Unsettling [Gotham Live! Summer]

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The beast of television lives on scheduling, product placement, and interest. It becomes a juggernaut of sorts for those involved. You have to keep pace with it, or be left in the dust of it's war path. Which is something most people learn from very early on. The image of those on set is as crucial as the subject matter itself. That is why whenever you're supposed to go live in a few minutes shy of half an hour and not present, the director starts shitting a brick. 

With Vic Sage's track record, one could build a house. The director was pacing the set as Vic ran in, his clothes disheveled, hair a mess,  and not an excuse to be had.  

Sage was rushed to make up and wardrobe where his co-anchor should already be. He walks in, moving quickly to pick out a new suit for the broadcast. "Good evening. Morning. Which is it? I feel like I'm losing my marbles." 

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With the debut of her second television show premiering only a matter of weeks away, Summer couldn’t. Wipe the smug look off of her pretty face as she strutted down the hallways of the Gotham Live studios. Though the origins of the show’s purpose was to stray slightly from the typical news that surrounded the crime of Gotham, she was sure to bring her own trademarks and flair that was sure to put ratings through the roof. However, with such a commitment to another show, the redhead was increasingly busier than usual Her limited social life that suffered already was slim to none. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last place she had been too other than her home and the studio.

She could hear both her producer and the set director panicking outside of the closed room of her dressing room. If the make-up artist wasn’t currently applying mascara to her long, curled eyelashes then the redhead might have rolled her eyes. Occasionally they would peak in, asking Summer if she knew of her co-hosts location. “I don’t know where he is. Please stop asking me. But I will be more than happy to do the show by myself.” Scrolling through her phone she assured them that she had not heard from Vic at all that day. “Besides, not even all the make-up in the world could make his face appealing.” The redhead remarked bitterly as she turned her attention back to her own reflection.

The panic seemed to only multiply when Vic made his appearance. From a woman who was rarely late for anything, Summer couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at his tardiness. “It’s Tuesday, April 5th. It’s 5:15 pm. And just in case you have forgotten, you work for Gotham Live Studios. We are Live at 6pm. Need me to tie your shoes for you while I am at it?” The redhead replied dully, inspecting the manicure she had gotten the day prior.

outfit: click here to see!

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"Yeah, that'd be great." Vic replied quickly, "I love a team player. I'll remember to include you in my next award speech." He gave her a wink and started undressing. The suit was clean and pressed. There was nothing quite like a good suit to turn a bad day upwards.

"Before you get snoody, remember this business has a knack for turning on people, and just as easily as a person can be made, they can be unmade as well." He said, now tucking in his new shirt. Yes, he could have gone to a more private area to change, but he was late. Besides, being seen in boxes and an undershirt was something Vic didn't think twice about. "I mean, honestly, how do you manage to do two shows, maintain a social life, and do field work? If I didn't know any better, I'd finger you for Batgirl."

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Now that her personal stylist was busy touching up some of her curls that had come a bit loose during the course of the day, she was able to roll her eyes at his comment. Though she opened her mouth to inform him that she hadn’t been serious, she quickly closed it only knowing that another sarcastic remark was sure to follow. “Aww, thanks, Vic. I can honestly say I am flattered. But that would be considering the slim chance that you actually got another an award, I’m not entirely convinced on how you earned the last few,” her sickly-sweet tone laced with venom

Sending a rather quick text from her phone, she looked up only to see her co-anchor stripping rapidly in order to get dressed. Despite his rather fit image, she made a noise of protest as an unpleasant shriek fell from her lips. “What do you think you are do-uughh. See? This is why they need to hurry up and fix that stupid leak so I can have my private dressing room back. This is ridiculous. I would have to burn my eyes to get that image out of my head.” She scoffed, only to have her eyes widen in horror at the realization. “Wait- if he ever decides not to show up late where am I supposed to change?” She panicked slightly, though her face managed to relax when the subtle smirk slipped back to her pretty face. “Then again, what is the chance of him showing up on time?”

Choosing to ignore his last comment, Summer practically dedicated her life to Gotham Live, only recently replacing the ancient woman who had formerly had the young reporter’s position. Her ambition and dedication had only resulted in the young woman’s career thriving throughout the years; she had no worries about her current status. His next statement resulted in a peel of laughter from the redhead’s lips that disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. “Please, even Batgirl couldn’t do what I do.”


outfit: click here to see!

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"I'm Sure." Vic replied casually to her Batgirl remark. He gave a shrug to her shriek, "Will you relax? I would hope at this stage of your life you're at least some what familiar with what a man looks like in boxers, an undershirt, and orange socks looks like."

He slid easily into his own make up chair, getting slicked and primed for showtime, "How did I get awards? Simple, I busted my hump and I got the story. Punctuality might not be my strong suit, but Vic Sage always gets the story, first." He looked over at her for a moment, "But I'm sure your facebook is helping you track down leads."

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She could barely contain her laughter at his suggestion and quickly assured him that Batgirl wasn’t even on her level. (at least in her opinion) However, she couldn't help but dwell on the topic for a bit longer. “Please, you can’t seriously think that I would wear a mask to cover up this pretty face.” Summer continued to chuckle to herself as she shielded her face and prevented looking in the mirror for only a matter of seconds so that he could get dressed. It wasn’t that he was hard to look at – in fact, quite the opposite, but she still felt obligated to show her disproval. “What do you think, Celia?” She asked her personal-makeup artist. “Do you think that I could pull off the tight, black outfit?”

Scoffing at his comment about her familiarity with men, she was almost relieved that he hadn’t gone in an opposite direction with such a comment. The promiscuous young redhead had certainly gone to some very drastic limits in order to get a story. “Please- I’m six steps ahead of you, darling.” Summer said almost completely uninterested in his rivaling success. Slightly puzzled in regards to his Facebook remark, she finally understood what he was getting at and once again found herself resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m not on Facebook currently, thank you. I am actually sending a very important email. Phone can do that now, just in case you were unaware.”


outfit: click here to see!

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"Oh I'm sure they can. How do you like being under Big Brother's microscope, by the way?" Vic commented. Truth was, he was probably one of the few people in the US under 40 who outright refused to have a cell phone. The cancer risk wasn't what bothered him, it was being watch, his conversations being constantly recorded. Land of the free indeed.

"Then I'm sure you've heard about The Roman's activities have started flaring up again." he offered offhandedly. "I hear the Huntress got killed the other night, as a matter of fact." A bluff, Vic knew that Helena was alive and on the mend, but the word on the street would be that she had been fatally wounded. If it hadn't been for him, the rumors would be true.

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Her ears seemed to perk up a bit at his comment, which was something she was vaguely following but with all of her current doings at the Iceberg she could honestly say she had been slacking slightly. Sighing and pretending as though she was uninterested, she was silently listening, her attention instantly seized at his statement regarding Huntress. “Wait what?” She asked, turning around to face him so fast that her hair stylist nearly burnt her scalp. “Ow!” The redhead squealed as the hot metal touched the fair skin on the top of her head, but the sensation quickly resided.

Leaning over the chair the side of her chair she paused for a moment. Wait, after every single tie she had to the police statement, wouldn’t she of all people be aware of one of the most well-known vigilante’s dying? “You are full of it. Go on, how did she-“ The redhead started to argue, when the power suddenly went out, enveloping the room in completely darkness.

The sounds of chaos and screams erupted from outside of the room, causing the young redhead’s eyes to widen and curiosity to grow. “Wait? What is going on?” The redhead shouted, using her phone as a light as she left the comfort of her chair, stumbling forward in the darkness.



outfit: click here to see!
outfit: no idea what I am doing play along?

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Vic was about to give her a reply about what he knew about the Huntress, but when the lights went out, his eyes went upwards, scanning around. Screams and chaos erupted outside the room, and Vic took that as his Que.

"Stay here, bar the door." He told her, "Get your pepper spray and don't let anyone in until I give you the all clear." Before she could say anything, he moved out the door. His hand went to his coat pocket and his belt, He put on his mask and gassed himself. The mask bonded to his skin, hiding his features and even changing the color of his clothes.

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Jumping up from the comfort of her director-style chair, the redhead’s cocky expression faded into one that was contorted with fear. Fumbling around for some sort of light provided by her phone, she could barely make out the faces that occupied the room. The moment he eyes met Vic’s she didn’t bother with some snappy comment, but she basically pleaded with him to help her. The redhead was already convinced that whatever was happening was surely a result of something she had caused; knowing that she personally was following several leads that dealt with some very shady individuals.

“Bar it with what?” She asked, almost panicked as she sought the comfort of the other female in the room now that Vic was deciding to leave and go see what was happening. “Let me go with you!” She insisted bravely, starting to follow him when the other woman reached for her elbow, holding her back into the darkness. Assuming that she was simply trying to help, Summer didn’t pull from the woman’s grasp until it grew significantly tighter on her arm. “Ow! Stop it- look, I’m freaked out too but pull yourself together!”

A forceful shove and an almost devious cackle helped inform the reporter that the woman clutching onto wasn’t scared. The iPhone shattered with a terrifying crash toward the ground and all source of light vanished. The redhead slammed painfully into the mirror, an ear-splitting scream flew from her lips. Desperately, she felt along the wall and attempted to push through the door. Where was Vic?


outfit: click here to see!

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It seemed like mere seconds since Vic exited the room he heard a slam of glass. Summer's scream broke through the air and he turned around, grabbing for the doorknob. It somehow locked behind him. He grumbled, stepping back and kicking hard. One, two, three kicks and the door splintered open.

The air around him seemed smokey from his bonding gas. "Summer?" He called out, his voice was to an uncharacteristic zen, different from the cheerful snark it had been before. The tone seemed different, even if the voice itself wasn't.

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The woman moved to place Summer in a head lock, but thankfully the smoke and darkness gave Summer an advantage she typically wouldn’t have. The redhead managed to avoid her grip as she raced past her destroyed phone and started toward the door. She couldn’t remember how many phones she had gone though over the past week, though she was sure that the phone company was going to get tired of seeing her and suspicious about her social life.

She moved toward where she believed the door to be, eyes watering form the smoke and coughing slightly. Summer couldn’t see what was in front of her, but with such a small room she knew it wouldn’t take her long to see the door. Thankfully, someone had heard her cries for help and began to break down the door. She stood away as it was destroyed in moments, shielding her face so that none of the splinters would pierce her. “Oh thank goodness…” She began, only to come face to face with a figure she was unfamiliar with. She could barely make him out, though the limited lights provided by the open blinds in the main room enabled her to make out some details. “Who are you?”

Summer was stuck in the middle between the man and the woman who had recently attacked her, now feeling around for the redhead once more. "What's going on?" The redhead asked, her voice shaky as she attempted to grasp hold of the conversation. Once again the woman lunged toward Summer.

outfit: click here to see!