Pleading Cries of Mercy

"Teach me to feel another’s woe,  to hide the fault I see; that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me."

[themercyhunter-blog]

“I’m assuming that’s emphasis on the almost?” Clemence smirked. “And I’m sorry I don’t have the money to get a fancy-smancy suit with proper protection and a logo and everything. Seems like you’ll just have to make do with this.” Clemence couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

“Now, now, let’s not get carried away, I’m sure your eager to get those injuries checked. Hopefully they’re not as bad as I think they are.”

[hijackofgotham-blog]

”I don’t think the logo’s necessary, maybe just add some color. I feel like pastel tones would really bring out your eyes Batkid.” Tommy said with a smirk, giving the other man the most cynical look he could muster.

“If you wanted to get me by myself, all you had to do was ask.” Tommy said with a wink, stumbling over to the door. “Now, are you going to come and fix me up or should I lie down on the floor and bleed?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Ah, um,” Clemence cleared his throat, “Right, yes I’ll help you with the fixing and all.” He took a timid step forward and offered a hand to the man.

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Yeah, sure - wait what now?” 

Did she just say that or was this some mind trick that just spontaneously happened?

[arachneofgotham-blog]

“Nobody likes a man who doesn’t listen, love.”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. If what I heard was true, well, I don’t enjoy being made a possession. As you can imagine.”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Thank you,” Clemence said, smiling. He noticed her arm but refrained from hooking his own. Walking alongside her was enough.

“Oh, I’m Clemence, by the way.” 

[darling-sienna-whitley-blog]

“You’re most certainly welcome!” Sienna spoke, an enthusiastic smile painting her lips. When he rejected her offer, she shrugged and walked along with outskirts of Gotham towards the mall.

“Oh, what a lovely name! I’ve never heard anything like it!” she admired. “May I ask how old you are, Clemence?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Oh my, my age? But that’s top secret information!” Clemence joked, giving a faint chuckle.

“I’m around 24 year old. And yeah, I get the whole name thing a lot. At least with the whole, never heard it before. Though, you are one of the few who like it. Thank you for that. Your name is quite charming as well. It suits you.” Clemence followed along towards the mall. He thought a moment before inquiring, “and how about you? How old are you?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Whoa, tone it down a bit, if you don’t mind. You just seemed to be having some difficulty. Seeing as how my occupation is about helping people I’m just here to help a fellow citizen out. A citizen who seems to have caught a spare bruise or two.” Clemence, in full black and a mask, removed his hand from the man’s shoulder and held them up defensively.

“I’m only disturbing you out of the good nature of my heart.” Clemence gave a small smile that was meant to convey his helpful intentions. “You’re probably gonna want to have your injuries checked, or at least cleaned.”

[hijackofgotham-blog]

“Well, you might want to re-evaluate the outfit.” Tommy said with a smirk, “It kind of gives off the wrong impression.” Tommy said, looking the other guy up and down. Standing up straight, Tommy winced before going back to his former, hunched over, position.

“…and I am going to do just that, when I get to my apartment,” Tommy said in a sharp tone. “Which is right over there.” Tommy gestured to the back door of his apartment building.

“You know, I almost completed a first aid course once. Almost.” Tommy said with a smile.

[themercyhunter-blog]

“I’m assuming that’s emphasis on the almost?” Clemence smirked. “And I’m sorry I don’t have the money to get a fancy-smancy suit with proper protection and a logo and everything. Seems like you’ll just have to make do with this.” Clemence couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

“Now, now, let’s not get carried away, I’m sure your eager to get those injuries checked. Hopefully they’re not as bad as I think they are.”

[themercyhunter-blog]

Cold eyes stared at the two letters in hand. One; an invitation to the Gala, surprisingly enough. Two; a message from the Clown himself. The last sentence bore holes into Clemence’s eyes and scorched his head, burning a headache. Everything else felt cold, frozen cold.

How does he know?

The first warning was his shaking hand, the letter nearly falling out. Then the fingers slammed shut right before the blasting impact. Pain shot up his arm like bullets as the bones in the clenched fist cracked.

The wall wasn’t doing too bright either.

Clemence stayed stock still; let the muscles spasm from the pain, let the bones mend slowly and painfully. They merged together again and the pain evaporated soon after. The fist was removed carefully from the wall before it slammed into it again. And again, and again.

There was blood trickling down the cracked, broken wall. The vigilante's fist healed completely. He breathed in slowly, in and out, in and out.

Then cold eyes opened once again. There was a job to do.

[hijackofgotham-blog]

Staggering slightly, Tommy headed down the alley on uneven footing. He’d just broken up some sort of gang fight in the narrows, and the random thugs had managed to land quite a few hits on him. 

He let out a groan, and went to lean against the nearest wall. He looked down at his side and pulled up the side of his t-shirt, letting out a moan when he saw that bruises had already started to form on his ribcage.

“Damn.”

Moving away from the wall, he staggered forward, hoping he’d be able to make it to his apartment before he got himself into more trouble than he had already. Pulling a small syringe out of his bag, he stuck the needle in his side and pushed down hard. Immediately, the pain started to subside. He thanked god for the medical centre and their complete lack of security when it came to medical supplies.

Straightening up a little as he turned the corner onto the alleyway behind his apartment, he fumbled around trying to find his keys when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, his eyes widened when he saw who the hand belonged to.

“Seriously, what are you doing here?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Whoa, tone it down a bit, if you don’t mind. You just seemed to be having some difficulty. Seeing as how my occupation is about helping people I’m just here to help a fellow citizen out. A citizen who seems to have caught a spare bruise or two.” Clemence, in full black and a mask, removed his hand from the man’s shoulder and held them up defensively.

“I’m only disturbing you out of the good nature of my heart.” Clemence gave a small smile that was meant to convey his helpful intentions. “You’re probably gonna want to have your injuries checked, or at least cleaned.”

[arachneofgotham-blog]

“Aahh..You.”

“You.. I like you. I’m keeping you.”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Yeah, sure - wait what now?” 

Did she just say that or was this some mind trick that just spontaneously happened?

[gothamslittlevillain-blog]

themercyhunter

“Dear lord and saviour, neither. And what are you making? I’m crashing real soon, seriously, I can almost see light on the horizon. Or maybe that’s just me hallucinating.”

Placing together the final pieces of her sandwich, Bree went back into the living room and got comfortable on the couch. 

“Your loss.” Bree muttered and took a ravenous bite. She couldn’t remember the last time she had ate. 

Chewing thoughtfully, Bree reached her arm out for TV remote, only to sulk when it was too far away to grab without moving too much. Stuffing the rest of the sandwich in her mouth, Bree raised her hands towards the remote and concentrated, quickly feeling a familiar, hot rush burn through her veins. With the twitch of her fingers, grains of sand shot out, streamed across the table and wrapped themselves around the remote, successfully lifting in the air and passing it back to Bree. She gave a triumphant cheer and turned on the TV, leaving a trail of sand spread out on the floor. 

[themercyhunter-blog]

Dear Lord those where powers. Yep, simple powers of spontaneous sand creation. Wonderful. You know what? It really didn’t matter at this point. As long as she paid for food then Clemence would let the young girl hang around. Not that he really wanted to argue with her now that he knew she could probably clog up his pores with sand.

That didn’t sound like a great way to go.

“Alright, Bree, not to burst your bubble or anything but its time for everyone to go to bed and embrace all the accumulating problems in the morning. I’m sleeping on the couch, which you are currently sitting on, so your gonna have to move and preferable shut off the TV.”

[themercyhunter-blog]

A kind soul in this city? He must have won the lottery. “Nice to meet you Sienna, I’m Clemence. I’m trying to find directions to, well, the mall. I heard there was a sweet electronics store in there that didn’t have overpriced items everywhere the eye can see.” He flashed her a smile. She was surprisingly nice, nicer than anyone he had met so far in this city. “Lead the way, I suppose.”

[darling-sienna-whitley-blog]

Sienna’s eyes widened, sparkling with amusement. “No way! That’s where I’m going to! I know exactly where it is, don’t you worry!” Needless to say, the bubble blonde was rather excited to have a new shopping partner in her midst. “And you’re absolutely right - there is a nice electronic store there!” she exclaimed, then proceeded to hold out her arm so that he could hook his arm around if he pleased. “You’re in good hands! Trust me!”

[themercyhunter-blog]

"Thank you,” Clemence said, smiling. He noticed her arm but refrained from hooking his own. Walking alongside her was enough.

“Oh, I’m Clemence, by the way.” 

[themercyhunter-blog]

The streets bustled with life and animated personality. The days in Gotham were always crowded and full of noise. Clemence walked mindlessly through the bodies, bumping often with the odd shoulder or two.

He had no idea where he was. And the trillions of people around him weren’t helping with that fact. He was completely, hopelessly, lost. Great.

He had gone to the center looking at the different sports and leather clothes, whatever would make better night gear than simple black cloth. Then there was the whole deal with price… that was kinda the main reason he had nothing at hand at the moment. Things just happen to be insanely expensive when you need it.

Frustrated he stretched out his hand to the nearest figure, not caring who (not even looking at who, still glancing at the tall buildings for anything familiar), and tapped their shoulder. “Excuse me but I’m a bit lost - ok, a lot lost - can you help me?”

[detective-anthonyferrari-blog]

Tony was walking aimlessly around the neighborhood. He did that sometimes, avoiding both home and the office. Not that it was any better for him. To much time on his own made him more idle than anything. 

He almost missed the tap on his shoulder, his thick coat still being warn, not replaced by his lighter coat yet. Raising his eyebrow to the man he shrugged a little. It wasn’t that he was rude, he just honestly didn’t know. Tony wandered he didn’t know the streets well, just how to get back onto the subway.

“Probably, where do you need to go?” 

[themercyhunter-blog]

Relief flooded Clemence, ah someone willing to help!

“I’m trying to get to that popular cafe in the center. The problem is, I don’t know where the center is nor where I am right now.”

[gothamslittlevillain-blog]

themercyhunter

Clemence snorted. Boudoir, seriously? She was going to be sourly disappointed.

Vigilantism was not a well paying job, there existed no such room. Only messy, small everything. Unless of course he started picking up thugs’ wallets… hmm that was an idea. It was for the greater good anyways.

“I want the free food, stupid, and my annoying conscious won’t allow me to simply let a lady sleep on the couch.” He pushed passed her once arriving to the second floor and after fishing the keys out of his pocket he unlocked the door.

Snorting at his comment of her being a ‘lady’, she peaked over his shoulders to get a better look at the interior of the room.

It did happen to be quite small, and several folders and papers where scattered on the cracked wooding of the floor. Bree spotted the legendary couch to her right, which was a dark burgundy shade, placed in front of a surprisingly high tech TV. Finally stepping inside the apartment, the first place she walked over to was the kitchen. Gently plopping her bag on the floor, Bree looked around for the fridge until her eyes met with a dented, tiny, scrappy excuse for what she presumed must be it.

“This is a poor excuse for a fridge, Clemy. Not even I could fit in this… thing.” Opening up the rusted door, Bree picked up some scarce ingredients and threw them on the counter.

“Are you more of a mayo, mustard or ketchup kinda guy?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Dear lord and saviour, neither. And what are you making? I’m crashing real soon, seriously, I can almost see light on the horizon. Or maybe that’s just me hallucinating.”

[gothamslittlevillain-blog]

themercyhunter

“Idiot, it’s a single bed.” Clemence sighed, slowly pacing after her as she skipped happily towards the entrance. He really wasn’t feeling the energy.

He unlocked the entrance. “If you make breakfast on Monday then I’ll let you have the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Running up the stairs, Bree looked back at Clemence’s much slow figure and rolled her eyes. 

“Sorry, slowpoke. Monday Breakfast is a no-go. Besides, if it means that much to you, I can take the couch. Now hurry up and open the door; I wanna’ see my new boudoir!”

[themercyhunter-blog]

Clemence snorted. Boudoir, seriously? She was going to be sourly disappointed.

Vigilantism was not a well paying job, there existed no such room. Only messy, small everything. Unless of course he started picking up thugs’ wallets... hmm that was an idea. It was for the greater good anyways.

“I want the free food, stupid, and my annoying conscious won’t allow me to simply let a lady sleep on the couch.” He pushed passed her once arriving to the second floor and after fishing the keys out of his pocket he unlocked the door.

[sirenist-blog]

‘ your staring is ultimately CREEPY. and if you think that i haven’t noticed —- you’re not the brightest crayon in the box. and you’re obviously not subtle. ‘

[themercyhunter-blog]

Clemence nodded along with the moving lips, not really registering what was coming out of them. His eyes were glazed over as he stared somewhere, not really knowing where. His thoughts circled around nothing except the extreme need to close his eyes and drift off. This was probably what sleep deprivation did to you, huh what a surprise.

[gothamslittlevillain-blog]

themercyhunter

“Of course I have.” Clemence said darkly, unwanted waves of memories pushing into his head. He shook his head to tousle them away.

Clemence took a moment to pick out the alleyway details and head on to the direction of his apartment, just a few blocks further. He hadn’t dared to look back at Bree. What, with the obvious comment on how she had been inside Arkham or the expressive joy she had for the Narrows. Yeah, what exactly was he letting into his apartment again? It didn’t really matter in the end, though. He was helping her out as a good samaritan and at the moment he really had absolutely no fucks to give. Ice cream and netflix was his motivation now and if Bree tried to take that away from him, he would respond in like-wise action. An eye for an eye, as some say.

“Alright here we are.” Clemence motioned to the small rundown apartment complex. “My flat is on the second floor, number 3.”

Realizing Bree might have stepped in darker territory, she narrowed her eyes and started walking a tad further from Clemence. Not being one to apologize or actually care for other’s wellbeing, a heavy silence fell around them like an ink soaked blanket. 

When Clemence spoke up again, Bree looked up at the apartment he motioned to and nodded in approval. It wasn’t the most glamorous of places, but nothing in this part of Gotham ever was. Besides, this place was pretty opulent looking when Bree thought of some of the places Bree had to lay low in.

Clapping her hands together once, Bree started skipping towards the entrance. 

“Dibs on the right side of the bed!”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Idiot, it’s a single bed.” Clemence sighed, slowly pacing after her as she skipped happily towards the entrance. He really wasn’t feeling the energy.

He unlocked the entrance. “If you make breakfast on Monday then I’ll let you have the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

[gothamslittlevillain-blog]

themercyhunter

“Well it certainly isn’t upstate New York. No it’s not in the Narrows, but damn well near. Don’t really like it there in the Narrows. Too much grime, death, and poverty. Plus an asylum that looks like the classic horror house in amusement parks. Beats me how that place is supposed to help people. Then again, seeing as how everyone seems to be able to break out of there, I would say it isn’t going so well.”

Clemence trailed off before realizing what he had said… to a villain. Crap, she’s probably been in there. Then again she was going to bunker up in his apartment for a while… eh, why not test the waters and see how far she’s willing to tolerate his comments. He’d never been very good with filtering himself.

“You ever been to the Narrows?”

Bree chortled loudly at his comment on Arkham and pretended to wipe away a fake tear. “Tell me about it! I’ve seen better security in the rundown subway station on 5th.” 

Shaking her head, she followed Clemence around the alley ways, making a quick mental note on how smoothly he seemed to be waking around them. Has he lived around here before, or good memory?

Bree was surprised at his comment about the narrows, and shot him a curious glance. No-one usually asked each other whether they’ve been around the sketchy areas- it was already assumed. If you didn’t know your surroundings you were GCPD meat. That was the harsh but true life of a criminal that Bree had easily adapted to.

“Of course I have, only an idiot would walk around at night without having explored all of Gotham’s underbelly. Besides, every criminal has been to the Narrows- it’s like Disney world for villains! Haven’t you been there before?”

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Of course I have.” Clemence said darkly, unwanted waves of memories pushing into his head. He shook his head to tousle them away.

Clemence took a moment to pick out the alleyway details and head on to the direction of his apartment, just a few blocks further. He hadn’t dared to look back at Bree. What, with the obvious comment on how she had been inside Arkham or the expressive joy she had for the Narrows. Yeah, what exactly was he letting into his apartment again? It didn’t really matter in the end, though. He was helping her out as a good samaritan and at the moment he really had absolutely no fucks to give. Ice cream and netflix was his motivation now and if Bree tried to take that away from him, he would respond in like-wise action. An eye for an eye, as some say.

“Alright here we are.” Clemence motioned to the small rundown apartment complex. “My flat is on the second floor, number 3.”

[thesestreetsofgold]

  Oskar busted out the back door of the GCPD precinct, knowing he had exactly forty-five seconds until the pathetic cop that let him out came back to senses and alerted everyone else. 

              forty-four, forty-three, forty-two. 

  He turned his head to scan the area. The tall male knew the fastest route out, but if any of the Penguin’s henchman saw him alive, he might as well be dead. Being careful had never been a priority of his but now it had to be. The bounty on his head had increased since the day it had been placed and that put him in even greater danger. The lowlifes in Gotham craved money and power.

             twenty-one, twenty, nineteen. 

  He made the decision to turn right and ran down the alley as fast as his legs would take him. Oskar needed to get away before the alarm went off and he had cops on his tail. Turning around was a mistake and he realized it as soon as he felt another’s body slam right into his. Shit. His feet stopped moving immediately and he swung his head around to face the person he’d run into.

              three, two, one.

  The alarm from inside GCPD rang loudly and Oskar shifted nervously. He reached out to grap the other’s arm and pull them into a dark corner without saying a word. The sound of the dark door he’d exited out of early slamming open rang through the air accompanied by shouts. Oskar reached up and tried to cover their mouth as a couple figures ran past them.

[themercyhunter-blog]

It all happened quite suddenly, actually. Clemence was once again ready to hit the sofa and binge netflix till eternity, plus some ice cream whenever necessary. However, he had not planned on the sudden clashing force against his body, nor the eye piercing alarm, nor the sudden tug on his arm and hand against his mouth.

The cops ran wild on the street, seemingly searching for someone. That someone possibly being the guy currently pressing a hand against Clemence’s face. Or they could be searching for him, though Clemence couldn’t quite remember any recent disposal of thugs that would spark such abrupt behaviour from the police nor should they have know about his presence... Yeah, it was probably the guy who had run into him.

Clemence waited for the noise to die away. No need to mess up the perfect hiding spot and then have to run like a hyperventilating moron from the annoying GCPD. Been there, done that and he certainly wasn’t keen on a sequel. Once the streets turned silent Clemence waited patiently with a cocked eyebrow at the man to remove the hand.

[firexhealer-blog]

      Dakota was told by the Doctors and Nurses that her memory would come back with time, but it was obvious they had no idea what happened for her to lose everything in the first place. She didn’t even remember her own name, and after countless hours of tests and questions, she snuck out when nobody was looking (which she was quite amazing at… for some reason). 

     Kota could hear police sirens in the distance, but she quickly slid into an alleyway and watched them zoom past, in search for the missing Jane Doe. It was quite worrisome when her DNA pulled up nothing in the system… Which meant she technically didn’t exist. So now the cops were trying to find the mystery girl, but it seemed someone already did when they took a step into the alley she was in, causing her to jump and look at them. “I- Sorry. Did you need something?” She asked, trying to play it off as she anxiously brushed her hand up and down her arm.

[themercyhunter-blog]

“Um, no, I was just going to ask you if you needed some assistance. You alright?” 

Clemence removed his black sweater. Screw hero costumes, this girl seemed like she was becoming a popsicle. She seemed anxious about something, and jumpy. It probably had something to do with being alone, at night, in a Gotham City alleyway. Didn’t she know those tended to be dangerous and wonderful spots for thugs to do whatever things they did.

The police seemed to be on the search as well, most likely for a criminal. That reminded him of his self-declared profession but opted to ignore it. They probably wouldn’t find whoever it was they were looking for, which meant Clemence could search up the unlucky criminal, find them, and then kill them if they were a shithead.

Back to the matter at hand. “Do you need me to escort you home?”