Murder City

[Fluffy]

"Heh heh, I understand. Neighbours' pets can be very annoying," she answered with a half smile and a roll of her eyes. She nearly laughed as well. Instead, she hid her amusement behind a statement of understanding and a simple chuckle. The act she had to put on was almost painful. It made her feel... Fake.

At his request, she jotted down that the kaffir lily was being reserved. A little sheet of paper was torn off of a memo pad beside the cash register; her other hand grabbed a pen with blue ink. The flower would be kept at the counter waiting for him, and to remind the other employees that it should not be sold to the wrong person. "What's your name?" she asked after pausing the pen over an empty space of the paper.

Before she could receive that information, he asked about getting coffee at Starbucks. Sandy looked up with a brief expression of disbelief. That was... Unexpected. No man randomly walked in asking her such a question before. Usually, she was too busy to be bothered with them.

"Ah... Sure. Yes," Sandy answered, quickly changing her expression to something more friendly. There was genuine happiness in her features, too. Not just a mask to put on a show. She was actually thrilled to be spending a little time with someone else. The last time she did anything fun, in the sense of normal, was weeks ago, probably.

"Coffee sounds wonderful right now. I'll just be a minute, to get the shop closed up."

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 3902 "Arthur."

He said, again with the slightest tinge of an accent boiling over in his voice. Over the years he had been able to mask it entirely, but at times, it still shone through. There were many reasons Arthur wished to hide the German in his voice. It symbolized all he had been prior to his 'transformation', a time in his life he wanted desperately to forgot.

"Arthur Stein"

He felt a flutter in chest when she agreed to go for coffee, although it would be better described as a pang, which wasn't altogether odd considering his insides were about fifty percent metal. This was definitely new though, perhaps, deep inside he had been looking for something to fill a void. A void that he had carved inside himself all those years ago.

Outside, the setting sun had been replaced by the, always cloudy, night's sky. Not that many of the Cledora residence had noticed, but there were never any stars visible at night. Although, despite the clouds, they still may have been tough to notice considering all the street lights in the city.

AS a light mist started to fall from the sky, they made their way, two blocks over, to the neighborhood star bucks. Arthur -Six- hated starbucks. He hated the people and their fancy caffeinated addiction, he hated the way the clerks seemed to be mechanical and mindless, he hated the free Wi-fi that attracted all sorts of free loading scum. Arthur, on the other hand, very much liked their vanilla lattes. They went inside, ordered drinks and sat. Outside the window, rain poured down in steady sheets.

"So plants, huh? Sounds like you have a passion for it. I wish I could say my line of work was as interesting, but sorting mail and packages is about as fun as it sounds."

Arthur laughed, somewhere deep inside, Six cringed at the sound.

 

[Fluffy]

Sandy was staring out the window, watching the rain intently while idly stirring the straw in her coffee cup around. She ordered a white mocha from Starbucks; it was a nice change from the usual teas she'd order. Tea became such a routine that she'd forgotten how tasty coffee was. This one invitation to share a table at Starbucks was a healthy reminder.

At the inquiry about her job, she turned her head so they could make eye contact. She was smirking as she rose the cup to her lips for a sip of her drink. Sandy did not envy the job he had at all.

"It is a passion, yes. Botany was my major in college. For some reason, it just really interests me. There's more to a flower than its beauty, you know?" she replied to him, a twinkle in her eye when the subject was brought up. Sandy could talk on and on about trees, flowers, and even bushes. That would more than likely bore him, though. It always bored people. One of these days, she'd rope a victim to a chair and talk their ears off about botany, horticulture and gardening tips. Death by boredom...

That very idea made her want to snicker.

"Hm..." She put on a thoughtful expression as she stared at him, not at all shy about looking a person in the eye or looking them over. A hand unwrapped from her coffee cup so she could prop her elbow onto the table and cradle her head into that same hand, that mask of curiosity never leaving her face.

"I noticed your bit of an accent. Where did you live before Cledora?"

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 4075 "I can relate to finding beauty in things, sometimes I can see the delicate side of things and people that others cannot. I believe that every being on earth has two sides, two agendas. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Arthur paused, realizing that he had gone off into left field. It had been a good while since he had engaged in conversation on this level. Usually, while at work, it was just simple formalities,how was your day? How was your drive to work? Did you catch the game this weekend? But this was indeed different for Arthur, he smiled, unable to not do so while looking at Sandy. She was indeed a fine specimen. He mentally laughed at his choice of words.

As the rain continued to pound a steady beat on the window that separated them from the dry, warm world of Starbucks and the gray cold streets of Cledora, Arthur stirred at her next question. He had been letting his accent out, more than usual, and she caught it. HE flashed a pair of hesitant eyes at her before speaking, lying would have been the normal response, but he threw cation to the wind and gave her the slightly watered down version instead.

"I was born and raised in the outskirts of Berlin, just a few miles from the Poland border. I was attending Uni, majoring in psychology, however certain obligations kept me from perusing my career of choice, and I decided to relocate."

It wasn't the whole truth, but then again he was sure that if went any further into it, she would no doubt be frightened away. There weren't too many women who would be ok with his unique physical condition.

 

[Fluffy]

Having been staring at him as intently as she was, she noticed the hesitance in his eyes. Mentioning his homeland must have been a troubling topic for him. Sandy felt bad for it, despite her usual uncaring nature. She could understand how painful a subject of the past could be. Her own life was nothing she liked to look back on. The very idea of her past life made her heart ache a little.

Sandy then made a smile, finally taking her eyes off of him to look at her coffee cup. She kept her arm supporting her head, however. It was a comfortable position for her and it took a while before her arm grew tired. Petite as she was, she was fairly pain tolerant. "So you chose this crummy city, eh? I mean, maybe you like it... Some of us like the constant rain."

In truth, she really did enjoy the gloomy weather. She did sometimes curse at the rain, disliking how it ruined her hair and inconvenienced her fire element abilities. There was something invigorating about the rain, though. It made the setting more... Interesting, and it suited a place with so much crime. Sandy could be a sucker for theatrics.

The rain was still pouring quite a bit, she noticed. Sandy remembered him saying that he needed to get to his job. Briefly, she made a crooked frown and reached for her umbrella, which was leaning against her chair. "Would you want to borrow this?" she offered, the kind phrase leaving a bad taste on her tongue. Why was she willing to sacrifice her umbrella to this total stranger? She hated being without something to keep her dry! Yes, he was handsome, and very nice, but...

"Or we could share it. So as long as you're dry, you know? I don't mind walking a few extra steps..."

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 4121 Arthur brushed at a loose strand of dirty blond hair that had gone on a rouge mission for his eye lashes. Beneath his shirt, that clung tightly to a well built frame, he could feel the many cords of metal that sat just under the flesh. He felt naked, honestly, while talking to Sandra. Something about her kept flashing in his mind, like a distant memory fading from a waking moment; Like a dream.

"Yes, well..I have always been a fan of the rain and gloom, personally." He stopped, almost saying how much he hated seeing people enjoy nice, warm days. "I guess I just enjoy the rain?"

He leaned back a bit, slowly raising the cup to his lips. The sun was completely gone now and the streets empty. It was nearing time for him to go to work, but the last thing on earth Arthur wanted to do was leave Sandra's company. Arthur struggled with his feelings, as Six screamed in his head 'Take her home and be done with it!! That is all she's good for' Arthur cringed, hoping it was an internal one and not obvious.

"Yeah, I should be heading to work. The rain doesn't bother me much, but I wouldn't mind the company." He stood up, pulling his coat over his shoulders before offering her his hand. It seemed that all the gentlemanly conduct he knew in his 'other life' hadn't left him. " We could walk together to the corner of Pine? Hopefully that is on your way, I work in the offices in the business district there."

As they made there way out of the Starbucks, with the umbrella deployed, Arthur offered her his arm. After all, walking any other way in such close quarters would have been slightly awkward.

" I appreciate you taking the time for coffee on such short notice. Perhaps we could do this again sometime, at my place or yours?" He realized what his words implied and quickly recovered " I am not much of a cook, but I do have a pretty solid DvD collection."

 

[Fluffy]

The umbrella was plenty big enough to shield them from the rain. Sandy felt it was designed to be a two person umbrella. It was laying around at her grandmother's house, so she's used it ever since. Probably the most useful item she had, aside from the weapons of Fire Lily.

A bit hesitantly, she accepted the arm he offered to her. She wasn't used to such gentlemanly gestures, because she didn't really spend her time with others. Red painted over her cheeks, though she hoped he wouldn't see it, or he'd assume it to be a result of the cold. Holding onto somebody was an unfamiliar feeling. So very different from ripping a person apart, or setting them on fire... Oddly enough, she was enjoying this non-destructive sensation.

Sandy smiled when he asked about meeting again, but this time at one of their homes. She had to admit, the idea of it was nice. He'd be the first guest in her house, ever. "Well, I can cook for us. And you can bring some movies?" she suggested, looking in his direction. "Or I can bring the food to your place. I live in a less gray area of Cledora, which some people complain to be too far away. Which bothers me; how can they be so lazy? It's really not that far of a drive..."

She had to keep herself from ranting on and on about how frustrated she got with people. Not to mention, containing the urge to talk about how she enjoyed torturing them to death. Sandy hated everyone here! Except for the old woman that ran Oasis, of course. And, decidedly, Arthur. He's proved to be more decent than anyone else she's met.

However, she wondered about Six.

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 4213 Arthur pretended not to notice the flush that broke out across her face, and turned his head as a smile broke out across his own. He had a moment of shock as he realized that he was actually smiling. Sure, he had smiled before, lots of times, in the past, but this one was different. This one was real. Rain began to speckle the top of the umbrella as they walked out from under the overhangs of the buildings and into the street that would lead to the corner of Pine street. He noticed a couple things as they walked, one was how great she smelled, Arthur noticed this first and it clung prominently to his brain. The other thing he noticed is that this girl was approximately the same height as the super villain, Fire lily that Six had met this morning, a weird thing to remember indeed, and he dismissed it immediately.

"Sure I can do that"

Said Arthur as the rain picked up in intensity through the gray sky overhead.

"I have a lots of movies, mostly of the horror genre though. Night mare on elm street, Friday the thirteenth, stuff like that."

He wondered briefly if those were movies that people usually watched in this sort of situation. Then he wondered what this sort of situation was? Was this how normal people dated, Six screamed in the back of his head. 'A date!? Lets be honest the only thing you want from her is to get laid!!' Arthur shoved Six away, to the dark place in the back of his mind where he hated the world and everyone in it.

They got to the corner of Pine as Arthur's place of employment loomed over head. It was the second tallest building in Cledora's business distract and by far one of the oldest. The worn, once red, bricks stood out in perfect unison with the gray, gloomy weather.

Arthur rifled through his pockets for a pen. He found one and wrote his number on the back of a receipt. He looked at Sandra, getting lost in her eyes only momentarily before forcing the words in his throat to make an appearance.

"I work until Wednesday. So if you want to do it then, if you're free?"

Six laughed out loud in his head at his choice of words, mocking him. Arthur knew that regardless of his love life, Six would have to be let out soon.

 

[Fluffy]

Horror films just so happened to be a favoured genre of Sandra's. That spawned from her desire to see people suffer. Scary movies entertained her and provided excellent ideas during her theatrical mayhem in Cledora. Getting spooked by the movies was added fun; she got thrills from being scared. The idea of viewing these films with Arthur put a smile on her face. Perhaps he wouldn't enjoy them the same way she did, but at least they shared a common interest. That was a good sign to her.

Sandy watched him with interest as he fished out a pen to jot down his number. They made eye contact for a moment, he distracted by her solid, confident look. Though, she herself was getting lost in the gaze. There was much to see in those eyes of his. Continually swirling emotions that she didn't normally see in a person's stare. That made her even more curious about him!

When the paper was handed to her, she snatched it up enthusiastically and quickly read the information. "Sounds like a plan. I'll call you tomorrow," she replied with a cheerful smile. There were genuine feelings in her voice and on her lips. Something that was rare for her. Instead of a mask, that was her real face. "It was very nice to meet you. That lily of yours will be waiting for you to pick it up. Maybe I'll see you then?"

Reluctantly, she took some steps away from him with her umbrella in hand so he could make his walk to work. There was a look of disappointment; she didn't want him to leave. It felt lonesome beneath her giant umbrella. Sandy felt stupid for feeling that way, but it just couldn't be helped. A life of crime was a lonely one.

"Have a good night!" With that said, she turned on her heels so she could make her way back home. The entire way, she thought about Arthur. She wondered if he really liked her, and if he could speak German in romantic whispers. However, she also thought of Six. Would she see him again today? She planned on changing into her costume so she could spark some chaos into the gloomy city, and then take a nap. Just a little bit of fun; no purpose at all.

 

[October Knight]

Mwahahahahaaa.

Six's raspy voice echoed with laughter through Arthur's head while he worked. He laughed and teased Arthur for his attraction to Sandy. 'What do you expect her to do? Love a machine? That is all you are, nothing but a machine! No woman would ever want you! You are a joke, a failure…you are nothing without me.'

Arthur shuttered at the last statement made by Six, because it was true. They were one, he wanted the senseless destruction as much as Six did. Arthur found that when he let the 'Six' side of his persona take over, he could control it by thinking about Fire lily. Was Six jealous that Arthur was talking to Sandy, when he wanted to go out and find Fire lily? It sounded crazy, and it was, but somehow Arthur knew it to be true.

As the last hour of work tic-tocked away, Arthur could feel Six writhing just below his skin, aching to be let out. He had sorted through letter after letter of post tonight, at least twice the usual amount. There was some new guy in shipping and receiving that kept screwing up the process, putting the Incoming with the outgoing and making things generally tough on everyone. On top of this, Arthur had several fresh paper cuts screaming a chorus of pain on his finger tips. It had not by any means been an easy night, but the thought of his date with Sandy, and the possibility of seeing Fire Lily (for Six) had been enough to push him through.

View attachment 4393 From the time he got off work, to the time he changed into Six inside his apartment was a bit of a blur; A rush of anticipation and excitement that often came when he put on the mask and hit the city. Today he had his eye set on a particular part of town, during a specific time. On live TV there would be the unavailing of a new Apple store, located smack dab in the middle of town square. The event would be heavily guarded, and there would no doubt be Super-heros watching the scene, but none of this mattered to Six. He would take the opportunity to show the local media, and all those watching the unveiling of the over priced computer store, that Cledora truly was in the control of the villains.

He made his way across town, ducking down alleys and running across rooftops, until he made his way to a building that over looked the scene. He grinned under the mask as the scene came into view. Masses of people were gathered around a building with giant windows and the Apple insignia proudly displayed. There were police cars everywhere, as well as hipster-wanna-bees waiting to go inside.

Six, waiting for the perfect moment, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest with each passing second, looked down on the scene as a grin swept across his face.
​

 

[Fluffy]

Raindrops slid quickly down Fire Lily's suit of red, and her gas mask styled helm. For a long moment, she simply stared at the water droplets on the eye lenses. Water was a wonderful, necessary element in life for both people and planets. Yet, here she was, cowering it behind her mask. The rain could easily silence her powers if it weren't for her suit. That, for he longest time, has scared her.

There she sat on a rooftop, a leg propped up on either side of her flamethrower as it leaned against her body. With a sigh, she let her head fall forward onto the weapon, her eyes now up close to a section of black metal. For reasons unknown, she was just sitting there thinking, instead of causing trouble.

Well, the reasons weren't unknown...

People were on her mind; two people in particular. Six had been in her thoughts all day long. She wanted to learn everything about him! He had abilities she hadn't seen before and like many probably wondered: What was underneath that mask? Fire Lily was never more curious about a mysterious villain before.

Arthur, too. That man made her nervous, actually. She had a date with him! Sandy smiled a little behind her mask; when was the last time she spent time with a man? Life got much too busy after high school and she feared the consequences of getting a loved one involved with her life of crime. Because of that, she felt a little guilty for allowing herself to interact with Arthur like she did. There was something about him... Something sensational. She just had to grasp more of it.

Fire Lily's attention went from her reflections to a commotion not too far from her. People were gathering for an event, it sounded like. Something was going on near an Apple building. Just then, she smiled again, but more impishly this time. "Well, I could use a new cell phone," she said to herself. Along with her theft, she could make chaos! This was too perfect.

Using her flamethrower as support, she stood up from the building and set her eyes on the crowd in the distance. Swiftly, she ran from the roof to another, until she was brought closer and closer and closer...

A flash of red could be seen zooming over to the roof of that Apple structure. She stood above a hatch that could lead her straight inside. Using the end of her weapon, she broke the lock to the hatch. Everyone was too distracted to notice, plus she was too high up to really be seen. The broken lock was then kicked aside so she could open the rusty little door, allowing her to peer inside. From where she was, she could see a section of the store all lined up with shelves of technology.

'Jackpot'

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 4658 Six flinched, as a dry, copper taste shot up in his throat and his mouth went dry. It was adrenaline, that super powerful natural stimulant. If only the drug addicts of the world knew that they didn't need to wasted their money, pumping intoxicating substances into their bodies. Everything a person needs to 'get high', is inside us all naturally. Six hated drug addicts, nearly as much as he hated square, preppy types. However, it wasn't quite fair to say that he hated one more than the other, Six hated all people. Hated All normal people equally.

He gazed down over the sea of them, like a viper bound in a coil, ready to strike. The metal in his body itched with anticipation as one of the spokesman for the computer company stepped on a small podium to speak.

"Welcome friends and associates! We are pleased to announce that once again we at Apple have changed everything…..again"

As the man began to speak, Six didn't notice Fire lily, or how is attack might foil her incognito approach. He jumped off the building, free falling down towards the podium. He sent a mental tendril out from his right wrist, impaling the speaking man mid sentence. There was a collective gasp in the crowd, a moment when every person present at the opening took in a single, sharp inhalation of breath before all hell broke loose.

Six let loose with another metal cord from his body, then spun around. People flew in every direction, blood and fatally severed bodies ltter the ground as the Cledora police set off an alarm and took to arms. Six glanced over his shoulder, noticing that there were no civilians behind him. The police were free to fire without the possibility of killing any innocent bystanders.

"Oh, fu.." Was all he got out before the day erupted into a a series of cracks from small arms. Six dove behind the podium as the glass windows of the apple store shattered and sprayed him with shards.

 

[Fluffy]

Sandy dropped gracefully onto the floor after making her entrance in the roof. She was now surrounded by several displays of Apple products, all cased up securely. That made her scoff; there was no container she couldn't crack. Now she had to make a decision: what to swipe? She had a limited amount of space since she brought no carrier with her. She learned her lesson long ago when it came to adding too much weight, too...

With an inward shrug, Fire Lily just went and took whatever she could get her hands on. A phone, an iPod, another iPod... All wrapped neatly in their boxes. She decided to ignore the displays of the newer products. Judging by the commotion outside, she needed to rush. A moment wasn't even taken to ask herself what in the world was going on. All she knew was she needed to hurry!

Just when she was going to reach out for a MAC, glass shattered all around her, above her and below her. She immediately took cover beneath her flamethrower and watched through the lenses of her mask as objects littered the floor. There were goods tucked into her belt, and one smaller item hiding within her cleavage, which was slightly noticeable against the tight fabric. She looked like a ridiculous little thief, but she did not care. There were hundreds of dollars stashed on her person! Brand new toys, and opportunities to make some money. That's all that mattered.

Fire Lily giggled playfully as she stood back up and watched people cower outside. Another villain must have stirred them up! To add to the fun, she decided to burn the place to the ground. She pressed the trigger of her beloved flamethrower to spit roaring flames in the area she stood. Only seconds later did a wall of flames separate her from the approaching police officers. There was no way they could reach her now. How silly of them to think they could in the first place.

Excitedly, she watched the fire spread. It would surely engulf the building and destroy thousands of the objects that Apple produced. Now she just needed to make her escape. She could not go back the way she entered, so she made a dash for a nearby window. Recklessly, she crashed against it and latched onto a fire escape. She was quite a distance from the ground, so she wasn't about to risk dying from a long fall.

Nimbly, Fire Lily made her way down, making use of all things attached to the outside of the building. There were sirens in the distance; firetrucks and more cops were on the way. She needed to make haste... Those fire engine hoses could be the death of her.

The lenses of her mask fogged up from her panting, and soon, she was running for her life on a city street. With her flamethrower held closely, she hid herself in a dark ally, ever watchful of anyone who might have followed her.

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 4875 Six was alive with passion and emotion today. His eyes shone with a mixture of hatred and determination behind his mask; trained and fiercely set on the crowd of people. He killed indiscriminately, sending the cords of metal tendon out from his wrists and into the necks and chests of terrified bystanders, who just moments before, were excited at the opening of the brand new store. Bright blood sprayed into the early morning air, as a chorus of screams erupted. Shots were fired from the small arms carried by the police, but Six was quick as he sprinted behind the hordes of people, created a meat shield between him and the Cledora cops. While most of the cops stopped firing immediately, some were caught in the heat of the moment and did not. Bullet riddled bodies slumped over in grim last ditch efforts of life, as Six's grinned even wider under his metal mask. He took a step to his right and was greeted with sharp pain, not quite agony, but a ferociously hot sting that let him know he had been hit. A quick glance down at his leg was met with streaming blood.

In the thick of things, Six noticed with sheer joy as the apple store erupted into a beautiful display of fire. Glorious fire. He immediately thought 'Fire lily'. The heat from the flame warmed him, and made him explode into a maniacal laughter, but he soon stopped, knowing that now was time to flee. This wouldn't be as easy as usual with a bullet lodged in his leg.

From where he stood there were cops in front of him, fire trucks that had just arrived on the scene to his left, and the dead and dying bystanders between himself and the cops. Six turned and headed, half running half limping, down the side of the Apple store and down the street to a dark ally, little did he know he had been followed by several heavily armed officers. He trued his back, with the darkness of the ally behind him. The cops stood facing him, they were shaking wither, but their guns were trained on six.

"Come out with your hands up."

Six stood his ground, he would never surrender, but he had no where to escape. Would this be the end?

 

[Fluffy]

Fire Lily's flamethrower was aimed at a menacing figure making its way towards her. She couldn't hide in this alley forever, anyway. Sooner or later, she'd be discovered and need to find someplace else to hide until everything settled down.

To her surprise, this was not a figure of authority. This being was bulkier than a regular person and seemed to be running away from something. Their back was turned to her, so they must not have seen her hiding deep within the darkness of the alley. It didn't take Fire Lily too long to figure out who this was. A fellow villain; a man she met just yesterday. She had no idea they'd cross paths again so soon!

Six seemed in need of assistance. Judging by his posture, he was injured. He was also outnumbered; a large group of cops came to block the alleyway. To help herself, she would also have to help him. There was no other way of getting out.

After composing herself, Fire Lily made a rush towards Six and the policemen. She showed up beside Six with her flamethrower aimed at the cops and instantly, flames spilled from the mouth of her weapon. Some of the foes were unlucky enough to be set aflame, while others stepped backwards several times to avoid getting burned.

"Follow me," she said to the other villain before running forward, the fire switching off for a moment so she could smack an approaching policeman in the head. A few more who dared to try and capture her were smashed ruthlessly, their firearms dropping to the ground with their aching bodies. Behind her, one managed to strike a weak point in her back. She hissed in pain and nearly collapsed then and there, more from the shock of being hit than anything else. Fire Lily fought that urge, though. She needed to keep going.

"Fuck off!" Fire Lily unleashed another wave of fire towards them, quite literally cleaning out the entrance to the alley so she and Six could make a successful getaway. An unpleasant feeling was swelling where she was hit by the baton, but she didn't allow it to slow her down. She'd face the consequences of pushing herself later on, when there weren't cops on her tail.

"C'mon, c'mon!" With her weapon stashed away, she tugged Six along, hoping to get him to run with her while the rest of the cops and the firemen focused on the blazing building, as well as the injured citizens.

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 5210 Six had his arm around Fire Lily's waist as the two villains made their way through the streets. He put the weight of his bad leg on her, and was surprised by her strength as she helped him along. Six had little to no strength by this point, as his vision swam with loss of blood, not to mention the endorphins that were surging through his body. Every time he put even the slightest amount of pressure on his leg it would send excruciating pain up his entire left side. He wouldn't admit it now, or even later, but he would have been dead - or even worse -, captured with out Fire Lily.

Sirens rang out into the morning as they ran from the scene. The burning smell of buildings and people filled the air, 'BBQ a la Fire Lily', thought Six jokingly. He almost laughed out loud, but was jerked back to the dire situation by another sudden burst of pain. He could feel the bullet lodged in his leg. Now he knew that it was more than just a grazing flesh wound, and for a moment thought how unlucky he was, being partially metal and all. Out of all the places to get hit by a bullet, it had to be in his not mechanical parts. What fucking luck.

"Please.." Six's guard was down now, he needed help. It was either that or get caught, and he sure as hell wasn't about to get caught.

"Take me to my house…I need to get this bullet out, I will be greatly in your dept."

He gasped for air, pain singing out in a chorus of hell inside his head.

"The Green tree apartments. 5th floor, we can get there by means of the fire escape on the roof…"

 

[Fluffy]

Supporting all of Six's weight was taxing for Fire Lily. She already wasn't too strong to begin with. Times like this, she mentally kicked herself for neglecting the gym for so long. She wanted to reach safety so badly, though. Badly enough so that she could ignore the fatigue in her muscles in order to take Six and herself to someplace they could recover.

Six's plea did not go ignored for a second. He wanted to be taken home; his injury must have been serious. Villains, even Heroes, were pretty secretive about their houses when in costume. Inviting anyone was a risky idea. Fire Lily did not protest, however. She just continued on, searching for the neighbourhood sign that read The Green Tree Apartments.

When they reached the building, she paused for just a moment in front of the stairs to the fire escape. She needed to catch her breath, lest she pass out then and there. Her panting was loud enough to be echoing within her mask, the brief clouding of the lenses making it hard to see. "Fifth floor," she said, mostly to herself. Thinking out loud helped to sort out her mess of thoughts.

Step by step, Fire Lily led them farther up the building. They didn't draw any attention, thankfully. Compared to the bloody scene at the Apple store, this area was downright peaceful. Not a person in sight. She found comfort in this fact; she didn't think she could run any longer. With the heaviness of this man and her weapon, Fire Lily was terribly sore and tired.

"Almost there, Six. Don't pass out on me."

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 5799 Six's feet felt like solid concrete cinder blocks. A light sweat broke above his brow as warm sweat trickled into his eyes. Everything below his waist, above his bleeding leg, was laced with pain. It was getting to the point where giving up seemed like a viable option.

"…No…gotta push on…can't give into those fuckers"

Six was talking aloud, nonsense, his words came out in choked gasps. Under normal circumstances he would have been blissfully aware of Fire Lilys tight body pressed against his, her breast brushing against him as she helped him down the street, but as it was the pain beat out his urges. He was on the point of blacking out when they got to the apartments. It took every ounce of strength in Six's boy to make it up the stairs and open the front door (Via a conveniently hidden key on his person, in case of emergencies) The fact that he was giving away his home to another…was against all codes of Super villainy, but Six had no other choice.

He collapsed on his leather couch, but had enough sense to tie off the wound and dig out a small vial of morphine. Just a drop, didn't want to float away, just wanted to float a little bit, up above the cloud of pain.

What was he supposed to say now?

"Thank you, I need to get this bullet out….I need your help"

Six was happy to be in her company, but just under the surface Arthur was cringing. He was going to miss his date with Sandra.

 

[Fluffy]

Fire Lily didn't take any time to familiarize herself with the apartment. There wasn't any reason to. This man needed her help, plus she had enough respect for him to not completely endanger him. He could trust her not to give away his location, but showing little to no interest in the place would probably reassure him.

When he got himself on the couch, she sat down on the floor nearby him and set down her flamethrower. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to catch her breath and regain some strength. Her work here was not done. Six said he needed her help getting the bullet removed, which she did not look forward to. Fire Lily had little medical experience. Her best would have to do, though. There was a time, long ago, when she had to do this to herself with the use of lots of whiskey and a knife.

"I'll do my best," she told him. She just hoped he could talk her through this process. As calm as she seemed, she was panicking inside. She didn't want him to pass out on her, or bleed to death, or...

Inwardly shaking off the negativity, she got up from the floor and went to searching for some fabric she could use to at least slow the bleeding. She noticed a towel on the floor, probably carelessly tossed aside after a shower. That towel was scooped up and brought over to Six, where she began to dab at his open wound. This also let her get a closer look at what she was dealing with. Behind her mask, her face twisted into disgust at the sight.

"This will hurt like a motherfucker," she started to say, while getting a knife from her utility belt. The blade was flipped open and she looked it over for a second. "If it hurts too bad, just... Squeeze my arm or something, you know? Whatever it takes to help it hurt less."

She gave him a few moments to prepare himself for this experience, and then went to digging out the bullet with the tip of her knife. Blood was already smeared all over her gloves. This process was quick so that he wasn't laying there in agony for too long. With a relieved sigh, the bullet was dropped to the floor, clinking against it and rolling until it hit the leg of a table. Immediately, she put the towel on his leg and pressed, soaking up the blood.

While her hands dabbed at his leg, she sighed again and laid her head on his abdomen. She didn't really realize that was what she was doing. Fire Lily was feeling tired, physically and mentally. The heat in her helmet was getting to her, too. She'd been sweating like there's no tomorrow.

 

[October Knight]

View attachment 8577 The pain was immediate and intense. It felt like someone had taken a red hot poker and jammed it mercilessly into the soft, fleshy part of his thigh. His vision swam with white flashes. He threw his head back, at the same time gripping, with his right arm the edge of the couch, and with his left, Fire Lily’s arm. His fingers dug into her arm, as she dug into his leg. Six could feel the blood begin to pool up underneath. How fucking deep was that thing? He held on, giving no answer to her question, only squeezing her arm tighter.

What a situation this had turned out to be. The Arthur side of Six was planning on dinner with Sandra then, hopefully, getting laid. Arthur was in dire need of the release, between work and killing innocent people he had hardly had time for anything else. In fact, it had been the only thing on his mind up until he got shot. Now the only thing he could think about was getting this fucking bullet out of his leg.

Six felt the sudden urge to grab the knife from Fire lily and cut the bullet out himself. This would no doubt end in disaster, so he left her to it.

“What a rush…Pain is the true equalizer in life.” Spittle flew from his lips, his breath coming out in sharp bursts “I owe you one for this, at least one.”