[indent][b][u]December 25th, 12 AM Hub City[/u][/b][/indent] The smashing of glass rang over and over through Shams' mind as the creatures once again slammed their way into the apartment building. The riot officers in front held steady, but their shields began to show noticable cracks, and the line grew thinner and thinner as more of them were struck down by a speedy knife throw or a claw to the neck. One of the bird creatures howled as it dove down the elevator shaft towards the gathered tenants and their stalwart defenders. As soon as it became visible in the stuck-open elevator doors, Shams fired her shotgun, ripping through the creature's wing and causing it to fall all the way down. Finally the blaring of sirens heralded the arrival of their getaway. "Everyone fall back to the other exit!" the sergeant roared over the creatures' screeching. Alias gestured the civilians over alongside Officer Adams, kicking open the door and knocking over a centaur who was beating on it. She stopped his attempts to stand with a shotgun blast to the torso, leaving him disabled on the ground. [color=blanchedalmond]"Stay behind the shields and get to the vans!"[/color] Shams yelled to the civilians as she reloaded the now-empty shotgun. This was a mess of messes, at least most of the building had made it out okay,. What the fuck was even happening? Why were there monsters out of the English class of her nightmares attacking her? She was trying her best to help out, but it was kinda hard to do when every other cop was getting his throat ripped out in front of her. She looked over at Officer Adams, he always smiled, no matter what the situation, he was one of the few cops in the department who wasn't on the take. She did also have a bit of a thing for him, but that wasn't important. What was important was the fake smile he flashed her in order to keep her from freaking out. He was an angel. Then an arrow pierced right through his shoulder and he fell to the ground in a heap. Shams' eyes bulged out of her head in shock, and she rushed over to his side. "Ah fuck," he moaned as blood stained his outfit. Shams lifted an arm over her shoulder and lifted him onto her back, which drew an agonized growl from his lips. Shams gasped as she looked around for a car to comandeer. It was her fault. Her fault. She'd distracted him and he'd gotten shot, she had to save him, she had to. Finally she found a car, directing the civilians into the van as she moved to take the small two-seater. The van was already full to begin with, and crowding an injured person would lead to disaster. She bashed through the window with her shotgun and pulled the door open, placing the injured officer inside. [color=blanchedalmond]"I'll meet back up with you at the hospital!"[/color] she yelled at the captain, who regarded her with a thumbs up. That was all the confirmation she needed. She entered the car and moved under the steering wheel to hotwire it. "Shams?" [color=blanchedalmond]"No talking Adams, don't waste your energy."[/color] "Fuck that, I'm dying anyway," his voice cracked in a mixture of fear and resignment. [color=blanchedalmond]"No no no, you're gonna be fine, I'm getting you to the hospital."[/color] "I'm bleeding a fuckload, thanks for trying but you should be with the others." Shams finished hotwiring the car and looked back at Adams with a pained look that somehow had a bit of rage hidden within. "...Fine, let's go." On the way to the hospital, Adams began getting paler and paler. Shams slammed the pedal as far down as it could go, smashing into a number of toga-clad monsters as she did. Each bounce drew a weak moan from Adams. Eventually, Adams fell into her shoulder, she attempted to nudge him away, but he remained limp. [color=blanchedalmond]"Adams?"[/color] She looked over at him, noticing his eyes, unfocused and looking off into the distance, his mouth slightly ajar, his chest not moving. He was dead. It was her fault. She stared blankly at his corpse, her eyes tearing up ever-so-slightly. In a rage she spun the wheel of the car all the way around, leaving a trail of burnt rubber in her wake. She drove towards her warehouse, where she and the Question had met over and over. She needed someone as competent as herself to at least try to take control of the situation. [hr] [indent][b][u]December 24th, 6:14 PM Oscar's Apartment; Hub City, Illinois[/u][/b][/indent] [color=003471][b]"WHY! WON'T! YOU! FUCKING! DIE?!"[/b][/color] Oscar Ellison found himself shouting whilst caving a harpy's skull in with a toaster oven. For a moment, he pondered how ridiculous this situation was. Here he was, having just gotten off work, only to find some abomination right out of Ancient Greece in kitchen. And so for the past five minutes he has been in a death battle with this beast, only having just gained the upper hand by smashing it in the face with his brand new toaster oven. He had just gotten the thing a few days ago, and he was using it to decorate the kitchen floor with blood and brain matter from this fucking thing he never knew really existed. If he couldn't feel the weight of the damn toaster oven crushing the harpy's head, he would think it was just a bad acid trip. He eventually came to a halt, sure the harpy was dead. Then it jolted back up, half of it's head crushed like a grape, and Oscar began to wail on it again, not stopping until the only sound that could be heard was splashing. So here he was, dressed in his usual suit which was now soaked with blood, slumped against the wall with a heavily dented and equally bloody toaster in his hands. This was not how he thought this day would go. [color=003471][b]"... I need to get the fuck out of here."[/b][/color] He needed to head to a safe place to hang out in, and he knew just the place: Alias's warehouse. Maybe if she was smart, she'd head there too, and they might be able to come up with a plan to handle this... Situation. Heading to his closet, he took out his grey trenchcoat, spotless leather gloves, brown fedora, and mask, not even bothering to change out of his bloody garbs as he got into costume. Releasing a sigh, he becomes the Question, and pulls out his journal to scribble in a quick entry. [color=003471][b][i]'December 24th, Entry #1 Well. Fucking harpies exist. Sure the one in my kitchen wasn't the only one. Going to warehouse to regroup with Shams. Hope she's doing okay. Can only hope Bruce and Rita are safe as well. Would hope for the same for Arcana and Grim but, well, they can handle themselves.'[/i][/b][/color] He snapped the little leather book shut, shoving it back into his pocket along with the pen and heading on his way. Without a car, he can only hope to make it to the warehouse without dying horribly. [color=003471][b][i]'... I've been in worse spots.'[/i][/b][/color] With that, he went on his way. [hr] [b][u][indent]December 25th, 1:00 AM Alias' Hideout, Hub City, Illinois[/indent][/u][/b] The police car slammed into a satyr as Shams turned onto the cracked and abandoned road that lead to the old warehouse. The poor fiendly rapist flew over the hood of the car, its goat-like legs shattered and bent horrifically. Where were all these fucking things coming from? She'd already smashed her windshield on that fairy, little bastard somehow broke the whole thing. As he approached the lab, he spotted a strange thing, a man in a wheelchair, so far out in the wilderness. He was pretty far away, so she couldn't make out much of the details, but he appeared to have something white covering his mouth and nose, and a large green tank attached to the side of the wheelchair. She watched him roll along, his hands not moving to keep the wheels going, but somehow just drifting along. Shams stopped watching when she noticed the giant cyclops approaching him, she wasn't gonna go kill herself just to help some half-dead old man anyway, this was an example of the circle of life. She had just looked back at the road when she heard a horrific scream and then a thump. When she looked back, she saw the wheel-chair man rolling on his merry way. She was confused, but when she looked over a bit more, she switched from confusion to shock, her eyes bulging out of her head. The minotaur laid on the ground, eye torn from its socket, and with a tree rammed through its chest. [i]What the fuck...?[/i] [hr] The rest of the ride to her warehouse was silent, she spent most of it wondering just what in hell she had just seen. The unmaintained roads were hell on her ass, but the vibration did seem almost soothing in a way, to the point where she almost felt like going to sleep at the wheel. That was an awful idea, but it felt surprisingly tempting considering it was... she glanced at the radio. Holy shit 1 AM? How long had she been awake? Too long, too long awake, and judging by the grease in her hair, too long without a shower too. She felt gross, but there was no rest for the law, and Hub City desperately needed a bit of law and order right now. Hopefully Oscar was there. Wait, what if he was there? She had to get her costume. Well, he already knew her name and face, but where could she go to change without him spotting her? The garage would work just fine. She was so focused on figuring this out that she only remembered she was driving when she crashed into the wall, sending the dead officer's body careening under the glovebox. [color=blanchedalmond]"Fuck's sake."[/color] Shams threw open the door, kicking it once out of frustration, before walking over to the other side and lifting Adams onto her shoulder. It was a pity he had to go, but at least in death he would be able to help the people of Hub City. She kicked open the metal doors with a crash, before Oscar could round a corner and spot her, she ducked into the small doorway to her right and entered the garage. Dropping poor Adams' body with a thump, she snuck into the nearby office and grabbed her outfit. She snuck back into the garage and began to change, stopping halfway when she noticed the dead eyes of Adams continuing to stare at her. It was a little uncomfortable for sure. She placed him into the seat of an old rotting forklift and snickered when he fell into the steering wheel. He made a pretty corpse at least, if a bit of a clumsy one. It took a bit to button everything up, tie everything up, tie things down, stuff things in places, the usual routine. She'd gotten rather good at it over time, but this time was different. This time she put body-armor on top! That was a unique thing at least. Finally she was in costume, and with a pull on the collar, she picked Adams out of the forklift and carried him into the main warehouse. She strode across the dusty floors towards her interrogation room. [color=blanchedalmond]"Anyone here?! Oscar?!"[/color] she called out, her voice echoing through the room. Alias's voice echoed throughout the warehouse, reaching the secluded corner that the Question had set up for his meditation easily. Releasing his breath with a sigh, he fluidly stood up from his seated position on the floor and began to make his way into the warehouse. [color=003471][b]"Shams. Good to see you're doing ok-is that a dead cop?"[/b][/color] The masked detective found himself asking, staring at the body Alias had dragged in with her. Alias looked over at her shoulder. [color=blanchedalmond]"Yes,"[/color] she answered bluntly, walking closer with Adams' corpse in tow. [color=blanchedalmond]"Good to see you too Oscar, this whole city's even more fucked up than usual, so it's good to see someone who can fight things without dying."[/color] Alias dropped the body on the ground with a thump, leaving a little puddle of blood. She sighed and wiped her brow, pleased to be done with that. [color=blanchedalmond]"Right, we both know that this is going to take a lot more than hitting things. What I want you to do right now is take his body armor while I go and get us some guns. Got it?"[/color] she said authoritatively, quickly taking charge of the situation. The Question was following along, only for his eyes to widen at the mention of guns. [color=003471][b][i]'Guns? Oh, God, not [u]guns[/u]...'[/i][/b][/color] Truth be told, he had never been exceptionally skilled in the use of firearms... That was the polite way to say a blind man with Parkinson's could shoot straighter than him. He tried not to show it however, simply nodding coolly. [color=003471][b]"Right. I'll get his body armor on while you go get weapons."[/b][/color] He began to take the body armor off of the deceased police officer, all the while racking his brain for ways to explain his... Predicament, to Alias. Alias ran back out to the garage, picking up her gun-belt from her discarded police uniform, then running back through the warehouse to go out to the car. She hadn't hit the wall too hard, it would probably still run. Hopefully. She popped the trunk and grabbed the shotgun, placed in the proper spot. Whoever owned this car knew what he was doing. She placed the shotgun over her shoulder and jogged back through the warehouse to where The Question was doing as asked. She pulled the clip out of the pistol on her belt and pulled it back to release the chambered round. As a matter of habit she kept her fingers away from the trigger, holding it by the barrel. She walked over to the Question and planted the handle of the gun into his chest, offering the clip with the other hand. [color=blanchedalmond]"Here, I'm keeping the shotgun because I'm the cop here,"[/color] she explained, pointing to herself. [color=blanchedalmond]"Now let's go, no more wasting time, come on, keep up,"[/color] she pressured as she rushed towards the car, shotgun in tow. The Question broke out into a cold sweat, staring down at the gun and clip in his hands as he followed after Alias. [color=003471][b][i]'Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck... Just act natural, act like you know what you're doing, play it cool... PLAY IT FUCKING COOL, OSCAR!'[/i][/b][/color] He didn't even realize he was in the car until he felt it pull out of the garage. He gulped. This was gonna suck. [color=003471][b]"So, uh... Kinda funny but... I don't... Know... How to use a gun."[/b][/color] One could hear a pin drop in the car as Alias processed what had just been said, she pulled over the car in an instant and took her hands off the steering wheel. One could almost hear the creaking of an old door as her head slowly turned towards Oscar. [color=blanchedalmond]"...Right..."[/color] she sighed, reaching over and grabbing the gun from his hands. She loaded it in less than five seconds and offered it to him, pointing the barrel out the windshield. [color=blanchedalmond]"Finger off the trigger until we're in danger, never point at something unless you want it dead, wide stance, one hand under the other and look down the sights, they're there for a reason, if you miss, well, you trained with the kung-fu man for a reason,"[/color] she stated simply, also handing him the gunbelt which she forgot to hand over. She gulped. This was gonna suck. [color=003471][b]"... Actually, he never taught me Kung-Fu, he taught me Judo, Savate, and more refined boxi-"[/b][/color] Question stopped as he realized that maybe, just [i]maybe[/i], continuing on would just make things worse for him. Instead, he attempted to figure out just how to aim down the sights, keeping his finger off the trigger like Alias said. Alias sighed as Hub City loomed in the horizon, the screeching of harpies and the panic-inducing screams of satyrs permeating the air. She stopped the car here, pulling the shotgun off of her back and pulling back the stock to a satisfying click. She motioned for Oscar to follow her, watching in the woods around her with a wary eye. Question nodded, getting out of the car and following after her, himself also keeping an eye out. He holstered his pistol, not trusting himself to not accidentally do something stupid like shoot himself in the foot. Alias continued towards the city. Watching the bushes and trees that surrounded the road. [color=blanchedalmond]"Glad you didn't shove that in your pants, I would have had an anyeurism if you'd done that,"[/color] she said, relieved in a way. She heard a sound in the nearby brush, and immediately lifted the shotgun to her shoulder, watching cautiously as she sidestepped down the road. Thankfully it was only a squirrel, so she exhaled and lowered the gun. [color=blanchedalmond]"Keep an eye out and your head up, I'd take that out of your belt if I were you but that can wait for the more populated areas,"[/color] she instructed as she walked down towards the city, eying the abandoned cars as she did. With a screech out of her worst nightmares, a satyr ran out of the woods, making a be-line for her. With a quick motion she lifted the shotgun and dropped the thing, only to hear another screech, and then another, as more satyrs poured into the road around them. She cocked the shotgun once more, and fired into the shaking brush, she couldn't see them, but she could hope, she turned her head, cocked the gun, and shot the head off of another one making an approach, she started running towards the city now, yelling for Oscar to do the same. [color=003471][b]"Oh fuck me!"[/b][/color] Question shouted, running away as fast as he could. And he thought the harpies were bad! God, it doesn't get any worse than being chased through the woods at night by satyrs... He heard a loud caw from the sky. Oh. Shit. The faceless vigilante looked above him, seeing a swarm of harpies in the sky. [color=003471][b]"We've got more fucking company!"[/b][/color] He yelled to Alias, pointing to the sky. Those satyrs had attracted more company, now a swarm of harpies had appeared in the sky. So staying in the open was a bad idea, but they had abandoned that car for a reason, a wrecked police-car with no windshield was worthless in this situation, there was an abandoned car or two on this road, but she wanted one that was both defensible and could hold survivors. A bus would work, Oscar could drive, she could shoot any that ended up in the thing, and that could hold so many people. Too bad she didn't see any fucking buses. She growled in frustration as a satyr grabbed onto her arm. She headbutted the thing, smearing his nose against his face. She grabbed the shotgun by the neck and slammed the handle into the goat-legged man's face until he stopped moving. In doing this, she had grown distracted, and a harpy began grappling with her, clawing and biting at her flesh. [color=003471][b]"Shams!"[/b][/color] Question shouted, coming to a halt as he saw his partner being attacked by a harpy. [color=003471][b][i]'Oh fuck... I gotta do this... I gotta do this!'[/i][/b][/color] With that, he pulled out his gun, taking aim at the harpy's head. [color=003471][b][i]'I can do this... I can do this... I can do this... I CAN DO THIS!'[/i][/b][/color] He fired. He hit the harpy right in the eye, the beast going limp on top of Alias. For a moment, he was stunned, but quickly shook his head and began running towards Alias. [color=003471][b][i]'Holy shit... That was awesome!'[/i][/b][/color] Alias jumped as the harpy's head suddenly exploded into a shower of gore, but her relief was uncontainable, and she released a shaky sigh. [color=blanchedalmond]"Good job Oscar! Look for a bus, I want to save as many people as possible!"[/color] she yelled over screeching harpies. One of which he shot in the abdomen, spilling her intestines across the road. [i][color=blanchedalmond]Eugh, fuck, I'll never get over that.[/color][/i] She ran down the road, hopping behind an abandoned car to avoid a divebombing harpy, who he dropped with a shotgun blast to the face. Four rounds gone, that was a low amount at least. As she ran, Alias pulled a few rounds from her belt and loaded two into it, not wanting to waste too much time fully loading it. [i][color=blanchedalmond]Are there no fucking buses in this goddamn city?[/color][/i] The Question, through his running, scanned over the high way for a bus. He dove under a car, continuing to look around, only to spot something. [color=003471][b][i]'... Better than nothing."[/i][/b][/color] He thought to himself, before shouting to Alias. [color=003471][b]"Hey, Alias, bus at twelve o'clock!"[/b][/color] He shouted. Once Alias looked to where Question had pointed out, she would see a bus alright... A tour bus for the popular bubble gum pop star 'Britney Britney', decked out in glitter and pink everything. Alias looked at the gaudy thing, it was large enough she supposed. [color=blanchedalmond]"Good enough! You drive I'll shoot!"[/color] she cried out as she sprinted over to the thing. Thank god for treadmills, if not for them she'd have been dead on her feet by now. She backstepped, shooting a harpy that got a little close, protecting herself and Oscar. The Question ran as fast as he could to the bus, forcing open the door and heading into the driver's seat. [color=003471][b]"Come on, Alias!"[/b][/color] Alias hopped into the bus quickly and ran into the middle, placing a foot on one of the luxurious sofas to steady herself. [color=blanchedalmond]"Move! Drive! Honk the horn every now and again to pull survivors towards us!"[/color] she roared as she fired through a window, accidentally hitting the flat-screen TV.