The Watchwomen

Chapter 43 (Act III): I Am Your Master

We last read Chapter 42, in which Dr. Duncan Drevis and Nightclaw officially make up and get back together on the front steps of the Mercury Heights Courthouse shortly before the pivotal hearing which would decide the ultimate fate of the Paragons as an organization. With Giorgio Carlisle heading the defense and his rival—simply known as Rival—heading the prosecution, the judge mediates as the two men call witnesses back and forth, with Rival damaging their credibility right from the start by calling Baahir Hassan, a man who gives a mostly false testimony of the Battle of Cairo the previous year......which Carlisle is quick to discredit once he calls Hassan to the stand during his first session. 

The rest of the trial's proceedings consist of a back-and-forth between Carlisle and Rival, and concludes with Carlisle bringing forth Dr. Duncan Drevis himself—who vouches for the Paragons' inherent heroism and goodness—and even a former Diamond Legion assassin named Ryleigh Olson, who testifies regarding the horrors of the Legion and the abuse that its unwilling "workers" suffered. After hearing from everyone—a process that takes a few hours—the judge adjourns the court while the jury deliberates.

A while later, after dinner, the group meets again, and initially the judge decides that The Viper, Nightclaw, Coldsnap, and Voltara can go back to work freely. But, unwilling to have the Paragons be split up, The Viper states that unless all eight of the Paragons are returned to duty, she will no longer act as a superhero, inspiring the other three heroines to perform similar gestures. Ultimately, the judge caves and enables all eight Paragons to return to work—under Giorgio Carlisle or not—as a free and private organization, much to the congregation's glee and Rival's immense chagrin. The chapter ended with Carlisle suggesting that the group of ten—the eight Paragons, Carlisle himself, and Commissioner Marvin—all go out for sushi to celebrate their victory, to which the heroes collectively agree.

This time, we catch up with Duncan and Nightclaw later that very night, long after the crew of ten have finished their sushi party.....

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-Dr. Duncan Drevis's Apartment Complex, Mercury Heights, New York, United States-

Deep in the basement of Dr. Duncan Drevis's apartment complex, the doctor himself sat in a steel folding chair, with his hands, arms, legs, ankles, and feet all restrained by thick loops of rope. The square-shaped room he was trapped in was effectively devoid of other physical objects besides the chair itself.....but it's not like there was a lot for Duncan to look at anyway, since he could barely see anything outside of the immediate circle of light that had been cast down upon him by the overhead lamp.

He heard the unmistakable sound of Nightclaw's snarling, with the noise growing louder as she got closer and closer to him. However, no matter how much he darted his head around and used his eyes to scan his surroundings, he couldn't detect her coming.

Suddenly, he heard another set of sounds; a series of rushing footsteps that seemed to be coming from all directions and picking up speed. His heart racing and his breathing quickening, he whipped his head around more, trying to discern where she was in relation to him. Was she directly in front? Or was she at the back? Was she directly to his left or his right? Or perhaps she was at some angle between the two?

His question was answered in a truly horrifying way when Nightclaw lunged out of the shadows and flew towards him in a single bound, her front limbs held out in front of her and her clawed paws aimed right at the doctor.

Her impact was so strong that she knocked the entire steel folding chair over—though Duncan was still firmly tied to it—and caused the doctor to now be on his back, looking up at her.