Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

"I"m not here to drink I'm here for work. It's not a costume and I can't drink without showing my face. I'm sure you know how it is. Actually, I'm sure you don't. Anyway." She held up the picture of the missing woman. "Some concerned friends of this lady let me know that she disappeared out of this bar a few nights ago, and so I'm following up." She pulled a little cash out of a pouch "I'm sure there's a door fee right?" subtly offering him a bribe to be let into the club. Or not so subtly.

 

[Halcyon638]

The man furrowed his brow, then looked down at the photo. Sighing, he folded his thick arms over his chest. “So go tell the PCPD. People are just trying to have a good time inside. They don’t need your kind of trouble.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded and put her phone away. "Well, we could do this one of two ways. The first way is I could say something like 'the key to this door is in one of my hands' and then i could hold up 100 bucks and this chain here and if you didn't take the 100 bucks i could beat your ass from one end of the city to the other, or and this is the way i strongly prefer, I could just put you, personally, on my tik tok and say that you are part of a sex trafficking ring run out of this bar and that you were personally seen dragging the victim off to be sold into sexual slavery, and I could you know. follow you home and show the world a picture of your apartment. What's lovely about that is that I wouldn't be the one to beat the ever loving shit out of you over it. There'd be mob and if watching the Simpsons as a kid taught me anything, there's no justice like angry mob justice. Oh I'd also have to say that women in this bar shouldn't drink anything if they don't want to end up on a one way flight to Dubai. So what's it gonna be? you gonna let me in or are we gonna spend some time figuring out which way I should ruin the rest of your life?"

 

[Halcyon638]

The man started to look vaguely queasy as Monica unfolded the scenarios. “Alright. This is just my job, okay?” He quickly motioned for Monica to move past him. “I’d appreciate it if you told them you kicked my ass a little,” he said in a quieter tone.

Despite the line at the door, the number of total patrons reflected the half vacant parking lot. The clientele were mostly in their mid to late twenties or 30s, dressed in flashy though not exactly elegant garb. Due to the dark interior lighting and the fact that there were a handful of customers dressed in everything from extravagant Victorian-esque goth-wear to leather catsuits, Monica didn’t draw immediate attention as she entered.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I'll be sure to say I broke you physically and spiritually, if asked."

She shook her head and went into the gloom. 'Strange fucking place' she thought to herself, looking around. She found herself gawking a moment, but then was sort of glad for the lack of attention to the suit. She looked for a group that looked like they belonged. True weirdos that would really only be comfortable in a place like this and who knew it was for them. Approaching the group she brought up the picture on her phone again. Tapping a girl on the shoulder, she shouted over the din "excuse me. Hey. I'm looking for this girl. She was here the other night. Did you see her?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“No, sorry,” the girl said, looking to her friends.

“Are you really Nighthawk?” a bleary-eyed man with a face full of piercings asked.

“Oh. I saw her,” a gaunt-yet-handsome guy chimed in. “Danced with her. Seemed pretty cool. Some dude hauled her off to some back room.” He motioned toward an area of the club. “Super sus. I guess maybe he was her boyfriend or something. Fucked up.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"I am really the Nighthawk." She nodded, then thanked the guy "Yeah. That's what I heard but before I busted in back there I figured I should confirm it." She made her way into the back of the club, the bass thumping to a degree it made her head hurt. She threaded her way through the crowds in the dark, moving to the doorway through which the group had indicated the woman had been taken. She looked around for a guard, then moved on through.

 

[Halcyon638]

Almost instantly, a burly-looking man began making his way toward her. From her vantage point, though, Monica could already see a few of the adjoining back rooms. They were fancier lounges occupied by VIPs presumably. In one, two beautiful twenty-something women were shooting the shit with a vaguely familiar Black man in horn-rimmed glasses with a build not dissimilar to the bouncer approach Monica, laughing and carousing.

“Whoa. Back room’s for VIPs, sweetie,” the bouncer greeted her.

“Mother. Fucking. Hell,” she heard the well-built man sitting beside the women declared in a British accent. “Is that who the fuck I think it is?”

The man who'd been dubbed Flashpoint rose from his seat, eyes trained on the new arrival. He had shaved off his entire beard and the glasses were a new touch, but his accent was unmistakable.

 

[siobhancan99]

"British fuck." She muttered then waved "Hey there!" She turned to the bouncer "Oh I'm just looking for a friend and I won't be deterred." She held up the phone with the picture on it "So just tell me what happened to this girl and I'll fuck right off." She kept one eye on flashpoint. The bouncer was nothing, but the Brit hurt her and hurt her badly. If it came to a fight she'd have to come at him fast and hard. Maybe she could use him though. Not every thief was interested in being a pimp and vice versa. "So whatcha say? Gonna tell me where she is or do I have to you know, do my whole thing?"

 

[Halcyon638]

The bouncer barely looked at the phone before uttering, “Never seen her.” He was not a particularly skilled liar.

About 20 feet away, Monica saw Flashpoint stand up from his seat. The two women sitting near slid over and one of them let out a brief scream of surprise as the man’s right hand began to glow. “We’ve got business, you and me. This must be my lucky fucking day.”

The bouncer looked back at the man, then back at Monica, then stepped aside to be out of the line of sight between her and the Brit.

 

[siobhancan99]

"You couldn't beat me with two friends, you English prick." Monica strode forward "So the only business you have is sitting down and shutting the fuck up, or being a mensch and helping me rescue the human trafficking victims in this bar. Either way, I do not give a fuck about you and it is in your best interest to keep it that way. Do not make me regret my act of mercy last week. Please just let me save these girls and ignore you. Please. We can fight some other time. You can DM me and we can arrange it."

 

[Halcyon638]

The glowing orb grew larger in Flashpoint’s hand as the two women made themselves scarce. “I could have taken you my bloody self but we had to haul ass due to you calling the fucking coppers on us.”

The bouncer began backpedaling, as if trying to take advantage of the focus shifting from him. Flashpoint sighed. “Fucking hell. Human trafficking?” He turned his attention to the heavily tattooed club employee. The glowing globe completely dissipated. “That’s fucked up, man.”

He set upon the bouncer, throwing him up against a nearby wall hard enough to break a light fixture. The Brit’s hand began glowing again. “Alright, you knob. I can’t fucking believe you’re making me help her.”

“I don’t…I don’t know who you’re talking about,” the bouncer said, eyes wide as he looked over at Monica. “A lot…of girls come in here.”

Flashpoint glanced over at Monica. “Do we believe him?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"Thank you, Flashpoint. Also, we very much do not believe him. A number of people here have already said they saw a girl being dragged into this back area by the staff. He's staff. He's in charge of the back area. So no. We believe he knows exactly what happens to the girls that disappear back here."

She unwound the chain, giving it a lazy swing "I mean, we could give him another shot to talk, but I feel like he wouldn't learn anything if we did. Let's keep the strikes below the neck. He's got to be conscious when we're done but you know... doesn't have to be able to walk. Or lift his arms." She looked over at Flashpoint "Bad cop, worse cop?" Then turned back to the bouncer "Or do you suddenly remember what happens to the girls you drag into the back?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“No, I…,” the bouncer began, his eyes following the swing of the chain. “What? You think I remember the face of every last chick who comes back here?”

“Listen, you festering cunt,” Flashpoint said, producing a thin, penlight-sized beam that shone on the nearby wall, “the sooner you give Ninja Barbie here what she wants, the sooner I can fuck off. So, if getting bossed around by a scrubber with a chain happens to check some boxes for you, how about you consider the prospects of involuntary laser eye surgery?” The beam began to produce little wisps of smoke from the walls. “Or maybe your frontal cortex needs a few holes here and there to let some actual thoughts trickle in on occasion?”

The man’s eyes darted between Monica and Flashpoint as a pair of patrons approached the back, then turned away with mouths hanging open. “It’s not what you think,” the club employee said, distress evident in his voice, “yeah, we brought her back here, but she…she and the boss, they have a thing. They had a fight, but…they’re out on his yacht. He just needed to talk to her.”

From his tone and mannerisms, Monica sensed he was getting closer to the truth, but not quite arriving at it. The final sentence in particular seemed suspect.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded to Flashpoint "You know, you could really do well for yourself in the vigilante game. We should talk for real." There might be enough money in endorsements and marketing for the guy if she turned him. Plus it'd be nice for there to be another hero, one who wasn't exactly a boy scout either. Turning her attention back to the guy she shook her head "Bullshit. Pure, unadulterated bullshit. You dragged some girl, kicking and screaming into the back here because her boyfriend wanted to have a chat with her? Because what, her phone was broken? He couldn't text? You're a lying sack of shit and my ... colleague... here is going to burn a hole in you while I crush your nuts in my hand. Where's the fucking yacht and what the fuck is actually going on? Her friends are worried sick and this isn't the first girl to go missing in this club. So don't fucking bullshit us."

 

[Halcyon638]

Flashpoint raised an eyebrow at Monica and had a mildly puzzled look on his face for a moment, then the shadow of an amused grin temporarily crossed his lips before he refocused his rage on the club employee.

“Alright, alright!” the bouncer said. “My boss. It’s his birthday. Was his birthday. He does this every year. Huge party on his boat. This girl—I swear, she agreed to go, but then she changed her mind at the last minute.” He looked at the man restraining him against the wall. “You know how it is—he wants to be surrounded by hot girls, right?”

“Oh, do not try pinning any of that ‘lads being lads’ shit on me,” Flashpoint warned him, bringing the beam of light just below the man’s right ear. “You heard the woman.”

“They’re out there tonight. They left from Pier 22 a couple days ago. They’ll be out there for another couple days, cruising the lake.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded "so a bunch of girls that can't leave the boat. Trapped on the lake. Sounds super great for them. I'll need you to tell me how to get a hold of the boat, what the name is and where I should expect to find them." She figured the police might actually be of some use in finding the boat. Shame she didn't have hot cop's number. "And I'll need your phone. You won't be getting it back because I can't be having you telling your boss I'm coming." She held her hand out for the phone, but fished a card with her contact info out for Flashpoint. "Seriously, get in touch with me. I have a proposal. Keep an open mind."

 

[Halcyon638]

The bouncer shook his head. “The boat’s called Aspasia. That’s all I know, I swear. That and the pier. Christou, he’s paranoid.”

“One of your asshole friends has got to be on that boat,” Flashpoint noted. The beam drifted down and began to singe the man’s shoulder.

“Fuck! Okay, okay. Tobias. He’s working the boat.” He handed his phone over to Monica as the Brit let the light beam disappear once more.

Flashpoint looked at Monica, then cautiously extended his fingers toward the card as if there were a chance it would bite one of them. He gave her a slight nod of his shaven head.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica thumbed through the contacts and read a series of texts from the bartender to Tobias. Trying to mimic his conversational style she texted to find out how the trip was going, and if the guy didn't seem suspicious she tried to innocuously inquire as to what part of the lake they were on, and if he could see anything from the shore or anything. She also bitched about work being boring and how much cooler it must be on the boat, to sort of explain why she was texting. While doing so she nodded to Flashpoint "Thanks for the assist. If you reach out I'll at least let you know I saved the girls. If you want some credit I'll give it. If not, I get it."

 

[Halcyon638]

Before long, Tobias sent a response back:

TOBIAS : NGL, bro. Shit is fucking INSANE out here. Only downside is having to stay somewhat sober and Christou’s acting even more paranoid than usual lol.

The man texted photos taken near sunset.

TOBIAS: Out near Marquess Island. Maybe next year, bro haha. Sorry I had to.

The island was a small one favored by wealthy summer escapees from Prospect City and other vacationers. The photo showed it in the background as several men and women in various stages of undress and with hardly a sliver of fashion sense between them drank, lounged, and laughed. For what it was worth, there were no visible signs of distress on the faces of the handful female revelers Monica spotted, though many of the people looked intoxicated.

Flashpoint nodded. “I’ll check in about the girls. Better to keep me out of this. Don’t want to fuck up my reputation as a world-class supervillain, right?” Looking disdainfully at the bouncer, he then turned back to Monica and added, “I’d knock this one out or lock him in a supply closet or some shit. Less to worry about.”

He slipped away, leaving her with the bouncer.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica snapped the phone in half easily, then handed the pieces back to the guy "Flashpoint's right. You can either let me tie you up in the back, or we can call the police and you can confess to your part in kidnapping the girl. Which is a felony. Which means jail time. So what's it going to be? You going to go quietly into the back to be tied up or you gonna make me sit here while the cops come? Don't run. I'm faster than you and stronger than you and i really just want to get this girl and get back to my house."

 

[Halcyon638]

The bouncer’s mouth opened as if preparing to protest at the smashing of his phone, but then it wisely closed. “Out back,” he said.

Monica led him to the supply closet, a few bystanders giving them knowing grins as they passed as if they were slipping in the back to use the room for other purposes. Once inside, Monica used her restraints to fix the bulky man in place. He was quiet, and his gaze was distant, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica considered for a moment if she cared about what was troubling the guy, then decided she didn't really have the luxury of doing that and catching the boat. "Good luck, kid." She headed out, summoning the sliver and heading towards the island, looking out for the boat below in the lake.

 

[Halcyon638]

It took Monica about 20 minutes to spot the hulking watercraft that was Aspasia. From above, she could see it teeming with activity, a human anthill slowly drifting on the calm waters. The ship was now several miles from Marquess Island.

 

[siobhancan99]

Maneuvering around she brought the sliver down near the front of the boat where it was unlikely to be noticed by the partiers in the back. She leaped down onto the front of the boat, then made her way up, trying to get to the command tower and make sure she had control over the boat's direction before she had to deal with any miscreants.