January 1965 {DAN}

[vialextalionis]

Streets are cold. Wet. Dark. Terrain still unfamiliar - should have spent more time evaluating, walking them. I do in the light, as often as possible. But the darkness distorts things. Makes it hard to move. Three months is not enough time to know every corner, twist, groove... what I need to know to be effective. Suppose it puts us on even ground

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[maskedowl]

I can hear the snap! of the druggie's wrist as Rorschach overcomes him. It's that quiet.

I'm slow. Slower than I should be, I hiss at myself. Don't be afraid, I think. It's the same city you love. Everything's just darker.

In the end, trying to fool myself doesn't help. It makes things worse.

I'm trotting over to terror of the night after dispatching a would-be rapist that I managed to stumble upon. I can't rely on getting lucky, but hey, it happens. I left him unconscious next to a fire hydrant with his own trousers as make-shift handcuffs. He's got nicely-made jeans- He wouldn't be able to undo that knot even if he had a knife.

I can see Rorschach clearly in the lamplight as he ties two men to the pole, and I'm pretty sure one of them is sobbing. They probably deserve it, but Rorschach is so vicious and mad dog wild with his brand of justice that it's hard to tell

[vialextalionis]

I tie the last knot - they're secure, and the fiends are not getting away. Police will have a hard time cutting them down.
There are tears on one's face, and my stomach churns. Shouldn't be allowed to cry.

Hair on the back of my neck stands, skin tingles under the mask. Being watched. The silence of the street felt isolated, and the presence is an obvious intrusion.

I turn my head, and there is a tall armored man. Have seen his picture in the papers. Nite Owl II. Took over for the first Owl in '62. Have never seen him in person. Now he is smiling, nervous, down the street. Yards away.

I grind my teeth. Clench my hands. Debating.

Decide to turn and walk down street, away from him.

[maskedowl]

I pause and nearly trip. He's walking away. Maybe I scared him?

Stupidly, I press on.

"Uh, Rorschach, right?" I don't speak loudly, partly out of habit from patrolling, and partly because I'm closing in on him. I grin again. Friendlier, I hope.

"Nice mask," Is the first stupid mistake I make, and I say first because I'm still young and stupid and don't know when to stop. Like an out of control trainwreck.

I reconsider. He's inscrutiable with that... mask on. It's a little frightening. Wouldn't want to bump into him in a dark alley- which is probably the whole damn purpose.

I fiddle with my goggles a bit and ask him if he does rounds here often.

[vialextalionis]

I stop and look back at him, and beneath the latex I'm blinking rapidly. Both astounded by the fact that he continues talking to me despite the fact that I'm moving away from him, and nervous because of it. Muscles are tensing. He is non threatening... but larger than I am. Armored.

"What do you want."

[maskedowl]

"No reason," I bring Archie close to an empty dock. All but one of the streetlamps are broken, I'm guessing from poor maintenance or hoodlum kids or both, or maybe something else entirely. Maybe it's a gang warning, sign, whatever they use these days. I think I'm losing touch with the younger generation. I'm not even that old- I'm still in Harvard, for chrissakes!

I give up and blame it on my lack of social life right now.

The owlship hovers closer, surrounding water on the pier gurgling and eddying away from the force of the engines. "Just curious. I'm a native too, haha. I guess it's not exactly uncommon though, is it?"

...Smooth, Daniel. Real smooth.

The hatch opens and the ladder pops down, as always.

[vialextalionis]

I move quickly out of the ship. Nite Owl makes me inexplicably anxious, and the ship agitates me. Too different. I am thankful for the ground beneath my feet.
"Hrrm. Good place to land. Subtle."
I wait for him to follow me out, and then start off down the dock.

[maskedowl]

After placing Archie on autopilot, I hop out of the seat and jump the rungs two-by-two. I'm excited. The adrenaline is already pumping.

I quietly thank him, as stupid as it is. Old habits die hard. Dad had trained me to be painfully polite.

He'd be rolling in his grave if he knew what I did every night.

The hatch hisses shut at the push of a button after I hop down. The owlship flies away and my heart aches a bit. $250,000, flying over New York. I bury my worries and hurry after Rorschach, eager to prove myself.

[vialextalionis]

Place my hands in my pockets. Too awkward leaving them hanging.

Dark and quiet. No sound. Strange in this city, especially in the darkness. Perhaps something already happened here. Perhaps something will happen. I move forward carefully, looking to my sides, trying to peer through the black.

Nite Owl catches up to me, and is remarkably quiet for how much he's wearing.

There are is a small group of people gathered near the light at the other end of the dock. I look back at the other mask. After all, he's the one who needs to prove himself to me.