Here comes a candle to light you to bed [semiopen]

[watsthename]

Who: Delirium, some very specific NPCS and a slew of other folks
Where: An apartment on the sketch side of town.
When: Directly following this.
Warnings: Violence, mind fuckery and rape.  Potentially triggering events within main post.
Summary:  Delirium asked the Network to kill a man for her.  This is why and this is how it happened.
Format: Main

Comments

Attempted Rescues

[watsthename]

[Where the heroes try to stop death.]

fhdjlksh I will put this here

[deadredbird]

Jason felt strange.

If he were following his own rules, he would stop and not do this, because he'd decided a long time ago that when he felt strange, he shouldn't... do things. Just in case. But it wasn't the same kind of strange. Still, if he were being cautious, if he were being safe — but fuck it. Fuck that. He felt good. And he had that address tucked inside his glove even though he'd memorized it already; you didn't just throw away paper that appeared out of nowhere.

This was good.

He knew he had to move fast and be unpredictable. Danny would probably expect him to use the motorcycle, so he used a car instead, a mundane as hell model — no points for style, but this wasn't about style.

It was easy for him to break into the house. Knife out, Jason listened as he moved through the darkened hallways.

[listen_bud]

Midway through his attempt at diffusing the situation with Delirium, and knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince her to stop, Pete swung his way through the city towards the soon-to-be-victim's location.

For Bruce, back in his lab, all he received was an urgent feed through his com that he needed Jason tracked yesterday, and knowing Bruce, he could do it, and he did.

For the first ten minutes or so, Pete's stomach refrained from dropping, seeing that little blip on his com sporadically, though constantly, moving; it meant he hadn't found him yet.

Then it stopped.

And that meant Peter had no time to make a mistake. Within another minute or two, he was on the roof and his location out to Danny, though he didn't wait to go in himself.

He hoped that he wasn't too late.

[deadredbird]

The duct tape would eventually have to go — Delirium had said that he should die screaming, after all — but for now, it should keep the man quiet if he happened to wake up from the nerve strike. The neighbors might report aforementioned screaming, and that would definitely cut their session short, so it would be better to leave the apartment altogether and head to one of his safehouses. Jason took the stairs with the man slung over his shoulder, leaving the apartment door open behind him. Depositing him in the trunk of the car, he settled into the driver's seat and started the engine.

[listen_bud]

Blip...blip...blip...

The noise of Jason's marker beeped steadily on his com, but then...

blipblipblipblipblip...

He was moving. At the victim's apartment, Spider-Man found the door ajar and knew he was just moments too late. He heard the start of an engine, and made a beeline straight for the window. Strength and agility of a spider and all that, right?

He crashed through it with zero regard for himself, and how convenient that he would have zeroed right in on him? If Jason wasn't aware of Spider-Man's presence before, he sure was now, seeing as he just crashed down in crouched position on the hood, eye to eye with him at this very moment.

"Hey, hey, hey! Failure to maintain your lane, buddy! I think we should exchange insurance information..."

[iron_fister]

Danny had left his location directly after receiving the address. He didn't need directions; being a New York-based billionaire had its perks. Granted, the City was a different version, but the streets were basically the same. Easily maneuverable, especially by rooftop.

Iron Fist arrived at the scene within minutes, only to see Jason get into the car and drive off. Then, cue Spider-Man jumping out a window none-too-gracefully on the hood of the car.

Which was just greatDanny made his way down to street-level, constantly planning what exactly to do. His first plan-a downward Iron Fist punch into the back of Jason's car, therefore causing it to stop-had to be scrapped on account of Spidey's position. If he did jump down on the back, then Spider-Man, who was positioned on the opposite end, would go flying. Almost like a catapault

[deadredbird]

Jason stared right into Spider-man's eyes (well, what he imagined were his eyes, fucking masks) and slammed on the brakes as he jerked the wheel around, sending the back of the car spinning to the front, several feet short of where Danny stood. Regardless of whether that dislodged Spider-man or not, he took off in the direction opposite of Danny. It was going to be difficult seeing if Spider-man was still playing hood ornament.

[listen_bud]

"Dude, I can stick to walls. What are you DOING?"

Very simply, Pete locked his wrists towards the windshield and let loose a stream of webbing that completely masked Jason's visibility, then leaped to the hood and started laying into it.

[iron_fister]

Jason wasn't getting away that easily. Jumping onto a nearby parked car, Danny quickly jumped up, grabbed the lamppost, and swung himself onto the top of the car. He landed gracefully, crouched down above the driver's seat as he punched into the roof, bending it back.

"Not being very bright, unfortunately." Danny looked calmly at Jason, fists still glowing with chi. "Pull over, Jason."

[deadredbird]

Jason's sigh was audible. Then, apropos of nothing, he buckled up. Always follow the law, kids, even when you're off to kill a mentally ill rapist?

The sharp — really sharp — turn he took probably explained that. The car rolled over onto the roof and over the curb, knocking over a mailbox as traffic screeched to a halt. It completed its roll and landed on all four tires with a loose, heavy sound, rocking dangerously but narrowly avoiding rolling any more. Hopefully the guy in the trunk hadn't broken his neck. He just couldn't allow himself to be caught again.

[listen_bud]

UH OH. SPIDER-SENSE.

"DANNY! JUMP!" His warning came only moments before the roll and Spider-Man himself had already leaped to a wall reflexively, not entirely sure of the danger that was coming, only that it was.

Don't wanna be caught again? Don't try to kill people, guy. Spider-Man couldn't risk him endangering other lives either, so he nimbly leaped in front of the car before it could take off again and with, full force, slammed the full length of his fist and forearm down onto the hood, crushing the engine block.

"You bad guys just don't know how to drive, do you? I'm afraid I'm gonna have to revoke your license, Red Mask."

[watsthename]

There's something reaching inside of you, Peter. A sad little voice that sounds like a bell and breaking glass and a discordant note all at once. I warned you.

And then it starts.

Everything... So much sharper and more in focus. The way the light from the street light reflects off broken glass and if he looked through it properly maybe he would be able to see straight through the whole world and the soft sounds, the songs, soft soft soft songs coming up from the whirl of the tires on pavement and the colors, always the colors. The discordant sounds that seemed to come from the flash of headlights and the brilliant flurry of brightly colored butterflies that hid a slender pair of white white hands pulling him out of the path of the cars.

[listen_bud]

Pete opens the car door, and as his hand reaches towards Jason, he feels a slight buzz. His Spider-Sense, like an alarm, usually buzzing, starts to come in strange tingles and waves at the base of his skull and for a moment he gets dizzy and stumbles backward. Behind his mask, his pupils dilate and his breathing becomes erratic and then.... he just kind of wanders silently past Danny.

In his mind he imagines himself maybe saying something? But whatever it is only comes out as a whispered mumble. For a moment he tries, tries to fight whatever this is, but it's like staring down a tidal wave, and it quickly pulls him under.

[watsthename]

She doesn't like it... She doesn't... Doesn't do this sort of thing. Not here. Not to him. He was... He had been as good as Family. Maybe not the same because he didn't understand, but that had made it all right sometimes when things really weren't all right.

The butterflies try to solidify in front of him as she takes his hand, a wispy little form tugging him away from the danger. From the monster in the car trunk. Setting him in a cloud of lizards singing softly to the little silver fish they rode on and spiraling colors with their own discordant notes.

"I'm sorry," she said, before turning to Danny, "I told you so."

[listen_bud]

"How can I show you?" That it's wrong? That this should be stopped? That violence only perpetuates itself. It's his last cognizant thought amidst the waves of color and sound and images that bombard him and swallow him.

He takes her hand eagerly, or what he imagines is her hand, and gives it a tiny squeeze. It's sad but kind, for her, for what she has to experience and what she feels she has to do, a small tug as though he should be leading her. Instead, he follows her and comes to sit on a bench far from where they are, just sitting and staring, all the while experiencing whatever it is she's showing him until she decides not to.

[iron_fister]

Flipping back off the car, Danny landed gracefully on the sidewalk. Standing up, he looks towards Spider-Man, about to thank him. The words never leave his mouth, too distracted by Del's sudden appearance and Spider-Man's almost trance-like state. Danny watches with a furrowed brow, momentarily forgetting about Jason. He steps towards Spidey in a vain attempt to pull him back, but Del's words make him step back. Something within him tells him that he cannot stop her; that she is stronger than anyone else he's encountered. And, looking at her, Danny isn't sure he wants to fight her. To hurt her.

So he doesn't.

Instead, he turns his attention back to Jason; back to the moment. He's less focused now, distracted by the confusion of what exactly just happened, but not distracted enough to let it stop him from achieving his task. He moves back towards Jason's car, and reaches out to grab Jason.