Gothic City [CVnU: Living Location]

@dreadpool10: You wanna go up against someone with basically infinite resources and as much meth as he wants? I could buy a Knightmobile too, if I wanted. I could get a fleet of 'em, what with this Midas touch thing I've got going.

@spectacle_storytelling: A henchman would be awesome. We could own this town, man.

@redox: If we can find some way to have Redox and Aldan meet, you can consider him hired.

Indeed. :)

I'll have ter interact with your dude sometime.

@spectacle_storytelling: At your leisure, my good man! Whenever you want to set this up is good for me.

@dreadpool10: I look forward to it! Redox won't be too OP to contend with, even if his bio makes him seem above street tier. I mean, he's pretty high-tier powers wise, but a strong punch'll literally scatter him across the room, regardless whether it's from Dark Knight or Thee Champion.

Basically, he's however strong he needs to be for the story to work.

It was the middle of the night when the Living Shadow stepped out atop of an old warehouse. He closed his eyes and took in the midnight air. It smelled as bad as he imagined it would. He thought to himself, "This will take some getting used to."As he opened his eyes he looked across the cityscape. This kind of urban living was new to him, for he had never stayed in one place too long. But in all his travels no place seemed more corrupt and deranged as Gothic City, hence choosing it as his home....for now. He stepped out onto the ledge of the warehouse and set his gaze into the alley underneath. There where two thugs trying to rob a woman.

The Living Shadow jumped down onto one thug, and as the other man looked at him in horror, he glared at him and whispered,"It has begun....."

First post guys, sorry if it sucks. lol

@spectacle_storytelling: Y'know...I'm thinking of making Redox less of a straight criminal and more morally grey. I'll get back to you about the henchman thing. Maybe we could write together, but I'm still debating making him an underworld kingpin.

@living_shadow: It doesn't suck lol. Everyone has gotta start somewhere.

@maverick_6: Haha thanks, I've been playing tabletop RPGs for a while and wanted to give this a try.

@redox: Just because he's a criminal doesn't mean he has to be Black Mask or Wilson Fisk. It would make sense for him to want to keep the murdering to a minimum (bodies piling up attracts unwanted attention) so he should use bribery and blackmail more often. Give him some moments of humanity and avoid making him seem like a total monster.

@spectacle_storytelling: I'm not even sure if I'm going to make him a criminal yet to be honest. Right now he's still in the conceptual phase. I'm just writing him a few different ways to see what I like.

@redox: Probably should've waited to introduce him, then. I really like the drug dealer thing, personally.

@spectacle_storytelling: I like it too, but the motive is bothering me. If he can manufacture gold with a touch, then why be a criminal? It just doesn't add up. I'll give it some more thought and get back with you.

@orpheus_knightfall:

"That's none of your concern," Dark Knight retorted, displaying considerable brusqueness in his demeanor, as well as in his distinctive tone of voice. Calvin was smarter then Mason had originally given him credit for. Two out of three correct. The Dark Detective, though remaining wary of the young Knightfall's capabilities, was slightly impressed against his will. Hastily Placing his grapnel back within the pockets of his ivory belt, Mason continued, "I'm going to assume your dad introduce you to The System... tell me more about him."

Pleased with his minions deeds, he transports the fun house back to Hell. He decided to leave one clown behind an initiate whom needed to prove himself worthy of being part of giggles crew.

Known for his pyrotechnics Sweet-toothie the clown, decided to run into the streets of Gothic city tossing Maltov cocktails at random locations and even towards crowds. The whole time laughing maniacally, while doing pranks on unsuspecting victims. Seeing no one to stop him, it was a practical free for all sure enough for Giggles to deem him worthy. Now all he had to do was die, and get sent to Hell for his sins.

Oh yeah, his dad is a real peach.

@wearelegion: "I've always hated your kind."

Sweet-Toothie is approached through the screaming crowd by a classy man dressed in brown. He is smoking a pipe and flipping a quarter in his hand. He stops ten meters or so from the clown and speaks seriously.

"I suggest you return to the circus my friend, this won't end well for you otherwise."

@spectacle_storytelling: Laughing maniacally towards the man in brown, he swigs the bottle of rhum he's holding and spats a ball of fire towards the man. " That's exactly how I want it, mister " says Sweet-toothie, grinning from ear to ear.

"Burn, burn, burn!" as he raised his hand, ready to toss another maltov cocktail.

@wearelegion: Aldan sees the clown raising his hand and throws his quarter with the force of a bullet. The projectile does not hit the clown, but the molotov, which shatters. Aldan puts his hands into his pockets and grabs a nickel with his right just in case the clown still has some fight in him after burning alive.

@spectacle_storytelling: Sweet-toothie's hair lights a flame along with the rest of his body as the liquor splashes all over him. Burning to a cadaver as his pockets were filled with more bottles of alcohol to be tossed, accelerating the fire burning it hotter and hotter. Sweet-toothie instead of screaming out in pain, laughed louder and louder as he burnt a sunder becoming ashes in moments before the mans eyes.

@wearelegion: Aldan lights his pipe and watches as the clown burns. As the flames die and the clown is reduced to only ash, he turns and speaks to the silent and shocked onlookers.

"Why do you people live here?"

The thug watched as he saw what almost seemed like black and purple smoke emitting from the Shinobi's hands. The Ninja threw from his hand what looked like a black Shuriken, but it also had a trail of smoke behind it. It hit the thug in the abdomen, sending him flying backward into the stone wall behind him. The Living Shadow walked up to the man and grabbed him by the collar, raising him up to eye level. He snarled at him,"Tell all who will listen."After which he slammed the man's head against his knee, knocking him unconscious. He turned back to the woman and told her, " I would suggest you get out of here."

He then ascended back to the rooftops, patrolling the streets, stopping any petty crimes he came across, though he felt there was more he could be doing, he felt right now it was best to try to make a name for himself. Perhaps if something substantial where to happen, he would be there to provide aid to those in need. "Until then...." he thought to himself, "I will hide in the shadows...watching...waiting for an opportunity to show itself."

(I'm open to interaction with anyone who may run into me, I'm looking at you @_dark_knight, although I understand you are currently in one right now)

@living_shadow: I'd love to write with you sometime, bro!

@orpheus_knightfall:

For a brief moment, the Dark Knight remained in silence, considering everything that Calvin had already informed him of. It was clear that the kid had no intention of divulging more information than need be, and because of his age, Mason had little to no intention of interrogating him like any common crook. Thus, though feeling somewhat reluctant to do so, he pushed further inquiries to the side. He would certainly be needing to confront Orpheus soon enough, to get the answers he desired. First things first, however...

"No more escapades, kid. At your age you'll end up getting yourself killed, or someone else..." He uttered, sternly.

@orpheus_knightfall:

"If I have to..." The Dark Hunter replied, remarking that more so for the purpose of intimidation than an actual threat. His focused gaze followed the young Knightfall as he made his way to another rooftop. Reacting accordingly to Calvin's sudden use of a grapnel of his own, Mason fired off a quick shot from his own grappling gun, onto the edge of the building opposite to the structure Calvin was on. As he was taken off of his feet, the brisk wind felt across the uncovered portion of his face, the familiarly fortifying feeling within initiated once more.

Simultaneously, the eye holes of his cowl lit up, giving him the peculiar visage of some sort of bat-themed demon. At command, his tactical vision had been activated, which would enable him to better pursue the venturesome adolescent in the environments masked by the shadows of the night. As he shot across the edge of the rooftop, making for a somewhat dramatic landing as he did so, he had whipped out a slightly blunt hunterang from his belt. But not to toss at the kid...

Through his tactical vision, he had sighted someone charging up the staircase...

@_dark_knight: (Awesome, well when you're ready let me know, like I said in my previous post, I'll be waiting.....)

@orpheus_knightfall:

Though the unique layer of the particularly resilient kevlar weave was capable of mitigating the damage of bullets, Dark Knight was still forced backwards as he was met with Orpheus' bullets in rapid succession. Luckily not receiving the full force of the firearms, thanks to his suit, a sharp pain still shot through Mason's abdomen. Clutching the spot where the bullets had impacted, he managed to push through his momentary surprise rather quickly, as to avoid the next round, fired by calvin. Diving behind cover, Mason had just barely managed to dodge the adolescent Knightfall's volleys.

However, being behind cover like this gave him the advantage that he needed. His right hand still tightly clenched around the huntarang, Dark Knight tapped a silver button on it, activating one of its components: to create a medium-sized, non-lethal flash in order to temporarily blind his opponents, and create a diversion that would enable him to get close, and engage the Walking Weapon in melee combat. Thus, without a second thought, Mason leapt from behind cover, attempting to toss the huntarang onto the AC unit that both Knightfalls were taking cover behind.

Should the toss be successful, he would attempt to stealthily maneuver towards Orpheus' position, as to initiate an array of swift strikes to the Armored Assassin's lower abdomen.

Alright, sweet!

@orpheus_knightfall:

For the time being, it appeared that the stealthy approach was working. Dark Knight had been striking Orpheus from the shadows, and slipping back into the darkness to avoid detection. Having displayed an unprecedented level of stealth ability, Dark Night said not a word as he continued his assault. It had been an effective plan of attack... but ultimately, Mason's miscalculation was his opponent's proficiency wielding explosive devices. Indeed, as the tactical titan's explosives trailed across the ground, it had only been due to the cowl's special vision that he managed to avoid triggering one.

However, upon sighting the incendiary grenades being sent across the area, the Dark Hunter was forced to swiftly leap away from one, accidentally triggering a set of tiny explosives sent around the rooftop, which, incidentally, detonated immediately. The resulting explosion would send the vigilante from his covert, position, painfully landing a few meters away from the duo.

Smoke furled from Mason's silver armoring as he staggered to his feet. His eyes were narrowed in focus, and his teeth bared. His vision, though slightly hazy from the explosion, had already begun to clear up. Thus, in an attempt to close the distance between them, Dark Knight made a lunge at Orpheus, aiming a hard kick at his chin. Should that strike be successful, he attempt to would follow it up with a sweeping maneuver to Orpheus' legs, as to down him.

(Tried with another alias for Orpheus, hope it worked, lol).

@orpheus_knightfall:

"Finally, an opening..." Mason thought, clenching his fist tightly. Having successfully downed Orpheus, the Dark Knight now possessed an opportunity to end the fight and then leave the Walking Weapon to be apprehended by authorities. Thus, to do so, he charged at Orpheus, poised and ready to delivery a final blow to his head, as to render him unconscious. However, Calvin's quick use of a firearm caused him to veer off course, the impact of the bullet once again sending the Shadow Detective backwards. Mason was met with familiarly irritating pain of a bullet round, the damage once again being mitigated by his unique bio-weave.

"You're making a mistake, kid," He remarked, shifting his gaze over to the boy. A couple seconds before he moved back into the light, the lower half of his face had been concealed in the darkness, only the whites of his cowl's eyes distinctly visible. His cape billowed behind his silhouetted form, and continued to do so as he stepped into the light, towards Calvin.

The kid was definitely going to be a nuisance. At this rate, Dark Knight wouldn't even get the chance to take out Orpheus due to his son's interventions. However, even so, due to Calvin's age, he would have to restrict himself to minimally harmful maneuvers. At the very least, however, he would be forced to temporarily ensnare Calvin, at least long enough to knockout his father. His focus now upon the adolescent, Mason, although moving into melee range of the boy, made no attempts to physically harm him.

However, just as he had been preparing to attach a variation of his grapnel to the boy's back [Which would have fired a strong but short rope at a small structure mere meters from them, and then effectively pulling and trapping Calvin away from them], he was met with the force of Calvin's knife, followed by a kick to the groin. The blade and the kick, though alleviated by the armor, was enough to prevent Mason from going through with his plan, and send him back. The knee to the groin in particular caused Dark Knight to be met with a few brief moments of discomfort.

In retaliation, his ensnaring tactic having failed, Dark Knight instinctively made an attempt at a pulled, intentionally weaker backhand slap to the adolescent.

@orpheus_knightfall:

"A child such as yourself shouldn't be wielding firearms, and your case only worsens due to it being your father providing them," Was all that Dark Knight stated, regardless of the fact that he certainly divulge even further as to everything wrong that they were doing. He merely grunted as Calvin's finger went to the stun gun he had hidden behind his back, made visible by his increasingly useful hunter vision. Simply put, he would just have to avoid it. Nothing more. In an unprecedented burst of speed, in which Mason whipped out the same variation of his grapnel that he attempted to utilize mere moments ago, Dark Knight had streaked towards the boy, once again attempting to ensnare him.

@ashley_knightfall: (Sorry for the delay)

Gothic city was dammed the minute the mercenaries settled here like some twisted version of the pilgrims. They massacred all of the Indians that lived in the area and took all of their skins and wore them, with an act of cruelty so great who could expect something "good" to come out of it. During the Salem Witch trials, all the real witches and devil worshipers sought asylum here. From the beginning, this city had been the crime capital of the world, there was even a time in the early 1800s that the newspapers refereed to as "Murder city". The infamous facts and legends about the city go on and on and are even still alive today. They say that darkness is the lack of light, but what is it when there was never light?

Press Tower was the highest point in the city, the first Dark Vengeance had a taste for making his appearance be seen in more subliminal ways that could be imagined. He always started his patrol from there, it was a force of habit passed on to him by the second Dark Vengeance and he assumes by the first one too. it seems so weird to be in a Gothic city without a Pyrogram or a Dark Vengeance, as far as I remember they have always been around.

He noticed, a silhouette shaped like a woman, standing on the gargoyle. His first instinct was to hit on her, but then he remembered that instinct alone could get him thrown off the building so he opted for the more cautious approach. "Who are you?". With Cassius's clothes he could take a more menacing position, his previous costume made it difficult for people to take him seriously. "And how did you get up here?"

For the first time since arriving in the fun house mirror of a Universe known as the CVnU, Quintus and Ashly had broken off into separate groups. Their hunt for unanswered clues remained priority one. And although their sibling bond, cemented and forged through tragedy, continued to serve as the foundation of their unwavering fortitude, the time had come for them to seek out individual answers.

Unlike Ashly however, the Noir Rose of Reality-M carried the sinful weight of his murderous counterpart on his shoulders like an unshakable anchor. Forced to operate in the darkness like so many of Gothic's living shadows or risk certain incarceration. A hero forced to run the streets like a hunted fugitive. And yet the Martial Arts Mamba sought to not only erase the cancerous memory of the newly anointed Raysh'Al Shaytan, but to help bring Gothic City back from the brink of decay.

The patrol of the Noir Rose had begun.

@_nox_: (No problem)

Her concentration was suddenly interrupted, her eyes blinking out of startled rather than surprise as she heard the voice of a young man behind her. The Knightfall Saint rose her hands up, showing she was no threat just in case it was the security of the building who had managed to find her. Quintus would be so disappointed in her right now, he taught her better than to get caught by rent-a-cops. "Apologies," She began, her back still facing the unknown figure as she slowly began turning around, however still staying partially within the shadows to slightly disfigure the view of her own face. "I didn't mean to tras-" but then her eyes settled on the crimson masked figure before her as her head began to tilt to the side with curiosity. "-oohh you're not security or cops." Her voice in a matter of fact tone as she gazed upon the figure from head to toe."You know I honestly didn't come up with a plan if I ran into masks in this city, this is a little awkward." The Knightfall admitted as she slowly backed up to the edge of the gargoyle. Through the years of being a physician, the highly experienced medical examiner could determine with just seconds of interaction with this character that the masked individual was actually in his late teens but was a very experienced combative, he was not someone Ashley could take on lightly. She was able to conclude this simply by carefully listening to the tone of his voice, the way he carried himself and the way his body was built. "You know what? I think I've seen enough of Gothic tonight." With that she took one shift backwards and stepped off the gargoyle, free falling back to the city as the wind roared in her ear.

Reaching to her back she pulled out one of her twin's many gadgets she 'borrowed' from him, a grappling hook. Taking a shot a building she used her momentum to swing her to a rooftop of an apartment complex. Her body soaring through the air as she released the hook, and going into a tumble roll as she landed on the dirty and fractured rooftop. "You got this Ash." she grumbled to herself as she pushed herself forward, making a dead sprint to the next rooftop, her legs coiling like a spring as she took a leap across the gap that separated the two buildings. Her feet planting on the next rooftop as she quickly darted to a series of shadows that were being cast along the rooftop by taller surrounding buildings. Her chest rising up and down as she tried to catch her breath. While she was trained by her brother, she wasn't in the exact physical shape or nearly the same combative as Quintus was. Not to mention, she hadn't done anything like this for at least two years. Needless to say, she was rusty and being chased by a mask, wasn't exactly something she was ready for just yet, but being questioned by one wasn't something she could allow to happen as well.

@ashley_knightfall: Not sure why but I dug the part about not having been in action for two years. Added some grit to it for some reason.

@quintus_knightfall: thanks! I kinda wanted to play Reality M Ashley as the one who is more behind the scenes patching up Quintus than actually doing field work. While she was trained by Quintus she would rather try and save people wearing her white medical coat than a mask.

@ashley_knightfall:

This is how most Knightfall reunions start, a fight, a chase, a war, overall in a feudal manner so to speak. Then, people wonder why so many of them have died.

Innocent people do not run for no apparent reason, everyone knows that. The Cardinal Mamba jumped off the gargoyle "Rupert" as the building's founding father had named him, he extended his arms forward and pressed twice with force against his gauntlets to send out three blades from each side. They could be used as weapons, but in fact they were prototype wings which could bend gravity around them and make for a swift landing. Grapple guns are so last year. Wait, that's Quintus's grapple gun, how the hell did she get her hands on it?

Mark begun analyzing her movements for further use should they engage in combat. She's quick, this isn't probably her first time. That jump would have killed her otherwise had she not practiced. Something else bothered him, having heard spoken thoughts he needed confirmation. "Did you say your name is Ash? Short for something?Anyways, Ash if you would stop running we could maybe go grab some dinner and a flick. I know this place called Bedlam Asylum and I have to tell you, they serve the meanest sedated steak in the country".

The Walking Lie Detector could hear her grasping for air. He followed her movements, except in a more acrobatic manner, almost as if he was dancing around from rooftop to rooftop with calculated grace. His feet accelerated at speeds that surpassed the likes of two Usain Bolts managing to not only catch up with her, but gather enough momentum to jump over her. Now facing each other, he drew a gun at her face. "Okay, enough games. How about you begin with how you got your grapple gun? I don't think the man who it belongs to appreciates having his toys stolen from him. If you try to lie or attack me I will unload the magazine before you can say "Holy mistaken identity, Noir Rose"."

Was that a reference to me? lol

Be lying if I said it wasnt ;

Ahhh cool man, I can't wait to see what kinda crazy crap is about to happen.

@quintus_knightfall said:

For the first time since arriving in the fun house mirror of a Universe known as the CVnU, Quintus and Ashly had broken off into separate groups. Their hunt for unanswered clues remained priority one. And although their sibling bond, cemented and forged through tragedy, continued to serve as the foundation of their unwavering fortitude, the time had come for them to seek out individual answers.

Unlike Ashly however, the Noir Rose of Reality-M carried the sinful weight of his murderous counterpart on his shoulders like an unshakable anchor. Forced to operate in the darkness like so many of Gothic's living shadows or risk certain incarceration. A hero forced to run the streets like a hunted fugitive. And yet the Martial Arts Mamba sought to not only erase the cancerous memory of the newly anointed Raysh'Al Shaytan, but to help bring Gothic City back from the brink of decay.

The patrol of the Noir Rose had begun.

I just saw this right now, freaken epic.

(Wont admit she's been waiting to use that gif )