Endless Epitaph

The Players : Xander
Where : Chicago, IL
When : February 3rd, 2009.
Rating : PG-13, but could go higher. Depends on what goes down.
Notes : Forget notes, just give me some cowbell.

The day started out fine.

Xander had a good breakfast, worked out for a bit. He was starting his new job at The Tool Box, a local hardware store and home decour place, in a few days.

After the death of his boss from the bar, it was closed by his family who had no interest in owning a bar. So he and his friends were out of a job. It was just as well, Xander mostly worked there for a lack of anything else available at the time.

But when he got home from the grocery store, that’s when things took a turn.

He placed the bags on the counter and turned the police scanner on, he often listened to it, just in case anything sounded supernatural.

Wished it were this time. But it wasn’t.

The scanner went off with a loud siren sound. And it only took one sentence to give him pause.

“Attention all units, attention all units. We have a 187 at Hailey’s Comics. Suspect is a male, green hair. Believed to be the Joker and his accomplice Harley Quinn. All units be advised…suspect is armed and very dangerous. Proceed with caution”

187…Xander raced through some of the police codes he had written down so he’d recogonize them. He stopped cold when he realized 187 was a murder.

“Alli…” Xander whispered to no one but with fear in his voice.

He dropped the eggs he had been holding to the ground as he raced out of the apartment and headed to the comic book shop. It was about a mile away from his place. No way would he get near that place fast with all the commotion that would be surrounding the place.

It took about ten minutes, but he got there. Crowds were gathered around the barricades trying to see what was going on. Whispering to each other what they heard.

( Read more... )

Who: Ryan Dallion or Ryan the Lion
Where: Curious Goods; Chicago, IL
When: January 29th 2009
What: Ryan reflects on the incident the day before…and finds a new mystery to solve.
Rating: PG-13 for now. Could go to R
Notes: Ryan’s card is uh…oh, The Tower. Fires springing up will be linked to the card. Only he doesn’t know it yet.

Ryan heads downstairs after a long night sleep sipping his coffee. It was his fuel for what would most likely be a long and exhausting day. Those were always the kinds of days they had around here.

He noticed an envelope on the floor. Someone must have been tossed in the mail slot last night because there was nothing there before he went to sleep the night before.

He picked it up and opened it. Inside, was a tarot card.

The Strength Card.

The guy that came with Alli the other day must have found the guy and gotten the card back. Guessing it didn’t end well. After placing the card in the vault, Ryan went out to get a newspaper.

His suspicion was soon confirned when he picked up and read the newspaper’s headline. A man had died of an apparent suicide. While there was nothing overly suspicious there was a mention of high testosterone in his system.

He made a note to try and find the guy later and thank him for getting the card back to the shop. Most people who know what that card could do, would use it to their advantage, but this guy did the right thing.

Also on the front page, there was a front page story about another fire in the downtown area. There had been several fires in that area over the last month. Strangely only a handful of the fires had no explanation.

He had checked the manifest, but there were few items that would fit the mysterious fires. Ryan thought for a moment, and a thought occurred to him. Maybe there was another tarot card out there that was causing this. He picked up a reference book off the shelf and found pictures of tarot cards.

One of which was a church on fire with figures falling to the ground. It would fit. But finding that card in the city would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He’d have to figure out who would have motive to set these fires, how they were using the card, and most importantly…who was doing it.

Ryan placed a map on a tack board after calling the fire department and asking some questions about the fires he placed blue tacks and red tacks on the board. Blue tacks, fires that had easily determined causes. Red tacks being the buildings that burned down under mysterious circumstances and undetermined causes.

Fires happen, that was a thing you get use to in the city. But fires that seemingly are caused on their own were a different story. Looking at the map it looked like the red tacks were concentrated to one particular area.

Ryan picked up his camera to take outside photos of the mysterious fires…four in total thus far.

After a few hours, his pictures were taken and ready to be loaded onto his computer. But before heading back to the Curious Goods shop, Ryan made a pit stop.

He had been busy with Micki on acquiring some new antiques to sell for the store so he hadn’t been able to make it to the comic book shop for his new comics of the week.

So, he made a quick stop to his local comic book store to get his latest issues and say hello to Alli, his favorite worker at the comic book store. He’d have to remember to thank her and her friend for getting the card.

The Players : Xander Harris
Where : Chicago, IL
When : January 28, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for language.

Xander walked towards the bar with his Xander thoughts running around in his head. It had been a weird few days. Meeting both Lois and Alli had been great. Dealing with Simon had not.

Seeing Lois go was kind of sad though. Sure, he just met her, but it was good working with her. If it hadn’t been for the whole Joker thing, they probably would have had a better goodbye than the awkward one they had.

Xander headed downstairs to the bar and smiled at his two co-workers. “Evening ladies. How are my gals?”

“We should be asking you the same thing…we heard what happened. Kind of surprised you’re here. What the hell happened that you were thrown on top of a car,” Mary asked.

“Yeah. Piss off a Terminator,” Wendy asked.

“It’s a long messy story. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Still a bit sore, but otherwise fine.”

“And that girl you left with the other night? Made in progress?”

“Yeah. Like every other woman in the world I’ve met, she left as quickly as she came into my life.”

“Oh?”

“Went back to Metropolis…you know where she lives. I’m sure our paths will cross at some point again.”

“Right,” Wendy said placing a newspaper on the bar. “And Xand, we’re gonna need you in the back in a little bit to bring in the beer mugs.”

Xander took the paper and nodded as he started going through it. When a few articles caught his eye. The front page was all about the Joker robbery. It still made his blood run cold when he saw the Joker with that gun. Also made him nervous. Wondering if the Joker was still around and if he bumped into him, would he try to finish the job.

Xander turned to the back and saw an article about another death…a young woman. The same woman Simon was talking to the other night. Died of a suicide the article said. But something inside Xander was telling him otherwise.

“Looks like he made his third wish,” Xander thought aloud.

Crap. Now he can kill anyone now to get that card to give him strength. No more wishing required. Things just got a lot harder for him.

Why the hell was he even doing this? He’s not the superhero. He had no powers or anything that made him remotely special.

But he knew the answer. It was her.

She changed his life for the better…despite the hell he had both been through and fought. She gave him a purpose. Something to fight for. A purpose without ever having a purpose.

In the end, he did it because it was right. Because now with her being God knows where, he was alone in this city. He saw the things that lurked in the darkness.

He did it because no one else would.

He did it because the only thing that kept him from going crazy with being alone is saving lives, helping people. Ironically, he was still very much alone. Even with his new “sidekick”. That’d even be short lived cause it was how things were in Xander’s life.

“Xander,” Wendy said coming to the back. “Someone out front is looking for you.”

“Is it a pretty blue haired girl,” he asked standing up.

“No, its that guy you helped out a few nights ago. The guy that almost got beat up.”

( Oh FUDGE! )

Who: Xander
Where: Chicago, IL
When: January 26th (Starts moments after Lois/Xander RP)
Notes: More explanations on what’s going on

Xander was tired and frustrated after a very long night with Lois. Their investigation was the easy part. Explaining about monsters and demons and having to prove it with a visit to a small vampire nest, was the hard part.

He understood her aggravation though. It was a lot to take in. He was sure she’d feel better in the morning after she had some time to let it soak in. Or in a day or so. Cause it was very difficult thing to believe in, even if you see it in front of your face.

Xander headed downstairs to the bar and saw Mary and Wendy cleaning up. It was very late in the evening and it was closing time. The final patrons few patrons finished their drinks and headed out. The two of them were obviously drunk frat guys.

“Dude, we should totally buy a bar,” one said as they passed him to the door.

“Yeah! Totally, with no last call. Bar doesn’t close until the last person is finished.”

If he had a nickel every time he heard that.

“There’s the stud,” Wendy said clearing off a table. “So…details.”

“What details,” Xander said as he helped clean the tables. He was off the clock, but he still didn’t mind helping.

“We saw you talking to that girl,” Mary said. “Then you ran off with her. So, spill. Did you two…you know?”

“What? No. It wasn’t like that. It’s…it’s complicated. But nothing happened. And nothing will happen. She’s just a friend.”

Mary turned to Wendy. “Me thinks he protest too much.”

“You haven’t been on a date since we’ve known you,” Wendy said. “It’s okay if you did. We won’t be jealous.”

She winked at him.

“I’m not looking to date anyone right now anyway. She’s a reporter for The Daily Planet. I offered to help show her around the city and find a lead on a story she’s working on. That’s all.”

And of course took her to a vampire lair and staked a few vampires, but other than that…
The two women nodded.

“Good. Now that I see you ladies are doing fine without me. I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you ladies Tuesday.”

Xander went home and made an international call to the new Watchers Council. If something weird was going on, Giles would know and what he could do to figure it out.

“Rupert Giles.”

“Giles, its Xander.”

“Xander, so good to hear from you. Been a few months since I’ve heard from you. How are things? You’re in Chicago right?”

“Yeah. Los Angeles wasn’t for me. New York seemed a bit too big for me. So found the middle area. It’s not that bad. Save for the usual vampire population, its fairly quiet,” he said stressing fairly.

“Notice you said fairly there…what’s going on,” Giles asked.

“Well, it’s probably nothing. Just me grasping at windmills or whatever…”

“Yes…”

“There was a guy who got killed here a couple nights ago. Ran over by a bus. And in a long complicated story short, I think something supernatural is behind it. It literally came out of nowhere. And all the witnesses say the same thing.”

“Xander, much as I’d like to think there’s something behind it, it just sounds coincidental. If you had more to go on…”

“I checked out the guy I think might have known something. He had a tarot card,” Xander said. What was it Lois said it was…”Strength Card I think. And I noticed his fridge was moved back. I know its small, but…”

“You believe that the two are connected?”

“In theory. Have any knowledge on this kind of thing Giles?”

“Sorry Xander. I think you’re seriously reaching on this one. However, the old council, before it was destroyed, dealt with certain antiques of an occult nature. There’s a shop called Curious Goods in your area. I’ve never dealt with them personally, but if you find some more evidence, go there. They might be able to help you.”

Oh, look. Xander just smacked into a brick wall.

“Okay Giles. Thanks anyway.”

“You’re welcome. But do keep me in on your progress on this. I might be able to help once we have more information.”

Xander sighed and nodded. Giles was right. He didn’t have much to go on save for a gut feeling. He was grasping and straws on this one.

“Alright. I’ll do that. Talk to you soon Giles. Bye.”

Xander hung up and plopped on the couch, letting the day wash away as he succumbed to sleep. One day, he might actually sleep in his bed.

( The Next Day... )

The Players : Lois Lane, Xander Harris. (Closed)
Where : Chicago, Illinois.
When : January 25, 2009.
Rating : PG13 – R for language.
Notes : So, yeah, Lois Lane is in Chicago. Go, Lois! Or something to that effect.

“Chloe…” Lois Lane sighed as she listened to her cousin complain about one of the nurses that was watching over her new husband. “I know she’s a bit nuts, but she means well. Remember, I put up with her while you were,” Lois hesitated, unsure how discuss Chloe’s kidnapping from some kind of beast at her own wedding, “away. But she’s not that bad. Really. I’m sure you and Jimmy can survive Nurse Netty Nightmare.” She paused and heard Chloe’s sigh in resignation. Finally. Lois was pretty sure Chloe just wanted to vent in general and the nurse was a good target. Lois was thanking god Chloe was in Star City with her new husband and she wasn’t. She hadn’t minded being there for her new cousin-in-law, but she knew it was Chloe that needed to be there, not her.

A few minutes later and Lois was finally allowed to end the conversation and was left alone in her hotel room and staring at her cell phone that now sat on the nightstand. After everything that had happened, and didn’t happen, at Chloe’s wedding to Jimmy Olsen, Lois was a bit relieved to have been given the chance to go to Chicago on assignment. Jimmy had nearly died but the doctors in Star City had saved the newlywed so he’d at least been alive when Chloe had escaped from the clutches of her mysterious and monstrous kidnapper. To think, that was just the most important part of the night besides the wedding itself.

Lois shook her head with a scowl. “Snap out of it, Lane. He’s not going to call.” Of course not, why would he? There wasn’t any point. It was just a fluke. After all, it wasn’t as if she and Clark had actually kissed. Sure, there had been a moment where she thought- She’d been so sure… And then the moment was shattered. But even then she’d allowed Oliver to get her hopes up. But then more disaster struck and after she’d left from Jimmy she hadn’t heard from Clark Kent since. Not call, no messages, not a text. Figured. “Hot fudge and halibut.” She muttered. It could never work anyway. She’d just be a placeholder or second place and Lois Lane was no one’s second choice. When she got back to the Daily Planet she’d just be sure to make it clear. They were just friends and coworkers. That was it.

Thinking of work, Lois realized she had to finish her article if she ever intended to do anything fun later. She was in Chicago doing a fluff piece on some archeology discovery that had made it’s début in the states in the Windy City. It wasn’t all that interesting to her, but it kept her from going back to Metropolis and at the moment that was fine in her book. She gave her phone one last wistful look before getting to work. After this she was so heading out as Lois was pretty sure she deserved a drink for her troubles.

**************

It hadn’t taken long for Lois to decide where to go that night. There was a bar not far from where she was staying and it had looked decent enough, and as long as they served something decent, Lois would be fine.

She walked into the bar and after a subtle look around the room she headed for the bar and took a seat. She was dressed casually, hoping that no one decided that she would be their choice for a quick pick up. Lois just wasn’t in the mood for it. She wasn’t wallowing in self pity; she just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of shooting some drunk down.

“I can’t believe the bus just hit him like that!”

The reporter’s attention was caught for a moment as a couple of people were talking nearby. Lois attempted to look nonchalant as she eavesdropped on their conversation.

“I know, I swear the bus practically came out of nowhere. The guy was a dick though. He kind of deserved it.”

“Still, it was pretty gross. I hear they’re still scraping him off the pavement. You think that chick he was with needs a shoulder to cry on?”

Well, that was disgusting, Lois thought. Even at her worst she was pretty sure she wasn’t that tactless. Not while sober anyway. Speaking of which, she lifted her hand to get the bartender’s attention. “Hey, can I get some service here?”

The Players: Xander Harris
Where: Chicago
When: January 24, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Weirdness begins, and mystery people are seen.

Xander raced down the street. His bike had totally died on him that morning and he was in a major rush. He had to get there on time.

He raced down the stairs and entered the building.

“Xander…you’re late. Again.”

“Sorry Mr. McClaren. My bike died on me this morning and I couldn’t get a taxi. Had to run all the way here.”

The owner and bartender of the small bar nodded and smiled. “Clock in, I’ll let it slide this time. But only because the women around here like you.”

“It’s the eye patch,” Xander said taking off his jacket. “We use it to scare the customers that hit on them into behaving.”

He went to the back and put his stuff in his locker, his co-worker Mary is on a bench tying her shoes.

“What up Sergant Fury,” she looks up at the clock. “You’re late again.”

“Bike died again.”

“Need to invest in a car there Xand,” she said standing up and grabbing her apron.

“On a bartender’s salary? Don’t make much on tips despite my friendly face and rocking body.”

Later that night…

The best thing about working at this bar was that despite it being a bar, it reminded Xander of the bar from Cheers. Friendly neighborhood bar. A lot of regulars. And with it being across the street from a health club, they got a lot of people who just worked off some pounds looking to throw back a few.

Xander people watched as he tended the bar. Mostly guys in their late 20s hitting on young women. Some had grace and style when they were flirting. Others, mostly the muscle bound monkey’s from the health club, were obnoxious jerks. Yet, they still got dates and numbers from them.

This frightened and worried Xander about the sanity of the women around here to fall for it. Because they were complete tools.

( Read more... )

The Players : Xander Harris. (Closed)
Where : Chicago, Illinois.
When : The week of January 19, 2009.
Rating : PG13.
Notes : Who has one eye, two thumbs, and fights evil? This guy! *points to self*

A woman is riding down the streets of downtown Chicago on a red motorcycle. Behind her in hot persuit is a guy on a black motorcyle. The two weave in and out of traffic as she tries to lose him but no avail.

She turns down an alley and skids to a stop crashing into a trash can.

Dead end.

The man on the motorcycle stops at the end of the alley blocking her way out. He steps off the bike and removes his helmet.

"You're pretty good on that thing. Too bad I'm gonna have to kill you. Would like to learn some of those moves," Xander said as he walked towards her.

The woman got up off the ground and stared him down.

"So, you're the local vampire hunter in these parts huh? And we're usually so careful about getting in you people's crosshairs."

"Yes, well, you've only been a vampire for a few months. You didn't learn to clean your messes."

Plus she left a trail. When he read the news reports and saw them on TV he thought he was up against a siren or a succubus. But since the men didn't die of what appeared to be old age succubus was out. The reports obviously left out some of the details...like puncture wounds. It was the one link all the murders had so they left it out. Personally Xander thought it had something to do with those Twilight obsessed vampire imitators.

But eventually Xander saw a pattern in some of the strange deaths. After interviewing some of the family, he discovered they had all dated this woman.

Veronica, the raven haired vampire who took out all the boys who dumped her or did her wrong over the years. She vamped out and stalked towards him.

"They had it coming, all of them did. They left me for younger cheap whores. Now I'll be young forever, don't tell me you never thought about immortality. Fighting us...had to have considered the idea of what it would be like to be turned."

"Once. Turns out I would have been a badass vampire. Feared by everyone. But you know, saving the worlds better than tearing it apart. Now if we're done with the pleasantries...want to get this over with? I'm two hours late making an important phone call."


She growled and ran at him. He grabbed her and threw her against the wall punching her a few times. She blocked one of his punches and kicked him against the other wall. Xander reached behind him and pulled out his small crossbow.

Victoria laughed. "You're gonna kill me with that? Its so small."

"Not the size the counts. But how you use it."

"You just keep telling yourself that," she scoffed.

She moved quicker than he was ready for and she knocked it out of his hand, falling to the pavement. She threw him to the ground and pinned Xander's arms down.

"Shouldn't play with such dangerous toys. You could put your eye out. Wouldn't want that."

Xander tried to release from her grip.

"Love it when you men put up a fight," she leans down and licks his neck. "You're gonna taste so good. I might make you mine forever."

While she was talking Xander was frantically reaching for the crossbow. She bore her fangs into his neck and started to drink. He reached out and grabbed it and put the tip of the arrow to her heart.

"Forever's gonna be a little short."

He fires the crossbow and she falls and crumples to dust. Xander gets up and dusts himself off and reaches into his jacket pocket and puts a handkerchief on his wound.

"Last poke you're gonna get," Xander said as he walked to his bike.

He wasn't as good as the trash talk as Buffy was, but he still tried. Thankfully, he didn't lose much blood. He fixed up his wound with the first aid kit he kept in his bike, then made his way home.

Xander thought a lot about the last six months of his life as he made his way home.

After they saved the world from The First, he and the rest of the Scoobies helped reform the Watcher's Council, everyone kind of went their own seperate ways. Buffy needed a break from everything, well earned. Though it did suck they didnt see much of each other over the last few months. Willow and Kennedy were doing there thing, saw them every so often.

After Anya's death, Xander needed a lot of time away after helping out Giles. He traveled to Tibet, China, and even Japan. He knew with the calling of all Slayers, evil would bide its time before biting back harder.

He wanted to be ready so he could help his friends when it was time. He didn't want his disability to hold him back. So he worked with Shamen, monks, and martial art masters to learn to fight better. After a few months, he was better as a fighter and with a sword.

He came back to the states and radomly picked a place he'd call home. After watching a few John Hughes movies, he picked Chicago.

Was pretty tame as far as evil went. Had its share of monsters, but it was mostly vampires. A few demons now and again.

Finding a job on the side however, was pretty difficult. Eventually, he found a job at a local bar a few blocks from his apartment. It wasn't bad. Not a dive or very loud. A very friendly atmosphere. Felt like the bar from Cheers in some ways.

As, Xander arrived to his complex, he bought a newspaper on the corner and made his way upstairs. He tossed his kes to the table with the paper and took his jacket off. He picked up the phone to make his call, but he got a message instead.

"Hey Buff, Xander. You're probably out on patrol or something, but I just wanted to call you and wish you a happy birthday. Present and card is in the mail. Hope everythings good on your end. Miss you and hope we can mee up again soon. Night."

Being apart from the Scooby Gang sucked the most out of all this. Still did after all this time. He missed not being able to see them every day. Hanging out, watching movies. The Bronze. He made every effort to stay in touch, but it wasnt the same.

After making a late night snack he turned on the TV and fliped through the paper looking for any "tales of weird" hidden in the stories. Not seeing anything weird-esque he layed down watching some show called "Fright Night." He heard some guy talking about evil, but before he heard any more, Xander was fast asleep.