Pierce The Veil

"Just breathe." The assassin whispered to herself as she always did preparing to kill a target. This specific hit was on three important political figures. One of which was a known child molester but money had bought his way out of that hole. Money always fixed the situations scumbags got themselves into. Sometimes it was buying their way out of a court room, other times someone like Ido would show up because of money and fix the situation. At the end of the day, it was all motivated by that green paper that made the world spin.

The men she was assigned with killing were particularly grotesque, and not just in character. The one she was least thrilled with killing was a man by the name of Adam Holmes. A scummy senator , known for shutting down housing projects and leaving families homeless to make a buck. Not the worst in her book. Next was a rotund balding man by the name of Scott McKinnen. He was a potential candidate for the next presidential election. He made a career out of having people killed to get what he wants. Irony right? Last was the pedophile.The mayor of LA. John Jesset.
Kah-Lin always tried to stay as neutral as possible but raping innocent children made even her cold blood warm.

"You're first you son of a bitch." she whispered once more. Looking down at the three men.
She was perched on a rooftop above the rally they were about to have for some charity she knew was a scam.
Three smoke rings that had a bit of her weaponry were wrapped around her leg.
In about 10 seconds fireworks would go off to start the rally. That was her cue.
Pulling one explosive arrow from her quiver, she strung it on Jupiter.
"3,2,1"
The fireworks went off and Ido sent the arrow flying right at the scumbag in the center.
As soon as it hit he man's chest it exploded. Rendering him a bloody pink mist.
The explosion sent the other two men crashing to the ground. Pulling two conventional arrows from her quiver this time.
One after the other they were sent flying into the skulls of the targets.
"That's the game."
Ido turned to leap down from the building before sensing someone near her.
Quickly she strung another arrow and prepared to fire on whoever was behind her.

Three men. Three targets. One big problem. Ben had been planning this for weeks. Three corrupt politicians and businessmen were going to be crowded in one location for a rally. The rally of course was for a scam of a charity. These people disgusted him. They were the reasons he stayed up at night. Not just them specifically, their entire breed. It was the cancer of the human populace and he could not stand it.

So here he was standing in an alley just outside of the rally. Through his visored gas mask he watched the naive masses eat up every word from these sick men. How desperately he wanted to torture these men. Trap them in dark cell and inflict horrendous pain on their flesh only to give them the sweet release of death when their wills were entirely broken. The thought had definitely crossed his mind more than once. He'd smack himself in the head. Stop that, stop that! This is not who you are. He couldn't bring himself to kill, couldn't take the potential of life from another human being. Were he capable of that, he'd be no better than they were. Instead he would wait, here in the alley for the men to enter their limo. There he would take them and remove from them their site.

He'd never get the chance. A hail of mortars rose into the air exploding in brilliant sparks of color. The Veil's eyes never left the men on the stage. Then another explosion came, not from the fireworks but from within the man standing in the center. Chaos erupted in the crowd and Ben's eyes searched frantically for the source of the attack. Looking up, his eyes followed an arrow straight into the head of the second man. Tracing the trajectory his sight came to rest on a woman standing in the upper story of a nearby building. Not today bitch he scoffed as he took off into the crowd.

Bulling over anyone who got in his way he pushed his way to the opposite end of the rally. Looking back, he saw the third arrow pierce through the head of the final man. At least they can do no more harm. It was his only solace in this situation, three vile humans were off the streets. But he could not agree with the methods and needed to find out why.

Scaling the stares he rapidly reached the upper story, the one he was sure contained this mystery assassin. Reaching in to his coat, he grabbed a halothane grenade and neared the corner of the room where the woman should be. Quickly he pressed his back to the wall and squeezed the pin on the grenade, priming it to blow when released.

You and I need to have a conversation he shouted into the room, knowing it should get her attention. I don't blame you for what you did. Those men deserved to die. At the same time, you just murdered three men and I can't just let that go. So what do you say we have a nice little chat? God I hope this works he silently prayed from behind the cover of the wall.

In nearly 100 years no one had ever laid eyes on Ido. She was stunned. The faceless assassin, while still masked, had been spotted. She seriously doubted he would put two and two together to pin her as the world class mercenary, but she would prefer to not take risks. However, something about this really pissed her off. All this time moving in and out without a single mishap, and some man who she can't even see spots her? She was almost positive the fireworks and crowd chaos would be enough. She had done something like this before.

As she had her arrow ready the man's voice shot through the room one more. He wanted to talk.
What the hell did he want to chat about, the weather? It was obvious he was one of those 'turn yourself in' types.
Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he would try to kill her. Being caught for the first time had her mind racing.
That was until she noticed the tone of his voice. He too was uncertain. Licking her lips, she could almost smell the fear from him.
Putting the regular arrow away, she pulled out two sticky ones. The hallway in front of her had at least one man. She knew if she could at least slow him down, she would outrun him. He hadn't even seen her face.

"You seem nervous. Are you afraid?" Ido spoke before pulling back the two specialized arrows.
"I'm sorry dear, I'm just not one for conversation. I was raised where actions account for more than words ever can."

As she let the two arrows fly, the would hit the wall directly in front of the open door, and fill the hallway with a sticky putty pretty fast. Not only this man but anyone else that may be with him would be stuck if caught in this goop.

She ready one more regular arrow, just to prepare for the worst. Leaping to the opposite corner of the room, and away from the man's field of vision should he poke his face in, she got down on a knee with a steady bow. "Still in a chatty mood?" her ponytail almost swinging as she waited.

Honestly, The Veil was very unsure about this whole situation. He could hear the woman moving at the other end of the room but dared not peak his head out to see her. From what he had observed she was wickedly accurate with the bow she was using, dispatching three people with three spots from a long distance off with such precise swiftness. But that was about all he knew at the moment and that put him at a disadvantage. It wasn't something he was used to, mostly because he was not one to jump headlong into situations. Vigilantism, especially in a world filled to the brim with people of extraordinary ability, required careful planning and a sharp wit. Otherwise he was prone to get his ass blown up, frozen solid, hurled across the city, etc. And yet here he was, no idea who this woman was and no ability to collect the information he so needed without exposing himself. He wasn't even sure if this was in fact a woman.

Until of course she spoke. Interesting. Her words carried a flutter of uncertainty as they taunted him for his own. So she was in a similar boat to him, nervous at their situation. Obviously he couldn't determine why of course but the feeling was there, regardless of her attempts to hide it. Then more hints about her came with her following words. She valued action over words, was raised to. That said something about her character and the kind of environment where she was raised. But there was little time to think as he heard the rush of air off of an arrow rip past him. Two arrows actually collided with the wall at the opposite end of the doorway he stood beside. Shit shit shit! he thought as a thick putty rapidly oozed and expanded from the point of impact. Guess you don't want to talk.

Taking the halothane grenade still held in his left hand he tossed it in to the room behind him. Immediately the room would fill with a thin white haze, not obstructing vision but making its purpose quickly known to any one susceptible to the chemical compound inside. Raising his right hand, he'd let two beams of thin blue light escape from the device on his wrist. He was hoping that the ever encroaching putty was flammable so that he might be able to remove it and not be forced into the room with the woman. As the blue light from the device permeated the room he cursed to himself. Of course it's not working he thought this couldn't just be easy. Stopping the beam, he would then reach his right hand to his gas mask, turning it so that the filter was working at full capacity, preventing him from inhaling the halothane. Then with a bounce in his step he sprung into the thin mist in the room. I'd still be open to a dialogue if you are he shouted, his legs pounding against the floor and eyes darting wildly to find the woman. She'd have had time to a take a defensive position, that was certain. You kind of have me in a tough spot though, forcing me into this room with you and all. So why don't you come out and we can talk. He was ready for whatever she may decide to throw at him, muscles tensed and on alert. All he could do now is hope she'd listen and not try to shoot him. But with the way this was going, that seemed unlikely.

This man was much more calculated than he let on. Her attempt to capture him in a make-shift prison was to no success. However, she laid the cheese to draw in her rat.
"Like moths to a flame." She said calmly.

The room filled with smoke, and she noticed right away that Veil had used a gas mask.
"Clever. Protecting yourself against your own toxins."Kah-Lin chuckled.
"Unfortunately. My mask filters out all gas toxins. It may look like regular cloth but.."
The woman took in a deep breath and exhaled.
"No effect."

So here they were, she had an arrow pointed at him, while all he really had this point were his good intentions.
"What exactly would you like to talk about? You know what I did. If you knew anything about those men, you would've asked me for an arrow yourself. Look hun, I'm no hero. I'm no vigilante. I got paid to kill those men so I did. Fortunately they all happened be what you would call
filth."

She saw no reason to waste anymore time. She was point blank range with the man and her arrow was ready.
"That gas...trying to put me to sleep? Well maybe you should take a nap yourself."

Firing her arrow at the man's leg, she prepared for her next move. She ran directly at the vigilante putting her bow across her back and started throwing punches his direction. First a lunging hay maker, followd by a quick series of jab attempts, finishing with an attempt at a leg sweep dropping low.
Her only hope? He wasn't as trained at fighting as her. In 121 years though, she had learned quite the bag of tricks.

And there she sat, perched in a corner, her bow poised and ready to let loose swift death in his direction. But to his surprise, she hadn't shot, instead opting to taunt him with the fact that his gas had no effect. Now with her in full view, he had a moment to think, contemplate his situation and his adversary. She was a slender young woman, much younger than himself. Her dirty blonde hair kept back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes no doubt. Her body was encased in quite the impressive suit. It clung to every curve of her body like a glove, providing her no doubt perfect range of motion. But what kind of protection did it provide? He couldn't be sure. His own outfit was quite bulkier than hers, necessary to provide the meager protection it did so logic would say that hers should provide little in the way of protection. Then again, it could just have easily have been some form of highly advanced body armor forged one of the many hyper intelligent beings populating the planet. Her comment about the mask hinted to him that it was the later. It too appeared to be a simple mask yet provided her protection from his toxins. Anything physical that he threw at her body would be a total crap-shoot. Her head, more specifically would make much better targets. This formed an idea in Ben's head, not one that he was very happy about but a plan for if things went from bad to worse.

Her bow still cat full draw, the woman in front of Ben spoke, asking what it was that the two of them could talk about and informing him that if he knew who they were, he'd have wanted them dead as well. While he had known exactly what they were capable of, her little speech told him more. Standing in front of him was a mercenary, assassin, a cold hard killer to the highest bidder. That made her dangerous, it also made her a target. I know exactly who those men were he spoke with confidence and dark determination. John Jesset, Adam Holmes, Scott McKinnen, politicians and businessmen by day, lechers, murderers and thieves by night. I was here to bring them justice, you robbed them of that. Perhaps she would find some kinship in his goals but he knew that wouldn't happen. This woman was cold. She felt no comradery except with the cash that greeted her with every job well done, a symptom of the disease The Veil was committed to stopping.

She had one final comment in her, one that gave Ben a twinge more information about her. She knew the purpose of his gas, despite the fact that it had no effect on her. It could have been any number of things, a hallucinogen, a paralytic, just plain toxic and yet she knew what it did, precisely. While yes, halothane possessed a pleasant odor she shouldn't have been able to determine that it was halothane in use as her mask would have filtered out the gas. Even if she could smell it, which would mean that the mask was a lie, the smell was not distinct enough to determine it by smell alone without the effects. What it all meant he had no idea, but his interest was peaked and suspicions arose as to the nature of potential "abilities" in the woman.

None of that mattered now of course as an arrow came flying from her bow towards his leg. Why do they always go for the legs? his subconscious screamed as he did his best to move out of the way. He had been anticipating the shot but they were so close that he barely had enough time to move. Managing a pitiful attempt at the side step, the arrow shot through his coat between two of the plates and tore through the right side of his pant leg. Terrified for a moment he looked down, sure he'd been shot only to find himself bleeding but with no puncture wound. Thank Go... was all he got out in his mind as he rose his head straight into a haymaker.

His head snapped back, carrying the rest of his body with it. Collapsing onto the floor with a clumsy thud, his world went black for a moment only to quickly snap back to reality. Why'd you take your eyes off of her stupid? It was a rookie mistake and not one he should have made in the presence of a trained assassin. He wouldn't make that mistake twice. From the strength and speed in that punch she was clearly far more skilled than he in hand to hand combat. He wouldn't stand a chance in that sort of fight. So his other plan would have to be enacted.

Lifting himself onto his left arm he pointed the right one directly at her face. Activating his devices, two bright blue beams of light shot directly at her face. The light was intense, even through The Veil's visor, but he knew the pain from the light would hurt less than what would come next. The intense beams of light contacted with the thick halothane haze in the air, igniting the flammable gas. Bright orange flames erupted around The Veil's hand, lighting his fingertips ablaze and spreading out in a swift wave. In a matter of moments the entire room, The Veil and the woman too were engulfed in the blazing inferno of lit halothane. His fingers ablaze, The Veil gritted his teeth in agony as he rose to his feet. His breath came in sharp gasps, trying to manage the pain while thanking his lucky stars that the suit's fire proofing was holding for now. Staring in the direction of the woman, he hoped his trick had worked.

She prepared to follow up with an attack, but was greeted quickly by a giant road block. The man point two devices in her direction. Knowing they were going to be a weapon of some kind she dove onto her side and avoided what would come. She pulled a revolver out of one of her holsters and aimed at him. Then she realized a terrible miscalculation. "Shit."

As the room set ablaze she noticed the man looked to be in agony. She couldn't let any of the fire touch her suit.
"I have one move and it may give away my powers." she thought to herself as she dashed for the window she had shot originally from. There was no doubt the crowd beneath them was gone, and the sirens hadn't shown up yet so this was her optimal time to make a move she didn't want to. However when cornered by the very rat she caught, well you know what they say about desperate times.

As she dove out the window she fired two shots from one of her revolvers, aimed for the man's legs. If she immobilized him, then he would be stuck in the very inferno he created.
Falling from the tall building, she activated her power before hitting the ground.

As her body instantaneously became smoke, she reformed as soon as she was a safe distance to take the fall. If the man was able to handle the shots, he would no doubt be right behind her. However there was not way in that time span he could've seen her powers activate.

A lone man stood covering his head, stricken with fear he couldn't move. As he looked up at her face. She sighed. Another death not needed. "I'm sorry. This is not personal. This is strictly business."
Bang.

The echo of the gun in the empty space boomed with intense sound. She turned to see if the man had come back for more. If her shots took out his ability to walk he would have met his doom. If he tried to go out the hallway, he would be met with putty. He had one option, and it would require him to take a bit of a fall.

"Well hero boy. Come and get me." she mocked looking up at the burning building. That's when she noticed a fire escape. "Shit how did I miss that." He could have moved anywhere in the building with that thing. She took the hard way. In the time it took her to apologize to the man, and blow his brains out, he had more than enough time.
She waited and listened for screams.

"Dammit Kah-Lin. Next time blow up the fire escape."
She put her revolver back in the holster, and pulled her bow back.
Taking one more explosive arrow, she strung it and stuck it in the middle of the ladder.
As soon as it exploded it came crashing to the earth with a thud. If he was gunna use that ladder, he would have to take at least a 20 foot drop. If he hadn't already made a move. Putting her bow around her back again, she opened one of the smoke rings around her leg, and pulled out Luna her trusty Katana.
"Ok. Now we wait."

Well that didn't exactly go as planned. Looking to the woman, it appeared she was already on her way out, before the blaze had barely had a chance to ignite. As she dove for the window, The Veil chased in hot pursuit, literally hot. His fingers were still ablaze, halothane that had clung to the skin of his fingers due to perspiration made sure that that wasn't going to stop unaided. Taking his hands, he'd tuck them into his coat, wiping them free for the burning chemical, but he was in for more pain. Halfway out the window and with The Veil close behind the nameless assassin fired off two shots from a drawn pistol.

His heart sank. He'd been in situations against gunfire before but he had never been so certain that he'd be shot. With the sound of the shots came a deep blunt pain in his left leg. It was like, well, it was like being shot in the leg. But the pain was familiar. He'd felt it before while fighting Reverb. The throbbing spike of electric impulses shot up his hip and into his gut. The familiarity brought him solace must've hit a plate, thank God. The other bullet was nowhere to be found. He could only assume that she must have missed due to her unsound footing, or no footing. They were more than a few stories up and a dive like that would surely have killed her.

Reaching the window in a hobble he peaked his head out, only to see the woman land safely on the ground. A thin wisp of smoke trailed down from her head and lay itself perfectly into her ponytail. What in the hell was that? he thought in shock. Taking another quick look down, he knew that there was no way humanly possible that she reach the ground without injury. And yet she stood in the road as though nothing had happened. She even took the time to murder a poor bystander. Fuck! he screamed in anger, slamming his fists against either edge of the window sill. That was a death on his hands, one he was unable to prevent. He needed to get down to the ground floor and out into the road as quickly as possible.

The fire escape below the window presented and enticing option, but having been corned by her once and knowing the woman's accuracy at range, he did not want to put himself in a shooting gallery on the way down. No he needed to move through cover, through the building. Turning back, his fire was now raging out of control on all for walls of the room and his only exit was blocked by the...putty. The thick ooze still clung blocking the doorway. He had been unable to burn it away with his lasers, but perhaps an explosion?

Reaching into his jacket he produced another halothane grenade and lobbed it at the ooze. As the gas spread from the canister it lit in the burning air before enough could escape, forcing the blaze internally and causing an explosion. Sheilding himself from any debris with his arms, The Veil peaked out to find that the putty had been flung to all end of the room, clearing the doorway. Finally something works he smiled to himself, limping his way through the door.

It was a treacherous few stories to get to the ground. He would leap over each railing to expedite the process. But ever collision to the ground sent another shock through his leg. The agony was getting intense, but he knew he had to escape the building and get to the woman outside. And so bursting through the front doors, his head went on a swivel, searching for his assassin adversary. A loud boom, alerted him to the explosion created by one of her arrows and drew his eyes in a line right to her. She was now holding a rather fierce looking katana. No range, good, I can at least get to Elysium. The dark hearse that served as The Veil's getaway vehicle lay concealed in an alley at the other end of the street. Making a mad hobbling dash, he bolted past streamers and other remnants of the previous rally. Once in the alley, he collapsed with a thud on the hood of Elysium, the muscles in his leg, spasming from the exertion against the internal injuries. Morphine he thought hurriedly, dragging his nearly useless leg behind him to the rear of the hearse. Opening the doors, he shuffled through his medical supply, finding a syringe of morphine. Pulling up his sleeve, he'd inject a small dose, waiting a few seconds before the drug hit his heart. Once there, he felt the euphoria and the pain recede in waves over his leg. The wound was still there, but numbed enough for him to function.

With his immediate injury handled, he crawled into the driver's seat and forced the clutch into first gear. Slamming on the gas with his still good right foot, Elysium's tires would squeal against the pavement before shooting from the alley. Pulling the handbrake as he crossed the threshold, the specialized vehicle would fishtail around to face the assassin down the road. Slamming on the horn, an eerie low loud droning dirge would echo out from the vehicle. Flicking open the setting on the headlights, Elysium would then emit a blinding bright light from her headlights. The same technology in his wrist lasers was installed in exponentially magnified in these devices. If the assassin was so much as looking in his direction when they turned on, she'd be blinded, at least for a bit. And with the lights now on he let go the emergency break and once more pressed on the gas pedal. I'm done play around with you he'd grit through his teeth as he rapidly shifted through the gears and gained speed on a collision course with the woman.

"Shit."
She had yet to hear any screams, then she heard a loud bang upstairs.
"Did he set off another explosions?"
The fire escape was gone, he must have created his own exit. She was seriously getting mad now. This seemingly normal guy was giving her more than she wanted to handle.

She then saw the man crash through the door of the building.
"Lucky." She thought as he mad a mad dash for his car.
She started to chase him but knew it was definitely not smart to follow him into an enclosed area again.

As she stood she heard a car start.
"No no no no." She started to run in the opposite direction. She couldn't see them exactly, but this car had very bright lights. Luckily her back was to them. He was gaining on her, and fast. "Not many cards to play here. I also don't plan on dying." Running back towards the building, it was apparent if he hit the wall he would be seriously hurt.

If there were actually light bulbs that appeared above people's head, you would've seen one above Kah-Lin.
She had about 4 steps before the car would smash into her, and about 6 steps to the wall of the building.
"Do I back flip off the wall? No there's no time."
She instantaneously became smoke. Her body disappearing into the night.

As she floated into the night sky, she landed back on top of a different building. As she shoved the katana back into the smoke rings still around her leg, she pulled out her bow once more.
"I'm done playing around with you. It's been fun."
She fired not one but three Boomers.
All in the direction of his car. If the impact of the car didn't hurt him, these would. Although while in smoke form she hadn't paid attention to him, he could've rolled out before the crash. Although he didn't have much time.

Bang, bang, bang. Each hitting with the force of a rocet launcher. She waited for the dust to clear.
Just for good measure Ido put her bow back away and pulled her trusty Sniper Rifle Mars from a smoke ring on her leg.
Getting prone on top of the building, she created a wall of smoke just so his lasers wouldn't get to her as easy. She could she just fine through the cloud. "Show yourself if you aren't dead." She thought pulling the lever of her rifle back.
Things were certainly getting interesting if they weren't over.

Ooooooh I've got you now Ben thought, his eyes wide with rage has he gained on the woman. On foot she was no match for the speed of Elysium but she was making all the right moves. She was running straight at the side of a nearby building. If he wanted to hit her with the front of the car, he'd have no choice but to hit the wall. But he was not aiming to hit her with the front. Putting his foot straight to the floor, he'd cut the wheel sharp to the right, getting the vehicle moving at an angle. Then again he'd turn all the way in the opposite direction. With Elysium already moving towards the wall at its left side it would seem to slide momentarily before whipping itself around in a doughnut, attempting to swipe the woman as she approached the wall and scraping the rear bumper against the solid obstacle. But there was no thud, no satisfying crunch of the woman's bone's against Elysium's sleek exterior. Looking to his rear view mirrors, Ben found no evidence of the woman only a rising...smoke cloud. Rolling down the window, The Veil followed the cloud with his eyes up the side of the building to it's reformation as his nameless assassin. Smoke powers he thought, shifting back into first to remove himself from his backed up position against the current building.

With his eyes still on the woman as she drew her bow his mind raced. Makes sense that you'd be immune to yourself he thought as she drew the first arrow. That makes one of two things true. Either you're immune to halothane because of your abilities and you're mask is just a mask. This would mean that your suit is most likely not armored to leave room for you to move. On the other hand you may have been telling the truth, unlikely that you would give me that kind of information with your background however. Then the arrow came flying as Elysium lurched forward from its position.

Boom. The arrow landed a foot behind Eylisum, The Veil feeling the force of the blast in his ears and heart. Looking to the rear view mirror he saw the flames and debris from the explosion. Or she has grenade arrows and I'm wrong about everything! he yelped in shock, gripping the wheel all the more tightly. Serpentine! Serpentine! his mind screamed at his body to move. Looking to the woman with another arrow already knocked, he swung the car to the left. She let the arrow fly and the explosion rocked Elysium to the right. Hold tires, hold! he silently prayed, thanking his lucky stars that he'd had the foresight to have the tires turned outward at an angle. Granted that had been so that he could take sharp turns without upending but it was saving his ass now.

Elysium cam down with a thud, jarring The Veil for a moment though he kept his foot floored into the gas pedal. Seeing a third arrow knocked he removed his foot from the gas and slammed both into the break as hard as he could. A dull pain like a thought he couldn't quite remember ached in his left leg, but if this saved him it'd be worth it. When the third arrow flew, he closed his eyes, hoping that his feint had worked. Then he felt the explosion and the g-forces as Elysium tipped onto it's backside. I'm dead he half asked half stated in his mind. A moment later a metal bending crunch rocked him downwards. I'm not dead? he asked, this time aloud though with his eyes still firmly shut. Tentatively he opened them, afraid of what he might see.

I'm not dead was all he could think as he saw the fire burning hot on the front of Elysium. But that thought meant he could not rest and was still very much in danger. He needed info, needed to know how he stood in his situation. Staring up at the nearby rooftop there was now a thick screen of smoke. He couldn't see her or figure out what her next move was but considering her recent all out assault and his current sitting duck position she'd most likely be on the offense. Probably looking to take me out with a deadshot from that bow. He'd already seen her work at range and he did not want to be out in the street in her sight. That was the bad news. The good news, Elysium was still running despite the hood being on fire. However, that didn't mean he was in a situation where he could drive her. He had no knowledge of the damage sustained to the front end and he already knew he couldn't safely get out. Damned if I do, damned if I don't he thought angrily, his vision darting between the burning hood and the smokescreen on the roof. Other options he needed to find a different solution. Think Ben, what else do you have. Whatever he did, he needed to do it fast. If she had any more of those grenade arrows in her quiver all she would have to do was let it fly and he'd be dead. She hadn't done it yet, but that didn't mean she wouldn't.

Frantically he scanned the rear compartment of Elysium for a solution. Assorted surgical tools lined the right storage compartments, drugs and anesthetics on the left. Then it him in the head like, well like an explosive arrow. Why didn't I think of you sooner? Halothane. Ever his friend, he had a large canister of it in Elysium for keeping "patients" sedated while he transported them somewhere to administer his unique brand of justice. Disconnecting the canister from its attached tubing, he picked it up and carried it out the back of Elysium, the end facing away from where the assassin was perched. Keeping low behind his car, The Veil positioned the large canister beneath the hearse so that it faced the building that held his adversary. Then reaching into the back once more, he produced the scissor jack from inside. It was there in case he got a flat but it would work for his purposes now as well. Cranking open the jack, he'd position it around the neck of the large canister. Leaping momentarily he'd come down hard with his feet on the top of the jack. In one swift motion the neck of the canister would sever, releasing the gas inside rapidly and shooting it off like a rocket at the building. The Veil then sprawled out on his belly beneath Elysium, aiming his  right wrist at the canister hurtling towards the building. In less than a second he heard the loud crash against the brick of the building and the still active lasers in his headlights...well on of them anyway lit the escaping halothane. Just like one of his small grenades but on a much larger scale the lit halothane quickly worked into the canister, building up pressure and forcing it to violently expand and explode. The bottom load bearing wall was almost completely eradicated in the explosion and Ben could feel the heat from where he was positioned.

There was no way she could still shoot accurately now as he felt the rumbles from the slowly collapsing building through the ground. Sliding from beneath the car he'd sprint to the front, seeing the opportunity at hand. With his fist he'd smash the working headlight loose. Grabbing ahold of the now dangling but still very functional headlight, he'd pint it straight at the smoke cloud on the roof of the crumbling building. The collapse won't get you he thought but wherever you go, I'll keep the light on. His rationale, if she was smoke, she'd have to be able to see somehow and the light would work. If she solidified, she'd have to turn towards him and use her sight if she intended to be offensive. If she intended to come at him or move in his direction at all, he had her.

"Damn damn damn damn." she knew this was going to hurt.
"Make a movie Kah-Lin. Make one now or..."
The grenade hit. Not close enough to kill her, but it sent her tumbling off the to her side. She looked over and her ankle was clearly broken. "That little bastard. He better have a good dentist because I'm going to knock his teeth out. Scratch that, he's a dead man."

As she mustered up enough strength to run and dive to the building to her left, she fired three sniper shots at The Veil.
Upon crashing to the buildings roof, she let go of her sniper and grabbed her leg. "God dammit." It was throbbing. She was able to avoid almost everything he threw at her, but she wasn't able to avoid this.

As she leaned over the side she fired two more sniper shots at the man. She touched her rifle and it dissipated into smoke. She manipulated it into a ring around her arm. She pulled out her bow, and rolled over the side of the building.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, she once more vanished into smoke. Upon landing she saw no sign of her opponent. Until she glanced over and caught a blood trail that lead into another one of the buildings.

"Gotcha you rat."
As she hobbled her way into the building the pain in her leg was growing to become mind numbing. "Just a few more minutes Kah-Lin. Then he'll be gone. Then you'll be outta here."
As she dropped her shoulder slamming it into one of the hallway doors she found the vigilante on the floor below her. She drew an arrow and pointed at his chest.
"Any last words?"

Following this mystery assassin with the light The Veil was certain he'd end up blinding her, he had to. If he didn't he knew the consequences would be dire. And yet she wasn't moving, a cloud of smoke just stuck to the roof of the collapsing building. Then there was a blur of motion from behind the smoke screen and a panic set in to Ben's heart. She can create it too. Shit, I should have considered that. But the fact was he hadn't and he was about to pay for it.

Seeing the glint from the scope of her rifle, The Veil Frantically turned the dismantled headlight in her direction. By the time it would have reached her he had already heard the boom of the shot and felt a shattering explosion in his hands. The ping of the cracked bulb echoed in his ears, small shards of glass and plastic shrapnel lodged themselves in his hands through his gloves. A guttural scream escaped him as he reacted far too late to do anything. The morphine still in his system would dull the pain, but the initial shock set his nerves ablaze.

Trying to regain his composure The Veil looked once more to the assassin. The glint from her scope still shone at him and he took off in a mad dash. He had no idea where he was going just that he had to get out of the street. The second shot whizzed just past his face. He could feel the air pressure from the passing projectile as he moved. Then there was the pain. The third shot rang in his ears and he felt a kind of burning agony in the back of his left calf. He hit the ground immediately, his body seeming to stiffen from the pain. The crash to the ground sent colorful spots darting across his vision. For a moment he forgot where he was, what he was doing, then it came rushing back to him in a thick fog. You've been shot he told himself, trying his best to rationalize the situation. You're concussed he really should have identified that sooner. This was now the third time his head had been jostled during this little encounter, or maybe it was the fourth. His normally clear and sharp mind was now swimming in a sea of molasses. Thoughts seemed to drag out and required effort to fully form. Your body is in shock he finally thought, coming to grips with the situation at hand. His leg had been shot and he was now a sitting duck in the street.

Get inside! he demanded of himself, half walking half crawling as he did. There was still feeling in his leg and foot, that was good, but any attempt to use them sent waves of pain crashing over the morphine. Get inside, get inside! The words pounded in his head to his rising heartbeat. Two more shots rang out before her reached the interior of the building. But the trip inside had been so cloudy he could not even tell how he had avoided them. All he knew now was that he needed a plan.

Laying on his stomach, he crawled to a corner on the right of the room. Finally given a moment he looked down to analyze his leg. His protective coat was warped inwards. Any attempt to move his leg, brought the thick coat with it. Reaching down a hand he felt the exterior. The bullet it seemed has hit one of his protective plates, but it had not been enough to stop it. Instead the bullet warped the metal inward like a nail and drove itself and a part of the titanium sheet into his leg. That's serious he thought, realizing that a sniper bullet and part of his own suit were lodged in his leg. If he survived this encounter, the would would almost certainly infect. But judging by the thick trail of blood that he had left on the way in, he wasn't so sure that survival was an option. Still, he had to try and no doubt the assassin would make her was inside once she saw the trail. She'll want to finish the job, make sure I'm dead. Thinking this, he decided that this would be his key to survival.

Sprawling out, face first on the floor he calmed his breathing. The heavy coat he wore would already be enough to mask it so if he slowed the breathing down, it may very well appear that he was already dead. Hearing the noise of shuffling outside of the building he had entered he waited for her to make a move. At the sound of her voice, he flipped over on to this back, pointing his right hand in a fist at her face while keeping it supported with the left. A few actually he muttered out through the pain. Let that arrow fly, and you'll be blinded before it hits me. Either both of us walk away from this, or neither of us do. Sure you might kill me, but what good is a ranged assassin without her sight? Then a wave of drowsiness washed over The Veil, his sight began to tunnel on the woman and he could feel his consciousness slipping. Seems like your on a short timer he grunted, forcing himself to stay awake. The second I start to feel myself fade, I'm firing anyway. So tell me, what are you going to do now? In his mind, he was already a dead man. The least he could do was take out one last target before he went.

Trapped by the rat she had cornered. This brought both anger and humor to her. Sure she was always driven to finish the mission, but this man was not her target. The three bastards she was sent to deliver to hell had been dropped off. This man didn't know her face. Her name. Or even her true purpose behind her drive.
He didn't know where to find her, how to find her, or even where to begin. In the first time, she was going to let someone trade their life. "You certainly are quite persistent. Killing you at the cost of my own eyes? I mean, I may be able to get them fixed somehow. However, getting out of here after 4 murders with no vision is a different story.

Ido let the arrow fly by the man's head, and stick into the wall next to him. "You are the first man in one hundred years to keep his life after laying eyes on me. Congratulations. I am curious about something though? What drives you? Why do you crusade after the same men, that others want dead? Why would you put your life on the line to simply blind me? As far as you know I've only murdered one man. I'm sure in time I'll find out more about you. I'll be watching. I'll find my answers. Remember. Range." She winked at him.

Turning her back to him. "For what it's worth my code name is Ido. It means to disappear. The smoke powers are all gadgets."
She pointed to her belt.
"Without this no smoke."
"Anyways. I'll head out of here. Get that leg checked out. Looks bad."

As she disappeared into the wall, smoke left a small trail before being swept up into the evening sky.
This round had been fruitful for the both of them. Perhaps they would grow to understand one another more one day. As for now, he was no longer her enemy, but a fascination. She was curious about this man. Only time would tell which way the pendulum of life would swing for them.