Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

Thalmer smiled serenely. Quietly, he stated, “All it takes is one tweet about your night-time activities and you’ll lose everything. So be nice.”

“Mija, get back,” Sara said, trying in vain to pull Monica behind her as her slightly overweight husband started to ascend the stairs once more.

Thalmer flashed a pistol suddenly, bringing a scream from Gabi and Ana. “Again. Just trying to beat that church crowd,” he said, backing away from the house, the barrel angled down at the ground. “You folks have a blessed day.” He bowed his head and turned away, heading towards a silver SUV.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica actually laughed "ok."

She dug out her burner phone and shot thalmer a text "Thalmer, when I leave here I'm flying up to michigan to tell my mother you thought your low quality genes were fit for the line. One of your own friends will probably kill you. your life will be short, and ended by someone you thought you could trust. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so sad."

She shook her head and looked at Sara and Orlando "he's a trainer at my gym. I got him fired for uh... coming onto me. Guess he stalked my social media and found out I'm from here." She wrapped an arm around Gabi "I'm gonna go home, call the cops and stuff. I might have to stay up here another day. Think you can get back to Prospect City? I'll see you tomorrow probably." She wasn't lying to Thalmer. In a few she'd be flying up to Michigan to figure out how to get the message home. Thalmer was a dead man.

 

[Halcyon638]

Sara smothered Monica with a hug while Orlando ran upstairs to fetch his gun. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she said, hugging her youngest daughter in close, too. “We are not going to let him get near you.”

Gabi seemed dazed by it all. Tone flat, she said, “I…I think I might stay here for…” She gave Monica a kiss on the forehead. Sara offered to drive Monica to her house while Orlando watched over the family.

Thalmer texted: “You really don’t want to do that, Princess. Unless you want the Imperial’s goons and Mr. Metal Guy and Killstreak all beating a path to your door. Or Gabi’s door. Or dear ole Dad’s door. I’ve got a little contingency set up to make sure your identity hits social media if anything happens to me. So let’s just cool it. Take a breath for a few days. Then we settle this like real Centauri Battle Castes. Show me how much you’ve learned. Sound square?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica texted back "no, we settle it now." She gave him directions to a secluded spot above the dam, then stopped at a gas station on the way home. SHe filled a fuel container with gas, then stopped home and got her armor together, also grabbing a knife. She stuck the knife, some bungie cords and the gas in the trunk, then drove up to meet thalmer.

 

[Halcyon638]

“You youths. So impatient,” Thalmer texted back. He didn’t respond to the directions given.

Making the drive as the sun set over the horizon, Monica received a text from her father. “Gabi texted me that Sara and Orlando are starting to ask about when the cops will come interview them or whether to go down to the station. We’re stalling them but we need a plan. What are the odds you can get that detective you know to make the drive out here for a fake interview?”

Monica arrived at the site. The low roar of the river drowned out all other sounds in the area. The terrain was muddy from recent rainfall and melt.

Thalmer: I loves me a classic showdown. But just so you know, if you try anything that offends my sense of honor, like calling in the SWAT team or calling up some backwoods sniper fuckbuddy of yours, I’ll be very, very disappointed. Like, Tweet your ID to everyone in Prospect City disappointed. You beat me, I’ll delete the posts I’ve got queued up. Sound fair?

 

[siobhancan99]

Texted back "that would mean letting him know who I am. Maybe tell Sara I'm going to deal with it in prospect City, because the local cops aren't equipped."

She responded to Thalmer "sounds great" though he wouldn't be leaving there alive. or she wouldn't.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s father texted back. “Good call. That will buy us time, though they’ll probably be asking about in a couple of days. We’ll need to come up with another plan.”

With her nightvision, Monica could spot a figure emerging from the nearby woods. She hadn’t heard a vehicle. The figure was about 300 feet away.

“I wish you would have let me go with you, honey.” Her father had sworn to keep an eye on Gabi’s house while she was gone in case Thalmer had deceived her and intended to hurt her girlfriend or her family. “I love you more than anything. Come home.”

“So here we are,” she heard Thalmer say as he approached, wearing the dark blue workout gear she’d often seen him in. His tone of voice was muted.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica scanned the treeline for his accomplice, then approached. "We're exactly where you wanted to be Thalmer. I don't believe for a moment that you honestly believed terrorizing me or showing up at Gabi's house was going to make my pussy wet. You're not a complete fucking idiot." She shifted her stance, somewhat reluctant "I think that you want to die. And you want me to kill you." She was wary of the muddy ground, and so planted to make sure she was stable before launching a punch "And I will. If that's what you want."

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica couldn’t see anyone else near the tree line. There was a strange glimmer of something in Thalmer’s eyes as she spoke to him. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then fell into his typical fighting stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, hands up. “Square your shoulders,” he said, tone still lacking its usual verve.

He managed to block Monica’s first and second punch, powerful arms absorbing their face, but the third slipped by him, striking the left side of his head just in front of his ear. He winced and let out the slightest of groans. “Good.”

He quickly lifted his leg, kicking out at Monica once, then a second time.

The second strike grazed Monica’s upper arm. He wasn’t pulling his punches (or kicks as it were) and she could feel the force of the attack, but managed to shrug it off no worse for wear.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica sighed inwardly as Thalmer confirmed her suspicions. She couldn't cry though, not now with him trying to actually make this a real fight. She couldn't break down. She owed him what he came for, a warrior's death. He'd get it. Stepping inside one of his kicks she lashed out with a sharp kick to the inside of his knee, trying to bring him down.

 

[Halcyon638]

Thalmer anticipated the kick and backstepped quickly, though temporarily losing his footing for a moment as the mud dragged him back. “You rely on that too much,” he commented, flatly. “It’ll cost you some day.” He managed to avoid a follow up strike, then leapt forward, aiming an elbow at Monica’s head. For all his training, she’d come to notice the way in which the burly Centauri sometimes gave technique short shrift and relied upon his superior strength and durability to get him through.

Elbows pressed together in front of her chest, she blocked the powerful blow, then quickly sidestepped a hook he threw as well.

 

[siobhancan99]

"maybe, but not today" she kept it simple, throwing a quick jab for his face, trying to put him back on the defensive "I think we both know how this ends Thalmer."

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s jab sped through, connecting but grazing the blond-haired warrior, splitting his lip in the process. He wiped away a trickle of blood. “You’re confident,” he said, tone still matter-of-fact. “Have you earned it?”

He unleashed a wicked flurry of strikes, palm thrusts, jabs, hooks, even attempting to stomp Monica’s left foot for good measure. Getting her footing with the soft ground, she managed to avoid all of them. His efforts had left him off-balance, vulnerable to a well-placed attack.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica followed up with another solid punch "You've seen my work. You know I am." She was confident now that on a skill level, she was better than Thalmer. "I, Thalmer, am the heir to an empire. I try to live up to that."

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s punch connected, but Thalmer was able to lean into it, absorbing most of the blow with his muscular shoulder. He groaned slightly, then closed on her.

He feinted an overhand right and she bit, just in time for him to land a painful left hook to her rib cage. “A lot to live up to,” he mused.

 

[siobhancan99]

"No shit. I didn't ask for this. All I wanted was to be left alone. Did you fuck up Sutter's machine when you killed him?" She lashed out with a foot, trying to kick him back even as she distracted with banter.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Those weren’t my orders,” Thalmer said, crouching down into a defensive position to prepare for Monica’s next strike.

Her kick was too fast, sending his chin and neck snapping back as it hit against his solid jawline. He groaned again. “Could be I’ll be doing you a favor today,” he said.

The blond-haired man suddenly sprang towards her, tossing his powerful arms around her and pulling her tightly against him as she heard the wet squelching of his feet in the mud. Monica could barely breathe and it was a struggle to move, though her legs were free.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica twisted, feeling the panic rise. Using his weight was a good ploy, but she was strong enough to throw him off if she could get her bearings. She grabbed for him, trying to twist around in the mud and roll him at least off of her.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s feet sunk in and slid a little, mud covering her foot as she attempted to struggle free. She managed to latch onto him with her legs, jarring him enough to allow her to regain her breath, but still leaving the Centauri warrior wrapped around her midsection. “Close,” he said, a note of genuine respect in his voice as he attempted to reassert his strength.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica knew she had to break free, so she tried first jamming a thumb into his eye to distract him, then again heaved, trying to throw him off and regain control over herself. If she let him latch on, his superior strength would likely be the end of her.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica managed to wrench her arm free to try to gouge Thalmer’s left eye. With a grunt of exertion, Thalmer grasped her wrist again, pulling it away from his face and regaining control over her arm. He began pushing backward on her right wrist.

She felt it begin to strain at her shoulder as he kept pushing, trying to hyperextend it, or worse. “This is probably going to put your body in a state of shock,” he said, still the same, prosaic tone even as he attempted to inflict serious harm. “When it does, keep your focus on your breathing.”

Instead, she managed to wrap her arms around his left leg, pulling them both to the ground in the mud. When they both rose to their feet, she was free, finally.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica took advantage of the moment to press, throwing a punch as hard as she could for his center, throwing all her strength behind it and trying to put him on his back foot, changing the momentum of the fight hopefully in her favor.

 

[Halcyon638]

Thalmer lifted his guard, attempting to block the blow. He was too late, as her overhand lead sailed just past his left forearm, rocketing into the left side of his head around the ear. The punch connected with a loud crack, and he stumbled back a couple of steps. “Fuck,” he said as he rose to his normal height once more. “Sometimes I forget how strong you are.”

He rushed her now, not backing down—a high punch, a leg sweep, and then, all else failing, a leaping shoulder aimed at her midsection. Monica dodged it all, and once again, the barrage of blows had left him open to a counter.

 

[siobhancan99]

With Thalmer being as tough as he was, she was going to have to gamble on some big hits and hard swings, even at the sake of accuracy. She took a hard kick, lashing out "Its cause I'm cute. Nobody expects the little blond girl to pack such a wallop. But I am what I am Thalmer. The Nighthawk."

 

[Halcyon638]

The Centauri male tried to slap away the kick, but he was slowing, it seemed. Her boot struck him square in the right side of his chest, smashing into his ribs. He cried out as a she heard a crack.

To the warrior’s credit, he only held his rib cage for a few seconds before he caught his breath and went on the offensive again. There was a desperation to his assault this time that she wasn’t quite expecting. Just when she thought she’d countered only to find another opening, he let loose a backhand strike, connecting with the right side of her face and sending her staggering backwards, onto her back in the mud.

The effort had tired him out enough, though, that he wasn’t able to press the advantage, instead pausing to catch his breath and nurse his injured ribs, barely having time to regain the semblance of a defensive pose as she raced back toward him. “End this,” he said, first slightly under his breath, “show me how you end this.”