, before hel was flung into the air as the thug swung his arm wildly. The leather clad vigilante bounced off the ceiling before he gravity pulled him downwards as he collided with the floor. Disorientated, Angel's bell had been rung, as he laid dazed. One thing had become clear however, the witness in the Carlos trial hadn't been hit by a truck - but by this Behemoth of a man.

[FantasyChic]

---

Priya Khurana

_{City Streets, The Spires, Lilith | 7:30 PM}

---

Priya drove through the streets, keeping careful to not draw unwanted attention. If her hunch was correct, she was in a dangerous zone. These "officers" would probably take care of her if they found out she was still here. She checked her rear-view to make sure she wasn't being tailed and, much to her delight, she wasn't. However, she would pass by the occasional cluster of cops who would watch her drive past. She tried to avoid them as best she could.

As she neared the hotel, she got a message on her phone. Weird, she thought to herself, I didn't hear my phone ring. She took out her phone and played the message.

"Ms. Khurana? You are headed to a very dangerous place with a possible hostage situation forming. You are dealing with some organized criminals here, your suspicions were indeed correct. I have been tracking your calls ever since you stepped into the Spires. I do not have time so I will make this short. My name is Duos, I am here to help. Come to the street four blocks over from the hotel at the Fifth, I am in the black Ford. We will need to work together to keep these hostages alive."

She turned off her phone and sat there. Some unknown person had been tracking her calls. Not only that, they confirmed what she feared. And the hotel was indeed the place. The only decision left was to see if she believed the man or not. By all accounts, this could be a trap. However, if there was indeed a hostage situation forming, she had to do her part to get them out alive. If this..Duos character could help, then she'd take it. She was flying solo and she didn't really want to.

She drove the remaining distance and came up to Fifth. She pulled her car up and looked for the Black Ford. Once in sight, she got out of the car, making sure to take her gun with her and stood next to her car, waiting for the next move.

[Lord Wraith]

F L A S H B A C K:

---

^{A Night in April 1985 | New Lilith}

"Thought you said you were the pro." Came a cry from above as IllAdvised suddenly appeared, a cloud of smoke suddenly emitting from a small pellet thrown from his hand.

"Or do you have back up coming?" The masked vigilante asked as he pulled down his face wrap to speak. The pair didn't have time to discuss strategy however as Tony rushed through the smoke cover. Blind fists swung as IllAdvised found himself spinning around to avoid the Hyperhuman blows before suddenly switching from defense to offense. Using the momentum of Tony's punch, IllAdvised directed the blow away from his body while using the Behemoth's arm as a direct route to the man's through. Sliding a baton under the larger man's chin, the vigilante wrapped a hand on either side of the man's thick neck and heaved as he tried to pulled the man down.

The attempt was futile however as a large hand reached back and plucked the vigilante from his back, slamming IllAdvised to the ground in front of him. Dust rose into the air as cracks ran through the marble upon the vigilante's deafening impact with the ground. Raising a fist, Tony launched another blow towards IllAdvised as the vigilante raised his hands to block the incoming attack. As the fist collided with outstretched hands, IllAdvised felt his arms almost immediately compress to his chest, but suddenly a new strength began to swell within them. Pushing back with all his might, IllAdvised managed to throw the Behemoth off him, sending the hulking man into the air as IllAdvised return Tony's favour from earlier.

"Ace."

"Bitchin'." Came Angel’s own single word reaction as he had watched IllAdvised’s surprising reversal against the hulking man. "Have to say, I'm kinda impressed." He added, cracking his neck before turning to see Tony crawling back onto his feet. With a growl, Tony started a crawling on all fours before breaking into a sprint as he charged the two vigilantes. With a flash of light, Angel’s wings appeared as the hulking man hurdled towards him. Moving forward, Angel broke into a run as he returned Tony’s charge and at the last possible second, moved into the air as he crashed into Tony and carried him across the bank before smashing him against the reinforced vault door.

A fist flew through the air, grazing Angel’s jacket as he dodged Tony’s wild throw. Moving in closer, the winged vigilante delivered four swift, but immensely powerful blows against the massive Hyperhuman. Arms crossed to protect himself, Tony fought against Angel's assault, throwing a knee at the vigilante. The desperate attack caught Angel square in the chest, sending the warrior sliding along the floor back towards IllAdvised, holding the point of impact.

"Y'know. He's really strong, but he doesn't actually know how to fight." Like a mad bull, Tony charged towards the two vigilantes again.

"I do." IllAdvised stated coolly as he broke into a run towards Tony, at the last second, IllAdvised feinted a leap only to drop to his knees, sliding through Tony's legs as he delivered two newly super-powered blows to the massive man's kneecaps. A sickening crack echoed through the lobby as the Behemoth howled in pain, dropping to his knees, bracing himself on all fours as he struggled to stand against the immense pain.

"Think he's had enough." Angel chimed in, as Tony was panting on the floor, one hand supporting his body while he was cursing rapidly, the other arm slamming repeatedly against the marble flooring.

"The cops are outside, I think it would be best to round up his gang and split." IllAdvised stated, the reflection of red and blue appeared on the marble floor as sirens could be heard outside. Suddenly a large roar echoed through the bank’s lobby as Tony tapped into his last reserves. Charging the pair of vigilantes, Tony caught IllAdvised with a wild arm, tossing the first vigilante aside before his hand found Angel’s throat. Smashing the winged vigilante against a nearby wall, Angel’s wings quickly found their way through Tony’s fingers. Glowing a bright orange, the wings suddenly became hot, searing Tony’s flesh as he cried out, releasing his grip. Seeing his opportunity, Angel reversed the hold, grabbing Tony by his throat before pushing off the wall, spinning around and carrying the gangbanger into the air.

The darkness of the blackout was broken only by flashes of red and blue as Angel and Tony exited the bank. Angel’s glowing wings caught the officers’ attention before the pair came crashing down, sliding across the pavement. Coming to a halt in the middle of the cruisers, Angel straddled Tony’s chest, delivering blow after blow to the mountain of a man’s face. Struggling to pull the vigilante off him, Tony’s arms went to reach for Angel only for the glowing wings to retaliate, pinning his limbs and searing his flesh. Delivering one last blow, Tony collapsed, the fight leaving him as he lost consciousness. Standing, Angel stepped off the Behemoth. Looking towards the officers who surrounded him, guns drawn, Angel coolly lowered his shades as red and blue reflected off the one-way glass.

"I think you can take it from here." A small smirk moved the corners of his mouth up, before he took off into the night like a shooting star. Watching from t the shadows, IllAdvised followed suit and made his exit. The sound of his grappling gun catching the attention of the police as they watched the second figure swing off into the darkness, flipping onto the nearby rooftops and running away into the night.

J O S E P H T H O R E A U:

---

^{Friday, April 07, 2017 - 10:16 PM | Rhodes Lighthouse - New Alexandria}

The odds were not in his favour.

Joseph gripped the cane tightly as he looked around at the various members of the Harbor Kings that had surrounded Charles and himself. There had to be at least ten of them, not exactly a number a mere mortal could fend off. If he had Hyperhuman powers sure, ten might be fair. But Joseph wasn’t exactly bursting with power.

A group of about four of the Kings rushed forward. A loud revving echoed out suddenly as Joseph was splattered with mud by the Bentley suddenly reversing into the gang members. Their bodies rag dolled into the dirt as they fell like dominos to the black car.

“You do that?” Joseph asked incredulously to Charles before realizing there was no way a man in his condition was controlling the car. “Wait, there’s a damn A.I. in that thing!?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could make use of the opening I’ve provided you, Joseph.”

“Y-yeah, sure thing.” Joseph stammered as he shook his head in disbelief. “I’m taking orders from a damn car.” He added under his breath. Lifting Charles onto his shoulders, Joseph began to beeline towards the car only for gunfire to ring out. An audible ‘POP’ could be heard as one of the tires began to deflate as the shots ceased, no doubt for the shooter to reload.

“I’m so glad none of these punks know what they’re doing with a weapon.” Joseph stated as he took cover behind the Bentley.

“It would appear my ability to escape has been compromised.” Serenity’s voice was becoming something of an annoyance to Joseph at this point.

“Yeah thanks, Tips.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t seem like a helpful tactic at this time, Joseph.” The A.I. retorted as Joseph let out a small snort at the ludicrousness of the statement.

“I’m out of fuckin’ ammo!”

Joseph felt a small sigh of relief upon hearing the frustrated words of the gangster.

“I told you not to waste it on skeet!” Came another angry voice. The two continued to bicker leaving four assailants coming towards Joseph and Charles. With the car out of commission, that left the Durango as the choice escape vehicle. Hauling Charles onto his back again, Joseph began to sprint towards the other vehicle, using his shoulder to push through two of the assailants. As he pushed them out of the way, Joseph let out a gasp as something dragged through his side. The familiar warm trickle of blood began to run down his side as he continued forward before stumbling and taking a knee.

Rolling Charles under the SUV, Joseph quickly turned to raise his arms as three of the Kings descended upon him. Protecting his head at all costs, Joseph kicked out with his legs as he managed to trip up one of his assailants. Rolling on top of the fallen King, Joseph used his momentum to carry the man over, using him as a shield as another of the Kings stabbed their fallen comrade. Pushing the wounded man forward, the stabber tripped on the body as Joseph rolled backwards before standing up.

Unable to react fast enough, the last assailant landed a blow to Joseph’s side. Wincing, Joseph weakly swung a right hook as it connected. A pulse went out from his hand as the other man suddenly went as stiff as a board, as though his nervous system had been neutralized. Dropping to the ground, Joseph looked around for Charles noting that the older man was no longer under the SUV.

“Serenity?” Joseph called out as he held a hand to his side. “Where is he?”

“Get over here.” The gruff voice called as Joseph spun around to see Charles standing beside the lighthouse, leaning heavily on the wall.

“It’s boarded u-” Joseph began as Charles placed a hand on the wall.

“Access code, iota-alpha-zero-zero-one.” With a hiss, the sealed wall opened as Charles hobbled inside, Joseph quickly following on his heels.

“What about the cars?” Joseph asked.

“Kings won’t take them, not their M.O.” Charles stated, a smirk appearing in the corners of his ragged beard. “Besides, they’re about to leave.” He added.

“Destiny, active defensive measures.” Charles croaked as he suddenly grabbed at his chest again.

“Defensive measures activated. Deployed security drones.”

Joseph looked around as the now illuminated room. Spiral staircases lead both up and down the lighthouse. Furniture filled the center of the room, covered, having not seen use in years as an old television sat in the middle of a semi-circle. An aged Nintendo laid on the floor, controllers still connected. Buzzing could be heard from above as the drones deployed out into the area around the lighthouse. A display screen suddenly came to life as Joseph turned to watch. The drones began to disperse a chemical into the air leading to the Kings covering their faces, screaming as they ran from the area. A haunting moan could be heard coming from the drones as fog was vented into the air to continue the legend of the lighthouse.

“What is this place?” Joseph asked, clearly in awe as Charles collapsed into a chair.

“A safe house.” He answered, slurring as his eyelids began to close.

“Charles needs medical attention. Serenity has informed me that you are a Paramedic. There is a medical room in the lower level. Please take Charles there.” Destiny requested as it dawned on Joseph this was a second A.I.

“Right, medical attention.” Joseph said as he gently lifted Charles and moved towards an elevator that appeared. “Who paid for all of this?”

“Charles did.” Came the answer as the elevator began to descend. Looking down, Joseph’s eyes widened. The lower level was even larger. As the elevator came to a halt, Joseph was shocked by the size of the bunker beneath the lighthouse. A vehicle bay led to a tunnel on the far end of the bunker while a small staircase led to what looked like a massive computer. Lockers lined one wall while a display case held what looked like various armored suits. Moving to the medical bay, Joseph placed Charles on one of the beds before scrambling through the cupboards for what he needed.

“This is what you need to do.” Destiny’s voice caused Joseph to turn around as he came face to face with a holographic projection.

“Charles suffers from a unique condition that causes stress on his heart.” She explained before pointing to a cupboard to Joseph’s right. “The necessary medication is in there.”

Opening the cupboard, Joseph found the medication in question. Administering the dosage, he paced back and forth until he saw the pained expression leave the older man’s face. Relief washed over Joseph as he sunk into a nearby chair, pushing his soaked hair from his face as he did. His side began to burn as Joseph suddenly remembered his own wounds. Peeling off his coat and shirt, Joseph rummaged around the room, finding clean bandages to dress his own wound. Wincing as he cleaned the cut, Joseph thanked his lucky stars the wound hadn't been deeper as he sat on the edge of a bed and applied the bandage.

Taking a deep breath, Joseph stood up, leaving the medical room to explore the bunker as his curiosity got the better of him. Walking over to the locker area, Joseph approached a display case as he felt his heart began to beat faster. Emblazoned on the chest of the long coat was a red ‘IA’. Beside it, another outfit with a belt buckle bearing the same insignia. Joseph could barely contain the amazement and excitement he felt as his brain began to register exactly what he was standing in. Turning back to the display case, Joseph put his hand to the glass as a single word left his mouth.

“IllAdvised.”

[SgtEasy]

---

T A R I Q

_{New Lilith | Near the Spires Hotel}

---

Tariq checked their P320's clip, making sure that the yellow explosive rounds were loaded in. First impressions were important and although they would miss the precision that came from the other types of ammunition, this would be the most distracting. They would have to avoid actually killing anyone with them however. If they went around killing criminals left, right and centre, they would be fighting the police more than they would the criminals. That was something they wanted to avoid, after all there always comes a point in a vigilante's life that they'd need police assistance. It was better to be seen in a great light with dark shadows rather than entering the crime scene with blood on your hands. Slamming the clip back into their weapon, they made sure that their lethal and rubber bullet clips were separated but close by. It didn't hurt to have them and having them in case the situation called was always useful. He heard the sound of tires a hundred meters away and he stilled, looking up slowly equipped with his gun.

Thankfully, it wasn't police car and seemed to belong to the person they were waiting for. The Duos grabbed their long staff and clamped it to their back, breathing in slowly. Deep breaths, they thought, they would need to speak clearly for this one. It was obvious by the way she held her weapon that she was doubtful about them. Doing another mental check in their head, the Human encouraged Alien to move their body 'Okay ET, let's do this. Follow what I say.' They opened the door with their pistol in the air, hoping that the detective would take it as a sign of peace.

They knew how imposing their body could be. Dressed entirely in black, looking like some sort of Egyptian tomb raider, with only their eyes showing. And even that was slightly covered by a deep red holographic interface, information constantly scrolling down it. Tariq kept their pistol in the air in a non-hostile manner, trying to slump down a little to look a little shorter. They made sure to clear their throat, hoping to create a much lighter and softer voice than the one they used on the fake police. They raised both their hands in the air after closing the door behind them, tilting their head with curiosity. This Priya Khurana seemed intelligent and ready. Dangerous almost. They felt uneasy around her, feeling like she was hiding something. Human pointed out the irony in that sentence as they were literally covered head-to toe in clothing but Alien ignored it.

The first thing the detective would notice was the weapons. The long metal staff and the pistol in Tariq's right hand. She would notice how the water seemed to flow off their clothing, not soaking into the waterproof material. But the most prominent feature that she would point out was their bright eyes. It seemed to glow even in the cloudy daylight, a light green pair of eyes that stared curiously at her. They spoke first, holding their unarmed hand in front of them with a calming gesture.

"I am not here to hurt you, please stow away your weapon ma'am and I shall also unarm myself." Alien willed their body to place the pistol into it's holster, making sure that the movement was clear and slow. He then placed their hand on their chest "As I said, Ms. Khurana, I am Duos. I have dealt with two of these so-called officers, they lay unconscious in my car for your arrest. I would presume that their hostages are kept in the hotel, the evidence is recorded if you need it. There would be several patrols in between us and the hotel, as well as guards on the main floor blocking any access upwards to the penthouse, where the hostages are kept."

They paused, letting it sink in before continuing "I plan to use a distraction tactic. I shall distract and try to draw away as many pretenders from the hotel as possible. There will be several small explosions and you will take that as a cue. I will keep as many guards off of your back as possible and you can sneak through any backdoor or side doors that you can find. You will find that the guards that previously occupied those positions would be directed to me, a more obvious threat. The hostages are kept in the penthouse floor, several women. I am led to believe that they are being sexually assaulted however I doubt that a mere want of pleasure is the reason for all of this. There may be a person of interest up there. Once I shake the pretenders off my tail, I will circle around and come back through the backdoor and meet up with you. If I am not back by twenty minutes, assume that I am chased away or dead. If you have another plan, I am up to suggestions however we are out of time. A front-door assault could be done but may be impossible with only the two of us."

Of course, they didn't know about Priya's power, they assumed that she was a simple detective who got into deeper shit than she should have. They assumed that she was weak, a simple mundane human. They were mistaken.