It is actually pretty late in the night and the church is technically closed. But the doors stay open all night because it is a cold winter outside and some homeless know they can find refuge within.
There is little of value inside, of course. The priest is not an idiot and keeps what little valuables the church has in a locked room with a sturdy door.
Tonight no one came to sleep inside. Or if they did, they left early. Perhaps someone convinced them to leave. Perhaps some survival instinct kept them out.
There is a gunshot. It is terribly loud inside the empty church, reaching every corner and all the way up the bell tower. Not so loud outside, of course, and in Hell's Kitchen the cops are slow responding.
*
Nightcrawler tends to help out the Priest of this particular church quite often; sometimes it's with the cleaning of the sactuary, sometimes it's helping with other matters around the structure. Tonight he was helping with some simple repairs to some of the inner rooms when the gunshot is heard. Pointed ears prick up and he looks towards the Sanctuary. To the priest, he holds out a hand for him to stay and there is a quiet, "You should call the police," before he teleports in a burst of brimstone-laced smoke. He reappears up in the higher rafters of the Sanctuary, golden eyes seeming to glow in the dim light as he looks down to see what is going on.
*
The church is dark and quiet, but among the shadows Nightcrawler can see a large man by the confessionary. He wears a thick, dark coat and some kind of mask or helmet on his head. He is leaning over another man, also a large one, that lies sprawled on the floor.
A heartbeat, and the man on the coat stands, turning to look up at the rafters. It is a mask, the left black, the right brown, slits for the eyes. In the darkness, up there, Kurt must be almost invisible, yet the masked man seems to know he is there.
"Well. Are you coming down or leaving like you came?" He asks, his voice a deep baritone. "I don't have all the night."
*
Those golden eyes narrow into slits and there is another puff of dark, stinging-smelling smoke before he appears, crouched on the back of one of the heavy, solid pews. "What kind of person are you," is asked in a heavy, Romany-German accent, "That you would shoot a gun in a place of God?" There is a glance down to the man before him, "Have you killed him?" In such a holy place?
*
"I am an armed atheist," replies the man, hands shifting to the coat pockets. "And yes, I did kill him. I would say he was a sinner and had it coming. But in truth he was a communist spy and likely a good and honest Russian patriot."
The large man starts walking towards the back door. "But perhaps he was a bad Russian patriot, in which case maybe he was a Christian. Would you say that made him more guilty, or less guilty?"
*
"You killed him for his…politics?" Kurt seems rather shocked that such an extreme would be taken! "Und he was seeking safety in a Church! I do not care what he believed…or what you believe. You are not God to say who lives und who dies! We have called the police. You will be sent to prison for this."
*
"Politics is what kills more people nowadays," the man in the coat looks up again, trying to find Kurt's exact position. "Yes, ultimately politics killed him. Although *I* shoot him because I was paid to kill him."
*
He pauses at the door. "But if I was a soldier I would have done it for duty, I suppose." Not opening the door yet. "The police won't arrive here in time to find me. Which is actually good for them tonight."
*
Nightcrawler teleports over to stand at the door, attemptig to block the man's exit, "Then I will follow you und make sure that they will find you if I cannot keep you here until they come. You cannot murder a man und not face the consequences of those actions." His expression is very serious and very intense, "You are a wicked man."
*
Teleportation. That explains it. "You are a mutant," he decides at seeing Kurt. "Some would say it means you are wicked and should die for it." Impossible to know the expression of the masked man, but he tenses when Kurt stands on his way. "Consequences? They would give me a medal, young man. Who do you think is paying me to kill communist spies? The girl scouts?"
*
Nightcrawler inclines his head, "Some do say it. I am not afraid of you. If you wish to kill me, then it will be the blood on your hands. I have made my peace with God und with who I am." His jaw tics briefly at the mention of who may have paid one man to kill the other. "They paid you to kill him in a Church? Not to bring him in to be questioned und sent back to Russia?"
*
"No, no to either question," replies the masked man. "I followed him here. Most likely he was to meet with someone. I doubt he was here to pray at this time of the night, but who knows. Why were -you- here? Perhaps this was the only time of the day you and him can pray here." He shrugs. "It matters not. Are you a good Christian?"
*
"Yet you came here to kill him. Meeting with someone is not a crime. Killing someone is." Nightcrawler seems unwilling to move from trying to block the other man's path. "It is none of your business why I am here, but I was helping the Priest who is in charge of this Church. I pray here when I wish…" even if it means he's hidden in the rafters. Dark brows draw down at the next question, "I believe I am, why does that matter?"
*
"You should forgive me," replies the masked man. "It is the Christian way of acting. Picking a fight with me will likely end up with you dead, or with me serious injured if you are a powerful mutant. I perhaps committed a sin, but not a crime, as that man was marked to die by higher authorities than us and the law will not punish me. Forgive the sinner and let me go in peace, hmm?" Okay, now maybe there is a slightly mocking tone there.
*
"Only God decides who is to live und who is to die. You or the President or a King…you do not have the right to decide that. Und I will not forgive you for taking a life or for taking a life for money," Kurt explains, still frowning. "You will be punished. If the law does not find you, you will still be punished, for He will see to that." He doesn't seem willing to let the man just walk away, however.
*
"Well, then let God punish me," agrees Deathstroke. "You are not God, so you shouldn't even try to do it, you don't have the right to decide that either, do you?" He takes a step forward, then another. "You are not God, or law-enforcement. You might not even be an US citizen able to do a citizen arrest. What are you? A vigilante? A hero? A judge? A Christian trying to be God?"
*
Nightcrawler inclines his head again to look at the other man, "I am merely one who is trying to stall you until the police get here," sharp teeth are shown in a humorless grin. "Und then you will be punished by the law. I will not kill you or do you harm unless it is in my self-defense. But I will not stand b y und watch while you walk away after killing a man. I do not care who he was or what he did. Du Sollst Nicht T ten." Thou Shalt Not Kill.
*
"How kind of you," replies the masked man. Much taller and larger than Nightcrawler. But since the mutant stated his intention not to harm him, he will be kind. Relatively speaking. He is still in the way, and although he considers unlikely he will even make it to the judge if he is arrested, Slade would very much prefer to avoid the publicity and call upon favors due.
"Not killing, then," he decides, leaving his handgun on the pocket and merely charging Kurt. Suddenly, and with the speed and strength of a tiger.
*
- To Be Continued…