Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

"I'm trying a new thing. I suggest they tell me everything I know so I don't have to come back. There's an implied punching in coming back. I let them imagine how mad i'll be if I have to track them down again. So far it's working and it doesn't get me into any videos" She leans against Knapp's car "said he took all the chemicals down to a steel mill, one of the people seemed military. Was going to head down there and see if there was anything worth seeing if you wanna come."

 

[Halcyon638]

The detective let out a chuckle. "Whatever works." When the topic of the steel mill arose, he thought for a moment and pulled out his phone. “Address?” He punched it into the device.

“30-minute drive…” Knapp’s eyes looked upward as he did some mental math. “It’ll be close. I gotta meet my new partner in about an hour and a half. They finally gave me a babysitter.” He started walking toward his sedan. “Ah, fuck it. Let’s do it.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica made her way to the sliver, then followed Knapp's car down to the steel mill. she didn't want to get there without him, or him to get there without her. She was nervous about his return, and protective of him. When they arrived, she landed, getting out "alright, detective. What's the plan?"

 

[Halcyon638]

The middle-aged detective peered at the dilapidated structure. The interior was dark, and there were no cars in the nearest sizeable parking lot. Signs sporting phrases like “Employee Parking Only” and “Large Trucks Entering Ahead” had been vibrantly spray painted with inscrutable tags. “Looks like nobody’s home. Go inside and poke around?” he offered up as a question, reaching into his car for a flashlight while unholstering his pistol.

A truck screamed by, drowning out the sound of Knapp shutting his car door.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica sighed. it was too much to hope that there'd be an actual operation there. Still, there might be clues. "onward and upward" she watched the truck go screaming past, then made her way into the mill ahead of Knapp "you keep behind me. Only one of us is bulletproof, Brandon."

 

[Halcyon638]

A brief expression of surprise flashed across the cop’s face as he heard his first name. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, aiming the flashlight into what to him was gloom but to Monica was a cavernous industrial structure with endless nooks and crannies. They made their way into the mill, the beam of his flashlight barely visible to her with her Centauri vision.

“You know, I have been do—”

Behind a support pillar, Monica caught a quick glimpse of a figure. Before she could get a good look, they heard the sound of hasty footsteps and then the figure was off like a shot, seemingly heading for a distant staircase leading up.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica bolted after the figure. It might just be a homeless squatter, but it might be a lookout for whoever was here, or someone who was here to see who might come snooping around. fishing out her phone she tried moving the sliver to a position over the roof in case it came to that. "Hey! I just wanna talk" she called out to the running figure, in case it wasn't something nefarious.

 

[Halcyon638]

As Monica closed in, she realized the runner was likely an adolescent judging from their frame. She heard the detective’s footsteps quicken until presumably he saw she had the situation well in hand.

It didn’t take her long to cut the figure off as they tried to sprint up the stairs by leaping up and pulling herself over the railing in one swift motion. He was high-school age, skinny and with a mop of unruly dark hair. A tattered backpack hung from his arm.

Outside, rain began to fall against the mill. “I was leaving,” he said in Spanish, “okay?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica sighed and looked down at the kid. He was either stealing metal or living there. Depending on which the conversation would go very differently. She leaned against the railing, looking out at the rain "no umbrella. might as well stick around a minute" she crossed her arms "obviously i dont give a fuck that some kid is prowling around a steel mill, and i'm not about to beat your ass for it so relax. What are you doing here?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“You speak Spanish?” the boy said. As the rain began to fall harder, he responded to Monica’s question. “I don’t…I don’t really have a place to stay right now.” Hesitating, he added, “my dad’s back in the hospital. Psych ward.”

He caught a glimpse of Knapp and stiffened up. “Who’s he? Is he a cop?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nods and continues in Spanish "I do. And I'm not interested in breaking your balls. It sucks you're unhoused." She looks over to Knapp "he's cool. She looks around "so how long have you been living in here?" She figured this kid might have seen some things, if it's been a while. "and how are you eating?"

 

[Halcyon638]

The teen looked skeptically at Knapp, then back at Monica. “I don’t know. Couple of weeks?” It had been nearly four since the Swat-induced violence in the city. He rubbed his right eye and shrugged at the question regarding food.

Monica heard a distant thud. The detective moved toward one of the windows. “Uh, Nighthawk. I think we have some new arrivals. And I’m guessing they’re not clocking in for the graveyard shift.”

Peering out a nearby window, she spotted a pair of vans. A group of about 5 men and 1 woman made their way across the parking lot, taking note of Knapp’s vehicle.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded "Ill just be a minute" she looked to the kid and fished 40 bucks out of her pack, holding it just out of his reach "you see anything strange around here? anything I might be interested in knowing about? armed men for instance?" She wasn't averse to bribing the kid, and honestly if there weren't thugs coming she'd have tried to get him into a better situation.

 

[Halcyon638]

The teen thought for a moment while Knapp started heading up the metal stairs where he and Monica were both standing, turning off his flashlight and pulling out his pistol. “I haven’t seen anyone. My friend, Tyler, though—he’s been coming here off and on for longer. Said he thinks this place might have been a drug lab or something. He found something a couple of days ago. A bunch of pills or something. Haven’t seen him since.”

Knapp peered out the same window through which Monica was looking, clocking a second van pulling in. Three or four figures began emerging from it as well. “Well, this ain’t great,” he sighed. “I can call for backup.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica crouched "both of you up to the roof. I'll send you out to Knapp's car in the sliver." she crouched "call for backup from the car, but with these numbers I think what we want is to leave. Last thing we need is this kid getting shot. Now be quiet and get up to the fucking roof."

 

[Halcyon638]

“You heard the superhero,” Knapp said in a voice just slightly above a whisper. “Come on.” The detective hesitated as the teenager started climbing the stairs. “You’re coming with us, right?”

They heard faint voices and footsteps near the entrance, then the metallic creak of a door opening.

 

[siobhancan99]

"get your ass on that roof" she hissed, gesturing for them to go faster. she crept up behind them, but looked for a good place to hide in case she needed to stay in the building. Discretion was the better part of valor and all, but it might come down to providing some cover for the other two while she got them onto the ground.

 

[Halcyon638]

Knapp and the teen made their way up the stairs quickly but quietly. From her vantage point, Monica could see that the assembled arrivals were clustering near the door and having some kind of discussion. Among their ranks was Cutthroat, who began to train his dead eyes on the environment around him.

Those eyes swept the area near the second-story landing where they were all now sneaking, and it seemed like they paused.

A moment later, though, he shifted his gaze, likely not being able to make out much in the shadows.

The three of them crept up the stairs, eventually finding a entrance to the roof. The rain was pounding on the other side. Knapp and the unhoused boy stepped outdoors to find the Sliver hovering nearby.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica gestured for them to get in "I'm gonna send you to Knapp's car. Get out onto the road, call for backup. Once you're down ill follow" she'd stick near the door, being able to use it as a choke point if anyone came up after her. She just ahd to make sure they didn't get past her to the roof. "once other cops are on the way, we can re-assess" though to her mind, Knapp needed to take the kid and get the fuck out of there.

 

[Halcyon638]

Knapp nodded and stepped toward the vehicle as the teen looked at it skeptically. “Alright. Be careful, okay?” he told Monica, raising his voice a bit to compete with the rain, then stepping back for a moment as the vehicle’s hatch opened with a whirr.

“Damn, this is cool,” the boy said in Spanish as he climbed into the Sliver. Knapp followed a few seconds later.

From her vantage point, she could watch them soar down and see the vehicle’s door open again to allow them to slip into Knapp’s car. After getting inside it for a moment, she watched as he stepped outside to give her another quick wave.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica brought the sliver back up to the roof, but kept herself by the door. She had this paranoid feeling someone would burst in at any moment. if they didn't, she could figure out what she wanted to do when she got to the ground. flipping the vans over seemed like part of the drill for sure though. she was strong enough so why not? She had to get down there first though.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica stood guard long enough for her aircraft to rise up to meet her, the rain drenching her costume. The only bright spot of its low breathability in summer was the fact it was mostly resistant to rain. It was difficult to hear much over the downpour.

A moment later, the Sliver was descending with her in it.

 

[siobhancan99]

MOnica moved swiftly to the side of the van nearest the steel mill. IT was too heavy for her to lift, but she didn't need to lift it. she just needed to tilt it, and using the tires on one side as a fulcrum she tries to lift just the one side, to tip the van onto its side and disable it as a pursuit vehicle.

 

[Halcyon638]

Crouching down, Monica’s gloved fingers gripped the undercarriage of the vehicle. It, at least, was dry. She wiped the gloves off underneath, rubbing some of the liquid onto the metal.

Inhaling, she began the lift. It was the heaviest item Monica had ever attempted to lift. She recalled once trying to lift her dad’s car, but that was a mid-sized vehicle, not a van meant to haul bodies and equipment.

Slowly, she could feel the massive weight shifting. Every muscle in her body tensed as she rose with it. She knew now that she needed one sharp, sudden motion to shove the vehicle over.

Her leg, back, and arm muscles registering their severe concerns, she threw all of her strength into it. The vehicle was weightless for a moment.

Then, the crash. The vehicle toppled over, side windows and sideview mirror all shattering.

A moment later, she heard confused shouts as 3 men emerged from the mill carrying a large object the size of a card table under a tarp.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica fished a knife from her pack and stabbed the back tires of the other van, then made her way to the sliver, trying to get out of there. Hopefully the men would be stuck, but if not she could follow them in the sliver if she could keep out of pistol range. she didn't see any rifles, not that there weren't any. She wondered when Knapp's backup would get there. when she realized Knife Guy wasn't with the three she turned back, thinking she might be able to take them.