Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

Monica snagged the clothes and the gun, figuring it was best to take as many of those off the field as she could. Also, if she carried a gun people might not think she was the actual Nighthawk, which she could use to her advantage. Moving back to the girl she threw her the dress and the mask, "get changed. I doubt we have long before there's company." She put her back to the door, in case anyone was trying to open it. "Then we try to make our way through the party unnoticed, up to the bridge."

 

[Halcyon638]

Mina simply nodded quietly, tugging her crop top up over her perky breasts before the younger girl had the presence of mind to look away.

The brunette changed while Monica averted her eyes. She heard a few cries up above, the kind of elated exclamations that suggested getting drenched in a sudden downpour rather than pain.

“It’s kind of cute,” Mina said as Monica turned back. Below the nose of the purple mask, the hint of a smile graced the girl’s lips for the first time as she briefly held up the hem of the satiny dress. “Little long, though.” The smile quickly disappeared, and she took a breath as if bracing herself.

They found the dining room still empty, though they could still faintly hear the sounds of voices coming from the room Monica had just robbed.

As they climbed the crew stairs, the nervous young woman was pressed tightly behind her, to the point that Monica felt hands on her back as if Monica were a human shield.

“Fuck,” Mina said in a voice just below a whisper. Three imposing men in suits, very much not crew, were racing up the stairs. She abruptly flattened her back against the wall. “Get on your knees and put your head under my dress. Quick.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Ordinarily she'd have balked, but honestly the plan was fucking stellar. Good head on the hot eastern european model. Too bad she wasn't super strong, as Monica was in the sidekick recruiting frame of mind. Gabi might object to that though. She ducked, then stuck her head under the girl's skirt, pulling it over her head and back. Wrapping her arms around the girl's thighs, she pressed up so nobody would wonder why her head wasn't int he right place. Obviously, she was careful about not ACTUALLY touching. the ruse just had to work for a minute while the guys went into her room, and then they could bolt for the crew stairs. hopefully.

 

[Halcyon638]

Mina's hand cupped the back of Monica's head through her own mask and the thin fabric of the dress. Roughly two inches separated the blonde-haired girl's face from the intricate white lace trim of the brunette's black underwear when the older girl began to vocalize.

"Ohhh, god," the young woman gasped. She let out an utterly convincing whine as Monica felt the delicate softness of Mina's bare legs. "Ohh, fuck."

The dark-haired girl even writhed a bit for good measure, sighing deeply as heavy footsteps approached the two of them. She let out a girlish giggle that transitioned back into another peal of pleasure.

Some of the footsteps seemed to pause. Mina started another moan seemingly rising from her stomach.

The footsteps continued on upward as she continued the performance, hand still lightly atop Monica's head.

"Sorry sorry sorry," the girl whispered, flipping the dress up over Monica's head. "They're gone."

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica sat still for a moment as the hand was on her head, then she nodded "quick thinking. You saved us a fight there. Might have been bad." She looked around, then headed back for the stairs that she knew would lead to the main party room. She assumed things were still in full swing there, and it should, in theory, be easy enough to get through there and hopefully back to the main cabin. Her primary concern was making sure the captain could do whatever he needed to do to keep the ship afloat. she assumed a big ship like this wasn't going down on a lake, but the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald probably thought that too. To be fair, this was hardly Lake Superior, but still.

 

[Halcyon638]

The shadow of a smile flitted onto Mina's face at the compliment. She followed Monica up the stairs to the room where most of the action was going down.

The storm hadn't seemed to dampen anyone's desires. In fact, it seemed to have drawn more revelers indoors. More bodies were pressed together, stripped, sweaty, in all sorts of carnal combinations.

A man, hulking and dressed in a Prospect City football jersey, grabbed hold of Mina hips. "Hey, sweetie. Where you going in such a hurry?" He lifted her, arms wrapped around her midsection, as the sky lit up outside the window.

She thrashed, doing her best to throw an elbow or two, but not fazing the male partygoer.

Outside, the rain pounded down.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica had to think quickly. If she beat the shit out of some huge guy, she'd basically be giving up the fact that she's the genuine article and not some weird cosplay chick at the orgy. She flashed the gun she took off the nightstand where they could see it. "This is a fuck cruise not a rape cruise, now put my boss down." She had very few qualms about shooting him. though she was trying to place if he was legit a player or was just some huge guy. If he was a player and he didn't put her down she might appeal to the idea of losing his career. She decided to go for it on the off chance he was. "Bad enough you're at something like this. You rape some poor lesbian on this boat and it's gonna be in the papers."

 

[Halcyon638]

The bulky man blanched and quickly put Mina down. A few of the partygoers seemed to register the gun being shown, diverting their attention toward Monica. One let out a laugh. The thuggish guy said, “Whoa, hey—I didn’t mean to—”

Mina kicked him in the thigh, evidently aiming for something higher up. “Fucker.” She slipped an arm around Monica’s non-gun arm, then continued out of the room.

When they made it back to the bridge, Monica was able to push open the door just enough to spot two of the suited men standing in the control room, including one sporting a man in a jester’s mask. The pounding of the rain was almost deafening, punctuated regularly by explosive thunder claps. She couldn’t see the waters from her vantage point, but she felt the huge ship reacting to the turbulence beneath her feet.

The captain was back in his seat at the console, though his companion was nowhere to be seen. All three men were looking out the windows toward the front of the ship.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica considered for a moment. The ship was in good shape, so she didn't need to go into the cabin. At the same time, taking the main guy hostage might put an end to all the hiding she needs to do. She steeled herself a moment, then stepped into the cabin with the gun out, looking everyone over "So we gonna take this thing into port so the girl and I can get off the boat? or are we all dying on this lake?"

 

[Halcyon638]

The two men in suits and the captain spun around, just as another flash lit up the sky. Monica got a look at the water now. The waves were churning and swelling, and the wind was making the blinding rain come in sideways, spattering the windows in a constant stream.

The masked man and the other heavyset man in a suit beside him both raised their hands to the air. “Whoa. Easy, there,” the jester-masked man said. “We’re headed back to shore as soon as this lets up. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Leeds?”

The captain nodded.

The masked man showed his face. He had a weathered, sunbeaten face, and looked to be somewhere in his 40s. “So why don’t you put the gun down, grab a drink, and—"

“Look out!” Mina yelled.

Monica just barely had enough time to glance back in the brunette’s direction and see the flash of a muzzle firing from the doorway leading to the bridge—time enough to throw herself in a hard roll to the right.

The window nearest the captain exploded into a thousand pieces. One of the men in suits stood a little more than an arm’s length from Mina, attempting to lock his sights onto Monica again.

The burly guard near the jester used it as an opportunity to draw his own weapon.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica rolled towards the man in the jester's mask. That was the key. Take him hostage and the whole situation could cool down. She hoped. Fortunately, with the window busted out she had a pretty good idea of what to do next. She grabbed for him, shouting "put your fucking guns down or I'll throw your boss into the lake." She could do it, too. She estimated she could throw most men about 250 feet if she really put her back into it. That would be enough to clear the boat and pitch him into the lake. Also, she had no qualms about killing an Imperial stooge who took women hostage. This wasn't exactly the kind of guy she imagined fighting when this thing started, but she was finding that she preferred this to some desperate street punk. This guy was genuinely evil. No Arkham for him. He didn't get to be a recurring villain unless he ordered his men to stand down.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica closed the distance to the criminal with such blinding speed that the attempt of the gunman near Mina to track her with the barrel seemed almost comically futile. She wrenched the leader forward, driving a fist into his midsection to take any possible fight out of him.

Now, the gunman who’d fired at her wasn’t looking at her or his boss, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the captain slump to the ground, blood gushing from the side of his neck, apparently having caught the stray bullet a moment ago.

“Drop them, you fucking dumbasses!” Monica’s prisoner cried out as rain coming sideways through the shattered window soaked her and him both. The thug nearest to his boss complied, but the other looked hesitant.

Mina suddenly sprinted around the perimeter of the room, keeping clear of the raised gun barrels but fell to her knees near the captain. “He need pressure on the wound,” she called out. “Give me your jacket!” she demanded of the thug standing beside his boss while in the meantime putting her bare hands against the gushing wound.

“Drop your fucking gun!” the boss spat at the man who’d shot the captain.

“Fuck,” the gunman said, looking down at the captain. “He’s…he’s not going to make it.” Hands trembling, he tried to line up a shot. “The cops, they’re—"

The vessel swayed. Monica braced herself against a nearby console, but the gunman stumbled forward, losing his footing and landing face-first, gun sliding out of his grasp. The other guard listened to Mina’s shouts and produced his shirt.

Suddenly, Monica was the only one still holding a gun. The captain convulsed under Mina’s blood-slick hands.

 

[siobhancan99]

"He dies, you all die. Better get your hands on his neck. Use your shirt. Is there another person on this thing that can pilot?" She jabbed the gun into Jester mask's ribs "It's your boat, don't tell me you don't know how to work it." It wasn't the same as having a real captain. "better yet, tell me there's some asshole getting his dick sucked downstairs who takes the night shift." That would be better yet. Looking at the other gunman "get on the radio, call the cops and say you need a medical chopper for a gunshot wound, and ... well if there's not another pilot you need a boat pilot."

 

[Halcyon638]

The guard who’d shed his shirt got down on the ground now to assist Mina and the man. “It’s…it’s been a while, but I know the basics,” the men’s boss noted.

The other gunman also obeyed, radioing to the cops under Monica’s watchful eye.

Another massive boom sounded. The lightning was delayed a little, mercifully.

With the shirtless man tending to the captain, Mina sat wordlessly, looking at the blood on her hands.

The five of them stayed mostly silent in the bridge, waiting out the storm. Finally, with the weather dying down, and the captain seemingly stabilized, the boss began piloting the ship toward shore. Mina found an adjoining small bathroom, then returned with her hands scrubbed clean and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

A police boat approached. Mina pressed herself against the window to watch them arrive.

It didn’t take the police long to secure the prisoners. One officer informed them the medical chopper was inbound. A cool wind was blowing for the first time in weeks as they offloaded the perpetrators and prepared to escort Mina out.

Monica waited the Sliver to descend again, her costume still damp from the rain that had entered the bridge room, and the fatigue hitting her hard now that the adrenaline was fading. “You’re going to be okay,” one of the officers said to the older girl in a paternal tone as the Sliver descended, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which was now covered in a light blanket. “We just need to—”

Mina walked quickly away from the cop, then wrapped Monica up in a hug. “Thank you,” she said, eyes glazed with tears.

The cockpit door of the Sliver opened with a hiss.

 

[siobhancan99]

"you're going to be ok." She squeezed the girl in her arms. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you will be." She held the girl a long moment, then let her go. She fished one of her cards with her contact info on it. "Don't get kidnapped again, but if you do." She laughed. "Or you know, if you just need someone to process this with." She gave the girl another squeeze, then sighed. She hoped that the Imperial got the message that going after innocent family members wasn't going to work out. This was a strange mis-step. Maybe her brother had fucked with Monica, and lied to just get his sister back. She could understand and forgive that frankly. Stepping away from the crowd she got into the sliver, heading to where she could change and get home. it was late, but fortunately not so late she'd be worthless at work. She wouldn't be amazing but she'd be functional.

She collapsed, exhausted, and slept dreamless sleep before the alarm rudely woke her. She showered and went to work sans makeup, in a polo and with her hair back in a ponytail. Once it was a civilized hour she texted Gabi to find out when she'd be coming into town, then set about looking to see if there were any articles about the rescue before realizing she never told Mina's brother she was safe. She assumed the girl did but made a note to text him from her burner after work, then to destroy the burner and get a new one.

 

[Halcyon638]

Mina let out a brief laugh of relief, accepting the card and wiping her eyes.

Stories had indeed circulated about Nighthawk’s nocturnal adventures, both the more staid, fact-based kind, and of the “Nighthawk Busts Up Sex Trafficking Yacht Orgy” variety. Both left out (or didn’t have) the details of Mina’s identity. The captain had indeed survived his wounds.

Monica had texted Gabi around 9, but didn’t receive a text until 10:37. It was in a group thread including her and Gabi.

CRISTINA: A few of us are planning on hitting up the Sloane Park Sound Fest Saturday night. Gabs, are you still coming to town? Do you 2 want to meet up?

Gabi replied to her girlfriend around 11:00. As she had anticipated, it wasn’t good news.

GABI: Ugghhh I feel like crap and Chris at work just tested positive for COVID It sounds like you had an intense night last night. Doing okay? Call me after work

Wendell, with whom Monica was working on collating some project data, glanced over as she spotted the text. Popping out an Airpod which was blasting tinny music, he asked, "You doing okay over there?"

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica rubbed her temples "No." She leaned back and closed her eyes "I haven't seen my girlfriend in two weeks, which doesn't seem like that long on one hand and feels like forever and ever on the other. We grew up together. i don't think, except after my ex died, that I went two weeks without seeing her in ... fuck. 13 years?" she drummed her fingers on the desk. "I honestly really didn't want her to go home for the summer and I have some money from my mom I could have afforded for her to stay here. But you know, if you love someone set them free and all that. Besides, she misses her family which makes sense because her family isn't cold swedish and dysfunctional. It doesn't make her not being around any easier." She looked over to Wendell "what's your significant other situation like?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Wendell furrowed his brow. “Yeah, I get that. That sucks. And, uh…sorry about your ex, by the way.” He offered up his bag of peanut butter M&Ms.

“My girlfriend’s back home, too. It’s been tough, but we do online gaming pretty regularly, so that helps. But I feel you. I’ve been to some dark places when I’m by myself.” He tapped the side of his head.

“We’re all going to get together this weekend somewhere, right? We gotta check out that Founder’s Square place you were talking about.”

“And guess who’s getting her cast off tomorrow?” Nelly said walking toward their workspace, having apparently caught the end of their conversation.

“You going to challenge Monica to DDR supremacy?”

Nelly looked at Monica. “I don’t know. I get kind of competitive.”

It was late in the afternoon that the lack of sleep really hit Monica. It was not long after that that their internship coordinator, Jonah, appeared at the door of the lab with the COO, Russell Katis. Dr. Bascombe, in the midst of analyzing the results from a recent test on a virtual whiteboard, looked over, a slightly displeased expression on his face.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica cracked her back "there's a thing I guess over at Sloane Park on Saturday. Christina is going, we should meet up with her and her brother or whatever over there." She looked over at Nelly "girl, You'll break your leg again taking me on. Please" she laughed to show she was kidding "or maybe im just afraid of your sweet moves."

When Bascombe came in, she kept quiet. She was tired and not entirely wanting to draw any attention to herself on the off chance that someone was going to catch a raft of shit over whatever it was he didn't like seeing. She sort of stepped behind Wendell, letting discretion be the better part of valor.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Cool, cool,” Wendell noted.

Nelly snickered and snagged the bag of M&Ms, taking a few. “Wasn’t offering them to you, but…”

“Come on, roomie.” They looked over at the entrance to the lab. Dr. Bascombe, Jonah, and Russell Katis were heading their way. The salt-and-pepper-haired second-in-command looked a little weary around his eyes, but he was smiling.

At a desk across the way, Ishani stood abruptly and stiffly as if greeting a commanding officer. “Whoa. At ease, there, Ms…Anand?”

Ishani nodded. “Yes, si…Mr. Katis.”

“Mr. Stanton.”

Evan looked over his monitor and stood as well, giving a half-wave. “Hey.”

“Mr. Liao. Ms. Bergenson. And Ms. Pressman.”

“Hello,” Nelly said.

“I’m not gonna lie to you and pretend my assistant didn’t just text me your names and ID photos 10 minutes ago so I can fake like I remembered them all,” he noted, “but this isn’t the first time your names have come up. From what I hear, you’re all doing exceptional work here so far and moving this project along at a fantastic clip.”

Grinning, he looked at Dr. Bascombe, who still looked slightly put out. “And here I am, gumming up that pace. Miguel,” he said, putting a large hand on the researcher’s shoulder, “sometimes you have to take a pause to recognize good work.”

The scientist nodded. “Absolutely,” he said, the tension in his visage dissipating.

“So,” Katis said, turning back to the assembled interns, “what’s your secret?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica felt like she should speak at this point, mostly because she felt that she and Nelly were the two with any charisma and Nelly was a loose cannon. "Well, Mr. Katis, i can't say that any of us were aware that our results were anything to write home about, after two weeks. So I'm not sure we can answer that question exactly. What I can say is we've made a concerted effort to gel as a team. We mesh well, we get along together but we're not getting on so well that we're engaging in any groupthink. Everyone here seems pretty capable and everyone's just really thrown themselves into their work. I guess it's just a mixture of native talent, a good working environment and a good team. Unless someone's coming in after hours and is redoing our work because they're some sort of secret genius."

Her money was on that being a potential thing with Mr. Ivy League who didn't seem to know what he was doing there. Maybe that was an act. "But if it is anyone it sure isn't me as the security footage will show" She laughed "Maybe Mr. Penn over there. Otherwise I think we just take work seriously."

 

[Halcyon638]

The COO listened intently. He let out a chuckle at Monica’s quips. “Wow. Ms., if Miguel starts working you too hard, I think we can scare you up a Communications internship. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and candor.”

Turning his attention back to the group, Katis said, “The TL;DR version is, keep up the good work. I should get out of here before Dr. Bascombe here throws me out.” The middle-aged man headed toward the exit with Jonah by his side.

That evening, Monica was making her way down the hall to 511 when she spotted Elise sitting in the hallway just beside her door. The young girl was snacking on dried apricots with one hand and hanging onto a stuffed dragon with the other.

“Hello,” Elise said, waving with the three fingers of her left hand that weren’t holding an apricot. Monica could hear slightly sharp, slightly raised voices inside.

“—I’ll remember to put it in writing next time,” a woman said in a witheringly sarcastic tone. “Thanks for being as supportive as always.” The door to 509 opened and a pale, curvy 30-something with dark hair exited, closing the door with a hard clack. Frustration was plain on her face, though it dissipated when she turned to Elise.

“Do you want to see the picture I drawed?” Elise asked Monica. The woman looked at her, wearing a confused expression.

“Hi,” the woman said, lips tightly set.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica was exhausted and just wanted to collapse in the AC and facetime Gabi. Still, when she saw Elise in the hall she was concerned. She started to ask why the girl was out by herself when Elise spoke "Of course I'd love t.." when the woman she assumed to be elise's mom came out of the apartment across the way. She looked her over, feeling like the DILF across the hall could do better than he had. She looked down to Elise "but you should probably ask your mom." She turned and offered the woman a smile "I'm Monica. I live across the hall. well just for the summer till the semester starts again.I take it you're Elise's mom?" She honestly couldn't remember DILF's name, let alone the mother's.

 

[Halcyon638]

The woman’s body language relaxed a bit. “Oh, hey. I’m Annie,” she said, managing a smile. “You can show her, honey, but just make it quick, okay?”

Elise showed Monica a picture of an ideal treehouse she’d drawn and then she and her mother were on their way. “Nice to meet you,” the woman said as almost an afterthought as they headed toward the elevator.

As Monica was settling in and waiting for Gabi to finish dinner and call, she caught up on the activity in her Nighthawk feeds. She had already amassed a huge number of followers in the short time she’d spent running the account, and she’d received a message via the username that was on her business cards.

The message was from “DashingBritishVillain” and read: I heard you rescued the girl last night. Proper hero shit. I’ll give you the night off from my many schemes and machinations.

Monica’s regular newsfeed was also blowing up with stories about Branko’s revelations. He had gone forward to the press with the information. Chief of Police Bell had been placed on immediate suspension and journalists and authorities were racing to uncover who of the many hires he’d approved on the force might also be the Imperial’s lackeys.

A moment later, Gabi called. Her normally radiant skin was pale and there were slight circles under her eyes. “Hey, sweetie,” she said, her voice with little of its usual mellifluous perkiness. She wore a blue pastel hoodie despite the warmth. Still, she managed a smile at the sight of her girlfriend. “Busy night last night? How are you doing? How’s work?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica replied to DashingBritishVillain "Thank you. I needed your help and the girl is alive because of you. As to what I had said before, well ...I have hundreds of thousands of followers and a marketing arrangement where I make money off my likeness. I personally don't make as much as I could because I'm not in it to get paid. Most of it goes to charity and also I can't do appearances because well... i'm a true believer and not a girl who will go to clubs just to be seen there and get a paycheck. You, on the other hand, could make a killing. If you build up a positive reputation, you could make honest money just using your face. You did something good tonight. There's not a trade off between doing good and doing well. Think about it."

If she converted Flashpoint by appealing to his sense of greed while playing up how good it felt to be good, she'd consider that a win.

When she saw Gabi she lit up. "Corazon." She hated that Gabi seemed sick but in a way it made the fact the girl hadn't come down easier. "I'm so good. work is amazing. We're doing well and some big shot came down today to give our team kudos!" She nattered on about that for a bit then switched gears. "So you know I have this marketing money now." She shifted a little "i'm gonna get a car so I can come see you on weekends or you can come see me."