WELCOME BACK, I plan poorly and don't ever note where the quest is on the board. I'll be using the last post of the prior thread as the first post of this thread so people can continue voting if they haven't already. I already have the votes from the prior thread saved and tallied but if you want to re-vote, please feel free as long as you let me know you voted once already. ===="That smell..." You begin. "You didn't bring... please tell me my apartment is demon free.""Don't be a drama queen, course it is." He laughs as he sits up. "Honestly, a loyal friend brings you an apology gift and you can't even untwist your knickers long enough to say thank you.""Thank you for what? The smell?" You grumble to yourself as you head for the window. "Question would at least keep it scent-free... God, I actually miss the normal break-ins.""Come off it." John throws out."What'd you expect me to say? 'Oh. Hey. I was hoping to hear how the rest of your night went at Arkham.' something like that?""I'm chuffed you asked!" He barks, tossing the gift box to you. "It was actually a real pain in the bollocks, thanks for asking.""A pain? You had Batman and you're supposed to be this big shot magician right?""Unfortunately for me, being hijacked and used as a Tulpa's johnny takes it out of a guy. I had to lug him out of there before it had a chance to affix itself to him again.""And you didn't use a spell to just... float him or something?" You reply, picking at the tight knot of the ribbon. "You really don't have something like that?""First off, don't talk about my magic until you've looked in that box. Secondly, shutting down not one but TWO Tulpa's leaves a bloke a bit drained. So forgive me for not living up to your Magi stereotypes.""Whatever." You reply. "After you forced me into a corner and got me to agree to a coma, I don't really think much of 'mages' anyway."You pull the last loop and the knot falls apart, the ribbon hanging loosely around the box, you hear a metallic scrape and glance up to see John holding his zippo, loose cigarette dangling from his mouth. You narrow your eyes and he sneers."You opened the window, mate. I assumed..." He trails off as he watches you frown. "Well if you opened gifts faster than my granny maybe I wouldn't need a smoke. Not to mention all the hostility you have for a bloke who saved your life."
"You put me in a coma instead of siccing a monster on me." You reply as you pull the snug lid off slowly. "That hardly counts as... saving... my...."The lips around the cigarette turn upwards as John raises an eyebrow."Maybe that covers it then?" He asks, striking the wheel and lighting the edge of his Silk Cut.In your hands, nestled in a nest of red and yellow streamers, lies a wet lump. Pale pink flesh crisscrossed with tiny black veins. A disgusting sheen still shows on it as the light makes it glisten like defrosting meat. You toss the box out of instinct and watch as the lump, about the size of a golf ball, squelches on your floor. You look up at John in horror and see him wiggling his fingers."Ta-da. How's my magic now, ya git?">Punch John in the face.>Hug John. (3)>"What the fuck. What did you do? WHEN did you do this?" (3)>"How the hell is that possible? You told me that your magic couldn't get the tumor.">"What's the catch? I know there's a catch with this shit." (1)>Write-In====Numbers next to the votes are the votes I have from previous thread, like I said, feel free to re-cast your vote if you want. Just make it known it's a vote that was already cast, I trust you.PREVIOUS THREADS: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Gotham%20City%20Beat%20Cop%20QuestCURRENT POWER LIST: Check the Spoiler.As always, thanks for following along with the story for this long. Looking forward to the next bits we are getting into, if you have any questions for me feel free to ask. See you soon.
>>6265432>"What the fuck. What did you do? WHEN did you do this?">Hug John.Well holy fuck.
>>6265432I was >>6265004 in the last thread, so I stay by my previous vote.Also, thank God there's a grace period for archiving a thread after it falls off the board.>https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6230473/
SCHEDULE SHIFT:Just got word that after this week my schedule will be shifting at work and this will, in turn, effect the quest. The days off I took before were Friday evenings, Saturday evenings, and then posting on Sunday night. This will just be bumped forward a single day. So our date to return will actually be Monday night with me taking off after Friday Night. Pretty simple I hope, I'm gonna go ahead and let tonight's update pass so people can find the thread again (I also saw some discussion about Mark's tumor and medical magic, very fun) and then update Friday night just to put myself on this new schedule. Essentially: No update tonight, the quest schedule is a single day ahead, and I enjoyed seeing you guys react to Constantine's idea of a gift. See you soon.>Question to pass the time: If Mark decided to join a special unit/group within the Department, which do you think he'd join? And don't say detective, that's the easy answer.
>>6265536>If Mark decided to join a special unit/group within the Department, which do you think he'd join?CSI for sure. There's very little he'd miss in the way of crucial evidence, not to mention any visions he might have in a crime scene are still admissible in court.Hell, I think he might make everybody else in the unit jealous with how good he is at the job.
>>6265536CSI or Special Victims Unit.His skill and natural empathy will serve him well there. Though SVU will burn him out quicker than other officers and will likely need to be rotated out for spells.
>>6265536Internal Affairs
>>6265432>>"What the fuck. What did you do? WHEN did you do this?" (3)>>"How the hell is that possible? You told me that your magic couldn't get the tumor."dude you dont just box a tumor like that
>>6265536CSI or Internal Affairs would be best, but the former plays better with our general affinity for the city and its people.
>>6265432>Hug John.>"What's the catch? I know there's a catch with this shit."Hug him, make him suffer. He's earned it.>>6265536CSI or Internal, CSI is my bias as I watched too much CSI in the past.
>>6265536>>Question to pass the time: If Mark decided to join a special unit/group within the Department, which do you think he'd join?Anything to do with places/people. So CSI, maaybe internal. It could be that as he grows in "fame", people in department all across the city will ask for his special touch on occasion. To help with the confusing piece of evidence on the important case, to read a particulary stubborn criminal who gives nothing during interrogation.Unrelated thought, but as Mark's abilities become more widely known/notorious, there's absolutely gonna be an assasination plot. Kill the mind reader before he can get his hands on a very important witness or even a very important place.
>>6265729The real danger will be when a big time schemer like Ra's or Talia decides to make a play for him.
>>6265769Well, thankfully his rep right now is "has very informative hinches" and not "can literally see your face and hear your voice through the memories of a dead man"
>>6265536SOD or Bomb Disposal.As much as I'd love SWAT, he doesn't strike me as the type, and CSI is too low hanging of a choice.
>>6265439>>6265670>>6265708You stare at the mound resting on your floor for a couple more seconds. Then you move forward quickly and throw your arms out, dispelling the cloud of cigarette smoke, as you throw them around him."Oop-" He grunts. "Alright, a thank you would suffice.""Holy shit." You mumble."Alright, enough. Really." He squirms beneath you until you let him go and he straightens his trench coat. "Officer Bleeding Heart, getting mushy all over me good jacket.""What the fuck. What did you do? WHEN did you do this?""Left to do it last night, figured it would be good to knick it from you while you were sleeping. Just in case.""In case what?""Ah." He grunts, lazily blowing smoke. "The important thing is here you are, lump free, my debt paid in full."He goes to stand and you put a hand on his shoulder."Nah." You tut. "You need to explain. I need to know the catch. And before you open your mouth, I know there's a catch with this shit. Always is."John groans and rolls his eyes."Nobody can be happy anymore. It's always about the bloody fine print with you people.""John." You state firmly. "I need to know, I mean how can I even trust you got the right parts?""Christ on ice, fine!" John says, plucking the cigarette from his mouth. "This isn't my first time being a magic doctor, y'know? And I wasn't using any of that hoodoo shite Papa Midnite does either. I went to someone I know can handle this.""You have a 'tumor guy'?""Tumor. Cancer. It's all the same when it kills ya." He taps his ash and you watch as it falls and then vanishes into thin air. "Bottom line is there was no fuck up. Alright?""How can I trust that though?""For crying out- Because I sold my soul for it!" He flicks his cigarette angrily. "I waltzed down into hell, got Azrael to pull it out of you, and then spent the rest of today trudging back up. No faff and no extras. It was a clean deal.""Wh...what? Like a demon? You let a..." You stumble over your words."Relax. You gave nothing up in the deal, even if I offered I doubt he'd have been interested. No. Your catholic virgin soul is still white as the driven snow, for now." He taps out another cigarette roughly and rises from the chair. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've actually got two other appointments waiting for me.""A demon. A demon took out my tumor." You mumble putting your hand on your head. Your own swirling and conflicting thoughts are brushed aside as John offers a hand."I always pay back my debts. This clears us. Let's shake on it and if you're lucky we'll never see each other again.">Shake His Hand>Leave Him Hanging>Anything to say to John? (Write-In)
>>6266118>Shake His Hand>"Look, I know I've given you a lot of shit, but you delivered and then some so...thanks.">"I do have one more favor to ask though. Can I get your contact info? Ya know, in case I need an expert opinion on the supernatural in the future."
>>6266118this>>6266122John while not getting fucked over by the life he lives is a good personhe's just such an ass tho
>>6266122Oh God no. No, we do not want to ever be in the position of having to call in Constantine.
>>6266133True, but do you want to be in that position and NOT have a way to reach him?He's the only Warlock we know after all.
>>6266118>Shake His Hand>Pour a shot of Amaretto for the both of youNo need for asking his contact information, we still have his card we can burn.
>>6266118>Shake His Hand>"Look, I know I've given you a lot of shit, but you delivered and then some so...thanks."No contant info. He's right, if we're lucky we'll never see each other again.
>>6266158Oh, shit, right.>>6266122Forget the part asking for his contact info. We have the card that I completely forgot about.
>>6266118>Shake his hand>"Because I sold my soul for it!" John, you selling your soul doesn't mean jack. At this point half the hell had it at one point or another, knowing him it's the third time this week he's done it.Zatanna speaks backwards, John sells his soul.
>>6266158+1
>>6266118>"Nobody can be happy anymore. It's always about the bloody fine print with you people."AND WHO MADE IT THIS WAY, HUH?
>>6266122>>6266131>>6266158>>6266161>>6266178>>6266183>>6266174You grasp his hand firmly."Y'know, John. I've given you a lot of shit, but you delivered and then some so... thanks."John seems almost surprised for a moment before his usual smirk reaffixes itself. He shakes your hand and nods."I thought it was just Gotham that made the Bat a real bastard. But I see now that's a him problem.""Before you go." You trail off, releasing his hand. You move to the freezer and withdraw a squared bottle with that familiar amber liquid rocking inside it. You hold it up to John as the bottle let's off small wisps of cold."One for the road? Least I can give a guy who's heading to hell.""I've been to worse places." John murmurs as he watches you pull and fill some shot glasses."Salute." You say, lifting a shot glass."Slainte." Clink.The sweet liquor coats your mouth, the cold giving it a thick and syrup-like texture. You close your eyes and sigh contentedly. The weight of many restless nights taken off your shoulders. A smile starts to form and you open your eyes only to find yourself looking at an empty shot glass with a dusty yellow thumbprint on it. Just underneath of it you see a familiar card tucked beneath it. The Magician. You sigh again and smile, real classy. After you manage to nudge your tumor back into a box and wipe up all the sulfur sprinkled around you decide to get an early night. ====The night passes quietly, for the first time in the past couple months you fall asleep quickly. The rest is deep and thankfully blank of any intrusions. You wake up feeling most of the ache of yesterday resting firmly in your calves. But it's nothing a hot shower and a hotter cup of coffee can't solve. As you shift into your car your phone buzzes with a text from Allison:"Hey! Was wondering if you'd be interested coming by the Firehouse in the afternoon? We're doing a soup kitchen and need volunteers, if you can convince any of your buddies in blue you should. <3"You smile and tap out a response.>"I'm sure I could convince Hawthorne, he's a softie under it all.">"Kimble might be interested, he's big on that sort of thing.">"I'll bring Grey, he's been working pretty hard. Could use the break.">"I think it'd be fine if it was just us two, I've been feeling a bit crowded since I woke up.">Write-In
>>6266682>"I'm sure I could convince Hawthorne, he's a softie under it all."
>>6266726+1
>>6266682>"I'm sure I could convince Hawthorne, he's a softie under it all.">"Kimble might be interested, he's big on that sort of thing."No one says no to Mark’s puppy dog eyes.
>>6266682>>"I'll bring Grey, he's been working pretty hard. Could use the break."We haven't really talked to him much lately. Let's change that.
>>6266682>Invite them all, bring whoever's feeling itthough if I had to pick one>"Kimble might be interested, he's big on that sort of thing."As thanks for helping us out and teaching us to ride a bike.
>>6266738Changing my vote to>>6266771+1No one says no to Mark’s puppy dog eyes.
>>6266771>>6267414>>6266726>>6266731"I'll ask the whole gang, bound to be a few of em who say yes. Especially Hawthorne, he's a big softie under it all." You type out swiftly. "I'll believe it when I see it!" She replies.You smile and tuck the phone away as you head in...====You walk through the bullpen before getting changed, no better time to catch people than first thing when the shift starts, within minutes you catch Kimble with a bagel in hand."Yo, Marky Mark." He says with cream cheese smeared on his face. "How're the legs feeling?""Been better." You repeat, feeling a strange sense of Deja Vu. "You busy after work today?""Hm?" He asks immediately with a harsh swallow before following it with a sudden. "Nah. No.""You good?" You ask."Why're you asking? Something going on?" He breezes right past your furrowed brows."Allison is helping at a soup kitchen that her fire house is running tonight. I wanted to know if you'd be interested lending a hand."Kimble raps his fingers across the golden dough in a display of antsy energy you usually don't see from him."Seriously, are you okay?" You ask a bit more earnestly this time."Hey hey relax." He says hurriedly as he steps closer to you. "Look I uh... I'd like to but y'know..." You raise a brow as he trails off. His shoulders slump and Kimble leans in even closer."Alright look don't tell anyone or she'll get all pissed about it. But Mendez and I...""I figured.""You figured!?""I wouldn't call either of you subtle. She didn't even wait for me to fully leave the garage before she went after you.""Look it's not... I know you shouldn't shit where you eat and all-""Dude, it's fine. Your business, I learned my lesson about poking my nose into that stuff when Banks' Ex broke into my place. I just wanted to bring as many helping hands as I could.""Make yourself look good for your lady too, smart man." He relaxes visibly and leans back for another bite. "I'll run it by her then, see what she thinks. We were just gonna go to a bar and catch a game so not like it was a big event.""Just let me know." You reply.Kimble bids you farewell with a fist bump and a reminder about your training on the back half of the shift. You step away and prowl the halls looking for your next target, making your way to his usual grounds you're surprised to see a two for one waiting for you. Grey and Hawthorne stand on opposite sides of the coffee pot, steaming cup in hand, as they chuckle with each other over something Hawthorne shows on his phone."Morning, slick." Hawthorne croaks before taking a molten sip. "Was just showin Grey here a picture of my boy. According to him, he looks just like I did in my twenties.""It's uncanny." Grey affirms with a laugh. "Brings back a lot of memories, I just hope he makes better decisions than you.""He took after his mother there, pal." Hawthorne replies, the smile on his face sitting almost naturally.
"It's hard to imagine a younger Hawthorne." You interject."It's usually hard to imagine a fossil with all the skin and muscle it used to have." Grey adds in."Fuck yourself." Hawthorne replies steadily without even looking his direction. "So Rook, you come find me just to set Grey up for that?""No, sir. Actually wanted to ask both of you guys, Allison's firehouse is doing a soup kitchen. Figured I could round up a few helping hands from the station."Hawthorne grumbles but Grey smiles warmly."That sounds good, Mark. I'll be there." Grey replies. "If you ask me more cops should be doing this kind of thing.""For free?" Hawthorne grunts. "Where's it gonna be?""Allison didn't mention actual-""It's gonna be near the Narrows." Grey says matter-of-factly. "And you know that, Mitch. Which is why I know you're gonna help out.""For free?" Hawthorne repeats."We didn't pay." Grey says simply."I'll buy you a beer." You offer.Hawthorne looks between you both and settles back into that smile."A beer'll buy me for an afternoon." He acquiesces. "Just send me the info.""Great, Kimble might be coming too." You say this as you check your phone. Nearly 9. "Gotta go get into my blues, we can talk more later. I... might have some surprising news for you guys.""Looking forward to it." Grey says, patting you on the back. Hawthorne just grunts his typical goodbye.====A quick jog to the locker room and even walking in you hear a familiar mumbling."Fuck..." It hisses. "Son of a... please."You round the corner to find Banks, show in his lap, desperately picking at a tight knot that sits at the base of two long weathered shoestrings. You smirk a little as you see him rotate it and attack from a new angle. You clear your throat gently and Banks looks up in surprise before letting loose a breath. "Christ, Mark. You walk like a cat, you know that?""I'm not the one playing with string." You reply, dialing in the code for your own locker. "You got that under control?""Yeah... just using my bad hand for it. Trying to get used to some of the little work."
"Bad hand?""Ah. Yeah, I didn't really mention it to anyone since there was nothing to do about it but; ever since Firebug I got this numbness in the tips of my fingers down there. Doctors think it might be nerve damage but they can't confirm shit.""It's good you're trying to make it work, I'm kinda doing the same thing getting myself back up to speed after my nap. No trouble tying my shoes though, got that down in Kindergarten.""Yeah I bet you were in AP classes too, you little show-" He cuts off his own sentence as you watch a lace free itself from the wadded knot. "Fucking finally."He slips the boot on and begins to tie up."Speaking of tying knots though, you give any thought to my Bachelor Party?"You freeze. With the insanity of the past few days you've completely forgotten.>"I was thinking... Blue Brass. Poker and drinks with some of the guys. Spend the night shooting the shit.">"There's a nice spot outside the city where I used to go with my grandpa and Pops. How about some camping? Get away from the city for a bit and enjoy some quiet?">"My dad was friends with the guy who ran Gotham Lanes, up near Otisburg, anytime I had a thing he could get us in on a day they were usually closed and we'd bowl for hours. You into bowling?">"Uh absolutely. It's just... a secret. Not like a 'throw a bag on your head and go to Vegas' secret but... yeah.">"Being real with you? No. Ever since I woke up it's like more and more is landing on my plate.">"The usual order is strip clubs and bar hopping right? Get it all out of your system.">Write-In
>>6268266>"The usual order is strip clubs and bar hopping right? Get it all out of your system."I know with my luck something bad is gonna happen, but the other stuff is too mundane or too personal for a bachelor party and I don't have any other ideas.
>>6268266>"My dad was friends with the guy who ran Gotham Lanes, up near Otisburg, anytime I had a thing he could get us in on a day they were usually closed and we'd bowl for hours. You into bowling?">"Being real with you? No. Ever since I woke up it's like more and more is landing on my plate."
>>6268267She's gonna show up at the fucking strip club, bet.
>>6268266>"There's a nice spot outside the city where I used to go with my grandpa and Pops. How about some camping? Get away from the city for a bit and enjoy some quiet?">"Being real with you? No. Ever since I woke up it's like more and more is landing on my plate.">"Part of it's good though. Going into a coma actually benefited me in a way I didn't expect."
>>6268392+1
>>6268266>"My dad was friends with the guy who ran Gotham Lanes, up near Otisburg, anytime I had a thing he could get us in on a day they were usually closed and we'd bowl for hours. You into bowling?">>6268392I do worry that bringing up that our injuries benefitted us while his keep causing him new problems could come off badly... Remember, this guy is a potential Two-Face, too.
>>6268266>"There's a nice spot outside the city where I used to go with my grandpa and Pops. How about some camping? Get away from the city for a bit and enjoy some quiet?"Lets get /out/.
I wonder if having surgery done on you by a demon counts as a sin
>>6268589Do note that demons are only allowed to employ such devilry as The Lord Our God allows on this Earth (or at least that's what the Witchfinder General tells me). Anyways, the headache Mark is going to suffer when he steps on consecrated ground after being touched by a demon is punishment enough for something he wasn't aware of nor consented to.
>>6268589We probably ought to go to confessional sometime, yeah. Play it safe, you know?
>>6268624>"Father, what if the devil ripped out a tumor?">"Did you... ask him to?">"No.">"Oh you're fine then. Say four hail marys and enjoy the rest of your day."
>>6268689we can also confess our guilt for Caesar's dad's death...
>>6268689>"If I said a self depreciating English warlock from Birmingham did it as thanks for helping him and Batman get out of Arkham Asylum, does that increase the amount of hail marys I should do?"
>>6268697kek
>>6268697>"BIRMINGHAM?! GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL CHILD!"
Oh god. A thought occurred to me…Does the GCFD have their own version of Gotti?Also also, if we wore the Gotti suit and tried to use that Psychometry power I suggested back in the previous thread on it, what would be the different levels of success we would have to roll to learn about, say, different strains of marijuana, indoor hydroponics, and how to operate and aim an M79 grenade launcher?
>>6268268>>6268392>>6268410>>6268552"Huh? The party. Of course I've..." You trail off as Banks raises a brow. "Being real with you? No. Ever since I woke up it's like more and more is landing on my plate.""Being in a coma'll do that to you." Banks replies, but you can see him deflate slightly."But I do have AN idea.""Hit me." Banks replies, perking up slightly."Well, there's a nice spot outside the city where I used to go with my grandpa and Pops. How about some camping? Get away from the city for a bit and enjoy some quiet?""Camping? I haven't done anything like for..." He furrows his brow and shrugs. "Can't even remember.""Think about it. When you get out there and all the bits of the city just fall away, it's pretty great. Not to mention I'd make sure we were stocked with plenty to eat and drink.""Hm. Some time out of town might be perfect actually. The wedding, work, all this shit is just starting to make my head feel a bit... loud." He chuckles but you feel something off beneath it."Then we'll make plans. Grill a little. Drink a little. It'll be a good time.""Appreciate it, man." Banks says standing up and straightening his shirt. "Something to look forward too is good, especially since.. y'know.""I know?""Ah shit, you don't." He groans. "Fucking coma. Day after Halloween you know Dent went overdrive on the corruption stuff and he's been blowing up about the prison since.""Yeah?""Part of his way of doing that was to 'encourage' the Commissioner to fast-track a few cases... including Gorchakov's.""What's that mean for you? Gorchakov is all tied up in Mandragora's shit just like the Warden and he's getting stonewalled by the DA on that.""They're splitting Gorchakov's charges. He's in on a federal case with Mandragora but they want a charge so they can dismiss him from the GCPD.""He's still a cop!?""Innocent until proven guilty, man. His Union Rep isn't happy about it but he's getting the same treatment any other cop would. IA started bugging me the same day I found that out, haven't let up since. Buncha blood suckers.""Shit. When's your meeting with em?"Banks swallows and rubs his neck."Dude." You sigh. "You haven't answered em?""I know I'm being a pussy, I just... there's a lot of shit going on right now man. The moment I actually talk to IA, that's when it really comes down. The others find out and then..." He trails off, dropping back onto the bench. "It's like I'm trying to make myself to touch a hot stove. I know it's gonna burn the hell out of me, so I figure there's no harm in putting it off a little longer.">"You gotta talk to them. Today, if you can. The sooner you bite the bullet, the sooner that weight is off your shoulders. Besides, I promised I'd stick around didn't I?">"Well, far be it from me to tell you what to do. As long as you still plan on doing it, you can take your time.">"Maybe you could bank on them not needing you. If someone flips, y'know?">Write-In
>>6268824>"You gotta talk to them. Today, if you can. The sooner you bite the bullet, the sooner that weight is off your shoulders. Besides, I promised I'd stick around didn't I?"Though maybe AFTER the camping tripSo he'll be available for stuff.The issue then would be him not enjoying it
>>6268824>>"You gotta talk to them. Today, if you can. The sooner you bite the bullet, the sooner that weight is off your shoulders. Besides, I promised I'd stick around didn't I?""And honestly, this is a dirty cop that has killed other cops. When the others hear of that, they'd not give you any crap."
>>6268913+1Bring up the Dirty Cop + Cop Killer reality of the situation with GorchakovRip the fucking bandaid off so you can fuck off to camp and relax
>>6268824>The wedding, work, all this shit is just starting to make my head feel a bit... loud." He chuckles but you feel something off beneath it.Banks are you okay? Banks are you going Two Face already? Banks you're not SIM, Rogers is SIM, stop fucking talking about your head feeling "a bit loud".>make myself to touch a hot stove. I know it's gonna burn the hell out of me, so I figure there's no harm in putting it off a little longerWe have burn creams for a reason. We have burn treatments for a reason. Some girls out there are into bacon guys. You have your friends with you to back you up on this. Fucking bite the bullet and go for it already.
>>6268913Changing my vote to add on that bit about him being a cop killer, and doing it before the trip.
>>6268824>>"You gotta talk to them. Today, if you can. The sooner you bite the bullet, the sooner that weight is off your shoulders. Besides, I promised I'd stick around didn't I?"
>>6268913>>6268921+1, even the "thin blue line" hardheads can't condone a cop-killer.>>6268824
Actually, regarding the murder of Officer Derek Free, we should try to look into the whereabouts of lil Frankie. We'll have a witness who can testify to what he did.
>>6268841>>6268913>>6268921>>6268989>>6269021>>6269097"You gotta talk to them." Banks sighs but you cut past it. "Today, if you can. The sooner you bite the bullet, the sooner that weight is off your shoulders. Besides, I promised I'd stick around didn't I?"“Yeah, I know man…” He relents. “I just, I don’t know if I’m ready for all that.”“C’mon.” You say to him, dropping onto the bench to put your own boots on. “Gordon’s come a long way in fixing the good ol boy attitude around here. You said it yourself, even the union is only helping this guy because they HAVE to. He’s dirty. More than dirty, he killed a fucking cop. Anyone with a hard on for loyalty to the shield or whatever can’t ignore that.”Banks remains silent but you see his gears turning and his expression lighten up as he nods along with his own internal reasoning and your words fusion.“That makes sense.” He says simply. “I feel kind of stupid for not thinking of it like that before now…”“Don’t. You’ve been under some insane pressure, add that with taking a big leap like marriage? I wouldn’t have the energy to think about it too long either.”“Thanks. It’s hard for me not to just… put things into black and white. Guess I assumed other people would see it the same way.”“Yeah well, my dad always told me that when you think too much, the person in your way usually ends up being yourself. Just have some faith that the others can understand you aren’t betraying the department, you’re making it stronger and better.”Banks smiles and stands, letting out a breath as his shoulders relax fully now.“You’re right, Mark. Jesus, I needed someone to tell me that.”“That’s what friends are for.” You reply simply as you lace your boots and pull the strings tight. “And now, I gotta handle some papers before checking what my torture schedule is for today.”“PT?” Banks asks, clipping his belt and shutting the locker door. “Good luck, when I was Kimble’s rookie he made me run in shoes that were a size and a half too big until I could do a mile without tripping.”“Why?”“No fucking clue.” Banks chuckles as he rounds the corner, vanishing to his own shift. ====You step into the bullpen, freshly outfitted and ready to settle in when you spot something. Reiner stands next to your desk holding a file and waiting expectantly. You hurry over and he regards you dryly.“0910 isn’t 0900, Officer.”“Sorry sir, I was speaking with Officer Banks regarding his Bachelor party.”“Hm.” He huffs. “Sit down for me.”You sink into your office chair, tension forming in your gut.“Everything alright, sir?”He doesn’t answer you, instead he slaps the file on your desk and puts his hands in his pockets.“Go ahead.” He says. “Open it.”
You swallow and lean forward, peeling back the corner until the contents are fully revealed: A glossy photograph sits in the folder. It takes a moment to register but you’ve seen this before. It’s a brain scan. YOUR brain scan minus a dark mass that once was. You glance back up and see something that surprises you more, Reiner grinning.“I got this from the hospital, they told me you needed more tests and scans. That I should ‘heavily consider’ putting you on a lengthier leave so they could run more tests or scans or whatever they do.”“What’d you say?”“I asked em if this scan was a mistake. A glitch. They told me no, they even ran another right before you left just to check. I told em then, as far as I’m concerned this means you have a clean bill of health and unless they can articulate a real reason beside gut feeling that I wasn’t making you do anything. Gordon backed me on that.”“So. I’m good?”“You’re good.” He replies simply. “Your graduation date from the TO program can be set now, it’s looking like mid to late December. Provided you and Hathorne meet metrics and you pass the written exam.”You resist the urge to jump out of your seat. The shadow looming over your life for the past month and a half is… it’s gone. Just like that. You stare at the picture of your clear scan and just can’t help but to smile.“But the doctors weren’t the only ones who wanted a look at you. IA might wanna speak with you regarding the partners of Gorchakov that you looked into. They want yours and Hawthorne’s notes about them and for you to be available for questions or clarification.”“Can do. How soon do they want me?”“Just the files for now, just be ready to cut your paperwork or PT short if they end up needing you. There’s also… there’s one more thing.” He grumbles slightly, his position shifting uncomfortably.“Yeah?”“ARGUS. They’ve been working with the Mayor’s office closely since the Blackgate Scandal, the Commissioner as well. The liaison for the department; Gideon I think it was. He’s been asking about you."
“About me? What about me?”“Well, it’d be more apt to say he’s been asking FOR you. According to him, his boss is interested in speaking with you.”“His boss?” You repeat. A slight ripple of chills go up your arm, you shake it off but can’t help but hear Gideon’s words echo in your mind regarding his boss…“I told him you aren’t interested in moving into federal work, even if you were, that you were busy dealing with some medical issues that could leave you unfit for duty. But ever since I got that faxed in last night, it’s like they know too.”“Jesus..” You mumble.“Yeah. Not exactly the subtle type, these people. But the choice is still yours, I don’t mind stonewalling them. You’re not obligated to speak with anyone.”He speaks plainly but you can sense a slight discomfort beneath his tone. Not fear… but something approaching it. Maybe just a friendly worry or maybe a worry about something unknown to yourself even. You glance back at the scan and then meet his patient eyes again.>”Federal work seems a bit advanced for a guy who isn’t even out of his probation period yet, but it can’t hurt to make some friends up there, right? I’ll talk.”>”I’ll speak with them, if only to tell them I’m plenty happy here at the GCPD.”>”I’ll talk to em so they get off your back, sir. I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of thing on my behalf.”>”No thanks… I spoke with Agent Gideon and he wasn’t exactly a fan of his boss. Doesn’t seem like someone I wanna meet.”>”Thank you, sir. I’d appreciate it if you kept giving them the run-around. I just want to focus on getting back into shape and doing some actual police work again.”>Write-In Camping Episode confirmed, also shout out >>6269292 for the callbacks. Always makes me happy to see someone remembering the old plot points. Feel free to let me know how you guys are feeling at this point in the story, we are about to go into some comfy times for the most part but there's always the chance for you guys to make things more exciting. That's the best part of running quests in my opinion. Updates to come following the new schedule I mentioned earlier. See you soon.
>>6269327>”I’ll talk to em so they get off your back, sir. I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of thing on my behalf.”If this means we get to tell Waller to eat shit to her face, all the better.
>>6269327>”I’ll talk to em so they get off your back, sir. I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of thing on my behalf.”Waller knows about Mark. He’s as good as dead, isn’t he?
>>6269327>>”I’ll talk to em so they get off your back, sir. I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of thing on my behalf.”"We're still all on the same side right? I'll play nice with em, even though I'm happy here. Never know when we need to pull a fed out of our back pocket."(Technically, Mark shouldnt know of who amanda waller and her rep. And its also in the dept's best interest to not throw shit in her face.)
>>6269347+1Keep the feds off GCPD's back
>>6269327>”I’ll speak with them, if only to tell them I’m plenty happy here at the GCPD.”I'm enjoying the quest quite a bit, and look forward to camping in tge no-doubt haunted countryside around Gotham.>>6269345We're pretty small time for Waller to get to obsessive over us, especially when we're already sort of a government asset already and wekl-placed in a threat-rich environment.
>>6269488>We're pretty small time for Waller to get to obsessive over us>meanwhile, guy with a curvy stick who robs banks
>>6269327>>”Federal work seems a bit advanced for a guy who isn’t even out of his probation period yet, but it can’t hurt to talk with a bunch of feds on request, right?Mark wouldn't make a great glowie anyway. He can't do a regime change in south america, his powers are Gotham-based. There are only so many federal cases that can happen in one city. Well.. Maybe that number is way higher for gotham. This place got terrorists out of the ass.
Update delayed until tonight, gonna spend the 4th with the family. I'll see you later though, enjoy the day anyone celebrating.
>>6269737Happy borfdey Amirecuh. Have fun with your party, man.
>>6269737Happy Independence Day!
>>6269329>>6269345>>6269347>>6269363>>6269488"I'll talk to em so they get off your back, sir. I'm sorry you have to deal with this kind of thing on my behalf.""No need to apologize." He replies with a raised hand. "It's my job to keep an eye out for the Officers beneath me. Not yours to protect a superior officer.""Yes, sir. Protection is a bit of a strong word though, no? We're still all on the same side right?""Same team, different leagues." Reiner responds stiffly. "Federal Agencies like to poach, this is as much me looking out for the department as it is me looking out for you.”“I don’t really understand, sir.”“The mayor is planning on bringing a federal agency into Gotham. Giving them a center of operations and, if he gets his way, their own federal holding facility. Once that happens a lot of things are going to get fuzzy; jurisdiction, chain of command, a lot of moving parts could start knocking together. It’ll be up to the watch commanders, the captains, and Commissioner Gordon to keep things straight. But like I said, that’s a problem for us. I’ll let them know you’re open to talk, it’ll be done here.”"Understood, how soon?""If not today then within the week. Until then, focus on your paperwork and your PT."“Yes, sir.’ You say simply, your mind already digesting everything he’s told to you.Without another word Reiner turns on his heel and marches with purpose to his office. You watch his office light click out as the door closes and you find yourself relaxing a bit from a tension you didn’t even notice creep in. You roll your shoulders, angle your chair so you can relax your sore legs, and grab your favorite pen. The next few hours of your life will be ink and stiff paper which would normally be something to dread. But for some reason now, just the scratch of pen on paper brings a grin to your face.====A heavy hand lands on your shoulder as you close up the folder and pin it closed with a clip.“Marky Mark.” Kimble says dramatically. “The time has come.”“I know.” You reply, shrugging his hand off you. “Just had to make sure I wrapped this up. We biking again today?”“Eventually. Gonna get you to practice peddling while standing, that way we can take off the training wheels.”“You mean take off my seat?”Kimble shrugs with a roguish smile. You sigh theatrically and walk with him back to the basement.“So, about that soup kitchen? I’m in.” Kimble says over his shoulder. “Also recruited another one for you.”“Mendez is lending a hand?”“That she is. She’s got a heart of gold under all the attitude.” Kimble pauses as he unlocks the basement door, glancing over his shoulder. “Don’t tell her I said that either.”
You both step into the room and Kimble steps into the center of the padded mat. You notice now that while yesterday it was cluttered with boxes and loose workout instruments, it is now completely cleared off.“Before we get to work. Take a run at me.”“What? A run?”“Yeah, try and take me down.” Kimble replies lightheartedly. “You were a little too… wobbly to try this on day one. But the truth is that this is a physical job and some punk isn’t gonna wait until you’re 100% to try you.”You straighten up and notice now how even as you move around Kimble mirrors your movement, keeping the distance between you, it’s already started in his head.“Are you sure this is a good idea?”“I’m not gonna chin check you, boot. Relax.” Kimble replies with rolling eyes. “Most people only know how to fight when it’s easy or even. Not a lot of people know how to fight when they’re fucked. It’s an art. So go ahead, take a run at me. Try to get me down, like you did with Hawthorne.”A few more questions bubble to mind, some reluctance, and your legs still pulse with dull aches. All distractions. But you barely hear them as you stare Kimble down. His posture is relaxed, but you can see through the act. His knees are ever so slightly bent, the muscles of his hand and arm tensed. His eyes aren’t locked on yours but rather watch you entirely. But the thing that gives him away fully is the tightness of his jaw. He’s ready.>Get it over with, sprint at full speed and try to bowl him over. A classic.>He’s as big as Hawthorne, you can try the same technique that toppled him at the gym. Shoot for the legs and tangle him up.>He’s gonna be expecting some kind of trick, he’s on too high of alert. You have to take a go at him when he thinks he already won. Let him grab you then go for a dirty trick.>Put your hand on your hip then raise it level with his chest. “Bang.”>Write-InApologies for the extended break. Not to diary post too much, but essentially my job has fucked me over and waited until the 4th to inform me about it. So I spent my weekend sending out applications and getting a plan set for going forward.I plan on continuing the quest of course but I don't know what my schedule could end up being in the future. It's also possible I manage to finish the quest before it becomes an issue, but I just want to be transparent with you guys. So that's the skinny of it, I plan on keeping the current Mon-Fri schedule though with the weekends being a break. Just wanted to thank you guys for your patience. Enjoy the early update which should have been sooner, but alas. I'll see you soon.
>>6271578>Toss what you've got in your pocket at him, then close the gap. Hopefully his eyes will follow the item and you'll catch him off guard.Oof... Sorry to hear, QM. When I lost my job because of bankruptcy last year it was because the CEO fucked up a merger.
>>6271578>Taze him.
>>6271578Fucking corporate, man. The fuck they expect us to give them "ample notice" of three goddamn months and they can't give us the courtesy of a damn week.
>>6271578>Take it slow and remember what they taught you back in college. Focus on getting a grip on the back of Kimble's neck and pull his head down, then shoot for his hips when he tries to force his head back up, hopefully getting him with a double leg takedown.This is a pretty basic set-up, but it works, hence why it's taught in a lot of schools.I apologize if this is too specific, but you DID say Mark was on his school's wrestling team, right?
>>6271612I also remember someone's write-in for Mark Lore being that he got into school wrestling when his dad saw him trying to jump off the roof after his white trash friend showed him a few backyard wrestling videos. It was me. I wrote in that. And I'm not sorry at all.
>>6271589Kek>>6271578>Put your hand on your hip then raise it level with his chest. “Bang.”as a gag/callback, then>He’s gonna be expecting some kind of trick, he’s on too high of alert. You have to take a go at him when he thinks he already won. Let him grab you then go for a dirty trick.once we have his guard down.Good luck, QM. I too know the frustration of being dicked around by management.
>>6271649+1
>>6271612Yes! I have 'Collegiate Wrestling' on his Character Sheet that I keep on hand.
>>6271612+1
>>6271612>Put your hand on your hip then raise it level with his chest. “Bang.”Then follow up with:>>6271612+1Fuuuuuuuuuck QM that sucks. My corporate just fried a bunch of people with no notice too, but of course the guy that’s leaving of his own accord had to give a fucking month.Just remember not to take it personally. These people hate us, no need to tie our self-worth to their choices.
>>6271612>>6271687>>6271721>>6271784>>6271649>>6271721Locked in for hitting him with the 'Invisible Gun' gag and then going for some good old fashioned wrasslin.>Roll 1d100 (Mid of 3 Instead of Lowest, due to Wrestling Experience)
Rolled 17 (1d100)>>6272238C'mon Mark
>>6272240Yeah okay
Rolled 82 (1d100)>>6272238we do be going to hell in a cell
Rolled 42 (1d100)>>6272238"Hey did you watch this old movie called raiders of the lost ark?"
Rolled 3 (1d100)>>6272238
>>6272240>>6272246>>6272243ROLL: 42DC: 50RESULT: Fail (But that's a good thing.)It is written.
You take a step back, your face still slightly twisted in thought. Then a memory strikes and you grin. You put your hand to your hip, making a ‘finger pistol’, you raise it until it’s level with Kimble’s chest.“Bang.”Kimble smirks slightly and claps dramatically.“The old man really needs to pick up some new tricks.” He says. “But really. While that might be the right answer, it isn’t always an option. So go ahead and-”You move before he finishes speaking, two lunging steps and your hands fire up to grapple the back of his neck. He only just avoids your hands as he takes his own step backwards, his hands up now.“You’re fast for a guy who spent three days asleep.”“I lost some weight.” You reply through shallow pants.You keep low, moving side to side, in search of an opening. Kimble has more experience with grappling than Hawthorne at least, his posture is good and his hands always stay between the two of you as he mirrors your steps.“Ticking clock, DeLucia.” Kimble says. “I got three wiseguys driving to this spot right now.”“You didn’t mention that before.”“Well I didn’t say you had a gun. So.” He replies steadily, his eyes locked on your hands. “Make your move.”With a curse and a hiss you lunge low, baiting out a low counter-grapple or block, Kimble makes the move just as expected. You stop your momentum and lean back as you weave your hands through his arms and get a grip on the back of his neck. The only thing to do now is wait for him to lift his- Oh shit… You feel it before he even takes advantage. Your grip was slow, slow enough that he still has the room between you both to force his arms past your own shoulders like he’s doing a breaststroke. You feel your hands forced off his neck as his forearms force your own to spread wide. He continues the motion, sweeping his arms under yours and locking you in place with a firm grip. Chest to chest. He looks at you and says calmly.“This is the part where I’d headbutt you if this was real.”He releases you and takes a step back letting out a quick breath.“Nearly had me though, that first move was slick. The second? Not so much. I’ve got nearly thirty pounds and an inch or two on you. But you still chose to come at me direct. Brave. Not smart though.”“Didn’t really have many options, you said some wiseguys were coming. Had to try something.”“You had options. You have stuff in your pockets right? Throw it at me. Distract me with it or chuck it right at my face and make me block. Then you’d know where my hands would be, gotta control the hands.”“I know, I also thought about that but.. I don’t know. It felt cheap?”“Yeah well, better to fight cheap when living’s expensive. We’re cops, not priests y’know?”“I know but this was some sparring, if it was real-”“Uh-huh. Bang.” Kimble cuts you off. “But if you get disarmed? If someone catches you off duty?”
You lift a foot and tap your ankle with it.“Back-up revolver.” You state.“Yeah? Shit… Alright yeah that’s slick. Go ahead and show it to me.”You kneel down to pull the weapon free and while doing so you feel a light gust of wind go over your face as you glance up and see the bottom of Kimble’s boot a few inches from your nose.“I see.” You say quietly.“Yep.” He says, lowering his boot to the floor again. “C’mon stand up. I can’t let you walk around with your back up plan to a gun being a german suplex or a double leg takedown. I’m gonna show you some things.”“Army tricks?”“Something like that.” Kimble replies. “I picked up a bunch of shit over the years, so you start by telling me what you’re most worried about running into out there and I’ll check the ol’ ‘Kimble Catalog’ for a trick that could work out.” You pause for a moment. As crazy as it sounds you never really gave any thought to the dangers of being an Officer. You always knew the risks, of course, but you never really dwelled on any of them to the point of worry. You think on it for a few seconds and decide if you had to pick it would be…>Struggling over your firearm, after the incident at the Halloween event you’ve been keeping a closer eye on your weapon. But if someone manages to get their hands on it, you want to be able to handle that.>Perps with knives, by their own admission GCPD standard vests aren’t particularly stab resistant. They handle slashes fine but any perp with a knife is still a threat you’d like to know how to handle safely.>Countering grapples, what Kimble did was effective. He could have done a lot worse to you if that was a real fight. All the more reason to learn some counters yourself.>Bad Match-Ups, Hawthorne is one of them, Kimble is another to a lesser degree. But Gotham is full of people bigger, taller, and stronger than you. You need ways to handle that disparity unarmed if it comes to it.>Write-In
>>6272316>Struggling over your firearm, after the incident at the Halloween event you’ve been keeping a closer eye on your weapon. But if someone manages to get their hands on it, you want to be able to handle that.Note to self, get an inside waistband holster for our revolver so we're not taking a knee whenever shit gets real.
>>6272316>Bad Match-Ups, Hawthorne is one of them, Kimble is another to a lesser degree. But Gotham is full of people bigger, taller, and stronger than you. You need ways to handle that disparity unarmed if it comes to it.You never can say when you'll run int Killer Croc, Orca, a Talon, or one of Hugo Strange's Monster Men.
>>6272316>Perps with knives, by their own admission GCPD standard vests aren’t particularly stab resistant. They handle slashes fine but any perp with a knife is still a threat you’d like to know how to handle safely.Come on, Mark. Embrace the knife fighting and fencing skills Nonno always wanted to teach you but never could.
>>6272320>Killer Croc, Orca, a Talon, or one of Hugo Strange's Monster Men.I'm all for trying our luck against nutcases in fancy costumes, but against actual monsters like that? Best you can do is get the fuck out of dodge and call for backup.
>>6272321Shit, almost forgot the shitty Chinesium switchblade that inspired me to chose the Perps with knives option.
>>6272319+1 to the inside waistband holster>>6272316>Bad Match-Ups, Hawthorne is one of them, Kimble is another to a lesser degree. But Gotham is full of people bigger, taller, and stronger than you. You need ways to handle that disparity unarmed if it comes to it.
>>6272316>>Bad Match-Ups, Hawthorne is one of them, Kimble is another to a lesser degree. But Gotham is full of people bigger, taller, and stronger than you. You need ways to handle that disparity unarmed if it comes to it.
>>6272316>>Struggling over your firearm, after the incident at the Halloween event you’ve been keeping a closer eye on your weapon. But if someone manages to get their hands on it, you want to be able to handle that.
>>6272320>>6272346>>6272379>>6272689"I'm worried about a bad match-up. City is full of guys bigger and stronger than me, if I could learn how to handle them unarmed it probably wouldn't be a bad idea.""Smart call, believe it or not I've ran into that same problem."You raise a brow."Really?""No bullshit, guy was a former body builder from California. Got shipped out here to be display muscle basically, at least that's what I thought... Turns out he wasn't body building for the aesthetic, he was an aspiring strongman.""How'd you handle him?""Step up and let me show you." He offers with a beckoning hand.You step across from him and strike a generic fighting stance and then wait. Kimble circles around you as he speaks."First thing. When you're going against someone bigger, especially built or even obese. You can't count on certain things." He slowly moves a fist towards your gut and stops a few inches short. "Gut checks aren't gonna hit the same if you're bouncing off a 6 pack or burying your hand in some guys rolls. You can strengthen your jaw too, ask Hawthorne, which means you can't even hope on a glass chin half the time.”“That makes sense, I guess. Where do I go for then?”“Soft spots. The sides, below the ribs for the liver. Right about here. The balls, that one’s pretty straight forward. Bridge of the nose is a classic, waters the eyes. Also right… here. Just below the ear is the where the jaw hinges, good solid whack will at least dislocate it. Learned that from the old man. But the real money is in these…”He stops and grips your elbow while tapping the back of your knee with his foot."Joints, tendons, ligaments. Elbows, knees, and fingers. All things that are helped by flexibility, muscle just gets in the way at a certain point. You’ll rely on opposing force to get at these." He demonstrates by pulling your arm out straight and then pushing your interior elbow and wrist in different directions. Your arm bends easily."Same principle with a kick to the back of the knee. But you don't want to kick like a strike, you need to bring your foot down and follow through. They either take a knee or get the entire leg swept. Once he's kneeling, unless you're dealing with Croc or some shit. He should be at a level that you can get a choke on him."He moves behind you and loosely puts his arm around your neck."Relax for me. You feel this?" He squeezes gently, pulling back, as he puts pressure on your throat. You nod. " If it’s not a complete shit show then don't do this shit. That's how you kill people or get a complaint written up about you, you wanna squeeze here on the sides. Cut off blood, the moment they go limp you can lighten up. Move fast enough and you can cuff em before they start waking up.”"That really works?" You ask, slightly strained.Kimble replies with a tighter squeeze and after a few seconds you begin to see spots and lightly tap his forearm. He sets you free immediately.
"Yep, it’s not like the movies where they’ll stay that way for minutes though. Choke em like this and they’ll be out for a couple seconds, dazed for a few more. I figured that would appeal to you with your experience mainly being grappling.""It's pretty good." You rasp slightly, clearing your throat. "But is that all it boils down to? Just hope I can get behind em?""Well another element is giving up the idea that it's a fair fight. I mean, look." He lowers his voice slightly. "I know we have protocol. We have the guidebooks and our patrol manual. We have all sorts of things that we need to keep in mind…”“Yeah?” You prod, sensing a turn coming.“But. If you’re unarmed? Throw that shit out the window.”“What?”“Throw it out the window.” He repeats. “When it’s really life or death. Fuck protocol. Fuck procedure. You do whatever it takes even if it means gouging eyes or biting. Don’t hold back.” He speaks with a deadly seriousness now. “One of the first scenes I saw when I joined up, I guess one of the older officers wanted to get at me. Knock me down a peg since I was an ‘army boy’ or some shit. Had me pull support on a scene where an officer had lost his pistol during a scuffle, bar brawl, routine shit. His gun goes flying and some shitheel grabs it and runs off.”“What happened to the Officer?”“He got beat to death. Half empty bottle from the bartop. Guy just…” He trails off before blinking. “It didn’t help with my issues adjusting to being domestic, all I’ll say. I’m only telling you because I know you’re a good cop. But you’re also a good person and that can conflict sometimes when it comes down to doing what we gotta do. Cause it isn’t ‘Us vs Them’ until it is.”“I haven’t hesitated yet.” You state.“And I want you to keep that streak going, so I’m gonna keep on your ass about it.” He smacks your shoulder lightly and then backs up. “So, I gave you the overview, let’s practice one thing and get it down. Hit the bikes. Then it’ll be showers and soup. Good?”“Yes, sir.” You reply, taking your place opposit of him.“Alright, pick your poison.”>”I want to practice that blood choke, seems like the least amount of fuss for handling someone larger than me. Plus it has some good applications outside of being disarmed.” [Choke Artist]>”Let’s focus on what you were saying about joints and controlling the arms and legs, if I control the arm then I control their hands and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?” [Fulcrum]>”How about we just run through some scenarios? You’re bigger than me so it works out fine this way, I need practical experience to figure out what works for me.” [Dirty Fighting]>Write-In (Feel free to flex the creative muscles here, if you want to suggest the perk name/what it could generally do. Feel free!)
>>6272894>”Let’s focus on what you were saying about joints and controlling the arms and legs, if I control the arm then I control their hands and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?” [Fulcrum]>"Hey, in the future, how about we find some gloves and headgear? A perp's liable to keep throwing hands until I can get 'em under control, so maybe trying to hit me while I'm grappling would help prepare me for that."This training method is brought to you by a mentally ill BJJ practicioner. Anyways, for now let's focus on controlling suspects and putting them in a position where they're not able to beat the shit out of us.
>>6272894>”Let’s focus on what you were saying about joints and controlling the arms and legs, if I control the arm then I control their hands and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?” [Fulcrum]
>>6272900+1
>>6272894>>”Let’s focus on what you were saying about joints and controlling the arms and legs, if I control the arm then I control their hands and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?” [Fulcrum]
>>6272900>>6272906>>6273009>>6273162>>6274179"How about we focus on what you were saying about joints and arm and leg control? If I control the arm then I control their hands and that's what it's all about isn't it?""Damn straight." Kimble replies with a grin. "Alright, first thing I'm gonna show you is a wrist lock. That's good for knives, guns, or just making someone have a really bad day. C'mere."====Kimble walks you through a few basic joint locks and more than a few methods for breaking out of holds by utilizing the weak points on the arm. You practice his techniques, focusing on opposing force and your own contortion to escape, and with every success he tries slightly harder to keep you contained. Following your lessons on weakening a grasp, you learn the importance of aggression in movement. Steady forces can be countered or adjusted to on the fly but sudden powerful twists and jerks can be the final thing needed to break a weakened hold or a loose grip, both on yourself and anything they may be holding. Kimble teaches you some basic foot sweeps, hooking the ankles, and knee strikes."You want to go for the sides." Kimble says, kneeling down and patting the flanks of his knee cap. "You can go full Action Hero and throw a straight kick at the cap but odds are you're just gonna give him a limp the next day. Adrenaline on a bigger guy is gonna drive him like an SUV, so don't settle for just doing damage. You want to put people out of commission, good flat boot to the side of the knee can pop it right out of place. Fat chance they can walk with all that weight on a floating knee.""What if I'm already behind them?""Then you use your gun." He chuckles. "Unless he's some freak who disarms you and then let's you run around and get lost. In that case, sure. Knee wants to bend, putting a foot there'll bend it. Just again, don't go for a strike, plant your foot and once you make contact you keep driving."You practice for a few more rounds until you take a step away and guzzle from a bottle of water."I was thinking. In the future, how about we find some gloves and headgear? A perp's liable to keep throwing hands until I can get 'em under control, so maybe trying to hit me while I'm grappling would help prepare me for that.""You're a glutton for punishment, Mark." Kimble quips. "But yeah, you're right. I'll gotta be careful, don't wanna rattle your guest in there.""My gue- ah. Well uh, funny story about that actually."Hm?" Kimble perks up, his face staying passively positive but you can see a tinge of worry."It's good news. The tumor it's uh... actually not a problem anymore. I had it.. removed.""What? How the fuck?" He walks over, eyes attentive."Well, it's a hard pill to swallow. But, no lies, a wizard removed it."Kimble blinks twice before resuming a stare that slowly glazes over."Like... a wizard? A wizard, wizard.""Yeah. He uh... he told me he sold his soul to get a demon to remove it."
Kimble opens his mouth for a moment before closing it gently and nodding."Yeah, you couldn't pay me to be you man." Kimble steps forward and gives you a brief strong hug. "No offense.""None taken." You say genuinely and thump his back once.Kimble starts collecting a few stray things, setting them off to the side."I'll get cleaned up here. Kinda got carried away with the hand work so tomorrow we're jumping right to taking the seat off the bike.""I'm not gonna be able to change your mind, am I?""Glad you're learning. You should get cleaned up for your lady friend, doubt she wants the workers smelling like the customers.""Yeah well, you too. Doubt Mendez would want to be shoulder to shoulder with you while you're drenched in sweat."Kimble makes eye contact and raises and eyebrow."Dude. Gross." You reply."I didn't say shit." Kimble replies calmly, barely suppressing a smirk. "Fuck outta here, we'll see you there."====You shoot a quick text to Allison to let her know that you've enlisted a small brigade to help at the soup kitchen and you may even make it early since Kimble cut time a little short."You're the best, Mark! I'll send you the address, feel free to come by early if you wanna help set up and meet some of the other guys from the station."You smile at the text and tuck your phone away as you jump into a quick shower and don your civilian clothes once more. As you finish roughly rubbing a towel against your head you hear a footstep echo into the locker room."Ah, Kimble said you went to get ready to head out. Was worried I missed you." Grey's voice echoes, a slight rasp to it now that you didn't pick up earlier."Yeah, was gonna head over to Allison and help her get set up.""Ah, gotchya. I won't bother you then." Grey says with a wave of his hand."Hold on, what's up?""Nothing nothing, just hit a bit of a snag working on the lab angle you and Hawthorne squeezed out of that kid from Blackgate.""Oh shit, yeah. Was he...""Transferred, before it went down. He's serving a county over, we wanted to keep him in Jersey but out of Gotham.""Makes sense. He got approval pretty fast.." You try not to let it, but a touch of bitterness creeps in."I know." Grey says simply. "Fact is he gave us something we could look into immediately and it bore fruit. It was a win.""Where are you on it?" You ask, side-stepping any further discussion about Blackgate."We hit the lab and the barracks, they were keeping the labor close. We found broken bits of pallet and tire marks that indicate a large vehicle. They made enough of this stuff that they needed to haul it out on a truck.”
“Jesus Christ.” You mumble. “Nothing else past that?”“The rest was a wash. But you can't do chemistry at that scale and not leave behind some clues, like a few samples of the chemical compounds he was working with.”"Lab run it?""Artificial Neurotransmitter Serotonin. The key ingredient in Fear Toxin and that recipe is kept under lock and key by Wayne-Pharmaceuticals. Only one person in the US can make it without the ingredient list.” "It’s creator… So, Scarecrow really is in bed with this Kal Late, then?""Looking that way, we haven't learned anything else past that. No word on the woman he mentioned helping the Doctor out with his chemistry and I was wondering if you could help.""Help how? I'm out until I wrap up my PT and get approved by Reiner.""Sure, but this doesn't require you going anywhere or doing any ‘official’ police duties..." He says as he reaches into a coat pocket.Grey produces a small plastic evidence baggy which he lets unfurl before your eyes. Nestled in the bottom is a brass tube with a slightly stained rim."Lipstick?""Found it outside the backdoor to the lab, looks like it fell into a gutter. Thought you might be able to shake something out of it with your powers.""Maybe, I mean. Are you sure it belonged to Crane’s mystery assistant?""It's a good bet. Trust me, if you smelled that barracks you'd be pretty certain no women were in there either. That and the fingerprints we managed to pull off it weren't good enough for even a partial print. Analyst says it looked like chemical burns.""A lady with melted fingers. Sounds like it'd be her.""My thoughts exactly.">"Alright, I'll try and do it quick right here. But no promises.">"This would really work better if I had more to go with, did you find anything else I could use? Or... maybe we make a quick trip to the lab. That combo could tell us a lot.">"Sorry, Grey. I'd help but, I don't think I'm gonna get much off a tube of lipstick and nothing else. Not to mention the lab was, what, out by the Novic Tunnel wasn't it? I'd never make it back in time for the soup kitchen.">"Sorry, Grey. I was gonna head over to Allison early to help set things up and I don't wanna keep her waiting or spend the night with a migraine. If you find more, I can help.">"I don't know if I could pull off a lot with just a tube of lipstick but... I did find out a new way to apply my shivers. Maybe that could work? [Urban Augury] (Specify the question you ask Gotham)>Write-In
>>6274902>"Alright, I'll try and do it quick right here. But no promises."A lipstick tube belonging to somebody with chemical burns in an environment where there was likely no female presence...Fuck it I'm game.
>>6274902>>"Alright, I'll try and do it quick right here. But no promises."
>>6274918+1, would do Urban Augury if ai thiught we'd get more than a riddle by asking "whose is this?"
>>6274902>"Alright, I'll try and do it quick right here. But no promises."Psychometry tiem?
>>6274918+1We won't miss Allison's event. This'll be over quick>>6274901>Grey's voice echoes, a slight rasp to it now that you didn't pick up earlierGrey are you the one with cancer now? Grey are you going to not make it to retirement? Grey do you need us to contact John Constantine for you?
>>6275175Mark might not have, but we've seen Grey hacking up some shit all the way back when he was nabbing Pingwang from the sewers.
>>6275202No, Mark definitely saw that. We talked to Grey about that after we took his meds out of his pill bottle and claimed they were drugs so we could sneak out the shredded paper we stole from Blackgate.
>>6275218Damn. Guess that egg's on my face too.
>>6275225I fucking hate that I knew there's an egg related supervillain in the DC Universe for this comment.I'm not even a comic book guy.
>>6275229>So like, what villain should we make next?>[coughing] Egg, man! Alright your toke.They really do be just making anything.
>>6274918>>6274938>>6275095>>6275108>>6275175"Alright, I'll try and do it quick right here. But no promises.""Don't need any." Grey replies, tossing you the bag. You catch it gently and sigh before cracking the seal."It's already been combed over?""It's cleared, you won't contaminate anything."You nod and fish out the brass tube, it's strangely cold against your fingertips as you look at your warped reflection in the scuffs and scratches. You close your eyes and watch those ebbing blobs of light that remain in the dark slowly morph and take shape. Vague... Nothing more than an outline and words that sound garbled and underwater. Your nostrils burn as a foul odor drifts on the breeze that shifts your hair over your shoulder, leaving behind a tingle like tiny footsteps.You can tell there's more to this, like a fogged bathroom mirror you just need to try and focus and push through. Force the image to be clear. Make your Shivers work for you. Don't be a conduit. Be the conductor.>Gonna need a 1d100 a piece. (AVG Roll)[Spoiler]May do an additional update later this morning (5 hours-ish from now) if we get a good amount of rolls, otherwise I'll let it go until tonight and get in an early update at the start of my night.
Rolled 42 (1d100)>>6275470
Rolled 73 (1d100)>>6275470One or one-hundo? That is the question.
Rolled 12 (1d100)>>6275470lets gooo
Rolled 92 (1d100)>>6275470
Rolled 11 (1d100)>>6275470
Rolled 70 (1d100)>>6275470
Rolled 51 (1d100)>>6275470how many rolls does one need?
Rolled 43 (1d100)>>6275470
>>6275588About this many.I'd tag everyone for their (You) but 4Chan Spam Cucked me.AVG: 49DC: 50
>>6275476>>6275478>>6275481>>6275538Be the conductor… The vision comes slowly with more focus but what you see doesn’t match the silhouettes from before. That smell, that goddamned smell, invading your nostrils and permeating your lungs. You feel your hairs stand up and this time it isn’t the work of your shivers. You feel icy spears prodding your heart from all angles, a soured fist clenches in your gut, and your eyes burn with dryness as you stare ahead wide eyed consumed by a primal fear. You feel the corners of your mouth burn with tearing as your lips part and you try to force out a scream. Your shocked eyes watch as the shadows bubble and ooze as rats begin to emerge, they circle around your feet and soon you feel their small claws gripping your stockings and moving up your leg.“...” You try to scream, but no matter how hard you try nothing comes out.Just as the largest rat crests your collarbone and places its cold clawed foot on your bottom lip… a new smell strikes you. The sweet aroma of honey suckle… the pressure on your lip fades away and even though you swore you just had them stretched wide your eyes begin to flutter open as new light smears your vision. Leaning above you is a grim visage, a stained sack accented by two sickly yellow eyes traced with thin veins like cracks in concrete. It should terrify you. Objectively you know this. But his face… brings you peace and a feeling of safety. No… deeper than that. This is love.“Easy now, Queen.” He hums, holding a smoking pellet a few inches from your face as he wafts the cloud towards your nose. “Breathe it in slowly, my dear.”You close your eyes again and inhale. The sickly sweet smoke seeming to force that other rancid acrid scent from your lungs. You open your mouth to speak, just to feel that same pang of fear again, you clamp your hand over your mouth. Scarecrow cocks his head, the loose rope securing his bag swishing against his stained labcoat.“You don’t need to stay silent anymore.” He says softly, his bedside manner was always a strength. “The serum worked, you tried to scream your little lungs out but there was nothing. Not a peep.” He turns from you and rummages on a surgical tray before producing a petite needle and turning to face you once more.“An adjustment to the dosage and our dream will be reality.” He coos as he lightly strokes your cheek. “There’ll be a slight pinch.”The needle slips into the front of your throat and for a moment it feels as if you’re choking. The walls of your throat seizing, refusing to even swallow, only for the sensation to pass after a few seconds. You feel your hand enveloped in warmth and glance down. His hand, dry and dark like abandoned leather, strokes the back of your hand gently as he leans forward again. Jaundiced eyes sparkling as he whispers.“Go on… speak.”
You swallow harshly, butterflies dancing around as you wet your lips and let them part.“Doctor…” You let out in breathy huff.“Nurse.” He replies steadily, though you see the excitement in his eyes.“Oh, Doctor Crane…” You say again, now with tears stinging your eyes.An overwhelming joy swells in your chest, filling the space between every rib until you have the confidence to attempt a shout.“Doctor!” You let loose.“NURSE!” He replies, pulling you from your seat and dipping you low as he brings his face near.You close your eyes and feel the tickle of the rope that seals his mouth just graze your lip…Then you blink.“Jesus Christ!” You crow, letting the tube fall to the ground where it clatters like spent brass.“What!?” Grey says, moving quickly to your side to support you.“Well that definitely belonged to Scarecrow’s girlfriend or nurse or… something.” You shudder violently as you can’t get the feeling of the rat or his frayed rope off of you. You can’t even decide which is worse.“Is that all you could get? Nothing else?”“Sorry, Grey.” You shake your head. “I tried but… I can tell you he was testing fear gas on his own assistant. Seems like he even has some sort of cure? I don’t know, I could feel her fear but she wasn’t scared of HIM. She was scared of what she could DO to him.”“Meaning?”“Just a feeling, but I think you might be looking at a metahuman. It felt… familiar. Like driving someone else’s car who has the same make and model you do. I can’t really explain it.”Grey jots in a pad as he mumbles.“Antidote. Potential Meta Human. Fear toxin confirmation.” He tucks the pad and gives you a tired smile. “I know you don’t think that helped much, Mark. But you never know what’s gonna end up being the key.”“Yeah well…” You kneel down and pick up the lipstick to hand it back over. “That fear toxin sure is… it’s fucked.”“You’re telling me. I’ve been on the receiving end once, only once.” He shudders. “Just caught a whiff but… eh. I’m not gonna spoil the mood. Tonight’ll be fun, getting to meet your lady friend and help out the community at the same time.”You shake your head, dispelling some of the lingering sensations from your vision, Grey gives you a gentle tap and you flick your eyes up to him.“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’ll be nice to finally have her meet you guys.” You say as you rise. “I’m about to head out now, help her set up. Make sure Hawthorne gets there on time?”“I’ll do my best to get the old goat to move.” Grey chuckles. “We’ll be there.”====No vote for this extra update, we’ll pick up the story at the Firehouse as Mark pulls up.>Until then; What’s your theory about Scarecrow and whoever this ‘Queen’ lady is? Where do they fit into Calc’s plan? What’s this ‘serum’ Crane developed? Is he a good kisser once you get past the rotten straw?
>>6275596>AVG: 49>DC: 50
>>6275615>The cure aplears to be an injection into the thyroid gland.
>>6275229Wow, Egg Fu got a glowup, huh?
>>6275615>What’s your theory about Scarecrow and whoever this ‘Queen’ lady is? Where do they fit into Calc’s plan? What’s this ‘serum’ Crane developed? Is he a good kisser once you get past the rotten straw?Not sure abiut Calculator's plan and how that ties in, but I suspect we're dealing with Abigail O'Shay, or some variation... Maybe even a Scarebeast situation if we're unlucky.
>>6275615Absolutely 0 clue what this has to do with CalcSerum has something to do with voice? The woman was actively clamping on her mouth in fear of something, and was relieved when she could talk.Man, gotham women are built different, there's one for every disgusting insane terrorist apparently.
>>6275764Maybe she has some kind banshee scream power? Does Black Canary have an evil opposite?
>>6275769I mean there's what, Silver Banshee? Or whatever her name is.
>>6275614Your brakes squeak gently as you park up in the gravel lot that runs along The Narrows Firehouse. Stepping out of your car you give the place more than a second glance. Run-Down would be a polite way of putting it. The bricks are chipped and marked with the remnants of graffiti from years passed, faded smears show the attempts to scrub it away. Loose stone slabs form a walkway to the front door that sits between two stained and dinged garage doors. A delightful chirp draws you from your inspection.“Mark.” Allison calls from the cracked door of the lobby. “Come on in.”“Hey.” You reply, pressing a light kiss to her cheek as you step passed. “Still things left for me to do?”“Absolutely. Any good with a knife?”“I mainly live off food trucks and delivery these days but I know my way around a kitchen.”“Good, we need someone to prep onions and peppers. Up to it? I’ll be next to you peeling potatoes.”“With company like that, who could say no?” You reply with a smile.Allison links her arm around yours and leads you through the station towards the growing chatter in the garage. She points out a few academy photos where she’s covered in mud and bruises, a picture of Wayne Tower from the 80’s engulfed in flame, and a few models of old fire trucks. You can’t help but notice the sparkle in her eye as she discusses all of it, it reminds you of yourself. This is more than a job, it’s a deep passion, and this revelation only makes your grin wider as she brings you through the doorway into the garage.A small group of men and two other women work at various stations. Some chopping ingredients, setting up propane grills, or cleaning pots. “Cap! I got fresh blood for you.” She calls out to an older bald man who kneels by a propane tank, tapping on the meter impatiently.“Hold your horses.” He replies calmly before reaching out and giving it a firm knock on the rim until its needle swings. “Alrighty. Now what were you hollerin about?”She angles herself to push you forward slightly. She nudges you gently and you take the hint.“Mark DeLucia.” You say politely, extending a hand. “Happy to be able to lend a hand.”
“Bernard Kowalski, but the crew calls me BK. Pleasure.” He says with a firm shake. “Glad to finally meet Allie’s fella after all she told us about you.”“Oh?” You crow, giving her a look as her face starts to match the engines nearby.“Angelo’s is a good joint. Surprised you know it, bit of a hidden gem.”“My parents used to take me there when I was younger. Nothing beats a greasy slice.”“Couldn’t agree more.” He says in reply, waving for you to follow as he steps away. “Over here I got a bucket of onions and another bucket of peppers. I figure if they can trust you with a gun I can trust you with a knife?”“Yes, sir.” You reply, almost with an inherent respect.“Good man.” He says simply before turning and walking away from you. “He liked you.” Allison says. “That’s pretty rare.”“Yeah? He seemed friendly enough to me.”“He is friendly. He just… has strong opinions. Especially when it comes to.. Y’know.”“Cops?”She shrugs coyly.“Dick swinging contests between GCPD and GCFD goes back to before either of us were born. More of the older crowd cares about that kind of thing.”You hum in contemplation as you pick up a knife and heft the bucket onto a fold-out table and settle in as Allison picks up the other bucket and scoots in next to you, handing you a knife by the blade. You waste no time getting to work peeling and chopping the onions into thick pieces for the soup. Allison gets into her own rhythm of cutting long strips of pepper. Both of you blink away tears as the onion’s sting does its thing.“How’re you feeling since you’ve been up?” She sniffles.“Better than I thought I would. PT is going well.. I uh. I learned to ride a bike.”“You didn’t know how to ride a bike!?” She exclaims.“Shhhh! Relax. I’m trying to make a good impression here.”“It’s sweet!” She whispers.“That’s a better description than ‘stunted’ so I’ll take it.”“How’s your head been? Still getting those headaches.”Your mouth opens slightly as your reply catches in your throat.>”So… remember that Wizard I mentioned? Turns out he wasn’t bullshitting about paying me back…”>”There’s been some… developments on that. But do you mind if we talk about it when there aren’t so many strangers around?”>”Better everyday, still need an official check up though. But I feel good.”>Write-In
>>6275968>”So… remember that Wizard I mentioned? Turns out he wasn’t bullshitting about paying me back…”I mean, it's not like Wizards doing legit magic are unheard of here.
>>6275976One of them literally lives in the ritzy part of town, even.
>>6275968>”So… remember that Wizard I mentioned? Turns out he wasn’t bullshitting about paying me back…”
>>6275968>”So… remember that Wizard I mentioned? Turns out he wasn’t bullshitting about paying me back…”its in a box back home
>>6276164We'll just tell her that we confirmed it with an x-ray. No reason to show her our tumor in a box just yet.
>>6275968>”There’s been some… developments on that. But do you mind if we talk about it when there aren’t so many strangers around?”Wizards may not be unheard of, but they're not exactly common, either, and if the demonic part ad soul-selling comes up, we might get some weird looks.
>>6275968>”Do you remember of what I told you in the hospital? About a... Magical guy? Well, he did pay me back for what happened... And I'm pleased to inform you, by the studies conducted on Gotham Hospital and the Radiography my boss Reiner brought to my desk, I'm officially Cancer free"I don't get more in details about how or what Constantine do, but saying it was him could be enough, as I prefer this phrasing
>>6276472>”Better everyday, still need an official check up though. But I feel good.”Let's not talk about crazy shit like that around a bunch of peopleWe can explain later in private
>>6275968>>6276472+1 Just be vagueAlthough I don't think anyone would take the actual wizard line seriously. When actually explaining it, at leaast Mark can joke about the strak of break-ins continuing.
>>6276357>>6276164>>6276027"So..." You say, trying to keep your tone casual. "Remember that wizard I mentioned? Turns out he wasn't bullshitting about paying me back.""Oh?" She asks with a tilt of her head."Yeah he uh... he managed to get the tumor out.""What." She says flatly."I know. I don't really believe it either but according to my doctor and a scan my boss showed me this morning. I'm officially tumor free."She blinks a few times and then smiles a warm genuine grin as she sets down her knife to hug you tightly. You chuckle awkwardly as a few other fire fighters nudge each other and nod in your direction."Glad to see you're as happy about this as I am.""Of course!" She chirps before releasing you. "How did he do it? Was it like a poti-"You hold up a hand and quickly glance over her shoulder. She follows your eyes and eventually meets gazes with the two Fireman now reenacting her hug between each other. Giggling like schoolgirls."Ignore them, Rosco and Borne are stuck in the tenth grade mentally.""Maybe we can talk at my place then, later?""Your place later, huh?" She responds with a raised brow of her own. "You sure you're recovered enough for that?""What? No I mea- I wasn't trying to-" You stumble over some of your words until she leans in and pecks your cheek. "I meant for us to talk...""Mhm, we should get back to cutting these up." Her eyes flash with a spark of something you haven't seen since college and she turns around mumbling. "...cute...""You say something?" You prod, feeling your face cool slightly with your personal space restored."Just that he wants those cubed." She says without turning her head. "That's all..."====
>>6275976>>6276472>>6276475>>6276482The prep goes by shockingly fast. You only just finish the final onion as the garage doors begin to lift and you see new faces filtering in, among the crowd you spot a few familiar ones."Volunteers!" Captain Kowalski hollers. "You're gonna step over to the table to the left and talk to the wonderful Mrs. Kowalski. She's gonna ask you where you wanna be stationed. Service, Cleaning, and Wipe Down. That's pouring soup into bowls, cleaning bowls, and cleaning tables respectively. Spots are limited so if you're here with friends PARTNER UP otherwise we'll split you if we run out of space."You wave for your friends and see the small pod approach. Grey and Hawthorne lead while Mendez and Kimble follow behind."Glad you guys made it, thanks for tagging along Mendez."She grunts in response and you give Kimble a questioning look."She's shy in public." Kimble says before catching a solid thwack to his bicep as Mendez smacks him. He doesn't react except to smile at her. "She'll warm up."Allison jogs over with a clipboard and pen, waving to everyone as she comes to a stop."Oh wow, you weren't lying you brought in a whole team. All good though, because we get first dibs on picking our stations." She clicks the pen and presses it to the page glancing up at Hawthorne's large form. "Where to Mr...""Hawthorne." He grunts, then more gently. "You could call me Mitch, if you want.""Alright, Mitch." She says with a smile. "Pick your poison?""I'll scoop."She scribbles and looks to Grey."Thomas Bennett." He says before clearing his throat. "Most folk call me 'Grey'. I'll take serving too, Mitch and I actually came up in the Narrows.""And you became cops?" Allison chuckles."Nobody is more surprised than me, this guy was well acquainted with cuffs before we ever went to academy." He says nodding at Hawthorne."Nobody wants to hear about that." Hawthorne grunts before following it up with a mumbling. "Million years ago.""Luke Kimble, Li Mendez." Kimble offers before she prods further. "Put us down for dish duty, probably gonna get the fewest people.""Usually." Allison confirms as she scribbles their names. "What about you, Mark?">"Put me down for serving. I wanna hear about Hawthorne's record.">"Kimble makes a good point, put me on for dishes.">"Put me on table cleaning duty, means I get to chat with some of the people who come through.">"You pick, I wanna work with you."
>>6276499As tempting as it is to hear about Hawthorne's record....>"You pick, I wanna work with you."
>>6276499>"Put me on table cleaning duty, means I get to chat with some of the people who come through."I feel like she'd like to show us off to her regulars.
>>6276499>"Put me on table cleaning duty, means I get to chat with some of the people who come through."
>>6276499>"You pick, I wanna work with you."
>>6276721>>6276499>"Put me on table cleaning duty, means I get to chat with some of the people who come through."Changing to this, consider me curious. We can always get some alone time with Allison when we're not serving the public.
>>6276499>"You pick, I wanna work with you."The game is afoot!
>>6276499>>"Put me down for serving. I wanna hear about Hawthorne's record."Gotta be assault or vandalism lol.Separating from your gf to go hear about Hawthorne is a weird thing to do, yeah. But if Mark goes with her now + takes her home, it'll be 4 straight updates of them being cute. Which is too much. Hate happy people.
>>6276511>>6276721>>6277102>>6277141"You pick." You answer, getting a small smile in response. "I wanna work with you.""That's sweet, Mark. But you guys are volunteers, all the fire crew are 'floaters' and we'll be moving from spot to spot."She leans in and gives you a gentle peck on the cheek."Good answer though.""Thanks... Uh, if I gotta go somewhere how about table cleaning duty? It means I get to chat with some of the people who come through.""Yeah?""Yeah, just get to know some of the people I'm doing the job for.""Just so you know, he's not putting on a show for you. He really IS this much of a boyscout." Kimble interjects.You watch as Hawthorne, Grey, and Mendez all quietly nod in agreement."Oh, I know." Allison says teasingly. "That's what won me over, an optimist in Gotham is a rare catch.""Not that rare.." You mumble as you feel your cheeks heat."EVERYONE!" Captain Kowalski's voice booms over the low chatter. "FIVE MINUTES UNTIL WE OPEN THE LINES. GO AHEAD AND GET TO YOUR AREAS AND GET SET UP."Allison scribbles your name down quickly and flashes you and the others a smile as she backpedals."I'll get this turned in, I'll make sure to check on you guys through the night. Let me know if you need anything!" She scampers away as you say your goodbyes to your friends and follow the small group moving to slide into some old aprons and disposable gloves. After a few minutes the doors open and tables begin to fill and empty. Some people leaving before the spoon settles in the bowl while others nurse their food, maybe enjoying the warmth inside the garage. Either way, there's plenty to do and plenty more to speak with..>Check in on the man huddled in the corner, alone.>Make conversation with a group of young men crowded around a single phone.>There's a middle aged man who seems oddly familiar, nursing a bottle of water.>A young lady stands along a side wall, her hair stringy and her lips well chewed.>Write-In (Feel free to make your own 'Gotham Slum Citizen' to speak with, I can work with it.)
>>6278731>Make conversation with a group of young men crowded around a single phone.Fucking kids better not be watching some shitass livestreamer while we got soup going.
>>6278731>There's a middle aged man who seems oddly familiar, nursing a bottle of water.
>>6278731>Check in on the man huddled in the corner, alone.Always look out for those who need help
>>6278731>Check in on the man huddled in the corner, alone.Make sure he's okay, first and foremost. We ARE Officer Friendly after all.
>>6278838>>6279039The first of the customers start drifting out. The new tables are filled by volunteers wiping down and bussing dishes away before a minute can pass, and even faster yet, their spaces are filled by new faces coming to eat. But one man you see keeps his position, in a far off corner, in a folding chair he sits huddled in an old tattered jacket a few sizes too big. Something in your gut twinges at the sight, you should check on him."Evening, sir." You try to say casually.He grunts in response, lifting his head slightly, you can see clear as day the intense red that stains the whites of his left eye. A drop addict."Sir?" You ask again, your training creeping in a bit as you kneel to get a clear look into his eyes. Checking dilation. "Are you on something?"He shakes his head, his hair swinging in clumps held together by grime and sweat. He swallows shakily and manages a whisper."Quittin." He pauses for a moment. "...tryin to.""That's good." You say gently, settling into a seat next to him. "How're you doing it? Are you working with a facility or-""Cold turkey." He says through pallid lips. "Only way. All I can do."You frown. You aren't naive, you know that some of Gotham's programs aren't available to everybody but there's plenty of free services. The only thing is those come with stricter rules."When was the last time you used... if you don't mind me asking.""..this morning." He grumbles, you see his eye twitch slightly in discomfort. Or maybe muscle memory. "It'll stick this time..."You consider asking him about his housing situation but seeing as he's already at the soup kitchen seemingly for the shelter you have a feeling you know how that would be answered. You feel a warm breath on the back of your neck. Like spring wind through uncut grass as the hairs stand up. You tamp them back down as you rub the back of your neck."Do you want me to get you something to eat? Some soup."He shakes his head weakly."Can't hold nothin down. Just need.. Just need the space for a bit. Few hours... that's all." He sniffles. You watch a tear fall from the corner of his red-eye followed by a few more with every blink. One of the main signs of heavy continuous use...>"I'm really sorry sir, but this kitchen is... well a kitchen and it's packed. We need the space for people coming to eat, if you're taking a seat that's costing someone else a meal potentially.">"Sir, do you want me to get you to a hospital? Or an emergency clinic? They can watch over you until the worst of your.. symptoms pass.">"Maybe I could help you navigate some of the programs? I'm actually an Officer with GCPD so I'm sure I could try and pull something together.">"This isn't a place for you to ride out withdrawal, sir. It's a fire station trying to feed the people who actually want help. If you aren't getting a bowl you have to go.">Write-In
>>6279285>"Cold turkey, huh? I know a guy or two that've done the same with their own addictions. Maybe they can give you some help and advice with it."Hawthorne and Grey both have experience with addiction, yeah? Getting a dialogue between this guy and them could be good.
>>6279305Quitting cigs and quitting a hardcore, mind-altering narcotic are a lottle different.>>6279285>"Maybe I could help you navigate some of the programs? I'm actually an Officer with GCPD so I'm sure I could try and pull something together.">Leave him be, check back later if he's hungry yet
>>6279285>"Hang in there. I'll get you a bucket or bag in case you get nausia. If you need an ambulance, just let me know."
>>6279351>>6279357+1 both of these, so say the programs + cop line, give him a bucket or bag plus the ambulance bit so he's aware he can get help, then let him be to check back later
>>6279285>"Maybe I could help you navigate some of the programs? I know some people that work for the city, and I can ask for some favors."I feel like telling him we're a cop will put him more on edge, maybe saying we are some social worker could let him open up>"Is there anything you need? Could some water help you? If not then I could bring a bucket or something in case you have some nausea"
>>6279362+1
>>6279285>>"Sir, do you want me to get you to a hospital? Or an emergency clinic? They can watch over you until the worst of your.. symptoms pass.">>"Maybe I could help you navigate some of the programs? I'm actually an Officer with GCPD so I'm sure I could try and pull something together."
>>6279285>>"Sir, do you want me to get you to a hospital? Or an emergency clinic? They can watch over you until the worst of your.. symptoms pass."
>>6279363>telling him we're a cop will put him more on edgeDoes he not know this volunteer function is all cops and firefighters? Wasn't it heavily advertised that way to everybody?
>>6279384>Does he not know this volunteer function is all cops and firefighters?This thing is in the fire department and surely something they do semi-regularly, and Mark came like I civ because it's way past his shift like all the other people we invited. I doubt people would expect like 6 cops all going to give out food
>>6279363>I feel like telling him we're a cop will put him more on edgeFair, but I'm not cool with lying to some random homeless dude, and he'll likely figure it out if he hasn't already once people start talking to us.
>>6279351>>6279357>>6279362>>6279363>>6279381"Just hang in there, I can get you a bucket or something just in case. You need an ambulance?""No!" He says, the clearest thing he's said so far. "No... No thank you."You settle into the seat next to him and lean on your knees as you nod."Alright, alright. No ambulance. But maybe I can help some other way? I could help you navigate some of those programs.""You know how to do that?""Yes, sir. I'm actually an Officer with GCPD." You raise a calming hand as you see his good eye go wide. "Easy, I'm off the clock. Besides, I lean more towards the 'serve' part of policing. You need help, not a cell."He settles slightly but you care see there's still an underlying wariness. You pull out your phone and navigate a few screens."I mean it, here let's take a look at where you can find a place to stay.""You don't gotta do that for me." He grunts. "They'll reject me anyway. Won't take nobody unless they got ID. Can't get ID unless I got a residence. Can't get a residence because I ain't got ID.""Well, maybe I could pull a few strings? See what I can do for you?"He angles his head slightly, a thin sheet of sweat lies coats his forehead as he stares into your eyes. You can see the analysis as he tries to measure if you really are the kind of man who would do this for a stranger like him. You tuck your phone as you stand and he finally replies quietly."Alright... thank ye." He turns his head back to the floor and huddles tighter in his coat as a shudder rattles over him."I'll be right back with some water and a plan." You turn from him and step away towards the center of the garage. You notice in the corner Captain Kowalski watches you with a sharp eye, his face impassive. But you don't focus on him for now, you know the public welfare systems but not exactly well enough to pull serious strings. You could always just call and try to throw your weight around as an Officer but that's not a guarantee. All around the garage your friends work their own positions and as you look at them you realize, maybe they have some ideas?>Ask Kimble, veteran homelessness isn't exactly uncommon. Maybe he's had experience or knows somebody who has.>Ask Hawthorne, he came up in the Narrows and has years on the force. Surely he's interacted with the system at some point.>Ask Grey, he came up in the Narrows and has a knack for problem solving. He may also be a gentler touch than Hawthorne.>Ask Allison, these soup kitchens are a common occurrence for the GCFD. She must have had helped with something like this before.>Ask Kowalski, this is his firehouse and his event. Maybe the look he was giving you was positive? Would he work hard to put these together if he didn't care?>Call the nearest shelter yourself. What they're doing may follow the letter of the law, but not the spirit. Maybe they need a reminder.>Write-In
>>6279626>Ask Grey, he came up in the Narrows and has a knack for problem solving. He may also be a gentler touch than Hawthorne.Seems up his alley and like he'd have the best temperament.
>>6279626>Ask Grey, he came up in the Narrows and has a knack for problem solving. He may also be a gentler touch than Hawthorne.
>>6279628+1
>>6279626>Ask Grey, he came up in the Narrows and has a knack for problem solving. He may also be a gentler touch than Hawthorne.>mfw I found this quest and finally caught up with the previous threadsKeep doing what you're doing, DetectQM.
>>6279626>>Ask Grey, he came up in the Narrows and has a knack for problem solving. He may also be a gentler touch than Hawthorne.
>>6279626>>Ask Kowalski, this is his firehouse and his event. Maybe the look he was giving you was positive? Would he work hard to put these together if he didn't care?Wonder what's his take is. "Calibrate your enthusiasm?"
Anons, has DetectQM invoked safe haven laws to abandon us at this firehouse?He said he was only going out for cigarettes and milk, but it’s been five days.
>>6281571DetectQM may or may not have gotten UK Online Safety Bill'd
>>6281603I will never forgive the English.
>>6281603I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not.I thought QM was American, don’t know why else someone would be talking about taking three-day trips to Vegas.
>>6281603The panic about 4chan cutting off access from the UK last week was a masterful bit of trolling. 4chan has not been blocked or withdrawn access from the UK. For now.
>>6281679>>6281610We still can’t forgive the English.If not for this, for the crime of existing.
>>6281686Truly the fact that Birmingham is on this plane of reality is a crime against the humanity and the universe at large. The idea that there is an entire rest of the country nearly as bad brings true existential horror into our mortal ken.
>>6281571Nope, sometimes life just kicks your ass and you have to switch focus on short notice.I'll be returning tonight in a few hours, I will not be abandoning this quest. I plan on finishing this story regardless of what happens. Just may be spotty for a little bit until I get footing again.
>>6281571Kek
>>6281770It happens. Thanks for updating us, QM!
>>6279628>>6279642>>6279711>>6280591>>6281052Gray stands behind a steaming pot, ladle in hand, he chats quietly to the people in line as they step through getting a healthy portion of soup before moving on. You step behind the counter and tap his arm."Can I talk to you for a second?""Hm? Sure thing." He turns to Hawthorne and passes him a ladle. "Don't skimp."Hawthorne replies with a grumble as he beckons the next person forward and covers Grey's absence."What's up, son?" Grey asks you quietly."Guy in the corner over there. He's struggling through withdrawal right now.""Off what?""Guess.""Drops..." Grey says solemnly. "Shits more plentiful around here than water.""I was wondering if you knew anything about the programs the city runs? He said he's tried but their stiffing him on an ID. Can't enroll without one, but can't get one without a place to live."Grey sighs wearily and rubs his cheek as he nods."Not an unfamiliar story. Thankfully the fix is pretty simple.""Shit, really?""Mhm. This isn't the first time I've run into this shit, like most things it's in the wording." He pulls out his own phone and taps the screen a few times before leaning in."The Gotham Substance Abuse Rehab Program." You read from his screen. "This is the one funded by Wayne Health right?""It WAS, until he sold the whole operation at a loss to the city. Dent implemented it and using a mix of city funds and Wayne continuing to donate into it they managed to keep it running for public use. But waht we want..." He taps the screen a few more times until a wall of text comes up."Patient Requirements. Government Issued ID, Social Security Number, and... that's it?""They dumbed it down as much as they could, but red tape has a way of making even the simplest thing a pain in the ass. The key here is Government ID. DMV and most other places won't give you one without residence but there's an exception.""Yeah?""Gotham Public Library." He says simply. "Five bucks and you get a city government issued ID card.""Wait, really? A library card counts?"He digs in his pocket and withdraws a wallet, pulling out a smudged old piece of plastic he hands it to you. A gap toothed teen grins at you from the corner of the rectangle as you look down on a younger Grey, back when his hair was a bright blonde with sandy streaks and a freshly healing black eye."Flip it over and you'll see the barcode, scans right to the city database, meets all the criteria of a government issued ID. They even take the picture on site. It checks all the boxes. All he needs is five bucks and he'll have an ID that any programs in city limits'll honor."
"Thanks Grey." You say with a smile as you give him the card back. "I knew you'd have some sort of trick up your sleeve.""Yeah well, been there myself. Had to learn first hand.""Shit, really?"As Grey opens his mouth to answer he's cut off by a pointed throat clearing from Hawthorne. You glance over and see the line is starting to back up slightly."I'll tell you the story another time." Grey promises. "I'm coming, you salty bastard. Sorry folks!"You step out from behind the counter armed with new info. However, your trip back to the corner is interrupted by a firm voice."Scuse me, DeLucia?" You swivel and Captain Kowalski stands before you with a raised brow."Come talk with me for a second.""Something wrong, sir?""You tell me. Any reason you were backing up my line? And what's the deal with the fella in the corner? I haven't seen him get anything yet, he's taking up a chair."His words are firm but his face stays neutral as he asks."Guy in the corner just needed some help navigating social programs, I'm still a rookie with the GCPD so I asked Grey for a little guidance.""Which programs?""Rehab, he's coming down off drops.""One last dose for the road, eh?" He asks humorlessly, though he lets out a breathy chuckle. "Well this ain't a shelter. It's a kitchen, once you tell him what you gotta tell him make sure he knows he's gotta go.""Go? But, he-""He's coming off a high, I can-""Stop." He says simply with a raised hand. "Say his come down gets rougher and he acts up. Hurts someone? Hurts himself? Maybe the withdrawal is bad enough, lord forbid, it kills him. On my property that means it's my problem. You can give him whatever information you got, pack him a soup and a water for the road. But that's where he needs to head, the road.">"I understand, sir. I'll let him know.">"You haven't talked to him, he needs to be monitored until he's sober. THEN he can go to the clinic, we kick him out now he could just go to the nearest dealer.. or worse.">"I understand liability, but don't you run these things to help people? There's really NOTHING you can do except give him some food and a 'get lost'?">“If the line between helping and telling someone to kick rocks is 'liability', maybe I’ve been giving this place too much credit.”>Write-In
>>6281863>>"You haven't talked to him, he needs to be monitored until he's sober. THEN he can go to the clinic, we kick him out now he could just go to the nearest dealer.. or worse."We give this guy a fiver and tell him to hit the road, he is most definitely going to run straight to a dealer.I get where Kowalski 's coming from, but being a public servant means incurring some level of personal liability, especially in Gotham. A firefighter of all people should know that.
>>6281770No worries QM I’m just fuckin around.I mean, DAD YOU CAME BACK!!!
>>6281863>"You haven't talked to him, he needs to be monitored until he's sober. THEN he can go to the clinic, we kick him out now he could just go to the nearest dealer.. or worse."
>>6281906+1
>>6281863>"I understand, sir. I'll let him know."His house, his rules. The reason sucks but makes sense.Plus dude will be leaving with some good info and some soup.
>>6281942Kowalski had a point, his withdrawal's gonna get worse and he might start acting up. However, we shouldn't back down just he made a good point and did so on his own property.This guy is clearly not in a position to go and get the help he needs even if we give him the means to get it, not at this moment anyways. Keeping him here is risky, but I think it's a better option than kicking him out while he's fucked up and literally dying for a fix.
>>6281863>>"I understand, sir. I'll let him know."Not a hill to die on
>>6281977It's not our house though. We can make one more plea, but know our place. A taken seat stops others from eating too. Even a blanket and a seat outside is a big difference. We can follow up end of day or a break
>>6281863>"I understand liability, but don't you run these things to help people? There's really NOTHING you can do except give him some food and a 'get lost'?"but if he insists,>"I understand, sir. I'll let him know.">>6281999What this anon said, essentially.
Getting spam filtered.Keep until sober (5)Sad but understandable (3)Locked in.
>>6281863Changing vote from >>6281933 to backing >>6282118>>6282185Nice timing KEK
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6282186Don't say I never did nothing for you.Tie-Breaker: 1 for Stay 2 for Go
>>6282188>tfw kindness completely flips the vote on its headkek
"Sir, with all due respect. You haven't talked to him, he needs to be monitored until he's sober. THEN he can go to the clinic, we kick him out now and he could just go to the nearest dealer.. or worse."A long sigh drifts out as he rubs his forehead."You're one of them. The boy scouts.""I'm a public servant." You correct him. "I get where you're coming from, sir. But isn't this the job? Helping people?""I'm trying to do that now. But if something goes wrong here, in the worst part of town... I had to fight city hall to even get approval for this kitchen. There's a reason we're running on volunteers." He trails off as he looks in the corner, you can see the conflict in his eyes. "He's talking?""Yeah. I'm not sure how close he is to hitting the rough part.""He's in it. Just might be a tough son of a bitch, I can see the sweat on him from here." He says quietly before groaning. "Come with me."He walks off towards the corner at a brisk pace, startling you, you jog to catch up as he pulls up on the man."Hey fella." He says firmly. "My volunteer here says you're coming off the drops. That true?"The man looks up, his face is paler now with a sheet of beaded sweat, he nods weakly."Yes, sir." He groans softly. "I didn't mean to cause trouble, I-""You're not causing trouble, I'm gonna make sure of that. What's your name?""Ronnie." He croaks."Well, Ronnie. I got a couch in my office, it's got a small bathroom too, I can set you up in there with some water and a little to eat." He cuts off the man opening his mouth with a hand. "However, I already told Mr. DeLucia here that I can't afford any trouble. So if you take me up on that offer, I'll get you set up and I'm locking the door.""What?" You say without really meaning to."If he's serious about getting off em, then he'll have a safe warm place to ride out the worst of it. So, whaddya say?"You watch Ronnie swallow harshly. His tongue runs over dry lips and he nods. Kowalski raises a brow in a subtle display of surprise but you see his expression soften slightly. He offers a hand to Ronnie and helps him rise on shaking knees. You move to the other side and help support him, his body is damp with sweat and you can feel the tremors rolling through him. Along with the Captain you manage to shuffle him through the garage towards a hallway."Down here, around the corner." Kowalski grunts. "Lemme just.. get the door."You both shuffle into the room and lower Ronnie onto a couch where he let's out a shuddering breath and sinks into the cracked leather. A groan of relief hits as he settles in."Better than a metal chair, eh?" You ask, rubbing your arms and thanking Kimble for the strength training.Ronnie only nods, his eyes now peacefully closed as he focuses on his breathing. Kowalski goes behind his desk and hauls up a pack of bottled water that he sets on the desk.
"Got water here, not gonna make you drink out of the tap. I'll be back with some soup too, just the broth. After you dry out I'll get you a cab to..." He looks to you."The library.""The libr-" He stops abruptly. "Excuse me?""He can't get into any of the rehab programs because he lacks and ID and he can't-" "I get the picture. How's the library help.""It's a city issued ID, barcodes and all. It fits the criteria.""Clever. Alright then, we'll get you a lift there and to the facility itself in the morning. But don't go spreading the word, this is a special circumstance." He adds the last part with a hardness that's ever so slightly forced.Ronnie nods shallowly and slowly rotates and curls on the couch. Kowalski nods and leads you out of the office, closing the door gently and fishing up a key ring to lock it up. He sighs and shakes his head."You go this out of the way for everyone you run into?""Pretty much." You reply sheepishly.Kowalski looks at you. Really looks at you. You can feel the analysis loading inside as he finally extends a hand and claps your shoulder."Allison was right." He says simply, giving you a pat before walking past you. "I'll check on him every fifteen to twenty. You should get back out there."You watch him walk away and hear a muffled groan through his office door."You'll be alright buddy." You say to nobody in particular.====The next few hours pass without incident. until the final hour hits..."ALRIGHT EVERYONE, KITCHEN IS CLOSING UP AT MIDNIGHT. WE ONLY GOT THE PERMIT FOR ONE DAY SO ONCE THAT CLOCK HITS TWELVE WE'RE DONE. GET YOUR SOUP. GET YOUR WATER. ANYTHING EXTRA IS GONNA BE HANDED OUT AFTER, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED." Kowalski hollers as he stands on a fold out table.The crowd surges as people go back for second helpings and stragglers from outside start filtering in at the sound of last call. You're doing your best to handle it when someone taps your back as you're scrubbing away a puddle of broth."Mark De-Loose-Ia?" They say."DeLucia." You correct as you stand up. "We know each other?"You look him up and down. He's young, maybe early twenties if not a little younger. Under the arm of his ratty hoodie is a thick bundle of newspaper. He pulls a photo from his pocket and looks at it then back to you. He turns it around revealing a photo of you, hard at work, carrying a stack of lopsided bowls."You're him. I was told to give you this." He extends the newspaper, which you see now is wrapped around a box and secured with old stained twine. "Guy named Vic out front gave me twenty bucks to pass this on.">Sprint outside, he may still be nearby.>"How long ago was this? Did he say anything else?">Take a step back. "Back up and put that package down. Put it down NOW.">Look around for Kowalski and flag him down, he needs to clear this place now.>Write-In
>>6282269>VicOK PANIC but dont actually panicBased off his conversations with us, hes not out to kill us. He would happily kill those close to us but not us. But it means theres less chance this is actually a bomb since we're here. Still, parcel needs to be away from people and trying to clear this spot is asking for a stampede so...>>Write-In"Thanks kid, did he say anything else? You should get going."Take the parcel and fast walk offsite. We want a more isolated locale just on the off chance its dangerous. Once we find a spot, we can call Hawthorne why we took off and we can update him if we need backup once we've assessed the parcel.
>>6282275+1Isn’t Q’s first name also Vic? He wouldn’t go around blabbing it to random guys on the street, but he also wouldn’t want to draw attention by talking to this kid in his mask.
>>6282269>"How long ago was this? Did he say anything else?"Don't fucking panic, and if this is a bomb, we will walk it out of the firestation before we call the bomb squad.
>>6282269>Shiver the parcel for potential dangerGuys, I'm starting to think having a personal nemesis fucking sucks. Mark lives rent free in that guy's head, and it's ruining his life.
>>6282275+1Shivers it too, but only after we're sure it's no bomb and Hawthorne is here to watch over us
>>6282332Yeah, Vic Sage. So it could be either option. Maybe check our phone while we're offsite to see if Sage or Rogers left a text to us?
>>6282269>Shiver the parcel for potential danger
>>6282488Do you honestly believe that somebody as paranoid as Question would send us a text unless he absolutely had to?
>>6282488>>6282332Q wouldn't do something this sketchy, because he himself is far more paranoid than us and knows how this looks.>>6282269>Look around for Kowalski and flag him down, he needs to clear this place now.
>>6282275>>6282332>>6282372>>6282369You freeze for a moment. Does he mean Q or SIM? No, Q wouldn't do this. He'd just be waiting for you at home or in your backseat, this is actually too subtle for him. You swallow dryly and try to maintain your composure as you reply."Thanks kid, when was this? He say anything else?"The kid shrugs."Ten minutes or so, he told me to wait outside and if he wasn't back in a couple minutes to just give this to you.""Right." You say glancing around for a clear route to get this somewhere away from people. "Hey uh, you should go ahead and get going.""Whatever." The kid replies with a bored expression. He wanders out the open garage door and vanishes amidst the line as you head for that same hallway you went through with Kowalski earlier. You pass his office and keep going until you see another open door that reveals a sort of storage room lit by warm yellow. You step inside and slowly close the door behind you as you set the package gingerly on an old dented filing cabinet. You swear you can almost see the air distorting around it, like the shimmers that come from hot asphalt and sunbaked car hoods.You hold a hand over it by a few inches and close your eyes. It feels... familiar. Cold. A slight pain sets in your jaw, just beneath the chin. You feel a familiar dread building. You reach out and lightly pull the twine until the crinkled paper falls open and reveals both things inside. Making up the bulk of the package is a thick folder, GCPD writing clear on the sides. On the top is a small baggie of... human hair? You take a step back. What the fuck is this?>Shivers the package. >This is giving you a really bad feeling. Don't go any further without someone to watch your back.>Urban Augury (What would you like to ask Gotham?)>Write-InThere will be a roll called after I get a couple votes and I plan on doing an additional update showing it's results later this morning (EST)
>>6282639>This is giving you a really bad feeling. Don't go any further without someone to watch your back.Luckily, we brought the whole squad.
>>6282644+1
>>6282639>>This is giving you a really bad feeling. Don't go any further without someone to watch your back.>>Write-InCall Grey and Hawthorne. They'd need to let the station chief know that some fuckery is about and we've isolated ourselves for protection.Also start taking pictures and videos from our phone so that there is a record, preferably with a naration from us of the circumstances.
>>6282644>>6282653>>6282690>>6282709You continue your retreat, something in the air is... sour. You step past the door back into the hallway and take a deep breath of cool air. The staleness of the engine bay nearly as refreshing as the crisp air you'd find in the woods. It helps to settle you as you go back out into the garage bay and find Hawthorne. You make a beeline, trying to not draw attention to the stiffness in your gait or the expression of malcontent that you suppress."Sir. Emergency." You whisper as you lean close to Hawthorne's shoulder."Rook, I'm in the middle of-" His sentence dies as he glances over his shoulder and trails off as he sees the hardness in your eyes. "Shit. What is it?""SIM. Got a kid to deliver me something. A file and... hair."Hawthorne blinks once and then sighs."Sick fucker, can't let us get one night of something nice. Where?""Supply closet in the hallway. Was hoping you and Grey could let Kowalski know and then come back me up while I do my thing. Works better if I'm relaxed."Hawthorne grunts in reply, grabbing a nearby volunteer and handing them a ladle."Keep serving slick. I'll get someone to cover me." He says without room for question before tugging Grey's sleeve. "There's bullshit." Grey's face sinks slightly."How bad?""SIM. The kid needs us to let the Captain know that this frea-" His voice trails off as the two walk away and the soup line slows.You head back for the hallway, you need to lock the scene and record whatever you can. Phone in hand you let yourself back in and gently close it behind you as you snap shots from various angles and prepare yourself for what you can assume won't be a pleasant vision.>Roll 1d100 (Best of 3 due to Calming Presence)
Rolled 37 (1d100)>>6282727Fuck you SIM, fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you
>>6282731
Rolled 73 (1d100)>>6282727Bo3 is basically cheating, right? We should be fine
>>6282733I'd like to remind everyone Crit Fails Override the same as Crit Success. Not that it'll happen of course...
Rolled 7 (1d100)>>6282727
>>6282734Sorry QM. You’ll get another chance to write the bike scene again, just not today.
>>6282733Close call. Thanks, anon!
>>6282731>>6282733>>6282740Slow, even breaths. You focus and try to relax. You know SIM isn't out to kill you, he'd rather have you helping him with his delusions of Armageddon. You let out a sigh you didn't know you were holding back and jump slightly as the door opens."Rook." Hawthorne says simply, stepping inside the room. "This it?"He gestures vaguely at the package, his nose crinkling in disgust as his eyes settle on the small baggie of hair."Fucking psycho..." He grunts."Where's everyone else?""Grey went with Kowalski to check cameras, get a vague idea where nut-job was heading if he got caught on camera. Kimble wanted to hit the street and try to run him down the old fashioned way, Mendez set him straight on that. Both of them are packing as much soup as they can and helping get people out of here.""Good. I uh... I'm a little weirded out by this. Can't lie. We've dealt with things that have scared me or could kill me but this is...""Disturbing." Hawthorne finishes your sentence. "I wish I could say this is a rare occurrence, but it ain't. Lots of sick fucks around here. Guess when you're competing with a fella dressed like a bat you gotta do a lot to stand out.""Yeah, I guess..."Hawthorne steps forward and folds his arms giving you a hard stare."This isn't like you, Mark. This fella was alone with your parents and you weren't sweating like you are now."You swipe above your brow and pull away with a smear of cold sweat. Hawthorne is right, this isn't you. You're feeling something... someone? Else. You swallow and roll your shoulders to loosen up."You're right. Whatever this package is I think it's messing with me. I just feel this..." You trail off and clench your fist over your gut. "I can do it.""I know you can." Hawthorne says simply as he steps aside, silently watching.You step closer and gently extend a finger to touch the bag. Then you blink.A flare of light hits your eyes and blows your vision into a shrinking burning blob.This is familiar... but not. No, you've seen this before only form the outside. The beam of a flashlight holds on your face. Your breathing is ragged and your throat burns with a mixture of tears and snot. You scramble backwards but the massive hand is already reaching in, grasping you by the roots of your short hair and pulling you screaming out from under the bed. "You little shit. Hiding from me." You recognize the deep bass of Angelo Robustelli."Mom!" You scream out, only to have your head snapped to the side by a vicious backhand."Stuff it." He grunts tucking you under his arm as he marches through the house.
Your vision swims and shakes as you're jostled violently. Through your streaky vision you see a dark outline of someone sitting in your kitchen, dark streaks down their face and pooling beneath them. But the sight doesn't last as the humid summer night air hits you. Your face skids across leather seating as you're chucked face first into the backseat of a car. The door slams shut, crumpling your legs slightly. You scramble onto hands and knees, yanking on the handles but the doors stay firmly shut, a dark pane of glass separates the backseat from the driver and the windows are similarly tinted but you see two dark masses moving. You press your ear to the window and listen as the bass of a man's voice passes through."-necessary?""Sir, he was screaming like a fuckin-" A sharp slapping sound cuts Angelo off as you see one form shift slightly."Was. It. Necessary?""No." There's a tense pause and you can barely pick up the follwoing; "No, Mr. Mandragora.""Exactly. If I was worried about noise do you really think I'd have let her use that gun? I know I don't pay you to think, but it'd be nice if you still tried.""Yes, sir. I'm sorry.""Just see that it doesn't happen again."The voices begin to fade slightly as the two men walk near the front of the car, you struggle to hear more than your own flittering heartbeat but you can't. You try harder and harder until you do start to pick something up... the faintest whisper."She's gone..." It says, voice drifting over your spine like fingers on piano keys. "Your fault..."You, the real you, struggles against this voice. Why is SIM showing you this? Is he trying to share his pain? Excuse his actions? You can feel yourself pulling free like a stubborn sticker rubbed into his conscience.>Stop pulling away, he sent this to you for a reason. Focus more on his thoughts and feelings.>Stay in the superficial, take in your surroundings through his eyes and ride out this night with him.>This isn't helpful, it's a supernatural pity party. Pull free and roam outside the car, maybe you can catch Mandragora's conversation.>Write-In
>>6283213>>Stop pulling away, he sent this to you for a reason. Focus more on his thoughts and feelings.
>>6283213>>This isn't helpful, it's a supernatural pity party. Pull free and roam outside the car, maybe you can catch Mandragora's conversation.More tragic backstory bullshit, no thanks
>>6283213>This isn't helpful, it's a supernatural pity party. Pull free and roam outside the car, maybe you can catch Mandragora's conversation.
>>6283213>Stop pulling away, he sent this to you for a reason. Focus more on his thoughts and feelings.>Write in: Focus on this new voice specifically.That voice speaking to SIM, it's not the same one Mark hears. Where is it coming from? Who or what is it? We need to trace it back to its source. This is the root of SIM's evil. He would not have become the deranged psycho he is now if he hadn't been captivated by this mystery thing. We need to learn all we can about it while we have SIM's own past as an indirect throughline keeping us safe from it.
>>6283213>>6283300seconding this
>>6283300+1>>6283282It's not about helping SIM, let alone excusing him. It's about figuring out how to predict him and stop him, and stopping this apocalypse coming for Gotham as well.
Hey guys, gonna do the update over the weekend because I actually got a call back for an interview. Wish me luck, I'll see you soon.
>>6283630I'll rub the lucky Buddha.
>>6283630I wish you all the luck especially good luck it's not a job that's a horrid sweatshop. God I miss MHA quest- the QM's freetime for it is cursed.
>>6283630That's great news. Good luck :)
>>6283630Ayyy congrats QM!Best of luck to you!
>>6283281>>6283290>>6283300>>6283387>>6283472You tune out the rapid pounding of his young heart and focus on that voice he hears. But he doesn't hear it physically, it's like an... ache. An echo."Everything... love.... dies." It surges on you like encroaching waves as you only catch bits and pieces.You feel him curling on the seat as this white hot pressure closes around his heart like a clenched fist. You feel it. Hopelessness. Fear. True terror. But this isn't you, not really. You peel yourself away from his feelings and the sensations afflicting his body and focus purely on those sounds, the fleeting whispers hiding on the stale air of Gotham. But you're used to picking between the lines, used to shifting your focus through so many nights just wanting some sleep, and now it all pays off as you follow this rope to it's mooring point. A place of inky blackness in the back of Vic's mind."This city is disgusting." You hear a feminine voice hiss. You recognize it, the Lady in Red, only a tone you've never heard her get close to. Her voice lower and crackling with gravel."Nothing will change this place.." She continues. "Everyone in this city is doomed."You hear a booming voice not your own echo in your mind."Mom...""Child of Gotham... Orphan of Gotham... Product of a bloodied womb..."You feel a warmth encircling you like a hug. A strange comfort settles over you. It settles in your chest, this familiar heat, but it's... wrong. It feels too perfect. Too form fitting. The way it salves all your pain, mental and physical. It's trying to be inviting and that's what sets your senses on fire. You keep a dry mouthed silence as the voice grows louder, less muffled, and too close."You're listening now... You're close..."The blackness of Vic's inner mind shudders as you feel something deep inside him start to stir. You feel yourself starting to withdraw, the ejection a familiar feeling, but the warmth clings to you. Like it's hesitant to let you go. But despite the tug you feel your grip on this tether still firm as the shuddering grows more intense.>Release the tether, you've gone too deep. Something is coming.>Hold the connection, this could be something big. Find a way to use his zealotry against him. >Call out to The Lady In Red(?), she spoke to YOU. Not Vic. (say what?)>Write-In
>>6285311>>Hold the connection, this could be something big. Find a way to use his zealotry against him.Here's hoping we're not convulsing in the fire station right now.
>>6285311>Hold the connection, this could be something big. Find a way to use his zealotry against him.
>>6285311>Hold the connection, this could be something big. Find a way to use his zealotry against him.Where are you hiding you bastard? Where are you sending your signal from? We're going to find you. Justice is going to find you.
>>6285311>Call out to The Lady In Red(?), she spoke to YOU. Not Vic. (say what?)"Why are you doing this to him? To us? Why are you giving us such different visions of Gotham? it's not good OR bad, it's BOTH, damn it!"
>>6285318>>6285391>>6285421You don't let go of the connection. You can't. Not yet. You feel yourself on the precipice of something big. You feel the cracks in your own focus being filled with Vic's thoughts.Savior. Killer. Hero. Filth. Conflicting exclamations of purpose underlined with guilt that drips from every syllable. But you've tapped into forces deeper than this within your shivers already, you know how to keep your sense of self amidst the foreign thoughts that try to worm their way in. But you can still taste the stale air of the supply closet as you inhale and exhale with slow controlled breaths. You feel the wriggling probing force retreat as the darkness gives way to the faintest glow. A deep red.Everything around you is still inky black, with tiny flecks of silver and white sparkling, but straight ahead you stare at an orb of violent red. Flame or gas or something entirely unknown to you spouts from the planet like water from a fountain, it's brilliant hues of orange, yellow, and red being absorbed by the muted cool tones of the dark around you as it shimmers into black again. Even from here you feel the heat, searing your eyebrows like looking into an oven, even from here you can feel something or someone watching you. You turn and see not a person or a figure but more like a jagged stream of broken light and smeared perception. Just like the root of Shivers. With a breath you reach out and touch it.That's when it hits you fully. Your skull rattles and the vibration shakes your molars like tuning forks. Beneath that familiar orgy of sensation is a single word, a single phrase, direct and pointed like an red hot splinter burrowing directly into Vic's brain.Anti-Life.It's not a thought, not really. Nor is it a belief. It just... exists. Like a disease that taints all it touches, you can see from the stream as faint shades drift up your arm like tendrils. You can feel it's wicked influence twisting every act of cruelty and violence into something that fuels a savior complex. A complex that will never be satisfied. But it doesn't want you, the tendrils don't invade, rather, you feel them tighten and try to push you away. Is it scared of you? Or maybe it's just territorial over it's prey. Either way, you know that if you're tapped into whatever is feeding this delusion into him then that means you have a chance to influence Vic just the same...>Focus and try to implant something into Vic yourself. A memory or something that can push back against this torrent of hate and pessimism. (Such as?)>Grip the tendrils and rip them away. If they feed his delusion then maybe you'll make him see the monster he's become. Even if only for a second.>Cut the connection before anything else happens. You can already feel something sticking to you...>Try to amplify it. Take a note out of John's book and pump his psyche until something gives, put him on his ass for 3 days... or more.>Write-In
>>6285968>Try to amplify it. Take a note out of John's book and pump his psyche until something gives, put him on his ass for 3 days... or more.
>>6285968>Cut the connection before anything else happens. You can already feel something sticking to you...Time to go.
>>6285968>Cut the connection before anything else happens. You can already feel something sticking to you...We know now. All that's left is to throw all this new development onto the schizo board and call in Batman
>>6285968>>Cut the connection before anything else happens. You can already feel something sticking to you...oh joy thats has to be the worst thing in the world to learn
>>6285968>Cut the connection before anything else happens. You can already feel something sticking to you...Oh god, is The Woman Who Is Gotham... The Anti-Life Equation?>>6286108Yuuuuup. This is League Business now.
>>6286108>>6286241>>6286319Whatever this is it doesn't want you here. More than that it wants you gone. No, it wants you DEAD.That's when the connection slips from your mental grasp as you let it go. You can feel the hate of this thing sticking to your thoughts like intrusive memories. It invokes old memories; clutching at your head in bed just trying to push them out enough to sleep. Only this isn't passing through you like a signal through radio, no, this is trying to stick itself to you. Implant something in you. You have a habit of overthinking but not this time. This time your gut is screaming at you and for the first time in a long time the only voice in your head is your own telling you to let go before something horrible happens...Then you blink. You're standing upright which is a pleasant surprise. The less pleasant surprise is the bag of hair you have clenched in both hands. You slowly crane your head around and see Kimble, Grey, and Hawthorne watching you."He awake this time?" Grey asks quietly."I am." You reply to him, watching as he jumps slightly."Jesus Christ, kid." He mumbles. "You're eyes are still all...""Tweaked out." Kimble finishes. "Your pupils are big as hell.""Side-effect.." You say quietly, still settling into a physical body again. "Sorry, just uh.. that one was rough.""Halloween was rough." Hawthorne grumbles. "That just looked like you trying to strangle the life out of a bag of barber-shop trimmings.""I was tapped into whatever the hell is going on in Roger's head. He's... a fucking mess. It's complete chaos in there, he hates himself but also feels like he's a hero? Then there was..."You trail off as your mouth goes dry, it's almost like your body doesn't want you to say it."There was something weird. Something that just kept repeating over and over, in rhythm like a heartbeat or something. 'Anti-Life.' " You say the final words with a sort of solemn finality. All you get in response are cocked brows and narrowed eyes.
"Anti-Life?" Kimble echoes. "Is that like a movement?""Maybe a religious thing, apocalypse wack-jobs always harp on about religion." Hawthorne offers.Grey remains quiet as he scratches at his jaw, his face a familiar mask of concentration and turning gears. Only after a moment does he follow up with a small point."The file, nothing in your vision about that?""The file is a cold case murder. I believe the victim was.. his mother. Lauretta Zsasz, she was a prostitute who was going to turn state witness. But Mandragora got to her first.""Christ." Hawthorne groans. "So Vic Rogers is actually Vic Zsasz and that fat-body took him from his mom for what? Raise him as his own pet psychopath?""I don't know..." You say, tossing the bag onto the file and wiping your hands. "I just know I saw something... really messed up."The door opens and for a minute your heart jumps out of your chest, you swear you see the briefest flash of red as Mendez opens the door and sticks her head in."What the fuck is taking so long? Alli-" She stops when she sees you. "Your girlfriend is asking about you, what's going on, why the station had to be cleared out so quick.""Tell her to cool her jets, we're debriefing." Kimble says before catching himself. "Respectfully. Of course.""Respectfully. Eat shit, Luke." She counters. "Seriously, what am I supposed to tell her?""Tell her to wait a second, I'll explain everything soon but right now I need to...">"Get home. I have a special phone there for some of our... outside friends.">"Get back to the station, I wanna pass this up the chain before I do anything. Commander Reiner would kill me if I went over his head again.">"Get in contact with the Commissioner somehow, I feel like this might affect all of Gotham and he's the man with Dent's ear... and a mutual friend.">Write-InAdditionally:>Tell Allison the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?>Tell Allison something different. (You guys are generally pretty honest with her so if you want to adopt a Full Truth policy with her like you do with Kimble, lmk. If more than a few people are on board I'll stop prompting for it unless the circumstances are extreme.)
>>6286578>Write-in: Tell Allison the truth before leaving the station. Vic has already intimidated Mark’s parents. She needs to know what’s happening if there’s a chance she could be affected.>"Get home. I have a special phone there for some of our... outside friends."Fuuuuuck this. We’re passing this WAY up the chain.
>>6286590+1
Wait, did Batman ever see Mark's schizo board? Would he care to see it especially since Bruce Wayne is on it?
>>6285968What the fuck, I was actually convinced SIM was just insane and "the end of gotham" thing was something all in his le head. I guess it's still kind of is, but with the corrupting influence of evil shit from outer space.Whoops.
>>6286636I was right before that the box hidden deep below Gotham City is the thing corrupting SIM and making him evil. Again, the same problem remains: How are we to reach the box and destroy it? It might be all up to Batman or we're doomed
>>6286578>"Get home. I have a special phone there for some of our... outside friends.">Tell Allison the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
>>6286590+1 to both.Also, when we get home, even if it seemed like nobody entered our apartment, check for warm couch cushions and if it sags more than we’re used to…Oh, should we get Q on the line? It might give him a few more puzzle pieces for his Lex Luthor becomes President conspiracy.
>>6286675You motherfucker, you beat me to the punchline. Kudos to you.
>>6286691>Me when I guessed the actual fucking twistI mean, you kinda inured us to superheros coming into our apartment unannounced. I only figured we were overdue for a supervillain visit if Anti-Life was involved.>Darkseid totally thinks he's pulling a power move by arriving unannounced.>Mark enters completely not giving a shit, knowing his apartment basically has an EasyPass for anyone even remotely considered a superbeing.>Asks, "Alright, so who the fuck are you, and why should I give a shit?" while looking through the fridge for leftovers.
>>6286697No no, he wasn't going to SHOW UP but I did plan on making the Darkseid couch joke. And I'm sticking to it, it's one of my favorite gags in DC
>>6286698Ah, okay. I have been guilty of guessing the plot beats of a quest before and being correct about it, so I'm glad I only predicted the joke part.Also, I would have loved to ruin Darkseid's plans just because he broke our couch.>"It's been in the family since my grandfather, asshole! You can't get normal repairs for it, the company that made it no longer exists!"
>>6286578>Write-in: Tell Allison the truth before leaving the station. >"Get back to the station, I wanna pass this up the chain before I do anything. Commander Reiner would kill me if I went over his head again.">>6286701>Grandpa fought a tyrant>We fought the God of TyrannyFamily tradition indeed.
>>6286849Can't wait to meet GI Robot and convince him we're not a Nazi by belting out "Bella Ciao".
>>6286849Don't forget dear old dad. Medical bills are their own special type of evil.
>>6286590>>6286596>>6286643>>6286675"I need to get home." You say, already saying silent prayers that he's going to be on the other end of that call. "I have a special phone there for some of our... outside friends.""You mean uh..." Kimble trails off and puts two fingers behind his head, like tall ears."Are you twelve?" Hawthorne groans. "Everyone in here knows he's talking about the Batman.""You know Batman?" Mendez asks, arcing a brow."Nice one." Kimble scoffs shaking his head."Long story. Kimble can fill you in on it some other time. For now I gotta go home and see if I can't get him on the line, talk about my vision. Maybe get some perspective."You head for the door and as you turn the knob Grey clears his throat."And Allison? Is she... in the know?""Wouldn't be much of a relationship if I lied to her." You say simply. Grey smiles, his eyes crinkling with clear pride."Right on, kid." He says quietly, sounding years younger.You turn the knob and leave as they start to discuss taking the evidence in and make your way through the halls. A faint echo of retching from the Captain's office makes you frown but you know he'll be better for it in a few hours. You make your way back to the garage and see Allison nervously bouncing her knee as she chews her inner cheek, when you meet eyes you see them light up and visible relief hits."Mark, what the hell is going on?" She asks, neither angry or scared."Rogers. He sent me a package, had a kid deliver it to me.""A package? Is that why your friend had the Captain clear everyone out because it could have been.." She trails off but her jaw sets."I didn't know what it was, but I wasn't taking chances. Ended up being an old file and... some hair.""Hair? Fucking freak.." She mumbles, nose scrunched in disgust."Yeah well, it led me to learn some stuff. Some... intense stuff. Big shit, bigger than Gotham even. I think.. Look he's already threatened my parents." You stop for a brief breath. "And you're important to me. Important enough that if he gets desperate enough.."She cuts you off with a light kiss and a tight hug around your neck as she buries her head into the crook of your neck. You let your sentence die and hug her back. There's something in you that hasn't been until now, until you put it into words. Allison's important to you and the idea that your work could bring her into harm. It scares you."I knew what I was signing up for when I decided to take you up on that date, Mark. I mean, I didn't expect it THIS soon but, being a cop is a dangerous gig.""So is being a firefighter.""True, but a fire is never gonna follow me home or hold a grudge because I put it out. You guys do, it's a real threat.""I'm sorry, I-" She cuts you off with another delicate kiss."I said I knew what I was signing up for." She says quietly. "Besides, I know how to handle myself. If he gets anywhere near me I'll stuff an O2 tank up his ass. Sideways."
You pull back slightly to stare into her eyes and you almost believe her then and there. You give her another squeeze and then regretfully step back."Just be careful, if I learn anything else about whatever I saw I'll be sure to tell you. I try not to do secrets.""Good. Cause I don't like em. I'll have the Captain drive me home. You go do your thing."Despite the horror still lurking in the back of your mind. As you look at her soothing smile you can't help but mirror it and nod shallowly.=====The drive home is near torture with traffic and red lights. Every second you spend Despite all the hours you spend crammed into one on the daily you wish for nothing more than to be in your cruiser right now with lights and sirens blaring so that everyone and everything would get out of your way. But despite the tension building you keep a cool head and eventually make it home. You take the stairs too at a time and give Mrs. Dover a rushed and mumbled "No thank you" as she tries to catch you in the hallway with some sort of baked dish.You slip inside and the door closes behind you with a solid click. Paranoia runs over you like rain on roof shingles as you give the entire living space a slow scan, looking for the slightest thing out of place."You're acting crazy. Relax." You say aloud to yourself before you realize the irony. Question must be rubbing off on you.You make your way to the room and fish out the briefcase from it's hiding place inside your box spring. Unlatching it and throwing it open you waste no time pulling the receiver to your head and slapping the button in the center of it's bat logo.There's that familiar silence again as the phone, hopefully, connects. After a couple seconds you hear the crackle of the line opening up. Only the voice you hear isn't what you expected."Yello." You hear on the other end. Casual, light, young."Uh.. I'm calling for Batman?" You say awkwardly.You hear a muffled "Oh sh-" and the sound of the phone rubbing against something like fabric as the voice returns but now lowered a few octaves and with some added gravel. Still young, still not Batman."Speaking." He tries."Look, this is a bad time for fucking jokes right now. I know you're connected with Batman because he's the one who gave me this damn phone. Put him on.""I don't kno-""Cut the shit!" You say a little louder than you intended. You pause for a moment and don't hear Mrs. Dover moving around so you continue in a hissing whisper. "Look, whoever you are. My name is Officer Mark DeLucia, I have VERY important information for Batman about something big. Bigger than the Tulpa even... maybe.""The tulpa?" The voice echoes, the faux-gravel gone. "Oh! You're the cop! The Psychic! Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice.""What? Do we know each other?""We met briefly at the Museum. You dropped out of a vent after I took out a handful of Anarky goons, 'member?"
"Nightwing? I thought you were out of town?""I was, had to do with that tulpa business." He clears his throat. "Look uh, speaking of... that stuff at the Asylum. Do you know what went down?""What? No, why?""He's been laid up for a few days now, out for three and he's barely able to move as is. How serious is this?""Uh, really fucking serious. Can you not just give him the phone?""Not... exactly. BUT I do have an alternative. You're sure it's 'really fucking serious'?""Very sure. I saw and felt something... horrible. Gave me a phrase in my head over and over. Anti-Life."There's a brief silence and you hear the clacking of keys and then a huff."Nothing on our files about that. But I know you helped the big guy out once already so..." He pauses again, you can feel his internal argument playing out. "He can't go anywhere so how about you come to us?""Like your base?""Base is a bit of a... no no yeah it's pretty much a base. He won't exactly be happy about it.""Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I learned about this Anti-Life stuff from digging in another guy's mind. A guy with similar powers. I can't guarantee he couldn't.. y'know."There's a full throated laugh that comes through the handset that fades away."Don't worry, Officer. I wasn't gonna send you an address or anything. I was thinking something a little more... Black Ops.""Meaning?""Meaning I'll give you a meet point and rendevous with you there. At which point I'll give you the old black bag treatment and bring you with me. Then before you leave, I bag you up again.""Uh..""Trust me, if I did it any other way he'd use me for Batarang practice. It'll be fine. The alternative is you can tell me everything, I'll record it and pass it along to him. Get you an answer as soon as I can.">"This is something that needs to be talked about in person.... just don't put the bag on too tight.">"No offense but... I don't know you THAT well to agree to getting 'Black Bagged'. I'll tell you everything so you can relay it.">"This is something that's better done face to face... but being honest I don't know you that well. Could I maybe bring someone along with me? I'm friends with a... League member. Another detective, even. Three brains are better than two and all.">Write-In Temp Taking Moment. >How am I doing writing the scenes between Allison and Mark? I am not used to doing 'romantic' writing really so this is still new-ish ground for me. Do you guys feel like the characters have chemistry and that things are moving for them at a pretty decent pace? Curious to hear feedback on that aspect of the story in particular.
>>6287114>"This is something that's better done face to face... but being honest I don't know you that well. Could I maybe bring someone along with me? I'm friends with a... League member. Another detective, even. Three brains are better than two and all."Only because a meeting between Question and Batman sounds hilarious.>spoilerIt's clear that the relationship is going at a steady pace, and the small moments of intimacy give the story a good bit of color. All in all I think you've been doing a great job with it.
>>6287114>>Write-In>"Oh god, I'm going to be black bagged to the batcave or what its called. Yes."For any born and bred gothamite kid, this induces a certain amount of childish glee.>>How am I doing writing the scenes between Allison and Mark? Its great, I love it. Its two goddamn adults going at it and trying to make it work.
>>6287114>"This is something that needs to be talked about in person.... just don't put the bag on too tight."This is what Batman gets for breaking into our apartment.
>>6287114>spoilerIt’s going pretty good! Dialogue between them is cute and realistic and is progressing at a good pace.Thanks for keeping it to dialogue only. A lot of romantic writing gets overly sappy or borderline pornographic for no good reason.
>>6287125+1Q is gonna FREAK>>6287126+1 the silent childish glee tooMark is not immune to this, Gotham is his city
>>6287114>"This is something that needs to be talked about in person.... just don't put the bag on too tight."
>>6287145Pretty much this.>"Nightwing, to save Gotham from what is to come, you must black-bag me and whisk me away to your secret offsite location.">"Do it... For America."
Fuck it.>>6287132Changing to>>6287126+1I also second the “your country needs you” cheese ball dialogue. Because it’s funny and Nightwing would probably play along.
>>6287194Thirding the funny
>>6287125+1 to all of the above vote and sentiment. You're doing a fine job, QM. Allison's no as fleshed-out as, say, the other cops, but that's fine. The story's focus isn't the romance.
>>6287126+1, also +1 for “Black Bagged for ‘Mericuh”.>”Oh, before I forget, got a whiteboard and dry erase markers? I’m probably going to have to make an update to a previous Thought Board regarding what I saw.”
>>6287943How will the original anon update this?
>>6287945The three things I’d think to add to it would be a line connecting the Warden to Mandragora, Nightwing himself connected to the Lady in Red due to her favoring him, and a big fat “Anti-Life” planet picture in the center, connecting with SIM, Gotham’s End, and possibly Calc. Unfortunately, I suck at art.
>>6287943Gotta add "giant flaming hell planet" to the conspiracy board now.
>>6287951Along with a little side note "Thanus theory?"
>>6287111>"You mean uh..." Kimble trails off and puts two fingers behind his head, like tall ears.>"Are you twelve?" Hawthorne groans.Now that's funny>>6287947>I suck at art.??? It's all stick figures in white rectangles, anon>>6287945Large chunks of this are irrelevant now, no need to draw it.To explain things to Grey it was justified to go full schizo, but Nightwing doesn't need all that. But sure, I can update. Not much have changed anyway
Yeah, not much to update. Mark kind of oversold this to Nightwing, we don't even know about the mother box or whatever is beaming this shit into SIM's brain. We just picked up a bit of apocalypse wi-fi, without knowing where it comes from. And if League haven't fought Darkside yet, then nobody has an idea what does Anti-life mean.Only lower 5 cards on this board even matter for this particular meeting
We're gonna be redpilling nightwing on the dreamworld>Okay, so there's pretty much only 4 residents>One is this woman who's stuck there and also lives way too fast, other 2 are me and SIM, and bat-demon-tulpa was also living there, but that one was maimed recently by Bat and John.>Oh yeah, and also something is beaming PURE EVIL at full volume out there, that's a little annoying.
>>6288109I love the Schizo Boards, always a pleasure to see them updated even with small things. I particularly like the removal of ? from Corrupt Warden. I also really dig the choice from a few pieces posted of having mark be a silhouette with the white eyes and badge. Very cool imo. >>6287126I'm also sold on Mark fanboying the slightest bit to see a rumored Gotham holy site essentially.Thanks for everyone who gave me feedback as well, glad to see I'm managing the budding romance well. Probably be back tonight with an update if I don't end up getting called in for something. See you soon.
>>6288203>if I don’t get called in to deal with somethingI take it the interview went well then? Congrats on the (possibly) new job QM!
>>6288736Very well, I am happy to confirm. Update in a few hours, locked in for geeking out over the cave, invoking patriotism, and contacting your favorite Schizo.
>>6287125>>6287126>>6287145>>6287183"Look, this is something better done face to face... but being honest I don't know you that well. Could I maybe bring someone along with me?"A scoff mixed with a chuckle cuts you off."You've met Batman right? You really think that's a good idea?""Well, I figure it would be fine since my friend.. he's a League member. Another detective, even. Three brains are better than two and all..." You trail off."Eh... what's the name.""The Question..." You half mumble.You hear again the clacking of keys and a light beep."Huh, yeah he's on the files. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a familiar face.."You feel the corner of your mouth twitch at that but suppress it."So we're good?""Good as we can be, I'll send you the coordinates and pick you up. Then we go to the cave and-""The cave? Like, the BAT-Cave? That's real!?""Very." He says, you can hear the smile. "I didn't believe it either. But it's even cooler than you think.""Damn... I'm getting black bagged and taken to the Bat-Cave." Your stress and anxiety melt away for a brief moment as your inner child lets loose a great grin. "Hell yeah."Nightwing's laughter comes clear through the phone, but you can feel how friendly it is, not a trace of mockery."You have no idea, pal. I'll meet you in an hour. Sending you the coordinates now."Your phone blips and you open the message to see a familiar set of numbers."I've already been here, this is the crossroads right outside town.""Good, then you won't get lost. One hour."The line dies and you hook the phone up as the knot in your gut loosens just a bit. The Batcave... holy shit.====You sip at the energy drink as you lay reclined in your car, eyes on the night sky as you try to fight off the setting fatigue from earlier. You lift the can and catch site of headlights down the road. As you sit up to take a look they suddenly cut off and you watch as the car drops in speed, slowing down to a roll as it pulls into the grass nearby until it comes to a stop behind a small patch of trees. You shake your head and grin as you finish the last dregs of your drink and step out of your car."Q?" You call out. "What're you doing, man? Nobody is out here."A car door closing and the gentle scuffing of loafers on gravel approach as from between the trees Question emerges with his trench coat catching on branches and some overgrowth. He nonchalantly tugs it free before stepping into the street, craning his head letting his non-existent eyes scan the area."You can never be too careful, detective." He says in his usual monotone. "Well. You could.""I didn't see the need considering we're in the middle of a dirt road, Q.""You never know who can be listening, Detective. Did you know the US military invested five billion dollars into a project to create an orbital shotgun microphone? Code named: Project Ishmael.""Is this another theory like the fluoride radiation stuff? Or do you have any proof?"
>>6287194>>6287228>>6287385"Wouldn't THEY like to know." Questions says as he pointedly turns his face to the night sky.You shake your head and scoff."I missed ya, pal." You mumble.His head swivels down to you for a moment before looking back up again."I'll be leaving soon. Gotham, I mean.""What?""I have nothing keeping me here. I needed to..." He trails off. "I wanted to get better. I believe I have. No small part thanks to you, Detective.""Yeah me and H-" A speedy glance stops you and you sigh. "Me and HER. What's her plan? Sticking around?""She wants to come with me." He says almost wistfully. "I don't hate the idea."You raise an eyebrow and give him your best Hawthorne glare."...it's not offensive."You maintain."I'm glad." He states flatly, but you can see the way his shoulders relax. First time admitting it, even to himself. "You've only grown more astute since we've met, a result of police work or your growing experience with your abilities?""Column A, Column B." You say with a shrug. "You've gotten a lot less... stiff. Still crazy as a two dollar bill.""What's truly crazy is the reason such a piece of currency was ever made in the first place... it all starts with Utah-"His new speech is cut short by the distant rumble of a powerful engine. You both freeze in place as the sound grows louder. Cresting over a low hill you see a heavy vehicle, a shadow between shadows despite it's long frame, if it wasn't for the rumbling you could easily miss it."Detective, I believe that's our ride." Question says digging into his coat pocket and producing a small disk. "I need a favor.""What is that?" You ask in a hushed shout. "Are you serious!?""Just a little insurance, Detective. I don't make a habit of going to secondary locations without someone being able to locate me." He pauses for a moment and you don't see it, but you feel it in your own skin. He shudders. A bad memory. A burning pain in your temples. You blink away the pain as he speaks up again, quieter. "I'd like it if you wouldn't use your abilities on me, Detective.""What? How-""I can see it in your face. In your eyes. Maybe it would be more appealing to you if I propositioned it as revenge? He did it you, let's return the favor.""Q, I don't.." You're cut off as the rumbling grows, the vehicle almost here."Just draw his attention away from me for a moment, I'll plant it quickly and then we can carry on with peace of mind."You open your mouth but the engine drowns out any sound you could potentially make. As the car comes to a stop Question gives you a subtle nod.>Distract Nightwing so Question can plant the bug.>Grab Question and hold him next to you, don't let him step away.>Let Nightwing know about the tracker.>Write-In
>>6289195>Write-In>Dude what the fuck is wrong with you? This is Batman we’re talking about, you think he won’t be able to detect a RADIO TRANSMITTER of all things?>I have a lot riding on this meeting, this info NEEDS to get to Batman. Do NOT fuck this up because you’re paranoid.Kind of mean, but less mean than just blatantly ratting him out to Nightwing the first chance we get.>>6289068My man! You can’t keep a good Detective(QM) down!
>>6289263+1
>>6289195>Distract Nightwing so Question can plant the bug.
>>6289263ThisIt's fucking batman. Just counter paranoia him. That this could effectively unmask batman. Like there aren't bad actors continously running sigint near likely locations batman is. The cave almost certainly is protected meaning the route has to be recorded. Does he really think his data security will hold up to batman villains/ active government surveillance. Part of questions ability to work is he's not as high on the lists. Last thing he wants is to jump many levels given any real hint of knowing this info
>invite borderline schizophrenic paranoiac>become irate when he acts paranoidlel
>>6289456We need somebody to watch our back and corroborate certain bits of our story to Bats if he's (understandably) skeptical.Second, just because he has bad habits doesn't mean he's not capable of defying them when the situation calls for it...like now.
>>6289263>+1There's a reason Question usually does his own thing.
>>6289195>"Q, buddy, PLEASE! There is NO shot the Ba-">Glance up, just in case.>"-er, CAR doesn’t have some kind of scanner doodad for this EXACT scenario, it’s not worth it!">"Just rein it in and have some faith that we’ll be fine as long as we have each other’s backs. That was the whole point!"
>>6289068Congrats, DetectQM!>>6289299+1 to this rationale, and to the personal appeal in >>6289498
>>6289498Yeah this
>>6289263>>6289272Your hand shoots out before you can stop it as you slap the small disk from his hands into the dry grass."What the fuck is wrong with you!?" You hiss."Well that was hardly necessary." Question says calmly."Oh come on, this is..." You hate yourself for it but you glance up for the briefest moment. "You know who we're going to see. You don't think HE has planned for this EXACT thing? That the... car doesn't have the ability to detect a radio transmitter?""Please. Radio Transmission is sophomoric, the radio waves haven't been safe since the BBC created an algorithm tha-""I don't give a fuck!" You hiss again, then you take a breath and calm down. "I'm sorry. But please, I have a lot riding on this meeting. What I have to say he NEEDS to hear. Have some faith, we'll be fine because we're watching out for each other. It's the whole point I asked you to come.""You trust me? That deeply?" He asks, his usual monotone coming out slower than usual.The sounds of the engine die down as a hydraulic hiss pierces the night air. You glance at Question again and plead with your eyes."Trust... isn't easy for me, Detective. I apologize. I'll try to be better.."You hear the light impact of feet on packed dirt as Nightwing drops from the now open cockpit of the vehicle. He stands awkwardly for a moment before speaking."Am I, uh. Interrupting something?" He says half-joking."Not at all." Question says, putting his hands behind his back as he walks a slow circle. "You seem familiar.""I help out in town on occasion. Usually work out of Bloodhaven, probably know me from-""No. I know you from Gotham." He slowly looks Nightwing up and down."Am I imagining things or does he not have a face?" Nightwing asks glancing at you now."I thought you looked him up?"Question whips his head at that."I did, but the league database doesn't do pictures. Nothing about his looks on there.""Yes. Well, it probably has to do with the fact that I was cast out of the League somewhat recently." Question says quietly. You feel a twinge of shame rising like bile in your throat. Not your shame."Uh, unless it happened within the hour; not true. You're a member in good standing.""I... what?" Question seems truly shocked at this development. You see his jaw stretch to speak again but he stops himself. "Perhaps we should discuss this on the way? The Detective is eager to get to his meeting.""Sure thing. It'll be a bit of a tight squeeze, had to borrow an older model ever since he put the new electronic locks on."He guides you both to the car and helps you step into it as you settle in the passenger seat, feeling more like a fighter pilot than an occupant, Question bumps and squeezes by you as he forces himself into the cramped back bench. He settles roughly and removes his fedora, setting it aside. Nightwing leaps into the driver seat from a standing position, his control perfect as he lands comfortably and flicks a few switches.
"This thing goes pretty fast so, if you need to get sick... don't actually. I think he removed the barf bags." Nightwing punctuates his statement with a smile. Despite the lack of pupils behind the whites of his mask you can almost feel the side glance towards Question.The engine whirs violently before exploding to life, the top of the vehicle sliding back into place with a hiss of hydraulics and a satisfying click. The windshield in front of you comes to life with a light blue display that stands out against the tint of the glass, a map of the immediate area is displayed and you see a scrolling log of 911 calls being transcribed in real time. You can't help but let your jaw drop a little."Only one more thing." Nightwing says opening a square console in the center and withdrawing two dark black sacks with strings around the base. "I know you don't have eyes and all, but I'd still like you to put this on back there. You too, Officer.""I understand." You say with a faux solemn tone. "To save Gotham from what is to come, you must black-bag me and whisk me away to your secret off-site location.""Now that's closer to how I expected a Psychic Cop to talk!" He says with a chuckle. "Glad you're being a good sport about this.""I have no choice. What I do, I do... for America." You announce as you open the sack."I knew I liked you." He says shaking his head and offering one back to Question. "You too, eyes or no-eyes."Question grumbles but leans forward, his gloved hand taking the bag and tugging it snuggly over his head. He completes the look by resting his fedora above it and folding his arms. You join him in darkness and within a few seconds the roar of the engine dampens and you feel yourself press into the back of your seat as the vehicle takes off at an incredible speed."Holy shit..." You mutter, childlike glee still plucking at your heart strings. Living the dream of every kid in Gotham, a ride in the Batmobile...A few minutes pass, hardly five, when Question begins to pipe up again."What was your name again?""Nightwing. But I don't fly, I also go out during the day. It's a branding thing.""Nightwing." Question repeats, rolling the word around in his mouth for a moment. "I have a hypothesis, Nightwing.""Oh yeah?" He replies."Q..." You warn."Nothing offensive, Officer. I just believe our driver to be none other than Robin. Apprentice to Batman. The FIRST Robin, specifically."Nightwing barks out a laugh."That right?""That's right." Question replies, a few orders more serious than Nightwing's tone.>"Q, enough! I don't know why you're invested in a pissing contest but it's rude. Drop it.">"Why do you think that? He seems a bit... old. No offence.">"Is that true, Nightwing? Were you Robin?">Stay silent, this is poor tact but otherwise harmless conversation.>Write-In
>>6289734>"Why do you think that? He seems a bit... old. No offence.">"Is that true, Nightwing? Were you Robin?"
>>6289736Tbh I don't see why Q making that question would get Mark in a bad mood, we just know he's a good detective and are on the same side. Plus, if he doesn't know Robin's identity then there's no risk about Nightwing confirming it or denying it, either way Q will still believe he's on the right(And it's logical desu, like: Robin hasn't been seen from some time > there's a new vigilante called Nightwing in another town and operating on the day > similar suit design to Batman > Being so trusted by Batman that not only he's staying and operating on the Batcave, but also using some other versions of the Batmobile to pick them up), the only way for something like that happened is for Batman himself to be killed or some super mastermind getting the drop of him, getting him locked away on other location and leaving just a random guy operating on the Batcave knowing the other JL members won't be calling anytime soon and discovering this plan.Plus, if Q gets really mad because of how jockey and dismissive Nightwing is, or the two start acting hostile we can always bring the conversation to what the JL files said towards Q, because that's something that really got his attention
>>6289772Oh I forgot to +1>>6289736
>>6289736+1 to this
>>6289736+1
Why did you guys brought Q in the first place? Not like he has important info
>>6289736Also +1
>>6289807I believe we're going to explain the whole Schizo Board with the proofs and Q as a collaborator, or just part of the investigation.
>>6289812>we're going to explain the whole Schizo BoardWhat, why?? We only need to inform Bat of the EVIL emmiter beaming anti-life something in/under gotham, not whatever connection we made between varuios mafia guys.
>>6289815>whatever connection we made between varuios mafia guys.You think he won't care about that? Or what we found out about Scarecrow's involvement with Anarky during the museum attack?
>>6289807Tbf a half decent explanation in universe would be that the last time Mark dealt with Batman alone he ended up with a coma killswitch in his brain. Q is insane but if Batman does another calculated risk at least Q will be able to press him a little more than we can.
>>6289815>What, why??Aside from the Anti-Life, I'm sure Q had heard of some conspiracy on the Gotham sewage system aside from Killer Crock having a litter somewhere deep in there. And also remember Calc plan and how we know shit from what the final step is, how we don't know they're linked? What if there's some psychic villain trying to silently move Vic so that they help Calc's plan? You have to admit there could be some kind of connection between them, either knowingly or not
>>6289736>>6289774>>6289786>>6289805>>6289808You cock your head in the darkness of the bag."Why do you think that? He seems a bit... old. No offence.""Ouch. I'm not even thirty, man." Nightwing replies lightly. "But I have been around the old man for a while.""Old man..." Question mumbles to himself. "Familiar... paternal even.""Romantic even, like Bikers and their old ladies. But he's not my type, I prefer curves with the muscles and a bit more... orange.""So is it true? Were you Robin?""Who me? The guy driving one of Batman's relics, with a shared love of skulking around on rooftops, wearing black, and a desire to have as many pouches on my belt as possible? It's hardly an impressive deduction.""Abduction." Question corrects."What's the difference?" He scoffs."You should know."You hear the leather of Nightwing's seat creak as he shifts."You must be fun at parties...""I don't get invited to parties.""Ya don't say?" Nightwing replies. "But yes, I used to be Robin. Common sense a guy can't stay a kid forever.""So the other Robins... friends of yours or..." You say."If you weren't bagged right now you'd see me pretending to zip my mouth and lock it. No offence or anything but I hardly know you either. Plus your friend gives me the creeps.""He's... passionate. Blunt. Lacks social skills..." You trail off. "But he's a good guy. He cares about the truth.""That why you brought him along?"You shrug."Somewhat. No offense to him, but the last time I worked with Batman a magician put an off switch in my head and put me in a coma for three days."Nightwing whistles low."Rough." His voice is tinged with something now, almost apologetic."It is what it is. I don't take it personally but he did seem pretty certain John was up to something, just didn't give me the full scope.""John? John Constantine!?""You don't know what your mentor gets up to in his spare time?" Question prods."I've been out of town." Nightwing retorts, you can hear the clench in his jaw. "If he was willing to work with that... fruitcake, things must have been worse than he let on.""Have a habit of underselling, does he?"The only reply Question gets to that is a scoff."We'll be there soon." =====
The sound of the engine outside the car softens slightly as you feel a sharp turn. Then slight bumps as you heat the wheels go from pavement to dirt or gravel. The roar of the engine morphs as it bounces off the outside world and back into the glass. A tunnel or something similar... it is a cave after all. The car comes to an abrupt stop and four heavy clicks are heard as Nightwing whips the bag off your head and smiles at you. Your surroundings pitch black except for the delicate glow of the HUD across the windshield."Home sweet home. Only one thing now." He opens the center console again and gestures. "Phones, watches, anything electric you want to still work needs to go in here.""A faraday box." Questions says, flipping his bag inside out and shrugging out of his coat. "EMP pulses on the entrances and exits... clever. Very clever... and paranoid.""Pays to be careful in our line of work.""I meant it as a compliment."You empty your pockets and watch with a pained expression as Question works on stuffing his entire trench coat into the small space. He finally succeeds and then gently tops the crammed mound of fabric with his hat. Nightwing shakes his head and shuts the lid before punching in a rapid series of numbers. You feel your gut lurch as you begin rising. Dim red lights blow past and then a flash of blue hits, the system lights dim for a moment but maintain."Targeted EMP... expensive technology... or proprietary." Question muses to himself quietly.As the lift comes to a stop you stare in awe. The top of the car pops and Nightwing hops out, lifting his arms."Welcome to the Batcave, Officer DeLucia... and guest.""Is that a fucking dinosaur?" You ask, slack-jawed. "And where did he get a penny that big?""Perhaps it belonged to the dinosaur." Question says, though you can hardly tell if he's joking."I wouldn't worry about Rex, he's just an old animatronic. Batman's a collector though. 'Reminders' he calls em. But honestly... I think he's just a sucker for nostalgia. Of course some of it is uh... old supervillain tech so. Hands to yourself. Just in case.""It's amazing..." You say breathlessly, slowly rotating on the platform to take it all in. "It's absolutely massive... where the hell do you hide something like this? Not that I'm actually asking, of course just... wow.""You keep looking at the penny, it's a classic. Was an art piece at the Gotham Mint, used to hang from the ceiling.""What happened?""Half-Mafioso Half-Nutjob was trying to run a heist. Batman stopped him, I can take you closer and show you some scorching around the bottom. Guy had a flamethrower.""Been there." You mumble."No kidding?""And what's the significance of this piece?" Question asks, voice booming from a far wall you hadn't even noticed him slink off towards. Before him is a framed poster, edges curled and slightly tattered, despite the heavy weathering you can still make it out: The Mark of Zorro.
"That's before my time." He says a bit stiffly. "Maybe we should save the tour for after your chat, actually. You said it yourself, faceless-guy. The Officer is eager for his meeting.""My name is The Question.""I know." He says simply, then glances at you. "Come on, I'll take you to where he's recovering. Both of you."He leads you both past a massive computer banks to a steel door built into the dark stone of the cave, a thin red beam drags across his body and you hear the click of a lock disengaging. Before he can open it Question clears his throat."I wanted to know if I could speak with him first. Alone. You mentioned my League files and... I was hoping to speak about them privately.""Q, is this really necessary?""I must insist, Detective. It won't take longer than a minute or two, I promise." His voice is different, the stoic coldness laced with an almost pleading."Q, I don't-""It's fine. If it could wait long enough for us to meet then it can wait another minute. Right?" Nightwing interjects. He taps the door and it slides open, releasing the stinging smell of hospital equipment. "Go ahead.""Thank you... Nightwing." Question says almost imperceptibly before going through the door.Nightwing steps back as the door closes and makes off for the computer bay. He slides into the chair. His fingers fly across the keyboard as he navigates a series of menus."That was nice of you. Especially since Q is more than a little... abrasive.""Yeah well... I'm not exactly a saint." Nightwing mumbles as he pulls up a green bar and enters a protected password which then pulls up a security feed. A small room with medical equipment sits almost static on the screen if not for one shifting shape. Resting on the bed is a familiar face, at least it would be if it wasn't covered by a mask. Batman, with no shortage of bandages plastered to him."You're spying on Q's conversation?""He's not the only one with bugs." He replies simply."Bugs?" Your stomach clenches. "You heard...?""Shhhh." Nightwing says, putting a finger to his lips before glancing up. "You never know who's listening."He chuckles to himself and turns around again. Another flurry of keys and then the pop of audio connecting. The sound of Question's loafers on tile coming through crystal clear."Besides, I'm curious." He pulls up another chair and pats it. "Take a load off.">Sit down. Despite all your conversations you can't help but feel curious too.>Walk away. This is a private moment Q asked for, you can't make Nightwing respect it but you still can.>Head back to the door and try to let Q know about the spying. He probably already suspected it anyway.>Invoke Batman. "Is HE gonna be okay with this?">Write-In
>>6290208>Write-In“You’re also keeping a ear open in case he does something funny with batman. I understand. But if its all the same to you, I think i’ll go stare at some of that memorabilia.”Understand nightwing’s position but also refuse to eavesdrop. Q is paranoid enough to know hes being recorded so no need to warn him. Go stare at exhibits from a safe distance and maybe see the row of old costumes if that line up is there.
>>6290221+1
>>6290221this
>>6290208>>6290221+1
Update tonight as I have some on-boarding to do for the new job today, but after today I should get my new schedule and be able to let you guys know any shifts to the posting schedule. Thanks for hanging in during a bit of a scuffed time for me, means a lot. See you guys soon!
>>6290764Sounds good, thanks for the notice!
>>6290221>>6290278>>6290337>>6290402>>6290535"I understand that you want to keep an ear open in case he does something funny with Batman." You begin, ignoring Nightwing's scoff. "But if its all the same to you, I think I'll go stare at some of that memorabilia.""Go crazy, just a reminder, old villain tech. Hands to yourself.""I'm curious, not dumb. Let me know when Question is done." You say stepping away."No flash photography either!" Nightwing calls, his voice cutting off Question's voice as it leaks from unseen speakers."...owe you an apology." ====As you walk the narrow paths you can't help but suppress a shudder. A cold winter wind drifts through and a series of small squeaks somewhere far above imply you aren't the only person upset with the chill. But even after the breeze had passed you still feel a current of unease, your heart pulses with a bittersweet ache as you pass under a small archway that leads to a chamber filled with tall glass domes."Holy shit..." You mutter to yourself.Stepping inside your eyes go wide as you look over maybe a dozen different suits. Some full with a mannequin inside, obviously outdated or out of use, more than one holding some sign of damage. You stop in front of one particular case and lean in when you notice the Bat sigil on the chest fractured and cracked. In the center, a brass glint, a bullet lodged in the center and light discoloration around the bottom points of it's wings. Dried blood. You lean back and make your way to the center display to see two familiar outfits.Held aloft by barely visible wire is the uniform of Robin beside the cloak and cowl of Batman. You recognize these from news articles and blurry video shown on the news. It was only slightly before your time but it was a time that Batman was more of an urban legend as opposed to the UN Recognized Hero he is now. You don't even realize that your hand barely reaches out to touch the glass.Then you blink.The smell of buttered popcorn and salted peanuts barely overpowers the stench of hay and manure. Tense music plays over crackling speakers. Your senses are all sharp except for your vision which is smeared and muddied, you can only just make out the shape of a hand reaching out towards you. You reach back only to watch two blurry bodies fall farther and farther from you.Then you blink and feel a warm tear down your cheek. You step back taking a deep breath as you swipe it away. Your head is buzzing like a hive but the usual whispers don't say anything, almost like they're being suppressed. But now there's a crack in the dam and you can feel the air around you teeming with memories all pulling you different directions. You decide to go...>Towards a different Robin suit, marked with writing across it.>A sword mounted on the wall, engraved with a jackal's head.>A Batsuit you've never seen, one more... womanly.>A framed note, half burned away.>Write-In (Up to my discretion)
>>6291144>>Write-In (Up to my discretion)MYSTERY BOX
>>6291164Are you sure, Anon?
>>6291170Lets fucking go
>>6291144>>A sword mounted on the wall, engraved with a jackal's head.
>>6291144>A sword mounted on the wall, engraved with a jackal's head.
>>6291144>A framed note, half burned away.
>>6291144>A sword mounted on the wall, engraved with a jackal's head.Ra's Al Ghul, I presume?
>>6291272>Ra's Al Ghul, I presume?If it's in here with the old costumes and news clippings, I think it might be one of Damian's or Talia's.
>>6291319>DamianHave we seen present-day Robin? Between Q's comments and the obvious Jason Todd costume, I'd assume it's probably Tim Drake or Damian Wayne if there is one...
>>6291144>>6291164+1We ball with the Joker, baby.
>>6291444+1
>>6291144>>6291164MYSTERY BOX!
MYSTERY BOX: >>6291164>>6291483>>6292800Sword: >>6291223>>6291228>>6291272The note:>>6291239>>6291253>>6291444>>6291766The note wins out by a SLIM margin.
>>6292897A slim margin? Will the REAL Slim Margin please stand up?
>>6291239>>6291253>>6291444>>6291766Something about that note. More of a scrap really, with black and grey edges, it sits prominently in the center of the frame. You barely picked up on it until you took a few steps closer. There's an odd voice out of the usual quiet rabbling, but you can only really hear it when you focus. It's almost foreign, but you can still feel the tones of it. Sadness. Regret. The smallest tinge of hope. You lightly touch the golden frame and read what little remains of this note."...I'm a man who's been corrupted by his own unbearable pain. I'm a man who has too much blood on his hands to be called good. Your friend taught me we can't only live a life for those we've lost. We have to live a life for those we still have. If I got a second chance, I would hope I'd come to understand that. To live that..."You taste coppery blood in your mouth. The familiar texture of a trigger on your fingertip. You can even smell the gun smoke. But any image you try to draw from the blackness behind your eyelids is smeared and mirrored. You can make out Gotham's skyline but it's all wrong, too tall, too bright, like something from a bad sci-fi movie. But you still see glimpses of it, like a marionette taking place in a replica of Gotham. You pull your hand away and swallow down a hard lump.A light whirring makes you jump. Whipping around you see something hovering around chest height. A small drone."Your friend is wrapped up." Nightwing's voice rings out, the drone smoothly rotating 180 degrees and gently drifting away.You follow it back to the computer set-up where Nightwing sits with his feet kicked up and a very dark screen. The eyes of his mask glow a light blue as the drone settles on the arm of a chair and then the glow fades."That uh, for surveillance?" You ask, pointing to the sleek black model."Surveillance? No way, it's too loud for that. Nah it was a..." He trails off for a moment. "Just a toy. Something to mess with. Your friend should be done if you wanna head in.""Should be? You said he was wrapped up. I also thought you were listening?""Ah yeah... about that.""He realized you were watching and shut the cameras down?""Something like that." Nightwing admits. "But, I knew he would do that. A whole I knew that he'd know that I knew kind of thing.""I bet, how long?""Got to about 'Hello, how are you?' and then I was... disconnected. I know him though, not much of a talker, those two are probably trading thoughtful grunts about now."You shrug. You have been away a little bit and Question said he'd keep it brief. You make your way to the door and give it a solid knock. A familiar deep voice gives a simple acknowledgment."Come in."
You step through and the door seals itself behind you, the sting of antiseptic undercut by soothing fresh linen, this small room is in immaculate condition. Clean as any OR you've seen. You round the corner and Question turns to you, his hand pressing the corners of his "face" back into place. He straightens up and gives you a curt nod."Detective. Thank you for indulging me.""Just glad you got to do it in private, Nightwing was..." You trail off as you glance up into the corner of the room and see the shattered remains of a camera with batarang embedded halfway through it, down the center."He'd have just reactivated it." Batman says from his bed, seated on the edge."Right. Well uh, I was hoping to talk with you too about a couple things. Well... more than a couple maybe.""Question filled me in on some of the details. You did good work at Blackgate." He speaks firmly but you hear the effort. "I heard you've also made strides on tracking down the lab that created the low-dose fear toxin Nightwing encountered at the museum.""You heard or you 'heard' about it?""Commissioner Gordon has been keeping me aware of your investigations.""MY investigations?""The GCPD." He clarifies dryly. "You came here to talk about something else. Something that will 'save Gotham from what is to come', sounds serious."You feel your face get a little red but decide to brush it off."I saw something in a vision. I was trying to connect to the SIM Killer; Officer Victor Rogers, real name Victor Zsasz. Orphaned by Mandragora and then integrated into his crime family into a hitman or some sort of messed up protege to take over one day. We met once and he managed to share with me this vision of the apocalypse, something crashing into Gotham and leaving it a crater...""Detective... broad strokes." Question offers gently."Right, sorry. This time, however, I connected to him. He has similar powers to mine, used to have more control than I did but uh.. John helped me get my brain back a bit. Point is, I was able to get inside his head. Deep inside his head, there's something there that isn't just him. Some sort of signal.""A signal? Brainwashing?" Batman leans forward off his bed forming a silent scowl at whatever pain flares up."Brainwashing or just something altering the voice he already hears. Whatever the source of my Shivers is, his voice sounds almost identical. Almost. It's pushing his buttons, driving fear and paranoia that's only lightened when he kills someone. Then he gets praise and encouragement." You take a small breath. "And then there's the planet.""The planet?" Batman and Question ask simultaneously.
"It was... large. Round, obviously, but it looked like molten rock? Maybe dark metal, fire all throughout it with some firing off into space as big pillars and... red eyes. Two small pinpricks of light that shone through all of it, I could feel myself being watched."You watch as Batman leans to his bedside table, bringing up another scowl, as he grabs a gauntlet and taps at it. "Nightwing. Open a communication line with Watchtower, speak to any member not from earth and probe all the members of the Corps for information about a planet matching the audio description I'm sending you." He pauses for a moment and his eyes narrow. "Yes. Even him. Out"He drops the gauntlet and leans back."I appreciate the information, Officer. The League will take it from here, I'll be looking into this personally.""You know something." Question says quietly. "You know something about this planet. When the Detective was describing this you were relaxed. But upon mention of the planet and his description of the eyes... your calves tensed. You wanted to get up and move that very second, odds are the moment we leave you'll be doing just that. Being at home has your guard down, Batman.""Question..." Batman begins. "You're right. But it's league business and it's confidential. Nothing I can do.""Oh please!""It's an ongoing investigation, League protocol is-""Like the investigations by the GCPD you already have your nose in!? Protected by protocol YOU wrote?" Question sighs in frustration. "The hypocrisy… I almost regret apologizing to you.">"Question, calm down. I'm sure if he COULD tell us he would. But the entire point of coming here was that I recognized this was out of my depth. I'm happy to let him and the League take over on this.">"Is he right? If you know something, I have the right to know, this is my home that could be getting cratered!">"Batman, I understand there are different... levels to this kind of thing. But just because I want to fight the small battles doesn't mean the big ones are none of my business. I just don't want to be in the dark.">"Enough Q, I only wanted to come here to tell him this anyways. I never expected to be brought into the fold, ignorance is bliss and all.">Write-InAdditionally:The Schizo Board and the Grand Conspiracy that links to Dent and Wayne. Bring it up before you leave?>Yes>No>Additional Questions for Batman (Either bundled in with or in lieu of the Schizo Board pending the vote. But any questions you guys have will be touched on.)
>>6292968>"Question, calm down. I'm sure if he COULD tell us he would. But the entire point of coming here was that I recognized this was out of my depth. I'm happy to let him and the League take over on this.">Yes
>>6292968>"Question, calm down. I'm sure if he COULD tell us he would. But the entire point of coming here was that I recognized this was out of my depth. I'm happy to let him and the League take over on this. Of course, if you’re a league member in good standing, that includes you as well.”“My jurisdiction ends with the city limits. I wouldn't know what to do with a supervillain thats hiding in space.”>YesWrite-in:“Also, there was one other phrase that popped up in his head. ‘Anti-Life’. Do you recognise that term?”
>>6292968>"Is he right? If you know something, I have the right to know, this is my home that could be getting cratered!">Yes>Write-in:>“Also, there was one other phrase that popped up in his head. ‘Anti-Life’. Do you recognise that term?”
>>6292968Admit>“My jurisdiction ends with the city limits. I wouldn't know what to do with a supervillain thats hiding in space.”But>"Is he right? If you know something, I have the right to know, this is my home that could be getting cratered!"Gotham is OUR city. We NEED to know>YesGood for Batman to see what Mark's collected so he knows how Bruce Wayne fits in the web from the outside, to them
>>6292989>>6292992>>6293006Wait no>this is my home that could be getting cratered!Look Batman in the eyes and change that shit to OUR home.
>>6292968I'm surprised Mark didn't mention anti-life.
>>6293008Hm that's a good change. I'll support that too.Batman is as much as a Gothamite as Mark is.
>>6292968>>6292987 +1, good phrasing, and we ought to bring up Anti-Life. Sounds like this isn't Batman's first encounter with Darkseid, though.Also...>"Yes. Even him. Out"It's Guy Gardner, isn't it?
>>6292968>>6293008>this is my home that could be getting cratered!>Look Batman in the eyes and change that shit to OUR home.The parts that are unrelated to gotham? Sure fine.But this IS our home. And given the nature of HOW we got this information, it's GOTHAM business as well. Whatever parts he can fully say are 100% not gotham related, sure. We knew this was out of our wheel house which is why we came here to tell him. We KNEW it had to be league business somehow. But this is wrapped up in our case now. This could help prevent what Anti-Life is doing with Victor; let alone all the other factors in this shitshow. Victor strongly believes everyone is going to die worse and he's saving people. Given this factor, it may be prudent to have some information.That is, of course, unless certain details off this are memetic or some other kind of magic/psychic bullshitery. But that stuff is still somewhat relevant as well. Also >>6292992>Yes>Write-in:>“Also, there was one other phrase that popped up in his head. ‘Anti-Life’. Do you recognise that term?”
>>6293008+1Also +1 for mentioning Anti-Life.
>>6292989>>6292992>>6293006You glance to Question and then back to Batman, your own eyes narrowing when he doesn't deny it."Is he right?" You ask quietly. "If you know something, I have the right to know!""You operate in the small scale, you asked-""Fuck that!" You pop. "This is my... this is OUR home that could be getting cratered! My jurisdiction ends with the city limits. I wouldn't know what to do with some supervillain hiding in outer space. But this is our city, our people, and there's things the little guy can do to shore up our walls in case a disaster hits. The "little picture" is still a part of the big picture."Batman sighs, straightening his back as he grits his teeth against the grinding of his own ribs."Early last year the League came into possession of three items we suspected of being of an extra-terrestrial origin. Their material was also found to not be of this earth or any other known by space-faring League members.""The Watchtower's scanners didn't detect them entering atmosphere?" Question asks, a small pocket book open in his hand and a golf pencil wiggling furiously."The Watchtower didn't exist when they arrived. One was recovered from Atlantis, another from The Paradise Islands, and the final one was located in the harshest part of the Arctic ring. The one recovered from the Arctic was still in a protective casing of stone, covered in markings. Carbon dating puts it back to a time before we even walked upright.""They've been here all along..." Question moans. "This gives so much more credence to The Alien Ant-Farm theorem... our entire existence could have been manufactured around these...""Boxes. Cube shaped pieces of alien technology lost or planted on Earth pre-dating man. In an effort to understand them, the boxes were divided between our best facilities and the greatest minds on our planet. S.T.A.R. Labs, Wayne-Tech's Metropolis Lab, and the last one I keep here in the Batcave for personal study.""That might explain another part of SIM's vision. It said the threat to Gotham was beneath it." You glance up to the cave's stony ceiling. "Can I make an educated guess where we are?""Don't put much stock into what the deranged believe, Officer." Batman offers."Deranged or not, I was told never to accept coincidence until all other possibilities are out.""A good lesson. But I have the other possibility. When I first interacted with the box I managed to get it to activate, something I haven't been able to accomplish since, and what it did was show me a vision. It's almost entirely similar to the one you described earlier, the moon falling, the massive crater. Only the hole wasn't in Gotham. It was in the world. A smoking red wound the size of a country and inside the smoke I saw those same red eyes. Watching me. I stared back.""Then?"
>>6293008>>6293204>>6293208>>6293289"Then nothing. Whatever signal it had hit me with faded and then it went into what I assume is a stand-by mode, releasing a weak signal in pulses. The same as the other boxes.""So none of the other boxes gave anyone visions?""No. But my box was the only one recovered in any sort of container or shield, the others were artifacts on display.""Did it ever mention the words 'Anti-Life' to you?""Anti-Life... It sounds familiar but I don't recall ever hearing it directly from the box. I'll look into it.""You mentioned these boxes are releasing a signal as well. Could it be reaching out to what or whoever this 'Anti-Life' is?" Question brings up."If that's what it's trying it won't succeed. It's weak signal. It can't escape the Milky Way.""That's fantastic, just a few billions of miles it CAN travel through.""It's why they're still being studied. The signal it releases is... strange, it doesn't operate on wavelengths we can conventionally study. As well they've been releasing it for thousands of years, if something was out there listening it would have picked it up if it could.""Meaning?" You ask."This won't mean anything to you, but it broadcasts over the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, it's a recent development that we can track it. But with your vision and mine lining up I'm starting to believe that I should devote more time to understand what the signal means.""What about Gotham? If you're in a lab all day who's gonna help with the mess up there?" You ask."Gotham is in good hands with Gordon and Dent.""Gotham is in the middle of a serious web of shit, Batman." You glance around and see a whiteboard unstained built into the wall. "Look, I can show you. Q?""Of course, Detective." Question says without hesitation as he picks up a marker.To your surprise Batman shifts slightly to make himself more comfortable as he raises his hand to his chin and simply waits."Alright look, this might sound crazy but... it all starts with a real estate mogul. Kal Quincy Late, an alias obviously..."====="..that's how it all wraps back around to Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. The only people besides Gordon who hold Gotham up. The basics are that whoever this Calculate guy is, he has some plan for Gotham." You say, tapping the center of the web with your marker."We believe the motive could be financial." Question continues, waving a marker like a conductor's wand. "The new construction products driven by Wayne and Dent's obviously backdoor deal means there's barely any red tape. The market doesn't have time to adjust before new projects are announced and ground is broken. Which then lowers the property rates of existing businesses, dead or dying, to the point that acquiring them is almost profitable off a straight flip alone before you even factor in the various grants and loans.”
"But then, as markets stabilize, the building's value will increase again as the space it occupies becomes valuable to the new investors drawn in by Gotham's revitalization." Batman concludes. "I think it's shark-like business sense, white-collar at the most.""I think it runs deeper than that." Question counters. "I've become intimately familiar with the paperwork surrounding these purchases. All the money comes from a revolving series of shell companies. The kind of movement that could take weeks in the financial sector to be approved and transferred, even with us living in an age of digital currency. That's why he takes the local money. Funds and grants for new construction being paid for by the laissez-faire pencil pushers working in Wayne's foundation. Converting long term hard to move cash into a liquid cashflow available stateside on demand.""That implies a mass nest egg being shuffled, standard operating procedure for large investment firms on the cutting edge of situations exactly like Gotham's revitalization. But the properties aren't being sold out after they get the grant funds, they just get left behind.""Ah! There's the fly in the ointment... there is no proverbial well to draw from. Every purchase is made using a different account that contains only the exact amount needed for each purchase. To the penny. We're only seeing the buckets being carried from one pond to another.""You mean this isn't about the land at all, it's about transferring funds under the radar. Pooling liquid assets in preparation for a massive purchase.""Every cash influx is already in motion before the deal is even made. The money enters the account the same day that it's drained, the same day it's CLOSED entirely. Leaving no time for law enforcement or any of the various busy body agencies to take a closer look. Something that requires the impeccable timing of knowing EXACTLY when to make their move. Someone inside the mayor's office for example or on the board of Wayne Enterprises. Now, the system works... So why the need to have a reservoir this deep so close at hand? Unless they are planning a massive buy-out that they won't be able to strictly control the time of?"
"Which is what it's really all about. We think this is a long term plan to oust Wayne as the main pillar supporting Gotham, the attack at the museum wasn't for Dent. Anarky planned on abducting Bruce Wayne and using him to force the board's hand." You come in with gusto. "Seeing as how Calc is still keeping Dr. Crane, the Scarecrow, around. We can assume he isn't finished yet, he'll make another attempt on Wayne and Anarky will be the face to take the heat.""I expect them to stick with their original plan. If successful they will offer two options. The total sale and donation of all Wayne assets or the death of the Prince of Gotham. Regardless of what his board chooses both of those lead to the same result...""Collapse of Wayne Stock." Batman finishes. "An opening to move on Wayne enterprises from the ground up in a hostile takeover. But Wayne owns a majority of shares. Even if the board collapsed the company to have him spared they'd still kill him. They HAVE to kill Bruce Wayne.”The room sits silent as Batman's words hang in the air. He eventually looks up to you."Where do you see Dent fitting into this?">"Dent is a side-hustle, Wayne is the main target because with control of his company it doesn't matter who the mayor is. They hold the cards.">"Dent is just as important as Wayne in this, the real thing driving forward this 'revitalization' effort is him. If his best friend was killed as a result of city crime, it would just push him to double down on all his efforts. Netting a fat payday.">"Wayne is a pipedream, Dent is the real target. Dent holds the power as the mayor while Wayne holds the checkbook, without city approval all the projects would stop and the money would vanish. They NEED Dent in office for this to work.">Write-In
>>6293415>>"Dent is just as important as Wayne in this, the real thing driving forward this 'revitalization' effort is him. If his best friend was killed as a result of city crime, it would just push him to double down on all his efforts. Netting a fat payday."
>>6293415>Write-In“Dent is very important, but if it came down to it, he is secondary compared to Mr Wayne. Wayne must die for the scheme to proceed but Dent does not need to be mayor. He would be ideal to keep further fingerprints off the situation and he would have the right motivation to continue as required but if dent was removed, it likely would not be as difficult to get an associate to run and win; not with the wayne wealth as a warchest and someone on dent’s staff who could ‘continue his good work’.If push came to shove, they might sacrifice him if it ensures wayne’s death.”
>>6293415>"Dent is just as important as Wayne in this, the real thing driving forward this 'revitalization' effort is him. If his best friend was killed as a result of city crime, it would just push him to double down on all his efforts. Netting a fat payday."
>>6293415>"Dent is just as important as Wayne in this, the real thing driving forward this 'revitalization' effort is him. If his best friend was killed as a result of city crime, it would just push him to double down on all his efforts. Netting a fat payday.">"At the end of the day is about optics and narratives, if Wayne was to die, the only millionaire that was doing something for the city, people would sell everything they have and give it to Dent if that means each and every criminal get sent into a mega prison, or even if they make the capital punishment legal here, whatever Dent pushes first.">"But for now, I believe Dent is doing something similar to the Belle Reve ex-Warden. If it's a law or some money being send from an entity to another, and it's just painted as being for the greater good of the city, it will be done no matter what, that's why we're seeing this push for ARGUS coming here and make a huge mess on the security of Gotham, that's why it has been remodelled even before the announcement was made, and who knows how that served Calc, even tho I have my theory of what happens next when ARGUS it's here. But the more you show to the Gothamites how there's more corruption than what they thought, how things move behind the curtain and how twisted things are, Dent will be the Savior and he would do anything to not lose that title">"And listen, Batman, this is more related to my visions, in an opportunity I asked The Lady in Red about Dent and she basically told me he's a good guy with a bleeding hurt, the only way to KNOW he's going to stay a good guy is when he just keeps doing good everytime, because it's when that goodness stops and he feels like something is missing, that's when things goes South. He wants the admiration of the People, yes, but deep down he wants to feel that the People are grateful for him and what he does, this is a bigger problem that just him being money hungry or corrupt, it's about him feeling fulfilled with what he does, it's about a granny giving him an old hat from the last campaign before he was a major, is about parents saying how safe they feel in the city thanks to him. I tried to maybe talk to him, but with how manic he is and how he's in this crusade, I doubt I could do more to actually make him change his mind and his ways"
>>6293481+1
>>6293481+1Actually, I just realized: This Anti-Life "wavelength" might be affecting Dent and Banks. Dent mentioned having bad dreams when we met with him regarding his dealer, and Banks mentioned it too one time, about hearing voices during a night's rest. We might need to figure out how to harden them mentally, as well as anyone else who is vulnerable to this wavelength.
>>6293481>>6293602Anon I literally thought the same and I was going to bring it up.But how sure are we that it was the wavelength from the Mother Box? My theory was the whole thing with the Tulpa, Mark was basically Patient 0 of the Nightmares, wasn't he? We infected our ex and MM when they poked out brain, and Batman and Nightwing were affected because of their deep link to Gotham.But now that you put it that way, maybe you're right that they've been more sensible to the Wavelength, because if we infected people because we used our powers on them, maybe Caesar was also infected with it, right? Or at least that's a flaw I just saw from my theoryWhatever it is, I think it's also worth to bring that up to some extent
Goddamnit, I think I got a theory as to who the Rat King could have been, thanks to reading through the DC Wiki about Anti-Life and Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum...Is it some version of this asshole?
>>6293697I do not know very much about DC, so excuse me when I ask what exactly the fuck is that
>>6293731DC’s version of the Pied Piper during the 60’s.
>>6293481This seems a little meta. Like,w e know Dent is unstable, but not necessarily that he's a supervillain-in-waiting, right?>>6293415>"Wayne is a pipedream, Dent is the real target. Dent holds the power as the mayor while Wayne holds the checkbook, without city approval all the projects would stop and the money would vanish. They NEED Dent in office for this to work."That said, I do think that Dent may be in this deeper than he's let on, though how much he knows and how much he's been fooled about or is turning a blind eye to is ambiguous.
>>6293481>>6293491>>6293602>>6293455>>6293440"Dent is just as important as Wayne in this, the real thing driving forward this 'revitalization' effort is him. If his best friend was killed as a result of city crime, it would just push him to double down on all his efforts. Netting a fat payday.""Wayne's death serves a double function. No doubt the death of a public beloved figure would also drive public support..." Question trails."At the end of the day is about optics and narratives, if Wayne was to die, the only millionaire that was doing something for the city, people would sell everything they have and give it to Dent if that means taming the city that killed Bruce Wayne.""It's a power play in more ways than one." Question muses. "Hearts and minds...""Speaking of minds, I worry Dent might be... unstable.""Unstable how?" Batman asks, his head snapping up out of that cloud of thought."He's just been... manic? Hot and cold is a better way to phrase it I guess. Probably nothing but he mentioned to me once that he was struggling with sleep, nightmares like ours.""How recently? If it was before John and I managed the Tulpa then odds are he's recovered.""It was before the Tulpa that I noticed this. Saw him in a vision too, Firebug's past. They were friends and from what it looked like Dent lost his temper one night, caused the fire that led to Rigger's family dying. His crusade against Dent was personal." You say circling the link between them on the board. "Rigger was just a useful pawn for them, someone already poised against Dent. But they never set him loose on him, the attack on the street was Rigger's own play.""He's had.. issues. But Harvey Dent is a good man." Batman affirms."Personal experience?" Question probes."I've read through his medical files, seen him work towards bettering Gotham for years. It's a known fact.""Facts change." Question states bluntly."Well either way, I just wanted to get it out there that if this 'Anti-Life' whatever is affecting SIM then it could be doing the same to others. This is beyond small picture or big picture, I think it's all mixed together. Not intentionally but whatever is happening with this Anti-Life signal is a blessing for Kal Quincy Late.""Then it's only more important I focus on understanding the signal. From everything you've told me the police have things on track to take down Kal Late and this SIM Killer."
"I mean... we can but it's a bit of a ticking clock. If they manage to get to Bruce Wayne then it's already too late.""I have faith in the department to stop that from happening." Batman says confidently as he begins to rise from his bed."You're truly going to ignore the Detective's findings?""I'm not ignoring anything. I'm trusting the GCPD to do it's job. Gotham needs to be able to stand on it's own before it HAS to."Question looks to you, his hands balling into fists at his side.>"Gotham's been through worse... I hope you're right about the GCPD. I'll do my best to prove you right.">"You’ve saved this city more times than anyone. But lately... it feels like you're eager to not really be it's guardian anymore.”>“You’re right to be worried about the signal. But Gotham needs The Batman, not just another mind in a lab. You said yourself the signals weren't going anywhere.”>"Do whatever you think you need to. Just don't forget that while you're studying down here, we're still up there fighting for our city.">"If this is the path you want to pick then at least be honest about it. You’re not just trusting the GCPD. You’re stepping back. Own it and tell me to my face.”>Write-In
>>6293932>“You’re right to be worried about the signal. But Gotham needs The Batman, not just another mind in a lab. You said yourself the signals weren't going anywhere.”This is hilarious. We are telling Bruce Wayne that there is a plot to kill him, his response amounts to “Nah I won’t let that happen, I’ll manage” but we don’t have enough info to know what he’s talking about. AND he has to be deliberately cagey with us.Poor bats. Is there any way he makes it out of this conversation without sounding like an absolute prick?
>>6293932>"Do whatever you think you need to. Just don't forget that while you're studying down here, we're still up there fighting for our city."
>>6293932>"Do whatever you think you need to. Just don't forget that while you're studying down here, we're still up there fighting for our city.">“You’re right to be worried about the signal. But Gotham needs The Batman, not just another mind in a lab. You said yourself the signals weren't going anywhere.”Not all the signal work needs to be done all at once, not all of it needs to be done personally by him, and not all of it requires him to actively be there while the machines and tools do their work. The systems can simply alert him remotely if something needs his attention and direct hand. If in doubt, he's got Nightwing here to handle some things while he's out fighting crime. Bats is used to juggling lots of things simultaneously without anything going too wrong or unfixable, yeah?Basically a combination of "yeah the signal is fucked, do what you gotta do to solve the puzzle, but if you have the opportunity and your work doesn't urgently need you then we'd love to have you around again"
>>6293932>"Do whatever you think you need to. Just don't forget that while you're studying down here, we're still up there fighting for our city.">“You’re right to be worried about the signal. But Gotham needs The Batman, not just another mind in a lab. You said yourself the signals weren't going anywhere.”this has got to be a weird moment for Bruce and Dick faith in the city eventually changing for the better is being rewarded but Mark just see's them just going "meh" and Mark having the internal thought of "mother fuckas"
>>6293932>"You’ve saved this city more times than anyone. But lately... it feels like you're eager to not really be it's guardian anymore.”This is what we joined the force to do, right? Make Batman and them less relevant in the day-to-day? So IMO there should be a less judgemental tone, but I bet Mark would like to have some idea why. We're a curious guy.
>>6293953>>6293956>>6294194"Do whatever you think you need to. Just don't forget that while you're down here studying, we're still up there fighting for our city."Question's tensed shoulders and clenched fists release. His bristling fading as you calmly speak. "I'm glad you understand, Officer." Batman starts in reply but you cut him off with a raised hand."Look, you're right to be worried about the signal. But Gotham needs The Batman, not another mind in a lab. The signals are a puzzle but, taking a break from them isn't going to kill you. Or anyone else."You see his jaw tighten beneath the cowl, you touched on something there, you extend a hand."Just think about it. I joined the GCPD so one day we could get by without you or at least handle more of the day to day. And we're doing better, but this is special circumstance. All that to say that I think while you CAN help, you should.""You've given me a bit to think about." Batman says curtly, accepting your handshake.You blink.Your joints ache. Most movement comes with the slightest resistance, like gravel between your limbs. Burning pain lashes across your torso in long streaks and it's only willpower and focus that keeps you from acknowledging the wounds. A voice in your head keeps pushing you forward but the words are garbled, as if spoken underwater, to the point that you aren't even sure WHAT you're pushing towards anymore. Just that it's pushing back and if you let up for even a second...You blink.A half step back from his handshake and Question lightly taps your shoulder."Perhaps we should be going, Detective. He's stubborn as a mule, this one." Question says, adding the back half as a mumble."Pot. Meet Kettle." Nightwing chimes in from the door. "Decided to poke my head in.""Decided to snoop." Batman replies."We already established you're the kettle already, right?""Enough." Batman says firmly. It's subtle but you see Nightwing straighten up a hair."Yeah yeah... No room for fun. I'll get these two home.""You'll send them with autopilot, which you SHOULD have done in the first place.""Yes commandant!" Nightwing says with a crisp salute. "Enough." Batman repeats. "Get them sent back and meet me below, I need your help."Nightwing's jokey grin falters for the briefest of moments and the white eyes of his mask widen, creasing the strange material."Uh.. right. Absolutely." Nightwing replies."You seem shocked." Question states bluntly. "Not used to being helpful?""Not used to being asked." Nightwing replies straight. "C'mon let's get you guys home."He gently beckons you both to the door but before you can turn you see Batman's hand subtly reach out and plant itself on the edge of his bed.>Push the issue>It isn't your business if he's hurt or not. Head home.>Let Nightwing and Question step out before quietly checking on Batman>Write-In
>>6296681>It isn't your business if he's hurt or not. Head home.The man said "enough" clearly we've been dismissed, who are we to argue?
>>6296744+1I trust Nightwing to pass Batman some aspirin or whatever, assuming he isn't already on painkillers. A few cups of Alfred's tea on top and he might be back on his feet in the next days
>>6296681>>It isn't your business if he's hurt or not. Head home.While I wanna ask if he's okay, we don't know him like that and I feel like I already know the answer to that.Yeah, the showdown at Arkham is one thing and that's definitely what he's recovering from right now, but I get the sense he's been made aware of his expiration date for a while now.A job like his does nothing but wear on the body, especially going around every single night like he does. Sure, he's always gotten up when he gets knocked down, but that damage sticks with you and keeps piling up until you get to something like pic related.
>>6296681>It isn't your business if he's hurt or not. Head home.We know from Shivers he's hurt, but we got jack and squat we can do about it.
>>6296744>>6296776>>6296790>>6296932You consider for the briefest of moments saying something but... what could you even do about it? You decide to just give him a final nod farewell and follow Nightwing back to the central hub of the cave."Been a pleasure hosting you guys, but I think work's calling." Nightwing half mumbles as he punches a few commands into the computer bank. A hydraulic hiss sounds somewhere deep below and you watch the platform you parked on slowly rotate as the Batmobile is pointed down the tunnel you can only assume you came in from. The interior glows as the roof detaches with a similar hissing."Not worried about us seeing the way out?" Question asks."The windshield can darken enough that you won't see anything anyways.""Then why did you bag us!?" You chime in."You literally asked... plus I wanted to drive." He replies with a shrug. "Your things are still in the console, wouldn't take em out until the car stops."He pauses a moment and then adds with a pointedness."You should also know we do bug sweeps nightly on anything that goes into the field.""I've always found that an interchanging schedule is best for counter surveillance measures. Avoids... predictability."Nightwing scoffs and hits a final keystroke that sets off a blinking green light on the dashboard."Alright, you're set." He says, stepping over to you. "Good luck on your cases, Officer. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate.""The whole GCPD does but, it's the job. I knew what I was signing up for."He extends his hand and you give it a firm shake."Department must be on the upswing if the academy is producing guys like you. Stay safe and uh... if you ever need any help. Any REAL help. Use this."He hands you a small black disk, it fits perfectly in your palm, it's sleek black is emblazoned with a blue bird sigil."Press it three times, I'll drop what I'm doing to come by as long as I'm in town.""Thanks, Nightwing."=====The drive back is pitch-black and quiet as you and Question both sit with things to think about. You're nearly back to the crossroads when Question leans in."What are you doing after this?""Sleeping? And can you ask that in a less creepy way?""Nothing creepy, just interested in spending the night with you."You frown."Doing what?""Remember when you asked me to look into Rogers? And Blackgate?""Yeah? I remember you had a lead on something with Blackgate that ended up being tied to the Warden right?""Yes. While you managed to walk into that connection on your own with Officer Hawthorne, while we were going over it again in the Batcave I realized something." He stops as the vehicle begins to decelerate.
Coming to a gentle stop you hear the familiar hiss and the darkened interior is flushed with moonlight and the distant glow of Gotham itself. The air is crisp, Fall giving way to Winter fully now. You dismount with a small hop after retrieving your things and before either of you can make another move the car spits gravel and dirt as the Batmobile makes a speedy retreat back to wherever the cave lies.Question gestures for you to follow him as he leads you through a dense set of bushes until you find his beat up lemon flattening some honeysuckle bushes."Nice park job." You mutter as he opens his backseat and digs through it, eventually coming up with a fistful of stained papers."Eureka!" He calls out before scuttling backwards further into the car. He pats the seat. "Get in, we should be careful nobody else overhears."You sigh and give him a stare in the hopes he reveals this is just a joke but he only pats more insistently. You relent with a groan and slide into the backseat as he thrusts the paper in front of you."This is an invoice to the prison that I recovered from..." He trails off."I know you got it out of the garbage just, jump to what you need to tell me.""Here." He points a gloved finger. "Payment made to a medical supply company this month.""A private supplier? With all the grants and the penny pinching they're doing?"He digs through half empty bags of paper and scraps until he pulls free another invoice sheet."My thoughts exactly. Look closely, that's an amount paid to an address in Coventry. The same amount paid here... here... and here. Sometimes weekly, sometimes on the weekend, sometimes absent completely.""An irregular schedule?""Yes... I'm embarrassed I didn't catch it earlier but. It really IS an effective means of counter-surveillance. Add in the change from no name warehouse to named LLC and it's a very effective smokescreen.""So what do you think the connection is?""That's what I was hoping you'd want to find out..." Question says. "Original address is near the bridge to Arkham, could be worth a quick visit. Even just to cross it off our list.""And it's new dumpsters for you to go digging through.""There are perks." He concedes.You blink wearily and check your phone. Nearly eleven...>"Fine, but eyes ONLY. You do your vigilante thing in full view of me and I'd have to arrest you or whatever.">"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?">"You can, but I still have a day job to wake up for. Text me if you find anything.">"No, let's not get distracted running down random leads here. If anything I need you focusing on Rog- eh. Zsasz' hideout or at least get me a better scope than all of the Narrows.">Write-In
>>6297152>"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?"
>>6297152>"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?"We don't have a warrant, but do we have probable cause?
>>6297152>>"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?">>Write-inDrop a text to grey, just to let someone know that we're doing something and if we end up missing they have a place to start. Grey because hawthrone would drop everything to come here.
>>6297215+1 this write-in toomy original post is >>6297194
I might be stupid, but I don't quite follow. Q wants to break into a warehouse that was holding some medical(?) stuff that warden was bying for the prison?>>6297152>>"I can't. I can go there in the morning as part of my actual job. Take it easy for now. Surely you have to sleep at some time."No warrant. Also putting Q on SIM might not last long, since he's leaving the city soon. Reinstated into the League and all that. Congrats to him by the way.I doubt the department gonna go, "Nah, why bother, case closed anyway". The warden-mandragora deal lasted YEARS, there's heaps of stuff to uncover. Most of it was burned, we don't even know the full extent of the bullshit. This isn't even some illegaly sourced evidence, Q just got it from the trash.Man, I can't wait until Mark is an actual investigator or detective or whatever the job name is. Much more freedom to roam.
>>6297152>"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?"We asked him a favor, now he's asking us. Fair is fair.
>>6297152>"Fuck it, you have me curious. A quick poke inside only, now I have an extra gun if you need one. Actually... are you ever armed?"Might as well get some CQC pointers from one of the few regulars who actually hit Batman before he leaves.
My birthday is soon and my wife is surprising me with something today so I'll probably be updating far later than usual but it shall come, keep an eye on QTG or the Discord if you wanna heads up.Thank you guys for playing, insane it's been nearly two years of the quest so far. Looking forward to a (hopefully) nice chapter close before the year ends. See you soon!
>>6297577Take your time enjoying your birthday with family, QM. We'll be here when you get back :D
>>6297577>two years alreadyMy how time flies.Enjoy yourself brother, we'll be here in the meantime.
>>6297577Happy Bday, DQM! See you soon.
>>6297577Turns out the surprise was a dip away from civilization (and internet) for the weekend. (Guess why I included camping as a possible activity Mark likes) I'll be starting my drive back in an hour or so, apologies for the inability to update you guys, but the story continues once I'm set up back home again.
>>6299268Nice! Enjoy yourself, QM.
>>6297172>>6297173>>6297215>>6297218>>6297397>>6297434>>6297437"Fuck it." You say with an exasperated shrug. "You got me curious. A quick poke inside ONLY. Now, I have an extra gun if you need one..."You trail off as you recall your first encounter with Question, the small spray cannister he held at your neck. A bluff."Actually... are you ever armed?""I can handle myself." He says simply, leaning back into the seat. "But you probably know by now that I'm generally opposed to killing. Too many unanswered questions when you kill. So much knowledge, wasted.""Right. Well I was taught center mass and effect on target, I'd prefer not to kill but...""Occupational hazard?" Question offers"Something like that." You mutter before shaking your head and realizing the scope of where you are. "I'm getting out now, you drive and I'll follow behind."Question tips his hat to you as he clambers over torn garbage bags stuffed with papers and shredded scraps until he drops into his driver's seat. You watch as he dips below the wheel and there's a faint crackling before the engine sputters to life."Q, did you..." You stop yourself before you ask something incriminating. "I'll be behind you."You step out into the mercifully fresh air and slap the door shut behind you. There's a nagging feeling in the back of your head, a lingering doubt in what you're up about to get into. You dig out your phone and scroll your contacts until you find Grey. You shoot him a quick text as you settle into your own car."Running a lead on something connected to the Warden. I'll send the address and text you again when I leave."You hit send and then glance at the time again... hopefully he isn't so old to be asleep already.=====You step out a block away from the address in a narrow alley that Question managed to finagle his car into. It smells like piss and old beer. A shudder runs through you and you feel the wind cut through as if you were wearing nothing at all."Detective." Question says bringing you back to the moment.You both make your way through a few of the winding alleys, more than once you see a vagrant curl deeper into the shadow of their shelter at the sight of a man with no face. You frown. Question doesn't even seem to register their presence as he moves methodically."You know the alleys pretty well for an out of towner." You tell him quietly."Gotham lacks many things, Detective. But it's never short on documents, paper documents on top of that. What a blessing.""Not a fan of computers?""You mean Surveillance Terminals? Bah, pre-packaged with cameras, microphones, GPS, and more... A tool that could replace all conventional methods of oversight. Jackboots and Double Agents replaced with phishing emails and tech centers running off the financial scraps of the machine.""If that's true then why does any crime happen? Why does any plot get off the ground?"
"Simple. The computer is the tool, but the Internet is the territory, you won't see the full force of it's power until someone controls it. Of course that only gets you the luxury of knowing who exactly is watching you... which is comforting in a certain kind of way.""Jesus..." You mutter. "You need help.""I've already got you, Detective." He replies flatly. "Ah, here it is."The alley stretches on, the warm glow of a streetlamp casting long shadows, leading to the street. Before you is a tall blue door with chipped paint, this feels familiar to you. You slowly turn and face the brick wall behind you, exactly at eye-level you see a familiar sight. A single brick in the wall is surrounded by mortar that seems a touch newer than the rest. The brick itself is just as old as the others."Someone replaced that." Question muses quietly. "You've seen this before?""Yeah, once. One of Kal Late's properties I checked out with Grey, we never found out the reasoning behind it though." You speak softly as you stare at the wall, as if it was only a matter of not looking hard enough."That's good. It means there's a pattern, even if it's one we don't understand yet.""You're talking like you're sticking around, I thought you had business back home?""I do. But I also have an obligation to the investigation... and to you. I wouldn't have been ready to go back if you didn't push me in certain ways, Detective. You and I share the same keen eye but I lack your... people skills.""Never noticed." You say wryly."I still know sarcasm." He bristles slightly."I didn't mean anything by it. I'm glad you're sticking around a bit longer, Q. Really."He faces you for a second in silence. Maybe if he had a face he'd crack a small smile. But instead he slowly reaches out and taps the brick with a gloved hand before stepping back."We'll find out the pattern behind these bricks. Later. Now, we need to find a way inside. The backdoor is the typical way, this alley is private enough but I don't know about any security system. I also spotted a ladder down a bit, we could traverse the roofs and see if there's anything up top.""We could also walk around the front? Look through the windows? Things that DON'T require a warrant.""You said it yourself, it's the same brick job. This location is obviously connected to your Kal Late Case, probable cause enough.""Q, I don't think-""Better to ask forgiveness than permission in some cases, isn't it, Detective?">"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure.">"Backdoor it is then, less chance of anyone seeing me go in with you. You have a way to jimmy the door?">"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about hopping across the rooftops, twelve year old me would kick my ass if I turned that down.">Write-In
>>6299733>"I'd be lying if I said I've never performed amateur rooftop acrobatics. It's just this time, my dad isn't sprinting over to stop me from jumping onto something more dangerous than a folding table."BACKYARD WRESTLING, BAYBEE!
>>6299733>"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about hopping across the rooftops, twelve year old me would kick my ass if I turned that down.">"Probably smarter to look for another entrance anyways. If it's like the other property we checked out, there's probably something rigged inside we might trip."
>>6299733Question questions the use of the internet for surveillance and spycraft, meanwhile in Batquest Riddler and Brianiac used the internet to great effect that way for ARGUS... Coincidence?Anyway...>"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure."We're here to help, but he knew we were a boyscout when he brought us in on this.
>>6299745+1
>>6299733>"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure."Sorry, we are NO cape.
>>6299733>"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about hopping across the rooftops, twelve year old me would kick my ass if I turned that down."
>>6299745>Something rigged inside. I thought those were Firebug bombs? or was it just coincidance that they were incendiary?
>>6299868Those same black boxes were in that sewer near the construction site before, right? The one that was bought by Kal Q Late? Where was the black box IED located in the one property we checked out with Grey? If we can recall that we could be better prepared for where the one in here is located and avoid being too blindsided
>>6299733>>"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure."Looking for black boxes. I might need to unearth an old thread to refresh what bomb squad said about the last one we found.
>>6299733Changing my vote from >>6299759 to>"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure."Though it'd be nice if Mark re-Marked on the rooftop jump idea, while ultimately refusing because he knows there's a nonzero chance Kal Q Late also threw in an IED box somewhere in there. Call it an extension of the pattern Q picked up on. If the brick replacement recess is here too, then...
>>6299733>"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door, standard operating procedure."Fruit of the poisoned tree, my faceless friend. This isn’t a part of some back alley “intelligence gathering” operation, it’s an official GCPD investigation.We need to be able to use what we find.
>>6300035+1
>>6299733>>"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about hopping across the rooftops, twelve year old me would kick my ass if I turned that down."Write-in:"But if we find anything that might be usable in an investigation, we're getting out and going in the front door so that it is admissible."
>>6299746>>6299775>>6299933>>6299940>>6300035"Not this time. We check the front windows and get an idea of the interior, if we spot anything strange then MAYBE we go in. But we use the front door. I'm not a cape.""A tad strict, Detective.""Standard operating procedure." You correct him. "But... I'd be lying if I said I never ran around on a few rooftops myself growing up. Usually ended with my dad sprinting to stop me before I fell.""You idolized Batman..." Question states."We all did, people from the city I mean. The adults because they remembered how bad it used to be and the kids because-""He's Batman." Question finishes for you. He nods pensively and then extends an arm to the side. "To the front of the building then?""Yeah, try not to let anyone see your... lack of a face."You both exit the alley and casually walk along the deserted sidewalk, after-all you aren't doing anything you couldn't explain... mostly. Question pops the massive collar of his trench coat and presses his hat down, he looks like a 1940's cartoon strip of a business man in a storm. You suppress your grin and try to focus your mind and your eyes as you step in front of a big bay window mostly obscured with bent and broken blinds. You lean in and shield yourself from the glare. You see nothing, and that's no exaggeration."Question." You whisper. "This place is empty, totally empty. Not even a chair.""Hmm.." Question hums, he moves to a wall-mounted mailbox, rusted and squeaking as he pries open the top. "Mail. Gotham Electric, Sewage, ah. Notice of account closure, seems the owner stopped keeping up with the utilities at the start of the month. Cut off date was after the Halloween weekend.""Same as the last location, no utilities. Abandoned. Except for some boobytraps.""Traps?""IEDs, seemed like Firebug's work but we saw similar devices in the sewers. One's in the shop were wired to the front and back doors, one a piece.""Hm.. may explain the brick then.""How so?""Peddler's French. Code for 'Beware of Traps' possibly incase they decided to re-use the location.""Or if they ever needed to come back for drop-offs. Maybe they aren't abandoned, they just aren't in use?""Possible. It isn't ideal that we're a month late but correct me if I'm wrong, this is the warmest lead we have?""We have another lead on where Late might be keeping the grunts from Anarky, along with Crane.""The Scarecrow. Quite to coterie you're collecting, Detective.""Yeah well, maybe if Dent manages this reform without Late getting his hands in it we can start to do something about it.""Detective, look." Question mutters, he motions you over to where he kneels before the door. You peer through the glass door, just beneath the pull down blind, in the gloom of the night it's hard to make out but you see it. A black box mounted to the frame with new brackets. A simple drill job.
"That's one of the traps... but it doesn't look like it's on. The other ones had a red light coming from them, we could only see it because of the dust.""But this one is in a dark building." Question points out. "It could be inert.""Or it could be a new model that's better hidden. They know we found the last spot, could probably guess we got our hands on these.""Perhaps, but I don't think that's the case. The utilities were cut off the day after Halloween, none of the prior notices are here. Only the severance of service papers, meaning they were likely on a schedule to leave. Unless they had to move faster than anticipated.""What are you talking about? Why would... the prison.""You went in. A wrench in the gears, they realize they need to play safe and perhaps a few goons rush the exit? That brick in the alley had the slightest give, the mortar wasn't 100% set. I'd say maybe a week or less, with the recent weather it must have delayed the curing...""That's all pretty circumstantial, Q. It makes sense when you give it your own logic but what points to them moving in a hurry.""A security measure that's inactive. A recent piece of construction still unset. And the very question of: Why would a man as anal as Kal Late, who we know manages his finances down to the exact penny at the very SECOND he'd need it... Why would he would leave a location two days earlier than he planned?" Question stands and dusts off his knees. "We should go in."You feel a cold chill, like a draft, and roll your shoulders. You smell burnt garlic and roasted almonds. Question stares at you as you run a hand through your hair and think.>"Look, you convinced me that MAYBE there's some merit to what you said. But inert or not, that's an explosive device potentially, I need to call this in. Bomb squad and more probably... you should probably not be here when I do. Sorry, Q.">"Damnit... it does make sense. Look, I can't condone anything but if I look away and then happen to turn back around to an open door? A strange figure making noise inside? That's probable cause up the wazoo. Y'know.. if it so happens.">"Alright. Get behind me, do NOT split off until I clear the entire store. Then we can poke around and see if this is worth waking people up.">"If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. This is potentially the ONE site he doesn't know we have figured out, you and Huntress should sit on it.">"If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. The GCPD needs to know so we can station men on it to keep watch.">Write-In
>>6300440>"If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. The GCPD needs to know so we can station men on it to keep watch."I hate to say it, but we might need to leave this to the real detectives. If we go in there now, we might piss away good evidence by collecting it improperly.
>>6300440>"If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. The GCPD needs to know so we can station men on it to keep watch."Alright mister Late, time for us to start playing the long game too.
>>6300449>>6300494If they left in a rush, who's to say there won't be anything left behind again?
>>6300440>>"Damnit... it does make sense. Look, I can't condone anything but if I look away and then happen to turn back around to an open door? A strange figure making noise inside? That's probable cause up the wazoo. Y'know.. if it so happens."i mean its flimsy but strong enough to uphold in court
>>6300440>"Damnit... it does make sense. Look, I can't condone anything but if I look away and then happen to turn back around to an open door? A strange figure making noise inside? That's probable cause up the wazoo. Y'know.. if it so happens."Might need to let him give us a shiner if we have to explain how he got away.
>>6300440>"If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. The GCPD needs to know so we can station men on it to keep watch."
>>6300449>>6300494>>6300785You sigh and let your hand fall to your hip."If what you said is accurate then there's a non-zero chance he returns. The GCPD needs to know about this so we can station men on this to keep watch.""Detective-" Question begins but you cut him off."That's the problem. I'm NOT a detective. I don't like it either but this is something that needs to be left for the real, assigned, detectives to handle. We go in now and even if we find something that works there's a non-zero chance we piss it away because of a slick lawyer and protocols.""Protocols. Red tape. Do you really never tire of these hurdles that stop you from getting to the truth?""I don't do this to 'get to the truth', Question. I do it so people feel safe in their own city, so that the people who do still suffer get justice. It's not about the mystery for me, it's about the people. The truth isn't worth anything if we can't prove it."Question balls his fist for a moment but it falls open as a small cloud of breath filters through the mask. He looks at the door again and then sticks his hands into his pockets and walks past you."You're right." He speaks over his shoulder. "I've done enough Devil's Advocating, sometimes I forget you aren't... like me. You shouldn't be.""Q, don't be like that.""I'm not being self pitying, Officer. I just realized that I've been urging you to budge on the very thing that lead me to believe you could be trusted in the first place. Your values." He tips his hat to you slightly. "You're a better man than most people that the news would call 'Heroes' Officer DeLucia, don't lose that. If you need my assistance, you know how to reach me. Good luck on your stake-out."You watch as he rounds the corner and vanishes into the Gotham night, leaving you with a simultaneous sensation of pride and guilt. But you push your own feelings down and pull out your phone as your fingers fly across the keypad. A ring... Another... Then the creaking voice of a man half-asleep."Mark? Th'hell you calling me for?" Grey yawns.
"I found another one of Late's properties, one that he may have had to abandon early. Front is rigged just like the Party store but it looks like they messed it up, no beam on it."You hear creaking springs and rustling fabric as his voice sharpens through the fog of sleep."Do not go in, we don-""Wasn't planning on it, Grey. Don't worry, I'm posted right now until you can get approval to get uniforms to sit on it.""Good... good." You can hear the relief in his voice. "I'm getting dressed now, send me the address and I'll meet you down there.""Already did, check your texts.""Copy, hold tight."=====Within the hour you're sipping a steaming mocha while Grey kneels in front of the door with a small flashlight in his hands."Definitely looks inactive, could just be an IR beam though. We'd need bomb squad to be sure." He grunts as he pushes himself up."That's what I said, Question was pretty insistent on going in.""Yeah well, there's a reason he runs around without a face on.""He's got a unique perspective. Wouldn't have found this place without him, Kal Quincy Late wasn't even on the deed for it.""He's crazy.""He's helpful." You amend with another light sip. "Thanks for picking this up, I can pay you back if you want.""Meh, cold as hell out here. Least I could do." Grey grunts with a wave of his free hand while the other digs in his pocket for his phone."Calling in the bomb squad?""Nope, gonna take your advice and sit on it. Just means we gotta wait for relief, cause I ain't asking anyone to come out here at the ass crack of..." He pauses and glances at his watch. "Don't you have a shift in a few hours?"You freeze with the cup to your lips and nod sadly before indulging in another gulp."Not gonna lie, figured it was a lost cause trying to get home after I saw the bomb drilled into the wall there.""You figured right." Grey mumbles as he puts the phone to his ear. "Commander Reiner, sir. Yes, sir. A good reason too, DeLucia ran down a lead off hours. He identified a new property Kal Late may have been using and abandoned due to the arrests made at Blackgate."He pauses. A few Mhm's and nods.
"I took a look myself and can confirm the devices match the ones recovered from the sewer's and the party store. Yes, sir... No need to wake up a judge, I was thinking we could sit on it and see if he comes back. He's meticulous and this is the first time we got him with his shoes untied... Yes, sir just until the end of the week and if we've got nothing by then we can go in with the bomb squad and pry it apart for anything useful." He pauses again, a slight smile appearing. "I was going to suggest that anyways, sir. I was also thinking since I have him here already, could you see if anyone from graveyard would be willing to put in extra hours? Let him make up the time and keep ME awake out here? Of course, sir. Thank you."He hangs up and gives you a thumbs up."The Stake-Out is approved, starting with us. We stay here until ten and then get our relief.""So I don't work today?""This IS work today. C'mon. Let's get back in the car, freezing out here."You both make your way to his dark sedan and you clamber inside. The interior smells like faded tobacco and leather shine. Grey settles in and fixes his eyes on the building. You polish off your drink and nestle it in the cupholder free of that neon orange prescription bottle, you awkwardly swallow and shift in your seat."I don't usually do these." Grey says. "Stake-Outs, I mean. Usually pawn em off to someone else.""Like Kimble?""Hah, yeah. Like Kimble... How do you deal with the waiting?""He had magazines and music. We'd shoot the shit.""I could shoot for a bit, anything on your mind?">"Not really..." (Remain silent)>"You know... I met Batman tonight. I got to see the Batcave.">"Why do you hate Question so much? Is it something special or just capes in general?">"I never did get to hear about Hawthorne's record at the fire house, got any good stories?">"I know it's probably not what you had in mind but uh... the pills. Are you okay? You wanna talk about it?">Write-In
>>6300999>"I never did get to hear about Hawthorne's record at the fire house, got any good stories?"
>>6300999>"I never did get to hear about Hawthorne's record at the fire house, got any good stories?"Feels bad we had to wake up both Grey AND Reiner for this, but this might be the only time we've ended up a step or two ahead of Kal Q Late, so this is worth the sleeplessness.
>>6300999>"Why do you hate Question so much? Is it something special or just capes in general?">>6301079If there's ever been a city that never sleeps, it's good old Gotham. Vegas ain't got nothing on our baby.
>>6300999>"I never did get to hear about Hawthorne's record at the fire house, got any good stories?"you just know Question is gonna contemplate on why he was pushing Mark into breaking his values ;Its a question that will be deep in his mind for a long time and wont know an answer to for even longer
>>6300999>"Why do you hate Question so much? Is it something special or just capes in general?"
>>6301363The answer: he wanted a friend just like him and on the same wavelength as him
>>6301038>>6301079>>6301207>>6301273>>6301363"I never did get to hear about Hawthorne's record at the fire house, got any good stories?""Shit, do I." Grey says with a chuckle. "Mitch was all sorts of trouble when we were growing up.""I can't believe it." You say dryly."You think he's a mean old dog now, imagine back when he had the energy. Wasn't a day ended he didn't have a new bruise or red knuckles, hairpin trigger on him. And it wasn't like it was all unwarranted, nobody had it good in the Narrows but Mitch he was always a bigger fella. Shot up like a weed with none of the muscle, didn't pick that up until he was a grown man. But kids are mean little shits.""I know that for sure.""Mhm. Eventually it stopped being about get backs and started being about respect. Started with him pushing back against corner peddlers and street sharks trying to press people. Hell, soon he was picking fights with people just to prove he could win even though he hardly ever did. Wanted to lay some sort of claim over the neighborhood. 'You mess with anyone and you'll deal with Mitch.' Punk just wanted to help people from the block feel a little safer.""Did he?""He was a morale boost for sure. But then he put his hands on the wrong one, some yuppy kid was getting handsy at a movie theater. Girl ended up causing a whole scene and Yuppy decided the best way to handle that was to grab her by the arm and drag her outside for a talking to.""Guessing Hawthorne didn't like that?""He's always had a soft spot for pretty girls, like most of us. But yeah, he followed em out and exchanged some words with the kid. Then WHAP." He throws a ghost punch that stops short of your nose. "Right in the bridge, crushed it like a can of soda, put Yuppy on his ass and the girl-""Was his wife." You cut him off."HA!" Grey barks, slapping his leg. "Hell no, the girl screamed like a banshee and took off. He'd scared the hell out of her, next day he got a visit from GCPD. Yuppy's father had some weight and that was Mitch's first time in cuffs at the ripe age of sixteen.""Huh. Would have thought it was sooner.""You think our coverage on the Narrows is thin now? Back then you had a better chance calling Carmine Falcone Sr when your car was stolen. There's a reason they got so deep that it took a guy in a bat costume to pull out the roots.""Damn... The GCPD back then really were as dirty as everyone says, then?""And then some. After he got picked up that was when my dad first told me I had to stop hanging around him so much. 'Only thing you'll find by looking is trouble,' he told me. Said Mitch was gonna get me hemmed up in something bad someday.""What'd you say?""I told him I was the only reason he hadn't yet. I kept him from doing anything really stupid and in return he watched my back like a hawk. He didn't like it but he understood loyalty. Understood Hawthorne just needed some guidance too, he ever talk to you about his old man?"
"Surprised. Usually he does all he can to avoid talking about him. Yeah... the Narrows were a rough spot but I at least had a proper place to stay. We didn't exactly have space but we had a cot and a little extra food. He never took us up on it, wanted to stay with his dad. Then right at eighteen..." Grey trails off, his eyes looking at a distant memory."Oh. His dad?""Pneumonia." Grey says, his voice slightly caught before he clears it. "Winter was colder than usual, snow lasted longer. Fought through most of the year up until his birthday... day after that he went.""Jesus.""Yeah." He says simply. “His dad was twice as stubborn as he is, if I had to guess… he just wanted to hang on long enough to see him be an adult. The bank gave him all the money his dad stored up and I managed to convince him to go for the GCPD.”“You had to talk him into it?”“Oh yeah. Mitch Hawthorne was no ‘pig’ y’see?” He laughs an old man’s laugh, a slight wheeze in it that turns into a coughing fit. “Ahh shit. We were both morons. But the money his dad saved up paid for a shitty apartment, paid for what we needed for the academy, and it paid for dollar slices washed down with cheap suds…”“Sounds like you miss it.”“You’ll understand eventually. The past always looks simpler when you’ve got time under your belt to understand it all.”“One day dealing with magical serial killers and guys with jet-packs and flamethrowers is gonna seem simple?”“Believe it or not, yeah.” He says with a contented sigh. “How’re you keeping up with that? I know Rogers or Zsasz or whatever the hell his name is, he likes to act all buddy buddy. But he still went out to see your parents, I know that kinda thing rattles a person.”>”I’m fine, my folks were an attention cry. He’s a sick fuck but, honestly, that’s what keeps it from getting to me. His brain is full of holes and who knows what else. I’m just playing his game until we get him.”>”Doing the best I can. Worried about my folks for sure, he’s unstable enough to really think he’d be doing me a favor by ‘saving them’ and if he did… I dunno.”>”Honestly? Not great, the more I learn about him the worse this feeling in my gut gets. Like… something big is gonna happen. Scarier than that is the fact that I don’t know if us catching him is even gonna stop it.”>”I’m not rattled, I’m pissed. He follows me around worse than a clingy ex and the fact we share an ability like Shivers makes me feel sick. Like maybe I was a bad childhood away from turning out like… that.”>Write-InAlso:>Any additional questions/conversation topics for Grey? This vote matters more than you may think, dear player. So feel free to really think about it or stretch your fingers with a write-in. Also hurray, more Hawthorne lore!
>>6301495>”Honestly? Not great, the more I learn about him the worse this feeling in my gut gets. Like… something big is gonna happen. Scarier than that is the fact that I don’t know if us catching him is even gonna stop it.”>"Hey, not to turn this around on you or anything, but you alright? I just noticed the pills and all, so I figured I'd ask instead of assuming the worst."
>>6301495>”Honestly? Not great, the more I learn about him the worse this feeling in my gut gets. Like… something big is gonna happen. Scarier than that is the fact that I don’t know if us catching him is even gonna stop it.”Write-in:>”At the firehouse I got a chance to Shivers his ‘gift’. I got a look inside his head, there’s something there talking to him. Not like the ones I see, they usually just talk to me in weird riddles. This one was furious, demanding… not too different from the guy that raised him, really. Except that it’s kill list seems to include… well, everyone. And if we catch Zsasz, I don’t know what this thing’s next play is.”
>>6301536+1This reeks of supernatural/extraterrestial capeshit
>>6301536>>6301550I'm pretty sure Grey was THERE and took down our statement as soon as we exited the vision.
>>6301495Imagine kid Hawthorne as like Cuno (he doesn't fucking care) except taller. Yet more Disco Elysium comparisons...
>>6301495>”Doing the best I can. Worried about my folks for sure, he’s unstable enough to really think he’d be doing me a favor by ‘saving them’ and if he did… I dunno. The fact we share an ability like Shivers makes me feel sick, too. Like maybe I was a bad childhood away from turning out like… that.”
>>6301495>”Honestly? Not great, the more I learn about him the worse this feeling in my gut gets. Like… something big is gonna happen. Scarier than that is the fact that I don’t know if us catching him is even gonna stop it.”with a side of >>6301536 if it isn't redundant like >>6301555 said.
>>6301504>>6301536>>6301550>>6301708"Honestly?" You begin, taking in a breath. "Not great. The more I learn about him the worse this feeling in my gut gets. Like... something big is gonna happen.""It's alright to be nervous, means you aren't being reckless. If you stay focused, we'll catch him. Don't let that doubt freeze you up.""I know and I wont, but the fact is it's almost scarier because I don't know if us catching him is gonna stop it.""You worried about what you saw at the firehouse?""You mean his 'gift'? Yeah... I know all about voices in your head but the one in his it was furious. Demanding. Not too different from the guy that raised him actually.""Maybe that's how it goes. He was probably shaped more than raised by Mandragora. I'd almost say poor kid.""I don't know. It felt foreign, when he shared that vision he had about the moon it at least had a similar feeling to my other visions. So even if we catch him I don't know what that thing's next play would be...""May not be our place." Grey says quietly."You're right about that. Smells like a cape problem, I just hope it doesn't become our problem first.""Damn straight... No use dwelling on it for now, you should try and get some shut-eye. Guessing you're pretty ragged.""Not a bad idea, you'll be alright alone?""Always have been."A silence settles as you lean your seat back and before you even realize it your eyelids are slipping. Darkness is settling in. The moment sleep takes you, you see something under it all. Under the familiar rattling of the train as it passes, under your keen mind still turning this puzzle, and under the velvety blackness that's behind your eyes: Two glowing red dots.>Roll 1d100Taking average of 3 Double Update tonight.
Rolled 24 (1d100)>>6303902a good roll before bed...
Rolled 62 (1d100)>>6303902Rolling...
QM if somehow Darkseid actually ends up entering the plot himself AND he personally goes and does the couch meme at Mark's shoddy-ass apartment, would Mark just look at this icon of pure evil and throw him a beer? Would Mark actually share a beer with Darkseid without raising a single eyebrow or missing a single beat? How the fuck would Darkseid even react to such weary nonchalance towards him from a human?
Rolled 40 (1d100)>>6303902lets gooo
>>6303907The insult of a mere mortal daring to parlay with him over a shared drink would not be taken in stride. That beer's getting crushed in his hands or shot out of the air with his Omega Beams.
>>6303907Maybe you'll find out... sooner than you think. Sooner than you think even...>>6303903>>6303905>>6303909AVG: 42Result: [King's Court]Writing.
>>6303911That sounds ominous.
Rolled 34 (1d100)>>6303902
You feel heat. Familiar. That same scorching burn from the alley before you even set eyes on Firebug. Beneath the sharp licks of it you feel a subtler warmth. The same warmth you carry in your chest and feel flare up occasionally. You feel them pushing against each other, the tendrils of that scorching heat wriggling into the soft warmth before they retract and leave burning gouges that are quickly filled with that comfort. It's a war of emotion and your own essence.Then. You open your eyes. Before you is the door to your apartment, you look left and right and see your hallway extending an impossible length with either end covered in a thick black smoke. The air smells like a mix of campfire and sulfur, a scent you're getting too familiar with, you frown and put your hand to the knob. It's warmth is equal parts invitation and warning, with a twist you're hit by the dry blast of air that singes your eyebrows and you step forward into a space that resembles your apartment, but not fully."Ah." A deep voice rumbles. You flinch from the boom of his words and the knob slips from your fingers and the door slams itself shut as if pulled by a powerful force. You cover your ears but his voice rings through, clear and commanding."Kneel."An awesome pressure bears down on you, pressing your shoulders, urging you to kneel. You don't buckle, thought the force is immense you've been in this space before. You know this is little more than your shivers running rampant in your sleep."You think me a machination of your inferior mind?" The voice growls.With extraordinary effort you lift your chin and lay eyes on a large figure seated comfortably before you. His skin dark and grey like volcanic ash, lined with fracture marks that glow in some places with a familiar orange-red hue. Your eyes drop slightly and the absurdity of what you perceive lessens the pressure."My couch?" You grunt.
"Hm?" The figure grunts, before looking down. "Ah. The human subconscious, how... limiting. Is this what passes for a throne in your backwards mind?""Fuck you." You grunt, raising to full height as you feel cold air flood into your lungs almost inflating you. "What is this?""You do not ask questions of me, worm." The voice booms, bringing you back to one knee. But you do not avert your eyes."What. Is. This?"He rises from his seat, his form towering above you in this perversion of your home. Outside the windows you hear a sound like rushing water, the current of Shivers that you've tapped before giving you strength just from proximity."I am your master. The voice that has guided you all your life, taken shape." The figure announces. "You are mine. My avatar. My tool. The device that will cleanse your world of evil.""Cleanse the world of evil? You mean you're-""Enough speech!" It roars. "I demand your obedience, the home you now claim is soon to be laid to waste. The only escape is through death, only then can you be free in my domain.""Your domain?""New Genesis." It says the word as though it could break. "Bow your head to me and I will let you and those you save live anew after the downfall of your physical plane. For your life is not physical. And my mercy extends only to the soul. You must kill if you ever hope to save the ones you love, for any soul that exists when your world falls will be lost to endless dark. I will be your light."As he finishes speaking his eyes light up a burning red, the light condensing and beading like a liquid as it pools in his eyes. You can feel him waiting for you to respond and his patience grows thinner by the moment.>"Fine, just tell me what you need from me." (LIE)>"I've met the voice in my head already, pretty lady in red. Who are you really?">"Go fuck yourself, Red-Eye. I don't know who you are but this is MY mind and you are NOT my Shivers.">Don't answer him, save your energy and try to draw from the well of Shivers you can hear nearby. Maybe you can expel him from your mind even though SIM couldn't.>Write-In
>>6303957>"I've met the voice in my head already, pretty lady in red. Who are you really?"If he could take us against our will, he would have already. Let's see what we can get out of him while his intrusion into our mind lasts.
>>6303957>"I've met the voice in my head already, pretty lady in red. Who are you really?"I already have a schizo girlfriend you ass… and I am certainly not gay. And even if I were, you ain’t my type.
>>6303961+1We know his game by now based on SIM
>>6303957>"I've met the voice in my head already, pretty lady in red. Who are you really?">"I'll give you full props if you try the dress on yourself."
>>6303993+1, kek.>>6303957
>>6303993I just thought of another way to say "Fuck you" to the grey space Nazi...Since it's taking place in our mind, while he's focusing on us, let's see if Mark can make the "Throne" he's on become the porcelain throne.Captcha: G00GDThanks, bro.
>>6303961>>6303973>>6303985>>6303993>>6304006"I've met the voice in my head already, pretty lady in red." You grunt, ignoring his grimace. "Who are you really?""You dare?" He spits with righteous indignation. "I am your master! I am the Dark God! I am the OMEGA!"You grit your teeth as the heat edges on overbearing but you focus your mind. Detective Jones techniques keeping you anchored in the reality that is now striking you: this is YOUR mind. You know his game, you've seen how he runs it, you won't let whatever he is get under your skin."Like I already said. The voice in my head is a schizo in a tight red number. Maybe you'd be more convincing if you tried it on?" You watch as his eyes flash brightly. "Oh shit-"You barely get the words out before you feel your feet leave the floor as two grey hands close around your throat and lift you. Your hands fly to his wrists and it feels like grasping a hot iron but you know it's all in your head. The pressure around your throat is that of an industrial vice but you resist the urge to panic. This is still in your mind and your mind still answers to you above all, even if it doesn't realize it. You thank Kimble for the advice to move your spare gun, you've been annoyed by the feeling of it digging in the small of your back for days now. So annoyed in fact, you've always been aware of it subconsciously even now... You release his wrists and your arms fall limply to the side. His grimace turns to a cruel sneer."Will you submit, worm!?" He roars, flecking your face with sizzling spittle."Alwa-" You croak, trying to force the words through your pinched throat but they are cut short.He eases his grip allowing you to breathe again."Speak. Declare your subservience.""Always... keep control of the hands." You wheeze, as your right hand finds the familiar grip of your weapon."What drivel are you spea-""Bang." You cut him off with a grin as a gunshot rings out.His red eyes go large as gun smoke furls upwards, it's acrid scent sweet as roses to you right now. His hands loosen and you drop to the floor on a single knee. The air rushing back into your lungs. You glance up and see him put a hand to a small hole in his strange outfit, more like armor, before his face twists into something you can almost recognize as a grin."You are not as docile as the other." He says almost to himself as the hole in his form seals itself and he swipes away the remnants of gunpowder as he seems caught in a thought."I've got my father's temper.""Hmph." He scoffs, nearly amused.>"So you're the one digging through Vic's head. I only have one question. Why bother?">"You followed me from Vic's mind didn't you? Why couldn't you reach me before.">"Vic might be a nuts. But he isn't an idiot, what did you show him to get him to kneel?">"If you're so tough why the mind games? Why whisper in the ears of pawns? Scared to step out yourself?">Continue firing until the cylinder runs dry.>Write-In
>>6304352>"If you're so tough why the mind games? Why whisper in the ears of pawns? Scared to step out yourself?"
>>6304352>>"You followed me from Vic's mind didn't you? Why couldn't you reach me before.">"If you're so tough why the mind games? Why whisper in the ears of pawns? Scared to step out yourself?">"You keep saying my world is done for, but how? Why? What's the mechanism?"Here's hoping we didn't just put a hole in Grey's windshield just now.
>>6304478+1
>>6304352>You watch as his eyes flash brightly. "Oh shit-"Mark moments before the Omega Beams destroy him. Wait that didn't happen?
>>6304385Maybe ragebaiting an evil god is not the best idea?Nahhh
>>6304478+1>>6304352
>>6304529For as risky as it may be to piss him off, getting him to throw a fit is probably the most reliable way to get good info out of him.Consider us a detective conducting an interrogation, and we're just getting him to say something he probably shouldn't by provoking him.
>>6304667Careful. Get him really rambling and he'll start telling us about how he's a "tiger force," and then he'll NEVER shut up. Kek
>>6304680Darkseid's bad enough, but don't make me think about how much of a terror he'd be if he was consuming the absurd amount of cocaine needed for him to actually get high.
>>6304682Darkseid/Snowflame team-up when?
>>6304684I had thought you were making a Charlie Sheen tiger blood joke. I didn't realize he actually called himself "the tiger-force and the core of all things!"If he didn't have the presence and power to back up bullshit like that, he might be the funniest of the New Gods.
>>6304478>>6304525>>6304627"You followed me from Vic's mind didn't you?" You ask, rising as you retreat keeping the gun level with his chest. "Why couldn't you reach me before?""You mistake absence for inability." He spits, his faux grin settling into a stoic grimace. "You were not worth my attention, do not flatter yourself into believing you were hidden.""So Vic just drew the short straw? Is that it?"He scoffs."I mean, if you're so tough then why do these mind games? Why whisper in the ears of pawns? Maybe you're just scared to step out yourself?"The ground beneath you shifts slightly as you see his jaw grind. You struck a nerve it seems. His eyes flare again with that brilliant red hue, bright enough to banish all shadow from the room as he steps closer."SCARED!?" His voice rattles your organs as his nostrils flare. "You DARE to name me a coward!? I am the silence between stars! I am the Tiger-Force! He who will hold dominion over LIFE ITSELF." You step back as he continues his advance, everything in your body screaming at you to pull the trigger but you can't bring your finger to move as the light from his eyes almost entrances you and the sensation of swallowing is akin to sandpaper dragging over raw meat."I do not 'step out' into your feeble reality! You are less than DUST before my eyes and yet you find the gall to insult me?" He leans forward until the barrel of your gun presses to his forehead and you see the tip of the barrel glow orange-white. "I could unmake you with a thought, insect. Tread carefully."Your hand is shaking. You know you should stop now. But you can't help yourself."You keep saying things like that... things like my world is done for. But how? What's the mechanism?"He stands tall, his shoulders pushing back as he towers over you taller than any human could. Staring down his nose at you he speaks in a contemptuous whisper."By MY hand.""But how-" You're cut off by his massive hand palming your face like a basketball.Your scream is muffled in his palm as the heat of his skin sears yours while his free hand slaps your arm to the side, sending your weapon across the floor."I mistook your earlier actions for courage. I see now they were simply the flailings of a frightened animal. You're trivial existence is beneath my notice." He drops you.Your hands fly to your face, an action you quickly regret. The skin is soft, too soft... like half melted wax that is slick under your touch. You pull your hands away but the action only serves to drag across the skin and tear the surface which is bubbled like freshly lain tar. The pocket of heat bursts and you feel thin liquid dribbling down your cheek. As you look up to this monster his eyes flash again and then he pauses, seeming perplexed."Human minds." He mutters. "How limiting."
With a final huff he lifts his boot and it connects with your chest sending you soaring through the window to your fire escape. Your feet clip the railing and send you tumbling in a heap of disfigured flesh. As you fall backwards you watch the red glow from inside your apartment fade and then the cold hard surface of the dumpster below stops your motion with a violent slam. As you struggle to catch your breath your vision swims, your neck goes limp and your head falls to the side. As you fight the fluttering of your eyelids you smell the familiar scent of charred flesh...Then you blink.The rigid metal of the dumpster is replaced by a comforting softness. A human softness... only not truly. The Lady in Red cradles your head in her lap, the cool silk of her dress a welcome respite from the burn you felt earlier. Your hand reaches up to your face again and finds smooth cool skin, unmarred by whatever force he exposed you too. You sigh in relief and let yourself relax in her arms."Lady... I've never been so happy to see you."She smiles gently, the most natural looking expression she's managed so far. She strokes your hair gently and speaks in a low whisper."I will always strive to protect you, son of Gotham. Though I fail to understand why you felt the need to provoke him.""It's my job." You offer weakly, feeling an intense sense of exhaustion. "Besides it's only a dream, right?""You are weak." She says, dodging the question. "Your encounter has left a... stain on you.""A stain? Like on my soul?""Your mind. Our link. I must scrub it clean, lest the stain spread.""Wait!" You manage to roll out of her lap and put up a hand. "I've had a lot of people digging in my head recently, not particularly a fan of how they all seem to never explain what they're actually doing. What does that mean to 'scrub it clean'?""I must remove your memory of this encounter, for as long as you know of him he will know of you. You will remain in his vision.""I don't think that's a concern, he said I was 'beneath his notice' before dropping me a few stories.""One's words and actions are rarely the same, son of Gotham. You know this better than most.""But I learned things, maybe something that can help? I need to pass the information along, anything could help."Her face screws into a parody of pity."You do not understand... The being you met is one of great power and greater fury. To keep his stain on your mind would retain the memory of your exchange but also keep the door to your mind open to him."
"What... Like he could take me over or something!?""No. He would be limited to the same space as I, son of Gotham, but nothing would prevent him from... further visits. Further... torment.""Torment? But it's just my dreams, none of it's real!""It felt real, did it not?"You swallow harshly. She's true, the pain you felt was all too real, you shudder as the sensation of your skin ballooning into a field of blisters rakes over the folds of your brain."Why not just do it later? After I've passed some things along?""The stain must be removed while it is fresh. Lest his tendrils take root deeper than I can reach.""Like with Vic..." You mumble. She doesn't reply, she only watches you with unblinking eyes."I do not wish to see you suffer, son of Gotham. Please, let me cleanse this burden.">"No... I didn't learn a lot. But I have a description, a handful of titles, and I know he's coming personally. He said I was beneath his notice and I'm going to hope it's true.">"Do it. Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is.">Write-In(?) This is a choice that's gonna have some lasting effects so I urge you to chat it over with the other players and think on your vote for a while before submitting it. Or don't, I'm not your Nonno.A new introduction based off a table of encounters I had in mind, very happy to see this one pop now from your rolls. Please let me know your thoughts on how I handled writing Darkseid, espeically his speech as I went through more than a few re-writes for certain bits of dialogue because they felt a bit too... casual? I also apologize for the wonky update sizes, I keep writing in just a bit over 6k characters and it makes 4Chan very angry. Regardless, always eager to hear your feedback and I'm looking forward to seeing what you all end up deciding. See you soon.
>>6304879>"Do it. Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is."It's not just the night terrors, it's the fact that he could potentially try to exert his will over our waking mind like he seems to be able to do with Vic.
>>6304879>"Do it. Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is."Yeah, if we don’t do this then Mark is dead. Anons who want to remember this should look up the term “Hobson’s Choice”.
>>6304879>>"Do it. Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is.">Also, you look better in your outfit then he ever could.>Oh, since I'm probably going to see Nightwing again eventually, want me to relay a message to him?
>>6305018+1
Hey GDQM, take pic related for use later in the quest. I'm sure you'll find somewhere nice for it
>>6305060>gdqmHello fellow SCQ player
>>6305110I was in SCQ years and years ago man. I just typod out of memory
>>6304879>"Do it. Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is."Darkside is too much for Mark.
>>6304879>Write InControversial Idea: couldn't she just give us the cliffnotes of what happened with Darksied AFTER she wipes our memory of this event?Best of both worlds: we get the info and we stay off his radar
>>6305177I imagine she could try to do that, but remember that her idea of speaking plainly is about as extravagant as Vincent Price.
>>6305177+1Forgot if I voted already but fuck it
>>6305177I'll support suggesting this to her.
>>6305177Yeah suggest this too
>>6304879>"No... I didn't learn a lot. But I have a description, a handful of titles, and I know he's coming personally. He said I was beneath his notice and I'm going to hope it's true.">>6305177I think reminding us of it might reawaken the connection.
>>6304943>>6305006>>6305018>>6305042>>6305137>>6305177You sit silent for a moment, the Lady's alabaster face fading away as you sit on her offer. Even if you thought you could handle nightly recurrences of... that. The heat and the abuse. It isn't just torture or night terrors, it's those tendrils that you saw digging into Vic's psyche. Invading his very sense of self. If there's a chance that can happen to you then it's a risk you can't be willing to take. "Do it." You say finally. "Even if I pass the information along I won't be much use if I'm being tortured every night by... whatever the hell he is.""A wise decision, son of Gotham..""But... couldn't you just catch me up after? I could tell you what I know and when you're done wiping my memory you can just give me the bullet points after, right?"She shakes her head forlornly."This is not possible, I am sorry. To remove his taint from your mind I must stain my own hands with it and for all the pain he can bring to you... to me he would bring complete ruin.""Wait, so you're going to wipe your own mind too?""I am going to banish his memory in it's entirety from the both of us.""Great." You huff. "So we'll both be in the dark.""There is protection in the dark. You know this better than most, son of Gotham.""So there's no way? We just have to hope we're ready without even knowing what to prepare for?""You already knew to prepare. That is more forewarning than most would get." She states flatly.You sigh but nod regardless. She's right, even if you aren't happy about it. Her hands firmly grasp the sides of your head, her hands cold like forgotten porcelain. She stares into your eyes and in staring back you feel like you're gazing upon a massive crowd. Her eyes are deep inkwells that hold your attention fully, you feel your memories fading like old photographs. The burning agony of his hand searing your flesh is replaced by the warm spread of blush across your cheeks as you hold Allison's hand. The burst of dry heat across your face simply the heat from the brick oven of the pizza oven from your first date. The impact of his foot into your chest and the solid dumpster steel is replaced with the gentle pressure of her head resting on you as you both lie in bed."She is special to you." The Lady's voice drifts through your mind. A stray thought.You can only mumble in reply as your very intellect is shifted and moved like a puzzle cube. As she digs through you feel her still for a moment. Her finger lingering over the memory of Nightwing in the filing cabinet of your mind, only for a moment, before she withdraws and blinks absently."Oh fuck..." You mumble, grasping your head. "I don't...""Easy." She whispers. "You have forgotten something grave and vile.""I know... I remember our conversation it's just some parts feel... foggy.""For now... Do not dwell." She says firmly. "I will not.""I could feel where you were looking. You lingered on Nightwing for a while."
"Dick..." She says wistfully."Bit harsh." You reply, pushing yourself to your feet. "Though Question would probably agree."You glance around the small space, the alley next to your apartment with heavy fog obscuring any openings to the street. "Now what?""Now you wake up." She whispers.And you do.======Your eyes flutter open as the sun crests a nearby apartment, the glare of the glass striking your eyes as you sit up and lift a hand."Sleep well?" Grey asks."Not really, I don't think so at least.""Could tell, you were making kinds of sounds. Movin. Nightmares?""I uh..." You trail off. "I don't really remember actually.""Hate those." He grumbles."Any movement?""None, wasn't really expecting any either. This is a long term investment.""I always knew police work wasn't fast, but it's hard to keep in mind when you're in the middle of the waiting."Grey chuckles and pats your shoulder as he slides over a small paper bag."It's a lot like fishing. We've got a big net set right now, walking down the labs, pumping the warden, the mobsters, and now this place. Patience'll get us where we need to go.""I just hope it isn't too late by the time it gets us there." You reply."We have officers at the Wayne estate and Tower. I might not like the company you keep in your spare time but... he was right about Wayne and The Mayor being the key to this. As long as we keep them safe it's just a matter of when, not if, we catch Kal Late." Grey speaks with a certainty only years on the force can afford. "If you're still feeling antsy I can see if I could pull a string or two for you.""A string? To do what?""Get in on the Anarky, I won't exactly be asking for you. I'd be asking Reiner to put Hawthorne on it and well, wherever he goes you go.""Beauty of the TO Program, I still have a few things to knock off according to Hawthorne.""These can give you the opportunity. You've done enough stings, I think. I was thinking you could join one of the patrol teams for Wayne manor or the Tower, if not that then you'd be more than welcome helping us work on chasing down the lab. I know you didn't exactly get a lot from the lipstick but it was more than we managed to scrounge up.""Grey-""I know. You don't want to dip your toes into SIM, that's why I'm not asking you to. Besides, that case is my responsibility and to be completely honest I'd feel a little better about having you and Hawthorne involved in some of this stuff. Got a lot on my plate.">"I can help out the detectives with the lab, I just don't wanna step on any toes. I know how you guys get.">"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this.">"Honestly, I just need a break. I want to do normal police work for a while, not have to deal with psychos and conspiracies.">Write-In
>>6306960>"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this."Let's focus on mastering what we need to be a cop before we start mucking about as a wanna-be detective again.
>>6306960>"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this."Poor guy’s only been on the force for a year or so and his powers threw him straight into the deep end.
>>6306961+1Basics basics basics
>>6306960>"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this."
>>6306960>"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this."I can't wait to go past the completely conspicuous clue to Bruce's secret identity while somehow failing to connect the dots. "DAt'S a ReALLy nICe CloCK DERe, MiSter WaYNe!"
>>6306960>>"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this."Nothing scratches my narrative irony itch quite like this option.
>>6306961>>6306984>>6307007>>6307026>>6307150>>6307158"Guarding Wayne doesn't seem too bad, I could use a little quiet after all this.""All this, huh?" Grey asks, not judgmental, just curious."I mean, I kinda wound up falling into the deep end didn't I? Not that I'm complaining, I got to dip my toes in undercover, stings, and a lot of shit most rookies probably don't get to even apply for until they have a few years under their belt. It's just been a lot to learn.""I hear you, but most rookies don't have your... perspective.""Just say powers. You can be honest, if I was the same person without the city nagging me-""You wouldn't be the same person." Grey cuts you off. "The things you can do are just part of you, but they aren't what I think makes you a good cop. You have a solid head on your shoulders, a good gut, and you actually give a shit. That's a quality that's missing from a lot of people who join up.""It did help though.""It did." He concedes. "I hear you though, I'll put in a word with Reiner to get you and Hawthorne on some of the light duty. Your PT going well?""Good enough to spar, feeling better every day. Hopefully Kimble tells Reiner I'm good for standard duty soon.""Well don't push yourself. Even if he's the one urging it, gets ahead of himself sometimes. Means well but he's young.""I'm not?""Old soul." Grey chuckles as he nods past your shoulder.You turn, seeing a tan sedan pulling along a curb and coming to a gentle stop before you see it cut off in tandem with a vibration on Grey's phone."Relief is here." He says cranking the key. "Let's get you back to your car. I had a chat with Reiner while you were out.""He was up?""Man hardly sleeps, things as they are. But you should worry about getting some sleep yourself, he signed off on you pulling that night shift tonight so you can get it out of the way. Hawthorne'll wake up to the news.""He gonna be pissed?"Grey just chuckles as he stops a few blocks down by your car and unlocks the door."Be safe, Mark.""Appreciate it, Grey."=====Your return home all the way to your door is shrouded in an almost dreamlike haze up until you touch the knob. The hairs on your neck go stiff as a feeling of intense dread sinks to the core of your gut and even lower still. You run your tongue over dry lips and twist the knob throwing the door open with a little more intensity than you meant. The door banging against the wall makes you jump as your eyes dart around the living room and kitchen only to see nothing. The creak of another door opening has you whip your head to the left, only to see a spectacled face peering at you.
"Mrs. Dover." You breathe out in relief. "You scared me.""You scared me, Marcus. Was your door stuck, dear?""No ma'am just... just an accident." You say with a forced chuckle.She purses her lips and frowns."You look exhausted..." She says gently."Late shift kept me out all night. I'm sorry for making a racket, ma'am.""Don't apologize, there's no need. Just take care of yourself, dear.""I will, ma'am."She gives you a final worried glance before she closes her door with a soft click. You sigh and run your hands over your warming face, you really do need some rest. You step inside and close the door behind you, your attention lingering on the window as you shake your head as you make your way to the bedroom where you promptly hit the sheets with barely enough time to plug your phone in. Your sleep is deep and dreamless as tension gives way to a sort of fatigue you can't explain...Buzzing. Your eyes crack open and the dying light of the sun begins to set over the city. Your hand blindly gropes at your nightstand as you pull your phone to your ear and mumble out something resembling a greeting."I'm outside." A gruff voice replies."Hawthorne?""It ain't your girlfriend, that's for damn sure. I'm outside.""...why?""Because Grey told me you looked like twenty pounds of shit in a ten pound bag. Figured you might oversleep so I'm making sure that doesn't happen. Now come down here before you piss me off.""You already sound pissed off.""Exactly." He replies before the line goes dead.You stare at your screen with blurry eyes and a deep-set confusion but your body still responds to the orders as you haul yourself to your feet. You discard your clothes and change into your spare uniform before flicking the lights, chugging a glass of water from the sink and heading for the door. Before you step out you take a moment to feel for the revolver in your back waistband, despite being a literal pain in the ass you feel yourself relax a little more upon running your fingers over it's grip, with a final look at your apartment you close the door behind you and head down.Hawthorne looks more sour than usual as you open the door of an unmarked and step in."Lose the shirt. Wayne doesn't want uniforms swarming his property. Stick to the undershirt.""Yes, sir." You reply in a mumble as you undo the buttons."You're lucky I like you, rook." He grumbles as he shifts into drive and pulls away from the front of the building."Why?""Because I'm a fuckin old man who likes to sleep when the sun is down. All this graveyard shit is for the young and the burnt out.""Which one am I?"
"Both from the sound of things. We'll grab some coffee on the way, wake you up properly. Grey told me you were worrying about your fundamentals?""Kinda. Just feels like I get a lot of special assignments, worried I might be missing out on the basics sometimes.""Yeah well. Blame your own ambition for that, most rookies are too scared of their own shadow to pipe up in front of superiors.""Is this your way of telling me to be quiet more?""No, this is my way of saying if you want something. Ask me for it. If you think you need to shore up your fundamentals then let me know and we can work on em. I don't want you reaching a a breaking point before coming to me." He starts harsh but as he speaks his voice lightens up a bit. "Besides, it makes me look bad as a teacher... and I don't need any help in that department.""I think you're a good teacher, honestly.""That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, rook." He says as he slows on a corner and points to a silver cart as he pulls a crumpled bill from his pocket. "Take this and grab us two red-eye's. You could go on vacation with the bags you're packing under your eyes."You step out into the cold dusk and fetch the coffee as requested, this is a fundamental you'll never lose your edge on at least, returning to the car with two cardboard sleeved cups. Hawthorne takes his and indulges in a gulp of joe that's too hot for you to even take to the lip."How do you drink this stuff so hot?""Little trick called not being a wuss." He chuckles, the gravel in his voice more pronounced. "You'll pick it up as you go, it's like a chef's hands. Now, which sector did'ya want?""Sector?""Wayne's estate is a big place, Mark. Three teams of two, we all have radio contact with hourly check ins. Exterior team handles the roads coming in and out, not too different from Halloween. If you want to learn something new we can leave that to someone else.""And the other two? I'm guessing front and back of the grounds?""Nope. Outdoor team for the grounds and an indoor team. Wayne wanted a low profile because of media buzzards and having armed men at the front and back doors is the opposite.""Who gives a shit about the media? His life could be in danger.""His life is tied to the media, son. Like it or not, he's a private citizen and he's only accepting our protection on his terms. Negotiated it directly with the Commissioner. The yuppie's got juice."He takes another swig and clicks into drive as he settles his cup between you."Take your pick. I'm senior officer on scene, so my show. Which means your show.">"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind.">"Outdoors, fresh air and stretching my legs doesn't sound too bad. Besides, how big can the grounds be anyways?">"You sure we can't do the roads? I know we've covered it before but that's probably gonna be the spot with the most going on, isn't it?">Write-in
>>6307404>"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind."
>>6307404>"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind."Black coffee is not a balanced breakfast and being on our feet all day is gonna burn calories quick. We need food, and you know who ALWAYS has food ready for guests?Alfred Pennyworth.
>>6307404>>"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind."
>>6307415>>6307416>>6307431>>6307509>>6307515"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind.""Hah! Sissy." Hawthorne chuckles."Smart." You correct."That too. You'll have plenty of time to sweat and freeze your balls off in the future. Better to take the breaks when you have the choice. I remember being on patrol during the blizzard back in '02.""There was a blizzard in '02?""You woulda been too young, or maybe you had already left the city. You'd remember it or your folks would at least. Something to do with 'Mr. Freeze' and some gizmo he'd put together. It all got handled within a day or two but I still had my beat.""Wow, they really still had you go out?""Y'know who loves shit like that, son? The power outages, the blizzards, the flooding? Looters and shitheels. Back when Loeb ran things he'd keep everyone home, in the station, or parked up. Let the animals run free and then we'd be stuck running clean up and chasing after fellas with a head start.""So I guess that means it was Gordon who got everyone back out.""Right on the money. It wasn't a popular choice, few Watch Commanders refused to enforce the new policy. So he let em go. Few more officers on the lower end also refused. He cut them too.""Damn.""Mhm. But that's what set Gordon apart, he had integrity, when the numbers were thin he covered some of those blocks himself. Another lesson to take with you if you wanna move up; never ask anything you wouldn't do yourself and if you can do it yourself? Do it so they know.""The Commissioner is something else." You say quietly."Yes he is."=====You finish the dregs of your coffee as Hawthorne pulls up to a large gate emblazoned with a stylish W on the front. He lowers his window and leans out to speak into a small intercom with a glass dome jutting from the front. He taps the red button and a low single tone plays."Good evening." An accented voice comes through, sounds British."Evening. Sergeant Hawthorne and Officer DeLucia, GCPD. I'm leading up the detail for Mr. Wayne tonight.""Of course, if you would be so kind as to produce identification. Badges and ID's."Hawthorne grumbles but pulls his badge and wallet free. You don't wait for instruction and join him, handing over yours as he leans out of the window and displays each badge and card to the dome. A few seconds pass and as you tuck your wallet away you hear the intercom come to life again.
"Welcome Officers, please refrain from parking on the grass. It's freshly mown."With that the intercom goes silent and the grate starts to slowly open, the Gilded W splitting down the center, Hawthorne grunts a response and slowly you take the winding road to the front of Wayne manor."Holt shit. You weren't lying, this place is huge and I don't just mean the house." You say as you stare out the window. "Is that a graveyard? Are those gargoyles?""Yep. Martha Wayne had a flair for the gothic. As for the graveyard, Imagine people this rich wouldn't wanna be buried next to any of the poor people." Hawthorne mumbles."The Wayne's were philanthropists." You counter. "They were good people."Hawthorne scoffs."They were rich. Spent money to be good people while the rest of us do it the hard way, give a hospital a hundred grand out of your billions and it's philanthropy. Give someone half of a sandwich you spent your last five bucks on and they ain't got a fancy word for it. It's easy for people like Bruce Wayne to be a good person. Harder for the rest of us who actually gotta worry about the real world.""I thought you warmed up to him after the museum attack?""I realized he's not as big a prick as I thought, doesn't mean I like him. But I took a bullet for him and I'd take another if I had to, cause that's the job.""I think you do like him." You say teasingly as the car parks. "You just can't see past his money and admit it.""He's the one who stacked it." Hawthorne replies as he cuts the engine and opens the door. "Come on, let's get inside."You both head for the front door, a set of steps leading to the massive dark wood with glinting brass handles. As Hawthorne lifts his hand to knock the doors swing open and before you stands a tall man with a pencil thin moustache and silver hair. He raises a brow at the both of you before giving a shallow bow and stepping aside."Please remove your shoes." He asks simply."I don't really feel like walking around bare-" Hawthorne begins but is cut off by a silk covered finger pointing to a small rack by the door filled with various sizes of white tennis shoe."Your size should be on the rack, but in the event it is not I have additional footwear in one of the linen closets. These floors are freshly waxed and I'd prefer to not need to clean them again.""Sorry, but I'm not here to keep the house clean. I'm here to make sure the guy who signs your checks doesn't have anything happen to him." Hawthorne grumbles, standing at his full height.
The butler doesn't waver and simply steps back again. Hawthorne nods and takes a step indoors only for his leg to slide forward sharply. You lean in and grab his shoulder, stabilizing him as he manages to stand up straight again. The butler raises an eyebrow and dryly remarks:"Freshly Waxed, sir." He gestures to the rack again. "Slip-proof."Hawthorne stares at him for a moment before you see the smallest crack of a grin before he buries it."Got fourteens?""Bottom right." The butler replies, a smirk of his own bubbling up as he turns on his heel. "Once you have changed and made your way to the parlor room I can provide you with refreshments for your colleagues. You are the first to arrive.""Who else is on this with us?" You ask Hawthorne as you both tug off your shoes."Bunko and Chen, Banks and Costas. I'll give a debrief, assign posts, and then we get to wait around.""Oh shit, Banks is on this? I didn't know he was doing night shift." "He's covering for Moore.""Haven't met him yet, I know Bunko though, he sign up for this?""Mhm. Overtime pay is a good motivator. C'mon." He jerks his head as he experimentally steps deeper into the foyer. "Now since you know someone on both of these teams, you go ahead and decide who goes where. Better we have that sorted out before any of em can bitch at us about it.""You want me to pick?""Your show." He says flatly. "Not changing anytime soon.">"Bunko and Chen should man the car by the road, no offense to him but Bunko's a little lazy and if he can take a shortcut patrolling he will.">"Banks and Costas should take the road, Banks doesn't usually work these shifts so we don't want him burning out on us too early.">"What about shift rotations? Four hours and then they swap posts?">"What about shift rotations? We can do a swap every two hours so nobody gets too complacent in one area?">Write-In
>>6307838>"What about shift rotations? We can do a swap every two hours so nobody gets too complacent in one area?"
>>6307838>"Bunko and Chen should man the car by the road, no offense to him but Bunko's a little lazy and if he can take a shortcut patrolling he will."I've seen enough movies to know shift rotation is when trouble strikes.
>>6307838>>"Bunko and Chen should man the car by the road, no offense to him but Bunko's a little lazy and if he can take a shortcut patrolling he will."
>>6307937+1
