CROSSBOW SHOOTER REMAINS AT LARGE AS POLICE STAND BY
By Viola Lee (via the El Asilo Gazette)
On August 30th, 2017, noted hero Star Sentinel is shot with two crossbow bolts- one through the shoulder, another in the side. He survives, living to tell the tale. On September 10th, Lady Aurum is not so lucky. A B-list villain with a focus on burglary, she is sent to the hospital with a crossbow bolt inches from her gut, and apprehended by police.
On September 22nd, Cedric Grayson, staff writer for this very publication, is shot in an attempt to reach the culprit for comment. And suddenly, what was once just a story becomes very, very personal.
Sentinel, Aurum, and Grayson were hardly the first or only people to fall victim to the masked hunter who seems to call himself "Orion." Morgue records and whispered testimonials paint a dark swath of red across the past few months. The targets are diverse: heroes, villains, even some ordinary citizens. The only unifying trait is that they all share in El Asilo's limelight. Those who survive remember their attacker only in flashes and fuzzy memories. Those who don't can no longer tell us what they saw.
What remains constant across testimonials, however, paints a vague picture of the newest threat to stalk El Asilo's shadowed backstreets and alleyways. Orion is, most likely, male. His costume glows green, with a large triangle as its focal point, and a large pair of antlers. He carries a crossbow, and a small array of weapons. His infamous crossbow is spring-mounted to his wrist.
"He's a d*ck," said Robyn Hood, fellow archer and friend of one of Orion's victims. "You know it, I know it, every other cape - hero or villain - knows it. The guy'll shoot anybody he wants, and anybody who gets in the way of him shooting who he wants. If you see a cape with bright neon green lights instead of a mask, just shoot first and ask questions later. Unless I beat you to it, or someone else."
Hood's opinion is hardly an uncommon one. The general advice passed around heroic circles seems to be "stay away or take him down." But surely, if this villain is so prolific, so vicious, then it's most advisable to stand back and let law enforcement handle the situation?
"Rest assured that the El Asilo Police Department takes every complaint seriously, and is pursuing your tip at its next available opportunity," wrote the office of the Chief of Police, in a form letter response to my emails regarding this article. Further attempts to reach her for direct comment were resoundingly unsuccessful.
As such, the city once again finds itself facing a deadly threat without so much as a kind word of support from El Asilo's Finest. Be forewarned, though, that Orion's attacks have not and will not be limited to capes. Anyone who faces public scrutiny is a target. Any voice too loud, any presence too tall. We are all at risk.
"A lot of the time, when you're in a situation where the police won't do anything," Star Sentinel said, when asked for comment, "you'll find brave people who'll do the job for them. And that's just kinda how it has to be." (VIOLA LEE is a pseudonym. Her true purpose is sinister.)
