neighborhood watch #3
previously previouslyinin
neighborhood neighborhood watch watch having havingsurvived survivedaaterrifying terrifyingshowdown showdownwith withaadisgruntled disgruntledco-worker co-worker with withthe thehelp helpof ofwhat whathe hebelieves believesto tobe bean anangel, angel,ray raydanner dannerfinds findshimself himself shellshocked shellshockedand andconfused. confused. seeking seekinganswers answersfrom froman anelusive elusivestreet street preacher, preacher,he hesuddenly suddenlyfinds findshimself himselfininthe thepresence presenceof ofaamysterious mysterioushero. hero. the thehero herospeaks speaksininriddles, riddles,and andclaims claimsto tohave havethe theanswers answersray rayseeks. seeks. he he offers offersto tomeet meetray rayone oneweek weeklater laterat atmidnight, midnight,at at"the "thetop topof ofthe theworld." world."
written, written, produced, produced, and and directed directed by: by: matt matt owens owens
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i've had this recurring dream, ever since i was a teenager....
i've always been a vivid dreamer....
i'm standing on a beach...the sky is dark, the waters threatening....
I'm standing there, watching the storm roll in....
and suddenly, i realize....
the figure on the beach isn't me at all.
it's robbie.
it should have been you, ray.
what is crime?
chapter chapter 4: 4: the the hammering hammering process process
"is it a cry from the abyss, full of dischord and disharmony? beset on besieging our peaceful world with it's violent howlings?"
"is it a disease, run rampant upon the social order - a plague of blackest death?"
"...or is it merely the voice of desperation?"
"...the tragic cry of the passed over? those who will not go silently into an obscure death, ground into dust by an uncaring machine?"
what is crime?? i tell ya kid, there is no simple answer.
but...if you are to become that which you were made to be, this is a question you must wrestle with night and day.
for if you do not know what crime is, you will be powerless to stop it from choking the life out of everything you hold dear.
teach me.
"meet me at the top of the world," he said.
what the heck does that mean?
it must be a riddle or something.
i ask around the neighborhood.
look what we have here boys.... there's that pawn shop over off the bowery.
a little punk that owes me money.
only place i know of.
hiya roachie.
shoot.
heeeeeeeey heeeeeeeey fellas.
payday roachie .
time to settle your account.
you alright, roach?
look sully, it's cool man...i can get it from my moms.
let's just beat this fairy-boy down.
maybe we get it from your moms,
yeah, i like the sound of that.
too late fairy-boy.
just give me one more day.
smaaaaaaaack!!! smaaaaaaaack!!! it's happening again. right before my eyes.
urk.
let's just do him and be done with it.
like that roach-motel? taste good?
do something.
hey!
leave him-
i wouldn't do that if i were you.
you.
watch and see.
you're not going to do anything?
i got it sully, look man i swear. tomorrow.
i see you again- you don't have my money-?
i'm gonna have antoine here disembowel you. then we gonna go visit your moms.
you hear me stoner?
nah roachie, it ain't cool. it's business.
cool man, it's cool. seriously,
some hills aren't worth dying on.
see?
never met a preacher with moves like yours.
i wasn't always a preacher.
you ran away before i could talk to you the other day. i....
there are things i want to ask you about.
such as?
i think i saw an angel.
do you use drugs, ray? no, sir. i just see angels.
well, there's plenty of precedent for that. abraham, elijah...the fact of what you saw isn't really the issue.
the question you should be asking is: why?
if you want to know who you are...why you were made....
i'm a coward. every time i have the chance to help someone- i freeze.
how could god, or anyone think i was worth saving?
i even let my twin brother drown. it should have been me, preach.
and yet, here you are. everything happens for a reason, ray. all things work for good.
i urge you not to receive the grace of god in vain,
you survived for a reason. you need to know why.
this city has taken a lot of things from me, ray.
"these people are trapped in a cycle of violence and sin that they have little hope of ever escaping."
"someone must bring light to the dark places."
this is my calling. my purpose. i was shaped by my circumstances for this unique work. how about you, ray?
How about me...?
meet me at the top of the world.
midnight.
okay....
i'm here.
glad you made it, kid.
part of me thought maybe this was a set up.
more like a test.
a very simple obedience test.
one of many to come.
you promised me answers.
have a look over here, ray.
and so i did.
tell me what you see.
a girl....
...getting mugged.
perhaps... at best.
of course, the skulls have never been known for their manners.
did you know that 85% of the rapes that occur in this city take place within a 6 block radius of each other? catch them coming home from the train station, you see.
you still haven't answered my question.
let me ask you a question, ray. knowing that this young woman before us is probably going to face the most horrifying experience of her life sometime in the next 2.5 minutes....
how does that make you feel?
how does it make me feel?
please...
angry.
would you do anything to help her?
if you weren't a coward...if you weren't afraid....
I...
I...
time's wasting. any moment now they'll drag her into the alley!
i'd stop them.
exactly.
you're a saint.
this is what we do.
you...you... that was....
you're one of us, ray. a protector. this is what you were made for, though you did not know until this day.
this is crazy.
i'm not like you- i can't do that....
you can. you just don't know how. well guess what kid? i came here to teach you.
this is...this is just crazy...you're some kind of maniac right?
i can't be a superhero- i mean- i don't even have superpowers!
...okay, suppose i do believe youwhat happens next?
do i become your sidekick or something? do i have to wear green hot pants?
do i have to be crescent moon lad, or something like that?
gifts, ray. we refer to them as "gifts."
and you do have them. in fact, everyone does, though many never learn to discover their gifts.
i'm not looking for a sidekick, ray.
i'm looking for a replacement.
i just don't know....
i'm getting old, ray. i've been in this fight a long time.
you do know.
this is your moment.
deep inside your heart you've always known that this is who you are.
like the time in fourth grade when you stopped your classmates from putting a firecracker in the homeless man's pocket.
A protector.
like the time you saved steve spencer in the locker room.
like that bloody monday morning at your office....
like the time you tried to save your brother at the lake.
you knew something was wrong that day.... you knew it the moment you stepped inside the door.
you could taste the gun powder in the air. you could smell your co-worker's blood as it stained the carpet. you could feel his anger burning against you from two floors away.
you could have walked away, but you didn't.
...because something inside compelled you to.
you went searching for the source of this calamity....
and in that moment...when your eyes and his eyes finally met....
you knew what you wanted to do...didn't you ray?
but you didn't know how to do it.
you probably think you're lucky to be alive, but it wasn't luck. it was design.
more specifically...it was seraph.
i hear a golden sound like trumpets...
do not receive the grace of god in vain, ray danner.
we all..
we all...
play a part..
play a part...
...in a much larger scheme.
you were saved for a purpose, ray danner.
i...i...
can you receive this word?
you...you're beautiful....
there is an order, ray- a silent company that has been working for centuries to protect this world from the evil it spawns.
once we were known as the order of light. these days we simply refer to ourselves as "the company."
you can think of us as a kind of neighborhood watch, but on a much grander scale.
it is into this order, this company, this watch that i offer you membership- for it is your destiny....
...whether you choose to accept it or not.
you don't want me.
you were made for this ray.
from your brother's death...to the office shooting....
i'm a coward!
your mother was an acrobat...your father a golden glove boxer.
no!
she taught you how to move with grace, agility. he taught you how to throw a punch.
why? why me?
i'm just some guy.... some idiot....
these are merely raw materials. i will teach you steel.
how can you know this? do not receive the grace of god in vain, ray danner.
how am i supposed to trust you?
is it really me?
you really want me??
you were bought with a price
this is so crazy but,,,.
...lord let it be true.
you were bought for a price
okay. if this is it- if what you're saying is true then...I'm in.
teach me.
you poor fool.
follow me.
this will be your home.
forget your family. forget your friends.
that time has passed away.
consider these things a sacrifice for the enlightenment to come.
you will wait for my call. do not attempt to call out- it won't work anyway.
make youself comfortable.
welcome home.
i'll be in touch.
i came to paragon city like every other small town kid with big city dreams.
i was going to be a conqueror.
instead i found a purpose. meaning.
destiny, you might say.
...and the hope of something more.
next issue you'll be back. punks like you always come back.
not this punk, sir.
"does "does a a tiger tiger wear wear a a necktie?" necktie?"
soon soon