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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 16, 2013 22:56:56 GMT
Bruce didn't speak. He regarded Alice as the threat, but wasn't going to ignore Vic. He drew a knife from his belt and slowly approached. He didn't like using weapons like this, but he figured it might be a good way to start, assuming this woman drew her sword. Who was she? A sword made him think she had to be from somewhere, but certainly not the League...
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 17, 2013 2:37:54 GMT
When Alice saw the knife she was really tempted to draw her blade but she figured that would only exacerbate the situation. He hadn't said anything yet. She didn't know for sure that he was going to attack even though his movements weren't promising. This man wasn't her target. He couldn't die. And she didn't want Jack to get involved anymore than he already had been. She had no idea what he had been planning to do but he wasn't a murderer, of that much she was certain. He had risked his life to protect the two targets. And he had been so terrified of what she could and would have done to the men.
She didn't want to throw her estoc to the ground. She might need it to escape or defend Jack. She didn't know for certain that this man was from the League and even if he was that didn't guarantee their safety. The League of Shadows was pretty liberal with their killings.
Alice was smaller than Jack but with her arms extended and with her standing directly in front of him she figured she could protect him. At least if the man only had a knife and a star.
"I don't want to fight you," Alice said sincerely. "I'm done here. I just want to leave. But if you won't allow that at least let this person go," she said gesturing towards Jack. She refused to say his name. She didn't want to give it away. "He's harmed no one. He's only here at my behest. I didn't want to get anyone involved; but, I was desperately lost and he was the first person I came across so I threatened him for help. He doesn't deserve to be punished for that."
If he moved to attack she could unsheath her Vorpal Blade quickly but she was really hoping it wouldn't come to that. She didn't want either this stranger or Jack to get hurt.
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Post by Vic Sage on Aug 17, 2013 7:38:01 GMT
Another knife, Vic thought almost wildly, eyes going to the gleaming blade in the ninja's hand. Did everyone in this city carry knives?
It felt strange, practically cowering behind the crazy sword girl, but this whole situation was bizarre. Did Batman get into these kinds of messes? he wondered.
The masked stranger still hadn't said anything, had given no sign of his reaction to Alice's appeal, yea or nay. Slowly, Vic brought his hand back out from under his suit coat, holding it out open and empty. His other hand held his tablet, which was, in a way, an even more dangerous weapon. Mentally, he prepared himself. If the stranger made a move at them, he would trigger the alarms. Given another couple of seconds, he could activate the sprinklers and other fire suppression systems, flooding the building with water and foam.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 17, 2013 16:00:49 GMT
Bruce walked towards them, knife clutched tightly in hand. He was just going to disarm and disable without doing too much collateral damage, or too much damage to these two. The man still worried Bruce, but at the moment he didn't think of him as much of a threat. He'd see how this played out.
"Drop your weapon!" he ordered the woman, keeping a good ten or so feet between them.
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 18, 2013 0:50:35 GMT
Drop her weapon? Alice deliberated. Should she follow his instructions? She was worried about Jack but she didn't particularly want this man turning her into the police. She had gone to prison once before. It hadn't been that fun. She had no I.D. on her and she refused to give her name. She had escaped before actually being shoved in a cell; but, it still wasn't enjoyable. And it could have been messy. And she couldn't protect other people from criminal scum like Mr. August if she was locked behind bars.
Alice kept her hand on her estoc but it was still sheathed. "I don't want to fight," she repeated. "Let me go and this won't be an issue." She had no reason to trust this man. She had no proof he wouldn't hurt either her or Jack after she was disabled; but, she could handle herself. Jack couldn't. Maybe she should see if...No, if he intended on letting Jack go he would have mentioned something. Best case scenario he planned on handing both of them over to the cops.
Her whole body was tense. She was prepared to draw her blade at a moment's notice.
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Post by Vic Sage on Aug 18, 2013 6:25:21 GMT
Vic moved back as the man with the knife moved forward, but his options for retreat were limited. The ninja was between them and the door, so the only place to go was deeper into the cubicle farm. It should be possible to circle around and come up another aisle, but the masked man could simply move sideways and block the door again. Still, anything that put space between Vic and the blade was a good thing.
Alice was still trying to negotiate, but he could see the tension in her shoulders, and the ninja didn't seem to be interested. It occurred to Vic that he could end this right now. She'd trusted him and turned her back. It would be the work of a moment to draw his shockstick and stun her. And she was a murderer. On the other hand, ninjas were assassins, weren't they? And any group called the League of Shadows didn't sound like good people.
No, he had insufficient information to interfere in this fight -- if a fight it turned out to be. He would leave that to Alice. Still gripping the tablet tightly, the hacker backed away from the two armed people.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 19, 2013 14:55:31 GMT
"I can't let you go," he told her, "I don't know what happened, but people are dead, and you have the murder weapon right there," he directed to her sword with the tip of his knife. "If I let you go I don't know what could happen."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 19, 2013 19:14:10 GMT
Alice watched Jack move back from her peripheral vision. Good. He should get some distance in case a fight broke out. She could keep this man busy while he fled and then she wouldn't have to worry about protecting him.
She was almost angry at the man's comment. "One person is dead," she snapped. "I only planned on killing three but I decided to let the other two slide. Mr. August was the real threat," she said coldly. She didn't mention why she let the other two slip right past her. She figured Jack would want to be referenced as little as possible. Being off the grid was a good thing. And he worked for the question. He'd want to be inconspicuous.
She wasn't worried about confessing. It wouldn't hold mustard in a court of law, assuming she was arrested, which she wouldn't be. And even if she was she'd lie and say she'd never said such a thing. And come to think of it, she might be able to break out of jail. She had some ideas. And her computer 'friends' might be able to help a bit.
"Do you have any idea what horrible things Mr. August has done?" she demanded. "The body count will be much lower at least temporarily now that's he out of the way. Or course there will be a squabble to see who can fill the void and things will return to more or less normal quickly. I was originally considering taking out the other two so that his seat wouldn't be filled quite so easily but..." She shrugged. "Plans change."
Her body was still tense and at the ready but she refused to unsheathe her Vorpal Blade. If a fight started here it would not be her doing. It would be a last resort and she would be defending herself.
"I only disabled the guards that came to stop me. One man is dead and that's all," she said fiercely. "I won't make it two. Not today." If he was from the League of Shadows disabling him would prove quite difficult. But if Jack managed to flee she'd just need to distract the man long enough for her to escape. He'd be an excellent fighter if trained by the league but Alice had her own trainer. She was very quick and nimble. She should be able to take care of herself.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 19, 2013 19:30:20 GMT
"Any loss of life is to be punished," he told Alice, "One man, or more, lives are important things. You can say it was only one and try to leave it at that, but if I let you go, who knows how many more may die?" He pointed his knife at her and slowly approached, "No. You killed a man; you're going down."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 19, 2013 19:49:53 GMT
He had threatened her and was approaching her. There was no helping it. She quickly unsheathed her blade and held it steady in front of her, prepared to strike. Technically she had the advantage if he was relying on his knife. Her range was longer, an unusual occurrence as most of the people she fought with relied on guns. But she wouldn't make contact first. She didn't want to fight to begin with. She would have just fled. She could probably outrun the man. But she couldn't, not with Jack here. He hadn't done anything wrong. She couldn't let this man hand him over to the cops.
"Oh it hasn't only been one or two," she said cheerfully, almost proudly. "I've taken care of all sorts like him, criminal scum that corrupt this world just by existing in it. The law won't touch them so people like me have to get their hands a bit dirty so the innocent and pure can sleep soundly at night with good clean consciences."
So he wasn't from the League of Shadows after all. Not if he was talking like that. So then why did he have their outfit? "Were you kicked out of the League or did you quit?" she asked curiously. If he hadn't been so upset about Mr. August's murder she might have thought he'd killed someone and taken their outfit for disguise or as some sort of trophy. But no. This man was at least partially like Jack. He wasn't a killer, not like her.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 19, 2013 20:04:16 GMT
Bruce gave her no answer, but he did stop so he could flip his knife downwards and observe for another moment, taking all options into consideration.
"You murder criminals," he told her, "But that isn't right. You take the law into your own hands by giving them death, and that's not how this is supposed to work."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 19, 2013 20:14:07 GMT
Alice remained in position, blade held out protectively in front of her. "It's not right," she agreed. "But it's necessary," she chirped. "I'm not delusional. I know I'm a murderer and a monster. I'm simply another monster who fights those other worse monsters; but, someone has to do it."
"How it's supposed to work?" she asked with a laugh but the laugh wasn't cheerful. It was bitter. "You mean scumbags like Mr. August are supposed to pay the police to keep them in their pocket while they go about their dirty deeds? Like it or not the law doesn't work. Once you acknowledge that fact you can't go back to pretending otherwise. So then what are you supposed to do? Sit back and watch innocent people be slaughtered and manipulated while slime like Mr. August sleep peacefully in cozy mansions?" she demanded.
"Most people don't have the stomach for my work. Even Batman can't bring himself to kill and because he doesn't so many of the people he hands over to the police escape and murder good, innocent, pure people! I respect Batman but I can't be like him. If I see a threat I have to terminate it. That's the only way to preserve the greater good!" she said fervently.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Aug 20, 2013 0:43:22 GMT
"I understand how you feel." He really did. "I cannot allow you to continue, however."
Sorry for the short one, not in a good place right now, bad connection.
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 20, 2013 1:06:26 GMT
Understood how she felt? Was that possible? "Were your parents murdered too?" she asked softly. "Did you watch them die? See the terror in their eyes as they died agonized deaths? Did you scream and plead for them to get up, to be okay?" Her tone wasn't demanding. It was quiet and filled with sorrow, anger too. But this person said he understood. Did he lose people like that? Precious people. Irreplaceable people. Did he feel empty and incomplete without them? Was it like his whole world had suddenly crashed and burned? Did he want to die too? Did he shut himself up in his room? Stop eating. Stop drinking. Did he wrack his brain to find a reason to live? Just one. A single reason and still he came up empty? No point in putting one foot in front of the other. No reason to wake up in the morning. No reason for anything. Monotonous movements. Purposeless functions. A living corpse.
((It's fine. Thanks for posting!))
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Post by Vic Sage on Aug 20, 2013 14:28:16 GMT
Putting one foot behind the other, Vic backed away slowly, but steadily and stealthily. The ninja and the crazy sword girl were talking, and that was good. Talking was better than stabbing, even if the conversation was about the horrible painful deaths of parents. Vic's own parents -- at least his adoptive parents -- had died peacefully. He had no idea what had become of his biological parents after they'd abandoned their infant son. Try as he might, he'd never been able to learn anything about them.
But that didn't matter now. Now, leaving was better than staying. Still keeping an eye on the armed people, Vic edged out of the potential combat zone.
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