[center][color=black][b][u]10:35 PM; January 1st, 2026
The Anubis; Gotham City, New Jersey[/u]
[i]'I'd say they should burn this place to the ground, but that's already happened. It just came back worse.'[/i][/b][/color]
[color=2E2C2C]"313. David Kasimir. Originally named David O'Rinn. Known to some by the alias David DeWitt. We need to know about the numbers."[/color][/center]The Anubis was an Egyptian themed nightclub, tucked deep within a borough of Gotham that housed most of the city's 18-30 demographic - and, as it turned out, a large amount of Angels. The club, in fact, was a popular spot for them. David figured that a BDSM club or some other wacky joint would be more their speed. No accounting for taste, apparently.

The violet neon sign lit up the sky, a beacon shining its light, guiding him towards the club. David came to a stop in front of the Anubis, taking off his helmet and staring at the brick facade. Most of the buildings in the borough were made of brick, after the fire that destroyed most of the wooden buildings in old Robinsville two decades or so back. The place was still called Robinsville officially, but Gothamites liked to refer to it by a more sardonic name: Burnside.

David got into line, waiting around ten minutes or so. Once he reached the bouncer, he showed the man his ID (a fake), which the bouncer glanced at and grunted, before waving him along. Slipping the plastic card back into his wallet, the young man raised an eyebrow. Security sure wasn't tight, which meant that, hopefully, this mission would go smoothly. He didn't need to get into a shootout at a public venue. He pushed the door open.

[url=https://image.rush49.com/rush49/images/House-of-Pharaoh-730x1383250729website.jpg]The club[/url] was... Gaudy, to say the least. Between the purple neon lights, Egyptian-style decor, and blaring techno music, it amazed David that this many people came here. He could barely stand it. But the crowd shimmying about on the dance floor, or gathered around the bar, or seated at tables, spoke highly of the club's popularity, if not its class. There were quite a few Angels around, a dozen if not more. All recognizable by their hair dyed in ridiculously bright colors, and the clothing patches (or, in some cases, tattoos) of bloody angel wings they had. The higher ranking ones wore suit jackets on top of it all.

Just being in the same room as so many of these bastards made the weight the pistol in his jacket held seem that much heavier, but he'd need to set those feelings aside for now. He had a job to do. Sauntering up to the bar, he took note of one particular Angel in a suit jacket who was eyeing a man at the end of the bar, clear lust in the anarchist's eyes. Too shy to approach an object of interest, despite the Angels' brazen displays of insanity. Kind of adorable really. Dave had to remind himself that this was the enemy for a minute, before he approached.

As David approached, he cast a glance at the television above the bar, displaying an episode of Power Hour with Cassandra McKenzie.

[color=red][b][i]'Don't get distracted Dave.'[/i][/b][/color]

David shook his head slightly, refocusing his attention on the Angel. [color=black][b]"Hey,"[/b][/color] Dave said, sliding up and leaning against the bar behind the Angel.

The Angel turned around, surprise on his face. [b]"Oh, uh, hey."[/b]

[color=black][b]"Care if I buy you a drink?"[/b][/color] Dave put on a grin, nodding his head in the direction of the bartender.

[b]"Sure thing."[/b]

Dave whistled to the bartender, holding up two fingers and saying [color=black][b]"two beers, please."[/b][/color] The bartender grabbed two bottles of beer and set them down, whilst Dave pulled out his wallet and dug out a twenty. [color=black][b]"Keep 'em coming."[/b][/color] The bartender nodded, going off to serve another patron.

The Angel grabbed his beer, as did Dave. [color=black][b]"So. What's your name?"[/b][/color]

After a swig from his beer, the Angel's confidence seemed to boost a little. [b]"Bobby. What's yours, stranger?"[/b]

[color=black][b]"Jack. But you can call me whatever you want."[/b][/color]

Dear God, that was lame. But dear God, it actually worked, if Bobby's small smile turning into a smoldering grin indicated anything. [b]"Oh?"[/b]

In response, Dave shot Bobby a grin and a wink, nodding.

The flirtation continued after that, fueled by the increasing intoxication of both. Or at least, the increasing intoxication of the gangster; David took care to make it seem like he was drinking more than he really was. By the end of it, he was probably on his second or third bottle, while Bobby had drank upwards of nine. The young vigilante was a bit tipsy, but compared to the Angel, he was sober as a preacher.

With each drink Bobby was gaining more confidence, his initial attraction to the other man at the end of the bar long forgotten. He was growing bolder; what started as a few instances where he touched Dave's hand or leg became practically groping the other man. Dave found it a little creepy and, coming from him, that was saying something. He couldn't wait to be over with this.

[b]"What say you and I head somewhere a little more... Private?"[/b]

This was it. Now or never. David took in a slow and steady breath, closing his eyes.

Hood opened them, mouth twisting into a smirk.

[color=red][b]"Let's."[/b][/color]

The two men stood up and began to make their way to the bathrooms. Heading in and locking the door behind them, Hood was ready to take out his gun when Bobby gripped him by the shoulders and violently pressed his mouth onto Hood's, tongue attempting to part the other man's lips. Hood's eyes widened in shock, and he pushed the gangster away.

Bobby looked confused. [b]"What? I figured you'd like it rough."[/b]

[color=red][b]"Buddy,"[/b][/color] Hood said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. [color=red][b]"You have no idea just [i]how[/i] rough I can be."[/b][/color]

The vigilante then grabbed the other man, one hand on his arm and the other on the side of his head. He slammed Bobby's head into the sink, putting a crack in the porcelain, and twisted his arm around behind his back. Bobby gave a grunt in pain. [b]"H-holy shit! You really [i]are[/i] rough! ... Do it again!"[/b]

Hood complied, hard enough to break the sink, bits of porcelain cutting Bobby's face open. A few shards were stuck in it. Bobby hissed in pain, but let out a groan of pleasure, rather than pain. [b]"[i]Ohhhhh[/i], yeah! Again! I'm loving this!"[/b]

[color=red][b]"Jesus fucking Christ, what do you think this [i]is[/i]?"[/b][/color]

[b]"Foreplay?"[/b]

Hood's eyes widened in shock, and his face twisted into a sneer. [color=red][b]"No, you kinky [i]fuck[/i], I'm torturing you!"[/b][/color]

[i][b]"Nice!"[/b][/i]

[color=red][b]"What the [i]fuck[/i]?! ... Look, just- just tell me where I can find Anarkee!"[/b][/color]

Bobby laughed. [b]"Or you'll what? Bash my face against the sink? Make me [i]hurt[/i]?"[/b]

Hood's disgusted sneer turned into an angry snarl. He raised a leg and stomped at a downward left angle on the Angel's right leg. Bobby let out a scream of pain, which didn't pierce the booming bass of the night club's music. Unlike before, Bobby didn't ask for anymore or grunt in pleasure. Instead he whimpered painfully, jerking his head around to try and catch a look at the damage done to his leg.

[b]"What the fuck!?"[/b]

[color=red][b]"Oh, so now [i]you're[/i] confused?"[/b][/color]

[b]"Y-you just broke my leg!"[/b]

[color=red][b]"No [i]fuckin'[/i] shit, Sherlock! And I'll break a lot more bones if you don't tell me where I can find Anarkee!"[/b][/color]

[b]"She... The boss lady doesn't tell us where she's staying, I swear! I-I can give you the names of a few of our bases! Places we meet!"[/b]

[color=red][b]"Keep going."[/b][/color]

The Angel spouted off the names of a few places, trying desperately to save his skin. Little did he know, he was dead as soon as Hood walked in the door and set his sights on him; poor bastard just didn't realize it yet.

[b]"P-please, just leave me alone!"[/b]

[color=red][b]"Don't worry. You won't see me again."[/b][/color] Hood let Bobby out of the hold, the gangster falling to the ground and looking at his right leg, twisted in all sorts of horrible angles.

[b]"Oh, thank Go-" [i]*BANG!*[/i][/b]

Hood closed his eyes and released his finger from the trigger, taking a quick breath which David released.

David slipped the pistol back into the holster under his jacket, looking down at the face of what was once Bobby, watching the blood and tiny bits of brain matter leak out of a bullet hole in the side of his head. David had to swallow back the bile that threatened to climb out of his throat, shaking his head in disgust. The poor guy just wanted to have some fun, and instead he got killed.

[color=red][b][i]'Don't think like that. They're the enemy.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'You're really annoying, you know that?'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Annoying people is what I do best.'[/i][/b][/color]

David pinched his nose, ignoring Hood's comments for now. He pushed open the door, leaving the corpse behind for the next poor bastard who needed to take a piss to find... And as he did, came face to face with another Angel. She peered over his shoulder and noticed the corpse, eyes widening.

[color=red][b][i]'You gonna let Jesus take the wheel, pal?'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'Shut up, you insane [u]fuck[/u]. I've got this.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Geez, no need to be so mean.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'It's what I do best.'[/i][/b][/color]

David ignored the ever present nuisance in his brain, instead focusing on the Angel in front of him, already reaching for a gun in her belt.

[b]"Wh-"[/b]

He always had this strange... Ability, since he was reborn from the Pits. This ability to just...

[i]Do.[/i]

He pulled the pistol from under his jacket.

[b]"-at t-"[/b]

He fired off a few rounds at the lights, before rushing towards the Angel.

[b]"-he fu-"[/b]

He slammed the barrel across her face, then brought her head down into his knee, sending her out cold.

Dave blinked and everything was back.

The lights were out. The people were shouting. The music was blaring.

He holstered the pistol, and worked his way through the now darkened room. Slowly, so he didn't bump into anyone. There didn't need to be a fight.

With his luck, he was surprised it took this long to bump into someone.

[b]"Hey, watch it!"[/b] the man said. Dave could see the dyed hair and the jacket patch with what little light was in the room.

[color=black][b]"Oh. Sorry."[/b][/color]

Dave tensed, waiting for the fight that would come...

[b]"... Just don't do it again, guy."[/b]

He nodded, and went on his way.

Exiting the Anubis Night Club, Dave released a breath of relief, basking in the cold air of the outside world. Hopping onto his motorcycle, he slid his helmet on, and started it up, before beginning to make the drive back to his apartment.

[color=red][b][i]'I could have handled it, y'know.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'I know. But maybe I didn't feel like adding to an already unbelievably high body count.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'God, you're boring. Everything with you is "no unnecessary killing" and "I've got this" and blah blah blah. I get it. You don't like me. But after nearly seven years I'm amazed you're not used to me.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'I [u]am[/u] used to you and your butting in. I'm just sick of it. You've done enough "helping".'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Sure, Dave.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'Why won't you just [u]go away[/u]?'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Oh, David... I want you to know one thing... [u]I will never leave[/u].'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'Whatever you say, asshole.'[/i][/b][/color]

The rest of the drive was spent in silence.