A scene from City of Heroes' Paragon City.
Mariana had the misfortune of witnessing the Skulls gang breaking into a police cruiser and making off with its contents. When the alarm suddenly sounded, the gang grabbed the nearest witness, Mariana, and fled with her into the city's maze of abandoned service tunnels.
While hiding underground, they amused themselves by trying out their freshly stolen handcuffs on their captive. Between stripping and groping her, they secured her with four sets of cuffs, leaving her both hogcuffed and elbowcuffed.
Their entertainment was cut short when they heard something approaching through the tunnels. Convinced they needed to disappear immediately, they abandoned Mariana where she lay. None of them had the keys to remove the cuffs, and none cared enough to carry her along.
Over the following hours, Mariana managed to wriggle across the damp concrete until she reached a leaking water pipe beneath a dim maintenance light. The slow but steady drip was enough to keep her alive, but little else. She had shouted herself hoarse calling for help, yet the isolation of the tunnels made every unanswered cry feel more hopeless than the last. Worse still, in her helpless condition, she found herself fearing what might answer her calls instead.
Only one thing kept despair at bay: the recurring dream that visited her whenever exhaustion claimed her. In it, a young woman wandered the underground passages, somehow drawn toward Mariana's prison by an inexplicable, almost magical awareness of her plight. Mariana had no way of knowing whether these dreams were nothing more than wishful thinking or a promise that rescue was on its way.
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The woman looking for Mariana is a magic student in Paragon City, and another incarnation of Scarlett the Bondage Witch. This is before she becomes a registered superhero: Pyrotesse, a Fire/Energy Blaster in City of Heroes, my favorite MMO of all time.
It’s free to play and run by enthusiasts who have obtained the legal rights to host the game. Check out City of Heroes Homecoming and look for “Getting started”.