[center][color=black][b][u]11:02 PM; January 1st, 2026
Upper East Side; Gotham City, New Jersey
[i]'Never lose control. Never lose control. Never lose control.'[/i][/u][/b][/color]
[color=2E2C2C]"Listen to me, Kasimir! We need to know about the numbers! What do they mean?"[/color][/center]David kept himself focused on the road ahead, constantly listening to Hood's chattering on about how easy it would be to run someone over, or to blow up that building over there, or even to just hop off the bike and tear a person in half. [color=red][b][i]'Come on, Dave, we're strong enough to do it...'[/i][/b][/color] The whispers went unanswered, and David closed his eyes in order to clear his mind.

And then Dave took a wrench to the chest.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu1c3ryidNQ](Recommended Listening)[/url]

Falling off his bike, which went skidding into a nearby laundromat, David groaned in pain. He clutched at his chest; a rib was probably cracked, if not broken. He pulled himself to his feet, grunting in pain, and looking around for whoever the hell just threw that at him so he could... He could... [color=red][b][i]'So you can what, Dave?'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]'Shut up.'[/i][/b][/color]

He looked around for the person who threw the wrench at him, fighting back a snarl. And it was then that he noticed the people fighting in the streets. Angels against the civilians of Gotham. The Angels were winning. As his eyes scanned over the scene, David turned to a nearby store which had a mural painted on it. The mural presented the woman who made him come back to Gotham in the first place...

[b][i][color=9e0b0f]Anarkee.[/color][/i][/b]

David's eyes widened. Within his mind, Hood screamed bloody rage, calling for her death.

[color=red][b][i]'DAVID'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'L҉҉̡E̢͟͠͝T̵̴̢́ ̨͘͢M̸̀̕͏E͏͘͢͡ ̨҉̀͘Ó̸̵̸́Ù̀͘͝T̛̀̀'[/i][/b][/color]

A gunshot echoed throughout the streets, hitting the forehead of the mural dead center. Red Hood grinned, eyes brimming with barely contained rage.

[color=red][b]"Come one, come all! Fill your guts with my lead!"[/b][/color] Twisting around, Hood fired a round off at an Angel who was crouched on top of a civilian and beating his head in with a plank of wood. The Angel collapsed on top of his victim, and Hood holstered his pistol and rushed into the fray. Grabbing onto a nearby Angel, he stared into the man's eyes, before sticking his thumbs into them and slowly peeling the man's head in two. Mentally, Hood mused that he felt sorry for the poor bastard who'd have to clean this up. Because things were about to get [i]messy[/i].

Grabbing the baseball bat from the Angel's hands, Hood ran forward and swung it upwards into another's crotch, breaking the wooden bat in half in the process. Hood took a look at the sharp, splintered wood, before burying it into the Angel's throat. Tossing the dying gangster away carelessly, he pulled his gun back out, and took aim at an Angel.

[b][i]*BLAM!*[/i][/b]

The round flew true, nailing the Angel in the heart. Hearing running footsteps behind him, Hood spun around and fired off a few rounds, the gang member falling just short of her target. Hood kind of wished he had gotten Dave to bring their whole arsenal along with them, but [i]maaaaaybe[/i] it was a little suspicious. Ah, fuck him, Hood'll just have to bring all the guns along next time.

Gunning down a few more Angels, Hood began to reload, and shouted to the civilians who weren't currently being beaten to death: [color=red][b]"Hey, you guys might want to leave! It's about to get [i]really[/i] nasty!"[/b][/color] Thankfully, they took heed, and the civvies began to ran. The Angels finished up with their victims, and began to surround him. Hood gave a mockingly impressed whistle. [color=red][b]"Phew. There's, what, thirty of you guys? Man, this isn't even fair. You'd need thirty more to pose any real threat."[/b][/color]

That did it.

The Angels rushed forward from all sides, giving a cry of rage.

[b]"AN-"[/b]

[color=red][b][i]'Oh man... This is gonna be [u]sick[/u].'[/i][/b][/color]

Hood did a quick scan. Ten, coming in from all directions. The pistol only had an 8 round capacity. He really should've sprung for the Glock, or even the Five-SeveN. Well, he'd have to make due.

Holding the pistol outward, Hood began to spin and fire.

[b]"-AR-"[/b]

He took down eight, before spinning around to face one of the two chargers left alive. He slammed the barrel of the pistol into the man's eyesocket, and used it as a sort of handle to swing him around into the other one.

[b]"-CHY! ... Wait, huh?"[/b]

The battle cry of the Angels came to a halt as they noticed that ten of their numbers had been taken out in a matter of seconds.

Hood cracked his neck, giving a small chuckle. [color=red][b]"Alright... [i]Who's next?[/i]"[/b][/color]

The Angels' response to that was to run away. Hood decided to give them a five second head start.

[center]=====
[color=black][b][u]4:56 AM; January 2nd, 2026
David's Apartment; Gotham City, New Jersey[/u][/b][/color][/center]

David awoke with a start. The lights in his home were off, and he couldn't see anything. Pulling himself up, he winced slightly at the sharp pain in his chest, before taking a deep breath and releasing it. He wandered over to the light switch to flick it on, only to find that it already was flipped on. [color=black][b]"Bulb must need replacing... Shit..."[/b][/color] He wandered into the bathroom and flipped the light on in there. Nothing.

[color=black][b]"What the...?"[/b][/color] He looked down, finding himself to be in full clothing... And soaked in blood. [color=black][b]"... Oh fuck."[/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Wew, man, I had the time of my life earlier. You should've seen it.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b]"What the fuck did you do?"[/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'There were bad guys. I took care of them.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b]"What... What is [i]wrong[/i] with you!? You can't just kill people!"[/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'Uh, yeah, I can.'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b]"The next time this happens, I'll..."[/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'You'll what? Stop being a pussy and [u]actually[/u] kill yourself to stop me?'[/i][/b][/color]

[color=black][b][i]"Fuck. You."[/i][/b][/color]

[color=red][b][i]'You do that every night, buddy.'[/i][/b][/color]

Taking in a deep breath, David shook his head and got out of his clothes. Heading into the bathroom, he started up the tub and plugged it, before dropping the clothes in there and spraying some body wash into it. It wouldn't do much, but it'd be good enough. Once the power was back on, he'd have to do laundry.

He pinched his nose and sighed in frustration. [color=black][b]"... Fuck my life."[/b][/color]