Gands

Edgeknight
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Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
sci fi, modern magical, horror
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Gotham City. Since everything changed, it went from being just another crime-infested pit of a city to being the capital of New Jersey - and still crime-infested. Only difference now, is some people get paid by the government to add to that infestation. Politicians. People who think that because people punched a piece of paper saying, I think you're right for this job, that gives them the right to do whatever it is they want, as long as their adoring public never finds out about it. Sometimes even after

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Not that Gotham doesn't still have it's share of trashy, slum-ridden neighborhoods. It does, even with that fancy new monorail zipping all around town like some demented theme park ride. I gotta admit though, a lot harder to dispose of a body via train 'accident' when you have to get 30 feet up in the air to do it. These are the neighborhoods that I cover. For some reason, I, and a select few other people, lucky or not, can remember how things were before. There were no Avengers, no SHIELD, no Daily Bugle or Spiderman. Or... and this is going to sound crazy, but there's these turtle guys who live in the sewers across the river. I swear, I saw one. Wearing a mask. Isn't that rich? As if a little swath of cloth across your face was going to hide you were some sort of mutant half human half turtle. People here, they need answers. Thankfully, I can answer them. Who am I? They call me..."

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" The Question "

This thread is part of the Epic Mashup clan, please go there and see how to get started.
 
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Nita Prentiss

Gotham Airport ( private plane )

Nita didn't talk much during their flight over, simply enjoying the voice of another person as they flew. She did indeed call ahead to have a few pizza's delivered to the private hanger . One with not quite everything, one pepperoni, and one veggie.

Pizza feast done, Nita had a rental car arranged to be waiting for them at their destination. She watched as Nightstar slept, fighting her own inner demons still

@Angelic Fusion
 
Lincoln Campbell

Lincoln hoped that she would stop staring at her arm- it might be easier to get a read on what was going on her head. He always had to introduce himself- even if he knew the patient and he didn't want to ruin anything. He shouldn't have been there, yet he was.

Lincoln looked at her and took a deep breath and he knew that. It was a habit since he had gotten shot a few times and had treated other victims. Some of them blocked out the shooting, others forgot other details. He leaned closer to her and sat down. " That isn't going to help, you need time to recover from the wound. Bullet wounds take time to heal, no matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you are human or alien," he said with a sigh.

" First thing is first, Karolina, breath, take a breath and breath. If you keep panicking, you are going to put yourself into shock and that won't be good for any of us. You're okay now. A person in the helicopter shot you, you were brought to the clinic last night. It was a no win situation. That's what we would call it. But you're okay. I just am going to need you to rest up. It's going to take a little time for the arm to heal, would you like to do something with me to pass the time? " He pulled out a deck of cards. " Ever play the card game War?"

@Camleen @Gands @Ms.Ezra
 
Grady Murtaugh aka Corvus


Grady developed a fierce looking grin.

" One of my friends in GCPD let me print some things out. "

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" His name is Hernan Alvarez, Ex-con out of Seagate penitentiary. Her name is Dillard, Ceo of what used to be OZ corp. "

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She tries to smell legit, but this whole thing ruins that I think. Riddler and Arcade were long gone when we got here. They had this whole thing set up... Why... ? Paid distraction for her ? "

@Ms.Ezra
 
KarolinaBanner002.jpg

What was going on in her head? Panic, maybe. Possibly some panic. Add a itty bitty piece of panic. That could be the make of her brain at this moment.

When her and her friends first found out about their parents… about the evil that they were… when they all decided to be better than their parents… they would also joke about how they could get hurt. But it was always jokes. Until that damned vampire, they probably didn’t take it for real. The danger they were putting themselves in. Captain America tried to tell them, he tried to help them. But they couldn’t hear that. Karolina was never ‘scared’ persay… even when the Punisher drew on them. If Molly hadn’t taken him out, she’s pretty sure he would have shot them all. But the reality still wasn’t there for her. For Karolina, it was some grand adventure. And then… she lost Xavin. And things were never the same for her. It was more real at that moment.

And now, another cold reality of what it is to ‘choose’ this kind of life.

The ‘young’ girl cannot help but stare at the bound sling her left arm rests in. God what if something like this happened to Nico… or Molly… or Klara… or any of her family… she would never want any of them to be like this… A slow and deep breath is taken now, and she looks to Lincoln with his words of comfort. She forces a smile onto her lips for him. “Take time… yeah… just new to the whole ‘being shot’ thing I guess…” Plus, as someone noted, it was practically an anti-Hulk round. But she survived. Not by skill, just by dumb luck.

But her smile turns to more of a genuine one with Lincoln’s bedside manner. When he tells her to stop panicking. She looks down, and away, from him as she nods a little, trying to calm herself. Which is no easy feat, even under the best of conditions. Karolina is very Karolina in that regard… she’s the one that does all of the worrying for the group. Her blue eyes move to him as he pulls out the deck of cards, and her smile turns to one of almost sympathy as she speaks softly. “I’m sorry Lincoln… I’m not really in a cards mood. I’m glad you guys are okay… I mean… you guys are okay, right?” She glances around a moment, and then she looks back to him as she continues. “Grady’s okay, right? And that.. girl.. uh… she was twins and then triplets and then quadruplets? They’re okay, right? I don't see them here...” And now she moreso goes into Karolina mode, worrying about others before herself.


Tagging: @Ms.Ezra, @Gands, @LuckycoolHawk9
 
Lincoln Campbell

Lincoln wondered what was going on in her head. He hoped that she wasn't panicking. He didn't want her to panic about these things. He wouldn't know though.

As he sat there, he couldn't stop to think about his own friends that he had left behind. Melinda May, the woman who could break every bone in his body, but still trusted him. Phil Coulson, their fearless leader. Fitzsimmons. He couldn't separate them, even in his thoughts. They were always together, so it didn't matter. And as always, in the back of his mind, there was Daisy. Daisy who thought he was dead. The one he missed the most. In some ways, Karolina reminded him of her, in other ways she was entirely different. He was here now and there was no changing that either. He would forever be here and not knowing and sometimes that hurt more than losing someone. If he hadn't known better- he would call it a fate worse than death, but he had already died.

It was a reminder that this was a life he had chosen. One where people could die.

Lincoln saw her staring at her arm and he knew that she wouldn't ever be fine. Being shot wasn't just something that you woke up and walked away from. He should know, he had been shot in the past before. It hurt, but it was the shock that hurt the worst. He sighed and didn't want to admit that there was no easy way to get over being shot. He shuffled the cards in his hands, hoping that she would say yes. He knew that distracting her would be the best option, but somehow he knew that wasn't going to be simple in the slightest. He just knew somehow.

Lincoln noticed that he had gotten her to smile and he felt good about that. He was happy to see her smile and try to calm herself down. It was one thing that he could tell would take some time before it was great. But he could wait for her to calm down a bit. He looked over at her while she looked at him with her blue eyes. He was slightly saddened that she had refused his offer to play cards with her, but he understood the reasons why. She was still worried about everyone else in the group. " Grady's a little upset that you got shot, but otherwise all of are doing okay. None of the rest of us were seriously injured and you are okay. Actually, I promised Grady I would call him this morning, but I forgot. I should go and do that now to tell him. Maybe inform him that you are now awake and ready to be talked too. I'll be right back," he told her. He dialed Grady's number and waited for him to answer to tell him about Karolina.

@Gands @Ms.Ezra @Camleen
 
Molly Lincoln
"The Amazon Squad"

Molly listened to Grady breakdown what he had managed to find of the people in the helicopter, drinking down the rest of her beer, then starting on the other. For all her intelligence however, Molly had not been thinking right before opting to drink more. Her strict diet had cut out alcohol, and it had been a couple years since her last drink. Her tolerance was quite low, and it was going to be showing soon enough.

"Huh. Hernan Alvarez, and Dillard. I'll remember those names." Molly reached out to her bowl of pretzels to find it empty. She grumbled and stood up, unsteadily, from her chair "Gonna get more pretzels...want anything?" She asked and took a couple firm steps before her gait became unsteady and slow. Her eyes flickered as she struggled to correct her vision.

Uh oh...went a little too hard. She thought before stumbling and just managing to catch herself by grabbing onto the edge of another table. The semi-topless woman looked up at the sole patron at this table, gave an embarassed smile to the masked man. "Ssorry....

@Gands @Kingof192
 
At that moment, Grady got a text from a contact on his list simply known as "Quentin".

"Hey. Heads up. New Bat in town. Told her to contact you as Papa Bat was indisposed. Name's Stephanie. This may come a little late as she just texted me she was on the way to that bar. I'm personally indisposed right now. Attaching a photo."

Erin+Heatherton Stephanie Brown.jpg


And, as if a prophecy was fulfilled, a woman did walk into the bar, looking a lot like the picture. She seemed to know who she was looking for too, and was being discrete about it, simply scanning the room, making meaningful eye contact once and sitting down at the bar, ordering, slightly more loudly than she needed to speak, a shot of Old Crow bourbon and soda.

@Gands @Ms.Ezra @Kingof192
 
Grady Murtaugh aka Corvus

Grady gracefully got up out of his chair, using his cane, as usual more for affect and habit than actual need. As a reminder, the cane is beautifully inlaid with dark iron and bright silver. As Molly steadied herself, he approached and quietly asked her " Why don't you rest for a few moments Molly, I'll be happy to get a few snacks and some cold water. "

He helps her to her seat, moving up to the bar not far from Tyler Fenwick and close to the pretty young lady who had just sat down.

" Mac, can yah send over a plate of Nachos, a big plate of those sliders you make, a large ginger ale, a big bowl of pretzels to my table please ?"

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" Yeah, yeah Grady, will be a few minutes, I'm still handing out the round of drinks, but I'll get to it. '

"Thanks !"

"Pardon me miss, my friend Quentin mentioned you'd be heading this way. My name is Grady. My friend Molly and I have had something of a rough night, but we'd still welcome company ! "

@Kingof192 @Ms.Ezra @Michale CS
 
"Pardon me miss, my friend Quentin mentioned you'd be heading this way. My name is Grady. My friend Molly and I have had something of a rough night, but we'd still welcome company ! "

"Quentin." Stephanie chuckled lightly, as if hearing a nickname of his for the first time, which was probably the case. "Yeah, he mentioned to me that if I were coming back to Gotham, I should look you up and that this was the place to do that. Shame about Arkham. Again. I've been gone over a year and everything is pretty well the same as when I left it. I'm only here for a visit though, taking a semester off from National City University. Plus, bafflingly enough, I missed it."

She grabbed her drink and followed Grady, smiling a bit. "Stephanie Brown. Glad to meet you..." she paused for a name.

@Gands @Ms.Ezra @Kingof192
 
KarolinaBanner002.jpg

When Lincoln tells her that everyone else is okay, a smile finds her lips once more. She exhales a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, her gaze drawing away from him. She was relieved no one was hurt, especially on her behalf. She just couldn’t live with something like that. She already feels like her karmic actions aren’t doing anyone any good… that would just add to her spiritual burden.

As she sees it.

She looks up to him when he says he needs to call Grady, and she nods immediately as she smiles softly to him. “Oh, yeah surely. Tell ‘im I said hi, please.” Lincoln moves off, and now she slumps back in the bed. She stares up at the ceiling as she lays there, trying to keep her thoughts good. Once again, she goes over the night in her head…

Beat up lunatics. Pretty cloning woman comes out of nowhere. Find the captors. Help the lady hacker. Stop the helicopter.

And that’s where things get fuzzy. To the point she can’t recall them at all. She sighs to herself, bringing her right hand up to rest on her forehead. She thinks about the woman she saw… Molly Prime. That was her name. For a moment, she thinks about Molly (Hayes) turning into a giant red and blue robot or something. Which would be fitting, really. The thought makes her genuinely smile a little. She then thinks about Molly Prime again… and it’s a pleasant thought. Her arm now drapes across her forehead as she stares at the feeling, and she wonders where the heck she’s seen the woman before. She seemed familiar to her. Was that just wishful thinking? Did she see her on some crime drama show or something? She can’t place it…

She glances to one side towards a window then, seeing the sun is out. Her eyebrows raise as she realizes she should probably be out there! She always feels better when she’s in the sun… due to her Majesdanian physiology of course. Maybe that’s what she can do to get back on her feet! She pushes herself up to get out of the bed… buuuuuuuut the jolt of nearly paralyzing pain from her shoulder area makes her lay right back down where she was. “nnnnnnope” she says as she groans softly. That was dumb.


Tagging: @Ms.Ezra, @Gands, @LuckycoolHawk9
 
To this, there was a remarkable lack of nuance

There should be some giant bouncer, some silent signals being thrown, some device that takes powers away. Something, but there seemed to be nothing. If there was anything at all, it had to be nuance and perhaps a nuance #1 is that the normal nuance stopped the minute a stranger entered the bar.

To think that some man named Mac opened a bar that the metahumans adopted and came together as a community to protect would be very remarkable. Tyler Fenwick had himself set up precautions just for the meta influences around his safety testing grounds. In such a place as this there was inebriation, secret meetings, women dressed like that one who was just.

"Ah, Hello miss. Never mind, no trouble at all"


Unfortunately, Molly was soon collected by her friend. Very unfortunate, that. He would like to have talked to somebody and had a million questions. Certain things other than talking came quickly to his mind too. Should have spoken sooner, but she was quickly collected by a man named Grady.

“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.”- Lemony Snicket.

Grady and Molly he had seen before...or maybe, a few people who looked like her. They and a new girl...what was it with tonight and Gotham and almost all women?...they were discussing Arkham. In earshot

So was it fate or nuance that he had come all this way just to hear people talking about what he had just seen. Either way, the situation seemed to call for a response.

"Arkham? Isn't that the special prison here in this city??" he baited to the group, being careful to act like an alarmed tourist
 
Grady Murtaugh aka Corvus

"My name is Grady Murtaugh, pleasant to meet you Stephanie. I do security work here in town. This is Molly, we ran into each other tonight and helped each other out of a sticky situation. Molly, this is Stephanie, a friend of a friend. Quentin helped me find my sister once Stephanie."

Hearing Tyler's question...

It's an Asylum actually. The city houses the criminally insane there.

Mac, when did you start letting tourist in here ?

"You making assumptions again Irish, if he a tourist, I'm Colonel Sanders ! That is the eminent businessman Tyler Fenwick!"

With that, Mac finishes the order and brings it out to Grady's table, as he passes Tyler's table, he brings a mug of Apple cider. Mumbling to himself something about youngsters.

@Michale CS @Ms.Ezra @Michale CS @Kingof192
 
"You making assumptions again Irish, if he a tourist, I'm Colonel Sanders ! That is the eminent businessman Tyler Fenwick!"

"Fenwick, as in Fenwick Park? Because that'd be way cool. Wait, that's Fenway... Nevermind. I'm not much of a Sox fan anyway..." Stephanie kibbitzed as she followed Corvus, but she sub vocalized... Oracle, can you get me all you can on a couple people? Grady Murtaugh....yeah spelled like Danny Glover's character in Lethal Weapon I guess, and Tyler Fenwick. Thanks Barb.

The 'murmur box' was one of the upgrades she'd gotten from Norrin Radd in National City, a way for her to communicate without speaking fully aloud. Steph wasn't sure where he got it or why he'd need it - But he did have strong ties with Reed Richards and the DEO, so maybe one of them provided the gizmo.

Soon she got the public records on both. She also put two and two together and assumed Grady and the gal with the odd fashion choices with him we're vigilantes and had something to do with what happened at Arkham tonight.

Fenwick sounded from the info Barb gave her had sounded like Canada's Bruce Wayne... I wonder...? Nah, sometimes a Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist was just a Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist.

But, she put on her best smile and just joined Grady wherever he settled in at.

@Ms.Ezra @Gands @Kingof192
 
Molly Lincoln
"The Amazon Squad"

"Alright, no more of that." Molly said the moment she plopped back into her seat and pushed the last beer away to the center. Her vision was still spinning a little when the big, deep-voiced man brought their food. Molly scrunched her nose at the nachos and sliders. She'd already broken her diet enough. Double-downed even one would say. She brought her pretzels over, squeezed a good amount of mustard over them, and started eating again to abate the hangover she knew would be coming in the morning. The woman nodded and gave a small wave when introduced to the new people. The name Tyler Fenwick would have clicked with Molly, had she been in her proper mind.

Molly was biting into a pretzel when it hit her, far after he'd said it, that Corvus was Grady Murtaugh , the man she'd called earlier in the night about the job.

"Grady? Grady Murdock?" She asked, and once again admonished herself for getting his last name wrong. "I meant Murtaugh. I had called your office, just before the Arkham incident." She said, trying to reduce her slur even though it was well past the point she could be professional. What with being at a table with him and two other strangers, in a sports bra. "I um....called about working with you....funny how that turned out."

@Gands @Michale CS @Kingof192
 
It was...interesting to hear that the proprietor already knew his name. Possibly, Mac had been a customer and some of the nuance to handling the bar for metahumans had been of Tyler's very own invention. Unfortunate he hadn't heard about it if it did happen like that, he would have visited sooner.

A bit of awkward nuance among the group which was forming too. While to idea of inmates escaping the asylum was fascinating from a number of angles, this still wasn't be be considered the Red Panda's city nor his inmates. So, the question was how to stay attached without getting involved.

"The escape from the asylum...this feels like it happened just a few minutes ago. Is this something that happens in this bar then? Informal troubleshooting groups organically forming whenever there is a crises?"
 
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Grady Murtaugh aka Corvus

" So I'm told no one actually escaped. The two main culprits were not inmates. They had inmates dressed up as guards on the perimeter of the facility. It is suspected that there was some sort of high power deal done with a New York Businesswoman. The one woman that did escape, wasn't actually an inmate of the Asylum. "

"As for organization, usually the Bat does the heavy lifting in Gotham. But sometimes he's not around, out with the league somewhere. There are some civic minded individuals that try to help out when that's the case. Timing, was a couple of hours back I'm told.

He turns to Molly, now talking more quietly.

"Why don't we meet professionally Molly in a couple of days ?"

He hands her a business card.

"Do you have a place in town ? Same question to you Stephanie. Quentin went way out on a limb for me, I owe him back time, so any friend of his gets a red carpet if I can help it. "

@Ms.Ezra @Michale CS @Kingof192
 
"Do you have a place in town ? Same question to you Stephanie. Quentin went way out on a limb for me, I owe him back time, so any friend of his gets a red carpet if I can help it. "

Steph fidgets a little and chuckles. "Yes and no. I have a key to a place I used to crash at when I was here before, but it has some really mixed memories for me. So, while I'm probably staying there now, I'd rather not have to. Why, you have a spare room or something?"

The key was to the Clocktower, when she was a part of what was called the Birds of Prey (only because Oracle put in a good word for her). She wasn't sure if Dinah or Helena still used it, or if she'd find Selena there, or even Pamela. The Birds' membership rotated a lot.

Funny, she hadn't asked Barbara about the place yet. She'd really come back on impulse and didn't think too far ahead.

She kept an eye on the rich guy. The amount of questions he was asking about Arkham made Stephanie wary. He could be an idle rich guy, or a secret vigilante, or even a bad guy! She'd have to ask Barb to give her more of a rundown on Fenwick's public affairs to see if she saw any patterns.

@Ms.Ezra @Gands @Kingof192
 
Molly Lincoln
"The Amazon Squad"
"Yeah, when I'm in a better state." Molly accepted the card, put it in her pocket and started drinking the ginger ale. It was doing well.

"I have a hotel room, but thanks for the thought." Molly let this Stephanie have her word in before speaking again. "I'm gonna call a cab, but before I do can I get the name and address of wherever Gorgeous was taken? It's complicated, but she and I...I think...have some history to catch up on."

After getting the necessary info, Molly walked out of the bar on steady legs while calling a cab. The driver, seeing her state, asked "Rough night?"

"Yeah, something like that. " She sighed and looked out the window.

Molly got back to her hotel room, and slept like the dead without even turning off the lights. She woke up, thankfully without a hangover, the next morning and cleaned up, dressed before getting a cab back to her rental car at the bar and onward to the clinic she'd been told Karolina was recovering.

The woman would walk in literally after Lincoln had left to call Grady. She wore a short brown leather jacket, jeans, and sunglasses that she took off as she entered. "Hey Gorgeous....remember me? If you don't...I'm Molly. Molly Lincoln." She asked, taking the seat Lincoln had just been occupying. "I thought the worst when I realized you got shot." She sighed, relieved.

@Camleen
 
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KarolinaBanner002.jpg

Lincoln had wandered off, and now Karolina just lays slumped in her bed. She closes her eyes, trying to relax herself. She tries to ignore the IV needle she feels in her forearm. She tries to ignore the sterile smell all around her. She tries to ignore the low throbbing pain in her shoulder. She, apparently, had been given some pain meds. And pain meds… well they just make everything… well kind of neat. But despite the fact she had been given some, she still feels the pain in her arm. Maybe it’s her imagination, maybe she needs a bigger dose, or maybe it has something to do with her alien physiology. She tries her best to focus on her breathing… in and out through the nose… 4 second drawing in of breath… hold for 4 seconds… and let it out in a slow 5 second breath.

But she just can’t get her mind to a peaceful place.

Maybe she needs to think about something else. Her ‘family’. It’s with good intention, but she just doesn’t want to follow through with it. She misses them too much for it to be helpful. She really wishes Nico was here… A song, then. She’ll think of a song. She goes through her head, trying to think of a good song. Her voice comes forth in a very soft, gentle tone.

“The moon is gone, and the night is still so dark. I’m a little bit afraid… of tomorrow…”

Oh God if she keeps this up she’s going to throw herself out a window.

The otherwise fairly silent room suddenly has something new to it, a new voice. Karolina jumps just a little in her bed hearing someone, her eyes springing open. She stares unbelieving as Molly saunters on in, and she sits up as much as she can in her bed, the back of the bed propped up a little of course. “Oh… oh hey…” it’s obvious she has no idea what to say, she’s just seemingly in shock. She smiles a little to Molly as she sits, and Karolina finds herself absently and discretely trying to smooth out her long blond hair.

“Well it ain’t good.”
She says with an awkward chuckle. Her hand moves to run lightly against the fabric brace holding her arm to her body as it rests in the sling. “Of course I remember ya. I thought you were twins… and then triplets… and then quadruplets.” She says with another awkward chuckle. Molly… Lincoln… the first names of 2 of her friends, ironically enough. She stares suddenly curiously at Molly, her head tilting slightly to one side in the cute way it does when she’s reeeeeally trying to get the gears in her brain to move. “Why do I think I know you? Not so sound creeper… I feel like I know you. I’m… I’m awful with faces, I’m sorry.” She says, smiling apologetically.


Tagging: @Ms.Ezra
 
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Molly Lincoln
"The Amazon Squad"

Molly smiled at Karolina, inching closer to her "It's okay, I didn't recognize you right away either. We knew each other when we were little. And not even a day. I know a lot has happened to me since, and I imagine to you too. Do you remember your mother's friend, Lucy? And her daughter Molly? Well, here I am. All grown up." She put her arms out as if presenting herself and laughed.

"Do you...remember the zoo? The tigers, the apes, the birds?" She asked.

@Camleen