Of Vice & Virtue Act I: Blurred Lines (Skeith & MessedUpRP)

My home isn't anything special Ms. Romanov, just a small apartment that up until a few days ago both myself and my grandmother inhabited. It works but it's fairly humble."

She bent down at the desk and quickly signed the document, changing the way she wrote just enough so that she might not be able to recognize it with her alter ego. "Alright then Ms. Romanov... What now?"

Vera smiled a little, shaking her head softly. "There's no need for such formality. Vera is fine. We'll be working closely together for a while after all." She touched her intercom. "Mrs. Gurlukovich? Could you please have an access card made for our new hire? She'll need top level clearance."

"Right away, Ms. Romanov." The woman's voice replied.

"Things were much easier before my sister passed." She explained, standing up from her desk. "In addition to maintaining my company's industrial interests, and keeping the bad press and politicians from tearing down our public image, we also maintain a number of Meta Human outreach programs. Being human, myself, I left the Meta outreach to my sister. We welcome and house at risk Meta humans and offer them housing, employment, and protection. There are a number of individuals that would harm them, as I'm sure you're aware. People like this Tarot and her ilk."

She approached a since abandoned desk near her own, having been cleared of personal belongings. "That's where I need you. I need someone I can count on and trust to manage meta-human out reach. I'm helping groom young Anya for the job, but she's rather young yet."

Albina was having difficulty biting back a scathing remark about her alter ego but managed and simply, nodded. Walking to the desk, her fingers drifting over the smooth wood surface. She didn't ask who the desk belonged to since guessing was quite easy. "Thank you Mrs... Vera... Thank you Vera." She set down her bag on the desk and looked out the window.

"Yes, I think we need to understand and accept Met as now more than ever, especially with crazy people like that Tarot and Knight-Owl prowling the streets. People could get hurt."

Vera's eye twitched a bit when Albina mentioned Knight-Owl. The idea that she was somehow as dangerous as an assassin who had built a career out of hunting meta humans was insulting. She masked her offense well, however. She followed Albina's eyes to the window, smiling some.

A moment later, the office door opened and Vera's receptionist entered with a small manila envelope. "Ms. Romanov, I have her access information here." She glanced towards Albina, smiling softly. "Welcome to the team, ma'am. It'll be my privilege to work with you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Gurlukovich. Anya isn't being to difficult is she?" Vera asked softly.

"No, Ma'am. She's very quiet and very docile." The woman replied.

"She's welcome to come back in if she likes. The interview is over." Vera explained.

Unbidden, the young girl wandered back into the office. She raised her blind fold to look at Albina, her eyes glowing purple for a moment as she stared at her silently. "You seem familiar..." She said faintly.

"Anya, until you finish your practice you need to use the blindfold. Remember what happened last night?"

"Sorry." She lowered her gaze, affixing the blindfold again.

Mrs. Gurlukovich bowed her head before making her exit, and Vera returned to her own desk. "I think you'll find most of my sister's documents and programs are well organized enough to pick up where she left off." She explained, focusing on her own paperwork.

Albina looked at Anya for a moment, she did seem familiar. Somewhere she had seen that girl... "I don't think we've met Anya... I would have remembered such a pretty girl." Albina was not god with kids by any means but she figured a compliment was always a good place to start.

Albina sat down and began getting into the computer. Vara was not wrong when she said that the files were well organized and very easily navigated. Now since she had access to this database she could find out just what was going on, and formulate her plan.

The rest of the day wore on as most office work would. Vera focused on her own responsibilities as C.E.O. Occasionally she would stop to make sure that Albina was doing alright or to tend to Anya and her needs. As the day began to draw to a close, Vera rose from her desk, rolling her shoulders with a small groan. "Ready to head home, Anya?" She asked, looking to the thirteen year old meta.

Anya stood up from the desk with a nod. "Yes, ma'am."

"You don't have to call me Ma'am, Anya. Vera is fine." She walked over to her placing her hand on her shoulder. She helped Anya into her coat, affixing her heating unit before glancing over towards Albina.

As she pulled her own coat on she smiled at the woman. "You mentioned earlier that your internal heating system had been malfunctioning. Do you have a way home so that you don't freeze?" She asked softly. "You're welcome to ride with Anya and myself if you like."

Albina looked at her own heating unit. She had purposely sabotaged it, her claim was an ex boyfriend had been cross and decided to take his revenge on her. She nodded to Vara and followed the woman out. There was something familiar in the way she carried herself, the way she walked and spoke all seemed eerily close.

"So Vera... I suppose you have some sort of a mansion or something? I'm not sure how you rich act."

As they walked out into the freezing air, her driver emerged from the vehicle to open the door. "Ms. Romanov, young Ms. Anya, good evening." The man looked past them towards Albina. "Ah, and this would be?"

"Albina is a new hire. We'll be delivering her to her home." Vera explained. She helped Anya to step into the back of the vehicle, motioning for Albina to join them. "To answer your question, Albina. The Romanov family has a manor on the outskirts of the city. It was built by my great grand parents. Until recently, it was occupied by myself and my sister, considering our parents passed while we were young."

"Anya has started to stay with me since last night. She's a level 4 metahuman. So she needs more personal protection."

Albina nodded politely, last night she had her run-in with Knight-Owl, not to mention now this meta girl was orphaned. She rubbed her chin softly and looked out the window, maybe Knight-Owl was working with Vara Romanov... It would make sense, the woman had wealth and prestige, she probably had the mysterious warrior running through the city as her muscle. Both of them were paraded for mets rights after all, and Vera never spoke against Knight-Owl's actions. "Aren't you worried about being attacked by one of these terrorists running rampant Vera? You seem like you'd be quite a target if one chose to make an attack."

Vera looked over at Albina at her question. "Hmm?" She thought about it for a second before shrugging. "I'm more afraid of the government deciding I'm a liability and sending me to join my sister than I am about the terrorists in this city." She looked back to Albina with a shrug. "Knight-Owl's dangerous. But Knight-Owl combats law enforcement and criminals. Tarot's dangerous, but Tarot traditionally targets Meta Humans. The others around the nation, maybe I'm more unsure of."

She closed her eyes, sighing softly. "After they sent Tarot after my sister, I learned how determined to erase my family the government is." She looked back to Albina finally. "Besides, what do I really have left? I'm not afraid of dying."

It was Albina's turn to hide her anger now. Vera Romanov had been the one to send Knight-Owl after her on some petty revenge scheme for something she hadn't even done. It took most of her self control not to punch a millionaire in the throat. "I see I see... Have you ever wondered about why they do it? Why these people do what they do." Albina looked out the window, "after all... They are just humans like us... Even Metas are humans, everyone ha their reason for doing what they do..." She trailed off softly. Her yes drifting over the scenery as it raced by.

Vera nodded softly. "I make it my business to try to understand these people. Ever since my parents were murdered. But there's never a good reason to kill a child for a paycheck." She looked back to the Anya who fortunately had her ear buds in. "Had Anya not been plucked from danger last night, they would have executed her because of the potential her powers hold. She's committed no crimes aside from being born a high ranking meta human. But those monsters would have killed her all the same. Greed and fear are the reasons they do what they do."

The car finally came to a stop in front of Albina's home, prompting Anya to remove her earbuds and pull back her blindfold, her eyes glowing again. "It was very nice to meet you, ma'am."

Vera smiled softly. "It was my pleasure meeting and working with you today, Albina. I'll see you in the morning."

Albina slowly got out of the car, looking back to Vera. "I wasn't talking about the Meta-humans. When I said that I meant the terrorists... Knght-Owl and Tarot... Sometimes I wonder, what if they're really out for the same goal but we're all just to blinded to see it." She looked up and closed the door of the car, going into the building I'd the fake address she had given the driver and the company for her home.

Vera could not conceal her scowl when Albina mentioned the possibility of Knight-Owl and Tarot being after the same thing. It was a sickening suggestion. She had seen her sister's body. The Tarot card left as a calling card. "Good night, Albina." She then turned to the driver, bidding him to take them home.

After only a few hours rest, Vera was back in her hidden lair, dawning her armor. More than her usual devotion to her crusade, it had become an obsession. The more time she spent in the field, the more likely she would find Tarot and the less time she would spend actually mourning her sister. Burying her feelings of loss and guilt under her nightly escapades. As she reached for her helmet, turning to depart, she spotted Anya wandering about the lair.

"Anya. Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked sternly, looking down at her.

"I want to help." She pleaded gently, her glowing eyes penetrating the dark room.

"Out of the question. It's too dangerous." Vera retorted approaching her ground vehicle.

"But what about the others?" Anya asked causing Vera to freeze. "You saved me. But what about the others like me? I don't want more to die. You can't do it alone. Let me help."

Vera turned to look at her, seeing a desperation for justice similar to her sister. "Very well. But you need a disguise."

A couple hours later, the ground vehicle tore through the streets of Norvinovska. Knight-Owl in the driver's seat and beside her, the young Anya in an older version of the Knight-Hawk armor, from when her sister was much younger. "Tonight, you follow me lead. You follow my orders exactly or you never come out like this again. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." She responded, nodding quickly. The vehicle finally came to a rest near the factory from the night before.

"Come on. The woman who attacked you last night may have left a clue as to her identity. Stay close to me." The two then entered the facility. Police tape surrounded the area, but the facility itself was empty and silent.

Tarot was surveying the factory as Knight-Owl arrived, she was perched atop a roof across the street as the vehicle tore into the area and the two figures arrived. By now she was convinced that Vega had some sort of connection to Knight-Owl, the way she acted whenever Knight-Owl was mentioned. Could the Romanov woman be the provider for Knight-Owl? The woman was rich after all and what the vigilante had was certainly not inexpensive.

By this point she should have expected to see Knight-Owl here. The two seemed to have a magnetic attraction, wherever one was, the other had to be there too. So she stayed back, there was someone else with her and that meant Tarot was at the disadvantage. She did however have the elevation over them which made it a bit better. As Tarot patiently waited for Knight-Owl to finish her sweep, she noticed something on the opposite rooftop. A shape that looked oddly human examining the building. Her suspitions were confirmed when the figure moved, slipping away from the rooftop and down to the ground.

Tarot watched as the figure moved closer to her and to the vehicle Knight-Owl had ridden in. The figure seemed to attach something to the car and made a hasty escape as Knight- Owl and the smaller person left the building. Tarot realized what the figure had done and jumped from her perch, land if and sprinting at the duo, "get down!" She shouted, pushing them both away just before the car is exploded, Tarot taking the brunt of the explosion and being thrown into a nearby wall.

Knight-Owl conducted a thorough investigation of the factory. Looking for any evidence the woman who attacked them might have left behind. She was careful to tell Anya exactly what she was doing or looking for. Allowing the girl to learn from her as they worked. Collecting what evidence she could, she turned to leave. She led the way back out to the vehicle.

Knight-Owl looked up quickly as Tarot dropped down to the street. Her gaze narrowed as she took a defensive stance. "Stay clear. This one's mine." She ordered the younger girl. Then Tarot's order reached her. Was she warning her? Why? As the two were both pushed clear, the vehicle erupted into fire and shrapnel.

Knight-Owl groaned, her head spinning as she stood up slowly. "You okay?" She asked Anya first, getting a nod from her.

"What about the other?" She asked, looking back towards the wall she had impacted.

"What about her? She kills people like you for money. Best to leave her." Knight-Owl dialed in a command into a wrist computer before feeling the small her hand tug at her cloak. She looked back down at her. Seeing Anya in her sister's armor, pleading for her to show mercy and empathy pulled at her heart. "Very well... Knight-Hawk." She finished entering the command. "The Knight-Hunter will be arriving shortly."

She walked over to where, Tarot had been thrown. She took a moment to look around for the saboteur. If they were wise they would have fled. "This is a foolish idea." She mumbled to herself. She leaned down to inspect the woman. "She was too close to the blast. I need the medbay back in the lair." Soon after the aerial vehicle descended into the street. She hoisted Tarot into her arms walking back to the craft.

Not long after, the vehicle descended into the lair and Tarot was carried into the medbay. "Get out of your armor and go to bed Anya." She ordered softly. She laid Tarot down on the examination table, reaching to remove her mask.

Tarot awoke coincidentally just as the Knight-Owl reached for her mask. Her hand moves fast but she cried in pain as her arm locked, "no!" She gasped. "Leave the mask... Leave it..." She panted for breath, resting her arm again. "My identity is all I have left, leave me with that please."

She tried pushing herself up into a sitting posture very slowly, grunting and groaning in pain while simultaneously waving Knight-Owl away. "I can do it... I just need to take my time." Soon enough she was sat up enough to look around at the med bay. "Where am I...All I remember was that bomb, then nothing."

Knight-Owl stepped back as she was waved off, crossing her arms. It was fortunate that she was wearing her mask, lest her angry confusion be visible. "Fine. Keep the mask on, but you clearly have other injuries. Best that you remove the rest of the armor and let me do my work." She turned away, walking over to some of her medical equipment. "You're in the medical bay of my base of operations. Against my better judgment, I brought you back here. You saved me and I saved you. We're even."

She walked back over to the observation table. "I want to do an x-ray. In addition to surface injuries from the blast, your arm locking like that tells me their might be some bone damage. Best to be sure nothing's broken."

Tarot nodded slowly, "fine... Give me a moment." She slowly activated a few programs then pressed a latch of her armor. She had setup programs to keep the latches locked and her armor on when she was in combat. But Noe she could take it off while keeping her helmet on.

The assassin slowly removes the metal plates, revealing her bare body. All she wore under the suit were boyshorts and a bra, she felt exposed standing in front of the person who had been her enemy for quite a bit. "I suppose I should thank you... For bringing me here."

Knight-Owl watched as the armor plates were removed. Once she was finally undressed, she entered in a command into her wrist computer. "I don't much care if you thank me or not. I didn't do it for you." An AR display activated, as it passed over the woman it scanned through, providing her with an x-ray. "Some very deep bruising and contusions. Looks like a couple hairline fractures. Nothing looks seriously broken, but those fractures will need care to heal properly. Otherwise they'll get worse." She closed down the AR display, turning away from her. "As an assassin, I'm sure you're familiar with the medical science of your injuries, though."

She turned to face her after collecting what she would need to treat her wounds. While she worked to treat her injuries she found herself thankful once again for the mask. It would have betrayed her rage. "So, why protect us from the blast?" She asked finally.

Tarot knew very well about her wounds but remained silent. She had no reason to trust Knight-Owl or anything she might do. But she was caught off guard by the question. Tarot took a minute to gather her thoughts before answering.

"Listen Knight-Owl... I'm not sure who died, but I distinctly remember you saying I killed someone. I'm sorry whoever that was has passed, but I didn't do it... I don't have any vendetta against you or anyone else you know. Hell until a few nights ago I couldn't care less about what you were doing, but I've been set up. Somebody wants us to fight and hopes that one of us dies."

She moved to stand up, grunting in pain and settling back down into her seat before continuing. "You saw it yourself, someone planted a car bomb. If I planted that bomb, then why would I warn you. If I wanted you dead, why wouldn't I have just let it kill you. You could say I didn't want to kill that other person, but if I wanted to keep her alive I would have knocked her over and let you explode."

Tarot grit her teeth and slowly stood, leaning heavily on a table. "I saw something... Someone else was watching your car, they came down and planted that bomb. I saw you come out and stopped you before you both died in that explosion." She grunted again, panting for breath. "Someone wants us dead, and I have an idea who that someone is."

As soon as Tarot began to speak, Knight-Owl turned away from her. Her lips curled into a snarl of rage as Tarot insisted she couldn't remember the details. She pulled out the bloodied tarot card that was left with her sister's body, dropping it at Tarot's feet. "The person who's name you can't remember was Dina Romanov. A level 3 Meta-Human." She turned to face her. Despite her full face mask, the way her body heaved with her breathing showed her anger. "I found her violated and murdered, her throat had been slit. The card embedded in the wound."

"Now you tell me that someone is setting you up. Setting us up. Trying to remove us from play. The evidence isn't in your corner." She grit her teeth bitterly. "But... You make a fair point. There would have been no reason to spare me. Save to use me to eliminate this other person you theorize wants us dead." She crossed her arms, sighing heavily. "Who's your suspect?"

Tarot sighed. "So it was that poor Romanov girl... She was too young... They're always too young." Tarot wasn't speaking to Knight-Owl as she said it, her attention only being grabbed when the vigilante threw the card down. Tarot didn't pick it up but did eye it warily. "First off. I never violated a kill, I made my kills fast and as painless as possible, throat slitting took to long to die, any time I had to I would stab through the neck or the heart to end the life faster. Second, I never maimed a course or left my card in a wound. Too messy, too much room for potential errors."

Tarot slowly dropped off again, rubbing her arm. "Well I um... I was going to that building, looking for my suspect. Then you showed up and that figure planted the car bomb. But something seems off." Tarot hobbled to her feet and awkwardly began to pace. "The bomb was places tonight. Why tonight?"

She groaned and braces herself against a wall for a second. "I'll need some painkillers." She mumbled before continuing.

"The saboteur could have planted a bomb any of the previous encounters we've had. They could have planted t while you were getting chased by the cops, but why did they choose tonight? What was different..." She gasped and hobbled back to the bed she had been lying in, "I see... Knight-Hawk was out with you tonight. Whoever is our mystery saboteur killed the previous Knight-Hawk, and tried to do the same. Either the new Knight-Hawk dies and Knight-Owl would blame me, Knight-Owl died and the bee Knight-Hawk would lead the fight against me in her place or both of you died and she had two less vigilantes to worry about."

Tarot slowly lowered herself into the bed, gasping as n pain as she did. "What do we know about the Saboteur... They have no soft spot for Metas otherwise they wouldn't be targeting you, they have both the funds and the experience to make a good car bomb like that one. Sound familiar?"

Knight-Owl grit her teeth as Tarot explained how she would have killed Dina if it were her that did it. It was almost more infuriating than a confession. Thankfully the full face mask concealed her emotion. She turned away from her, pulling a bottle of pain-killers from the cabinet and tossing them to the woman. She continued listening to her, but her eyes widened. Not from any realization regarding their saboteur but from Tarot's words. She was a ware that this Knight-Hawk was not the previous one. Moreover, she knew that the previous one had died. Did that mean?

She turned away again, sighing openly. "The last time we encountered one another, when you assisted me in dealing with law enforcement, I was rescuing a young meta that they were targeting for assassination." She closed her eyes remembering the red haired woman who attacked her. "A woman attacked right after you left. She made quite the theatrical display of having me right where she wanted me. I don't know if she's related. If she were trying to pit us against one another, it would have been best to do so from the shadows." She crossed her arms in thought. "The saboteur might be working with her, however."

Tarot turned away and removed her visor only long enough to swallow a few pills before slipping it back in place. "Someone in the government wants us dead. The evidence is all here. Whoever this red haired woman and our saboteur are, they're well trained. Car bombs we not easily made... Unfortunately I know that."

Tarot clenched her fist, "I've left that life... I won't kill innocents again," she mumbled. When she realized Knight-Owl was staring at her, she went on. "These two were able to kill your partner, and pin it on me. I hears that Knight-Hawk was dead but I didn't realize until toni-." She cut off, looking at Knight-Owl and spoke a bit softer. "I'm sorry... She was your partner... She didn't deserve what happened to her... Nobody does."

Tarot walked away for a second. Standing, back towards Knight-Owl before she spoke again, still softly. "Someone in the government wants us to kill each other. You couldn't hire assassins with this level of skill without a lot of cash. They want us dead... Or YOU dead I presume... I was just supposed to be the means to justify the ends. I'd get the blame and they'd walk away free."