Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

The sandy-brown-haired guy sat on a shabby armchair in the motel room. His green eyes were sunken with fatigue, making his high cheekbones seem even more dramatic. He responded in Centauri: “Yeah.” He glanced around the drab settings. “Shit. You are one of us.”

He looked toward the windows, which were covered in curtains. The AC hummed lightly. “There was this group of soldiers or, like, mercenaries or whatever. I was hiking. They got me with some tranqs. I don’t know what it was. I sorta remember the flight, but not much. They’ve been doping the hell out of me since I got there.”

He took a sip of water out of a plastic cup. “Thank you. My name is Tye, by the way.”

 

[siobhancan99]

She nodded "of course I'm one of you." She took the helmet off "Monica. Well at least you know. So there's no explaining to do. Can you fight? are you battle caste? I assume at least one of your family is." She folded her arms and leaned against the wall "Why did they know to come at you? You expose yourself somehow?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Tye nodded. “Yeah. I’m battle caste. My father trained me. I mean…I’ve never actually been in a fight, really.”

He yawned. “Yeah. This was like, three, four years ago. I was…trying to impress a girl so I lifted a car in front of her, let her friend get video of it. It kinda went viral for a little while until people were just like, ‘oh, that’s just CGI.’ My parents completely freaked. They didn’t let me out of the house for a year.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded "they shouldn't have." She closed her eyes and thought for a minute. Either his parents were second wave like hers, and he was born... pretty much right away... or they were first wave infiltrators who had lived in the States for a while under the weight of secrecy. They had to be pretty fucking pissed. "you know all three of you might have to disappear." She opened her eyes "if this lunatic is onto you, so is the US government. There has to be a bunch of us working for the major powers at this point. The US, China, Russia. We went everywhere with nuclear weapons so maybe even Britain, France... I know we all think that there's no way they know about us but that's not really reasonable." She gave O'Neill her contact information. "Talk with your parents. If they want, my friend can maybe put you in touch with people that can give you a new identity. All three of you. Also, I wouldn't mind talking with your parents at some point." She had ideas, larger ideas about what to do with the Centauri left on earth. Eventually she would have to make some inroads with the population that was still here.

 

[Halcyon638]

Tye polished off the bottle of water. “Yeah. I mean…I was pretty stupid back then. Less stupid now, I think.” He managed the hint of a smile which quickly disappeared as Monica laid out the possible threat.

Nodding, he said, “They always said something like this might happen. We’ve got, like…a plan in place.” He accepted her contact information. “Yeah. I bet they’d want to talk to you, too.”

He stood and looked toward the window again. “Thanks again for saving me…Monica.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"you got lucky. They were after my friend, and I just happened to get in the way. We came up here to put an end to this bullshit. Good news is the lady behind it was a one time thing. No government ties or anything." She yawned "look. just have your parents contact me, and seriously consider disappearing. At least make sure to keep a low profile. Sharpen those skills." She put her hand on his shoulder "and remember that Centauri are killers. If it's you or them. Fuck them" she looked pointedly out at the world "I know my whole thing is i don't kill people, but there are exceptions."

A few hours later, she was hiding in the back of the car when Marcus returned with a duffle bag, some sweats, anti persperant, a toothbrush, toothpaste and some water. She akwardly got herself cleaned up as they sped down the highway, twisting around to keep a low profile as she shed her armor first, "fuck i'm gonna have to clean that shit before I use it again for sure."

 

[Halcyon638]

“What? No butler waiting to wash your Nighthawk suit?” She found a new bag of peach rings in among the toiletries. As Marcus drove, Monica fell asleep, the white noise of the road compensating for the morning sunlight.

She woke up about fifteen minutes before they hit Prospect City, feeling out of it still but slightly better. “It occurred to me it’s probably going to attract a whole mess of attention if you call up your little spaceship in broad daylight,” Marcus noted. “Where do you want me to drop you?”

 

[siobhancan99]

She hmmmed. She knew a lot about Marcus now, maybe. He definitely owed her, but did she owe him her address? probably not. "Just drop me in town I have a bus pass" She yawned. "Hey, that kid. O'Neil. He might need a new Identity. If he reaches out, I'm sure he'd make it worth your while. or his parents would. You know, make a buck off this at least" She grinned but sat up "Look I know a lot of this was enlightened self interest, but you did good. I'm proud of you."

 

[Halcyon638]

The Brit arched an eyebrow at the bus pass mention. “You sure?” He flipped on his turn signal and picked a lane.

“I’m probably not the best person to come to for advice about starting a new identity considering I just shaved my beard and dicked around in this city for half a year,” he said as they headed downtown. “But any friend of yours…”

They reached a crowded area and were stuck in traffic for a few minutes. He scoffed at the praise, but then a genuine smile started to appear on his lips. Marcus found a place to park near an outdoor café, but before she could get out of the car, he stopped it and stepped out, opening the back left door for her.

He was within arm’s reach now, a gleam of admiration in his brown eyes. “So. Catch you at bible study?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Grinning she got out of the car and gave him a hug "A-aron, I'd even meet you for coffee. You have my number" she chuckled. She wanted badly to make a mistake with him. Maybe all weekend, but she had a party to plan for the next day, a day of classes to make up for, a talk to have with zoe... a shower was definitely in order. She needed to talk to her dad about putting a second seat in the sliver and maybe some drones for additional footage. She had a lot on her plate. "Seriously call me. Though. I don't want that 'bird' you mentioned getting jealous" she figured she'd feel him out for whether that was serious, at least.

 

[Halcyon638]

Marcus beamed. “Think I may take you up on that.” He nodded. “You have nothing to worry about. Aside from, uh…possibly being seen in public with a wanted felon. That whole thing.” With a bit of swagger to his stride, he made his way back to the vehicle.

On her way home, Monica got caught up on her messages. There were a few from classmates checking in about her absence, along with the latest from Zoe.

ZOE: Thanks so much! I’m free after around 3:30 today if you wanted to FaceTime or meet up.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica showered and made herself some coffee. She messaged back that she was taking a mental health day, and thanked people for their concern. She was going to have to hit the books tonight for sure, so that meant a nap after she talked to Zoe. She also emailed her father some specs for her notion of how to upgrade the sliver with the mods she wanted and asked what it would cost. She could send him the money. God knows she had it these days at least. Knowing Zoe was coming over and money was tight, she set about making some food. She threw a chicken in the oven and set about making some biscuits. She had some fresh green beans she needed to use, and she prepped them so she could pan cook them in garlic and butter. 330 was early for dinner but she was starving and assumed zoe wouldn't say no to free food. She messaged Zoe "just come over making food"

 

[Halcyon638]

Zoe arrived at quarter to four, dressed in jeans and a wine-red, flower-patterned halter, her blonde hair in braids and her backpack slung over one shoulder. “Hey,” she said, smiling and giving Monica a little hug. “Something smells good.”

She put her bag down near the door and unlaced her sneakers. As Monica went back to tending the food, she yawned. “I got up an hour early today so I could make it to the pool before it got super crowded. Felt so good. I kind of forgot how much swimming used to be one of my coping mechanisms. Need any help?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"I know what you mean! We took my neighbor's kid swimming and I cut loose for the first time ever and it was amazing." She smiled over at Zoe "you look good" she put the food out "just get yourself a drink out of the fridge." She tossed the beans in the skillet, then plated them with a biscuit for each and put out some of the chicken so zoe could take a portion "So. I have a proposition." She busted out her tablet and showed some of her videos "So we're going to do an upgrade where I have drones that will shoot my fights from multiple angles. What I am going to need is a video editor to put it together to make it cinematic. So my thought was show each of the feeds around, so people don't accuse me of clever editing, then in the main part of the screen mix and match the shots for the most interesting angles. eventually I want to get rights to put music over it or something. So... I'd pay you to do it. If you do a good job."

 

[Halcyon638]

A look of sudden realization crossed Zoe’s face. “Oh, wow. You were holding back all of those years. Do you mean to tell me we could have beaten those snobby bitches from Proctor?” she said, referring to a private school in an adjoining county. “Do you remember when Kayla shoved one of them against their bus?”

“Thanks. You do, too,” she said, seating herself at the table. She took a bite of the chicken and grinned. “It’s delicious.”

Zoe listened and ate quietly, adjusting her slightly oversized glasses to look at the tablet. “Ohh. I thought…Interesting. I was just talking with a classmate about modern dance choreography on film and how often it’s chopped up in the edit rather than letting you see the performers like, show off their skills. This could be a fun challenge. I don’t have a ton of filmmaking experience. Aside from those super pretentious shorts I made for Ms. Vick’s class. But I’d like to give it a try.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"I do but I think its cause she wanted to fuck her." Monica laughed "They were ALWAYS up each other's asses." She dug into her food because she was starving, letting Zoe watch a little bit and then nodded "yeah well. It isn't going to be easy, which is why I'm willing to pay you to learn how to do it. I have a company, I'll buy the laptop and the editing software so its legit, no sketchy free versions. I'll pay for an online course in how to use it. You'll form an LLC and my LLC will contract with your LLC to do the work, then you'll invoice my company and get paid, so its all above board and taxable and more importantly there's a record of it. Look, you love movies. You need money. if it works out it works out. I don't wanna fucking do it. I'm already starring in the fucking thing, editing it seems like work. So, how much would you need a week to live on?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Zoe snickered. “Ah. That explains a lot. Still bitter about losing to them,” she said, grinning and cutting up some meat.

She listened to Monica’s proposal, occasionally chomping down on a green bean or taking another bite of chicken. “Wow. You’ve really thought this out. I’d love to give it a shot. And be able to make your life a little easier. God, I don’t know. I mean, whatever you think is fair. For, like, an entry-level…superhero intern.” Her phone chimed, and she placed it face down on the table.

“So, in the meantime…about the other…thing. Is there a day and time that would…work for you?” The petite blonde’s face was flushed. “Like I said. Happy to wait until you’re out of the house, or I should be able to…keep it lowkey if you’re around. I'm sorry. I know it's super awkward to ask."

 

[siobhancan99]

"I have no idea what to pay you zoe, so I need to know how much you need to make. Like totally. Like this would be your job. I haven't exactly priced this out, and a top end video editor is probably expensive, so even if you charge a reasonably large amount i'll probably be making out. So" She looked at the little blond "Tell me how much you, zoe, need to make to not have to have a second job." She was hoping this could cut off zoe's need to fuck herself online for cash, without expressly getting there. If the girl wanted to do it for her own sexual needs, great, but she wasn't going to let Zoe fall into sex work if she could just pay her to do something useful for her, that would ultimately improve her brand and make her more money.

 

[Halcyon638]

Zoe quoted her a figure that seemed a little on the low side to Monica. “That would do it, I think. Assuming I can figure it out,” she said, a slight smile on her face. “And if I can’t…I can like, clean your house or something.”

She rose from her seat and gave Monica a hug. “Thank you. Do you have a rough timetable of when I would start? Just trying to figure things out in my head.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"right away. I'll order the laptop and software and get it to you tomorrow night after the party, or saturday morning, really, if you crash. I'm going to want you learning the software right away, so that when the drones are fitted and everything in the next week or so you at least have an idea of where to start." She looked around "also if you uh. need some... alone time. you can use my place while i'm at class tomorrow. Also if you get lucky this weekend and want to use the spare room. well. that's what friends are for." She had a three bedroom, one was her office though, which left a bed for zoe to use if she needed.

 

[Halcyon638]

“Okay. Excellent,” Zoe said, toying with the end of one of her braids momentarily. “I, uh…I would appreciate using your place tomorrow. I need to kind of…stay on a schedule with the followers I’ve got. For now, at least. You won’t even know I’ve been here.”

She thanked Monica and offered to help with the party prep again, then picked up her bag and and headed for the nearest shuttle stop.

Monica was still feeling the lingering effects of the all-nighter when she made it home after her last class of the day, her Signals and Systems lab for electrical engineering. On the counter was a blueberry crumble square from a nearby bakery and a Post-it note from Zoe. “Thank you! Purchased the baked goods before I did my thing Can’t wait for the party tonight!”

After getting settled, Monica had a chance to check her Nighthawk burner phone and socials for the first time since the night before.

MARCUS: Can’t stop thinking about you

 

[siobhancan99]

She messaged back "because I am strong like bull?" She hmmmed and messaged again "I'd have you by tonight but its a bunch of 20 year old kids eating my food and drinking my beer for the most part. Not really the scene for a European sophisticate but we should definitely get together "

She threw together some seven layer dip and ordered some wings for later, then made sure the fridge was stocked with mixers and she had plenty of booze on hand.