[center][color=black][b][u]6:41 AM; February 24th, 2026 David's Apartment; Gotham City, New Jersey[/u] [i]'Home sweet home. Seems like it's been forever since I've been here.'[/i][/b][/color] [color=2E2C2C]"Indeed, it does seem like a while since he's been here. Must be an effect of the constant coming and going between his memories."[/color][/center]David climbed through his window in a less than agile fashion, landing flat on his ass and taking a moment to breathe. Max trotted up to him, the dog staring at his owner inquisitively, as if questioning the cheap clothes he was wearing. [color=black][b]"Yeah, sorry Max, was a pretty crazy night."[/b][/color] He pulled himself up and pet the dog, before taking off his helmet and removing the raggedy clothing he took from a back alley on the way home. [color=black][b]"You hungry, buddy? I'll get ya some food."[/b][/color] David went into his apartment's kitchenette, pulling out Max's dog food and pouring some of it into the bowl. The dog quickly scrambled into the kitchen at the sound of food being poured into his bowl, and began to munch greedily on the kibble. Dave chuckled at the dog's antics. [color=black][b]"Yeah, don't starve yourself or anything. Fatass."[/b][/color] He headed back into the living room, collapsing onto the couch and sighing. He needed some rest. He didn't have work today, thank God, so it was fine if he slept in for a while. Taking a deep breath, David closed his eyes, and fell into sleep. [center][color=black][u][b]November 20th, 2021; 12:46 AM Abandoned Warehouse, Warehouse District; Gotham City, New Jersey[/b][/u] [b][i]'I'm going to die... I'm going to die... This can't be happening, it [u]can't![/u]'[/i][/b][/color] [color=2E2C2C]"The nightmare that he's having is... Not for the faint of heart. Those who can't handle it should leave the room."[/color][/center]It was going so well. Blackstar had taken his suit just hours before in order to head after Anarkee's goons by himself, confident that he could take them down. He had just beaten four of the five when he heard a gunshot, followed by a searing pain in his side. Then he collapsed, vision fading into black. The last thing he felt was being lifted off the floor and thrown over someone's shoulder. Which leads to now, his costume torn to shreds, his helmet carelessly thrown aside when Anarkee had first started torturing him, and his damaged voice modulator heavily distorting his gasps and grunts of pain. Anarkee had started with her 'razor gloves', leading to the torn costume, and was about to do [i]much[/i] worse to him. It was going [i]so well[/i]! Anarkee had begun building her small gang quite by accident, a few disenfranchised youths looking for a cause and a few packs of white face paint had led to a positively booming success! A group of anarchists under her lead painting the town red with their passion, sometimes literally! There were very few rules for the Angels, Anarkee didn't like rules very much. But there was one: Don't make Anarkee angry. She'd had to teach a lesson to a few young upstarts about that one, but everyone mostly fell in line now, and some even went out of their way to make her happy. Like drawing Blackstar, AKA David Kasimir, Grim's young ward off by himself. So focused on taking out her little minions, he didn't even notice the trap! Anarkee would have preferred Grim, of course. But young David was a good consolation prize... Anarkee tapped her fingers together, shivering at the sounds of the metal fingertips rapping off of each other. [color=9e0b0f]"Now now, don't give up on me yet, Blackstar!"[/color] She said cheerfully, stepping behind the chair he was bound in and beginning to undo his voice modulator. [color=9e0b0f]"We're only just getting started, and I haven't even begun to discover who's the mask and who's real yet!"[/color] Anarkee chuckled and yanked off the voice box with a swift motion, digging her razor sharp fingers into David's shoulder. [color=9e0b0f]"Before we begin in earnest though, I wonder... What has Grim told you about me? And not just the bloodied angel you have the honor of interacting with today, but the woman behind the paint. Has your mother shared that story with you?"[/color] The eldest of the Kasimir brothers struggled in his bonds as Anarkee began to undo his voice modulator. He turned his head to look at her, and spat at her, the loogie landing on her cheek. [color=black][b]"I don't give a good [i]fuck[/i] who you were, all I know is that now you're a fucking pyschopath,"[/b][/color] the young vigilante said defiantly, despite the immense pain he was in. [color=black][b]"And when Grim and Watchdog get here? We're gonna kick your ass to [i]Kingdom fucking COME![/i]"[/b][/color] Anarkee barely blinked when Blackstar turned on her, smiling slightly as he yelled and spat, even as her own face became the target. She reached up and wiped the offending insult off her cheek, being careful not to cut herself. Then Anarkee leaned down and ruffled David's hair forcefully, grinding the loogie into his hair and digging her sharp-tipped gloves into his scalp. [color=9e0b0f]"Such fire. Such [i]passion[/i]. You could have made a good Angel. But then, you got that from mommy dearest, didn't you?"[/color] Anarkee stepped around Blackstar, dragging her hand along his chest as she went, leaving deep gashes along his already tattered costume and into his flesh. [color=9e0b0f]"I don't normally monologue about my past, Davey."[/color] She explained with a grin. [color=9e0b0f]"But for you, I'll make an exception. Oh, and don't worry about us being interrupted, I've already taken care of your trackers. It's just us." "Many years ago, before you were even a glimmer in your dead parents eyes, there was a boy. A boy very much like you, David."[/color] Anarkee said, flicking her foot and extending the embedded knife in her boot. [color=9e0b0f]"He had a rough childhood. Too many expectations, not enough opportunities. Society passed him by. And then he got hurt bad, and the doctors had to take his arm."[/color] She murmured darkly before turning and digging her razors into David's bicep. [color=9e0b0f]"Right about here. Imagine that, being a twelve year old with an amputated arm. That's expensive, you know. And our great country made sure his parents never forgot it. His mother worked herself to death, and his father went soon after out of grief."[/color] She growled, leaning in and pressing a sharp finger into Blackstar's chest, near his heart. [color=9e0b0f]"And now, he was almost completely alone. You know how that feels, don't you? Well, he got lucky, just like you did, little Kasimir. He had his own Kasimir, a rich young girl with fiery hair and a fieryier personality. And he found a brother, a beast of a boy who wouldn't ever let life knock him or his family down. And he found an idol. A dark specter of justice, the Grim Guardian of Gotham. And he wanted to do what Grim did. Make the city safe. So he put on a mask. Found some scum. And was found dead and bloated in the harbor a week later."[/color] Anarkee straightened up and kicked at Blackstar's shins harshly, snarling at him as she fought to keep his attention. [color=9e0b0f]"And Grim did [i]nothing[/i] to stop him! [i]Nothing[/i] to help! Zoey didn't even [i]try[/i] to talk him out of it!"[/color] She screamed into the echoing warehouse before leaning down and grabbing David's chin. [color=9e0b0f]"And because of that, she took my baby brother from me, David. Did she ever tell you that?"[/color] David could do nothing but listen as Anarkee monologued on about her tragic past, occasionally giving him more wounds which he tried his best to ignore. Though he didn't show it on the outside, inside David was conflicted; his own mother didn't even try helping whoever it was Anarkee was talking about, her brother it seemed, and of course having a brother of his own made him a bit sympathetic for her. [color=black][i][b]'... What the fuck am I thinking?'[/b][/i][/color] The boy cleared his thoughts, reminding himself that this was a [i]very[/i] dangerous woman who, if Zoey and Malcolm didn't arrive quickly, would [i]kill him.[/i] He shouldn't feel a damn bit of sympathy for her. She had dug her grave. He was going to make sure that she was the one who ended up in it, no matter what. By the time she had finished her story, however, leaning in so that she was only a few inches away from his face and placing a gloved hand on his chin, David had given up hope that Zoey and Malcolm were coming. He knew he would die here. He had never been scared of dying... At least, he thought so. But staring death in the face right now, he could barely hold it together... He was going to die. He was going to [i]die.[/i] [i]But he'd be [b]damned[/b] if he would die without putting up a fight.[/i] David gave a small chuckle. [color=black][b]"... Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"[/b][/color] he asked, before ramming his head into her nose. Anarkee reared back, pain blossoming in her face as her nose broke with a sickening crunch. She stepped back and groaned for a moment before steeling herself and shrugging off the pain. She was no mere sheep on the street, she was stronger and better. Blinking through her stinging eyes, Anarkee grinned at Blackstar, feeling the blood coming from her nose. [color=9e0b0f]"Oh, I [i]like[/i] you!"[/color] She said with a throaty chuckle. [color=9e0b0f]"Just for that, you get a chance. One shot."[/color] Anarkee pointed a clawed finger at Blackstar and felt her metahuman powers activate. She could feel his steely resolve, fear tempered by rage and a deep desire to turn the table and do her harm. Anarkee slowly closed her fist and channeled a feeling of neutrality towards him, ideally allowing for instinct and ego to take over for just a moment... [color=9e0b0f]"Answer wisely, little firecracker. No going back after this one. How does the position of AnarchAngel sound?"[/color] For some reason, David felt... Calmed. Gone was the anger, the resolution to stick to his guns, the fear. Now he just felt like there was nothing to worry about. He was just David in that moment. She asked him a question. He responded in a monotone voice, [color=black][b]"If I have to be perfectly honest, then you can take your offer and shove it up your diseased twat. I don't care if I have to fight through the depths of Hell. I will make sure that you die in the most painful way I can imagine."[/b][/color] With those words, his fate was sealed. Shaking her head, Anarkee strolled leisurely around David, leaning over to spit out a mouthfull of blood. Once she was behind him, she reached out to the other object in the room, the head of the large hammer scraping on the ground as she hefted it over shoulder. Anarkee let her emotional manipulation on Blackstar fall away as she toyed with the toggles on the hammers grip. [color=9e0b0f]"That's a damn shame, you know? We could have started some beautiful fires. Oh well. I'll make it quick for your sake."[/color] She said before flicking a switch. The canisters on the end of the hammer roared and burst into flame, and Anarkee swung the rocket-propelled hammer through the air, the arc terminating perfectly in David Kasimir's brain. David always heard people say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. That's a load of sh ... [i]t h i s i s i t[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"... His vitals... They're dropping! Shit! This is bad!"[/color] [i]t h e e n d[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"Get some adrenaline, quick, before his heart stops!"[/color] [i]g o t o t h e l i g h t[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"You son of a bitch! You're not dying on us until you give us what we want!"[/color] [i]g o t o t h e l i g h t d a v i d[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"The numbers, David! What do the numbers mean?!"[/color] [i]e m b r a c e t h e v o i d[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"GET THE FUCKING ADRENALINE!"[/color] [i]t h e r e ' s n o c o m i n g b a c k[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"It's here! I have it!"[/color] [i]n o c o m i n g b a c k[/i] [color=2E2C2C]"We're not done yet, Kasimir!"[/color] [b]Open your eyes.[/b] [center][b][u]December 21st, 2021; 12:04 PM Lazarus Pits, Base of the League of Assassins; Deep Within The Tibetan Mountains[/u][/b] [color=2E2C2C]"... Close call there. He's stabilizing now."[/color][/center]The boy rose from the pits, desperate for a breath. He felt around his body for wounds, finding nothing. He felt his head. Perfectly intact. He looked at his hands. Smooth, without a callous on them. The boy looked around, examining the pool of green liquid he was in. Judging by his surroundings, he was in a cave of some sort. [b]"Where... Am I?"[/b] He didn't know where he was. He didn't know who he was. He only knew that he felt an unconstrained feeling of [i]rage[/i], deep within him... Why? Why was he so angry? What was he angry at? He was so confused. He just wanted to go home. Wherever that was. [color=teal][b]"David Kasimir!"[/b][/color] He heard the voice of a man above him. He looked up, feeling a sense of familiarity with the name, and saw an older man with a goatee and greying hair, staring down at him with intense eyes from a platform overlooking the pit. [color=teal][b]"Do you seek vengeance against she who has wronged you?"[/b][/color] he asked. [b]"W-what?"[/b] David stuttered, looking into the man's eyes. The man stared back. It all came back to David. He blinked. [color=black][b]"... Yeah. I [i]really[/i] do."[/b][/color] [center][color=black][b][u]8:53 PM; February 24th, 2026 David's Apartment; Gotham City, New Jersey[/u] [i]'Nightmares are getting more intense. Feels like I almost died... Again.'[/i][/b][/color][/center] David woke up with a start, scanning the room over for any threats and instinctively reaching for the pistol he kept hidden under the couch cushions. After a moment, he realized where he was, taking in a deep breath. He noticed Max sitting and staring at him a few feet away, looking almost worried. The dog walked over to him, putting a paw on his owner's stomach. [color=black][b]"Hey, buddy... It's okay. I'm okay."[/b][/color] David scratched the dog behind the ear, ducking his head and sighing. After a moment, David muttered to himself, [color=black][b]"I need a drink... A [i]strong[/i] drink."[/b][/color] He looked at Max, whose worried expression morphed into the trademark Kasimir brow. That firm, disapproving brow. David rolled his eyes. [color=black][b]"Don't you fucking judge me, dog."[/b][/color] David sat up, heading into his bedroom to get dressed, before stepping back out. He hadn't headed to Siobhan's bar yet, despite having been welcomed there after their meeting a few weeks back... With a nod, he headed out the door, but not before filling Max's bowl. Let's just hope Siobhan wouldn't water down his drinks.