Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

Monica looked over at Gabi and rolled her eyes at Kayla's exuberance. She looked over at Zoe and shrugged "why don't we take her home then head back to the house?" She assumed Zoe struck out with the guy she came to see, and it was a decent excuse to take off and curl up with Gabi. She tugged her girlfriend over "We can drop you off Zoe. We're headed home to get a little private time in. Let me know when you're ready to head out."

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi smiled a slightly embarrassed smile and brushed her hand against Monica’s hand.

“Great—thank you!” Zoe said. “I just need to make the rounds and say good-bye to some people. I’m flying out super early tomorrow morning.”

Gabi and Monica used it as an opportunity to say their goodbyes, first to April and Ian who were talking comic books, then heading downstairs to say goodbye to Kayla. She was already in the hot tub, stripped down to her bra and panties. “It was good seeing you all,” Kayla told them, draping her arm around Liam’s broad bare shoulders. “See you for Christmas break.”

As Monica drove Gabi and Zoe away from Pryce’s house, Gabi said, “So…how it’d go with you and Noah?”

“Ehh, it went okay,” Zoe said in the backseat, looking out the window. “You know when you have like an amazing connection with someone online but then IRL you just don’t feel it? It was like that. He’s a very sweet guy, but there was just no spark.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica laughed "no, but I mean. We've all been disappointed in a guy. I hooked up with a guy this semester... casual... thinking maybe he'd fuck someone else. He was the village bike. Then he tried artlessly to wrangle a threesome with me and Gabi." She laughed "So that was that." she ran her fingers through Gabi's hair "but keep at it Zoe, you never know when the right one has been there the whole time, waiting for you to figure it out."

 

[Halcyon638]

“Wow,” Zoe said, her smile illuminated by the intermittent streetlights. “He sounds like a real keeper.” She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll get as lucky as you two. I was talking to Gabi about you last night and she was practically glowing. Very annoying,” she said as the dark-haired girl blushed in the front seat. “I’m going to miss you again. Both of you,” Zoe quickly added.

“Aww. It’s only a few weeks,” Gabi noted.

Zoe sighed. "We’re doing the holidays with my mom’s side of the family. Out in Cal. Not sure when I’ll actually be around,” she said, brushing some curls away from her face and looking more than a little glum.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica looked back in the rearview mirror a moment "you know, like I said. IF you transfer, you'd have a ready made group of friends..." she trailed off "and you know you're always welcome to crash with us. Gabi and I have plenty of space so if you want to come down and get away from Chicago for a week or whatever. you know, you're totally welcome"

 

[Halcyon638]

Zoe nodded, then smiled. “That’d be great. Sorry, I don’t mean to be a bummer. I get a little emotional when I’m toasted.” Monica and Gabi dropped their friend off and said their good-byes, with Zoe making them pledge to check in more often. It was 11:40 by the time they pulled away.

“I told my mom I’d be home by 1:00,” Gabi said. “Family time tomorrow.” Grinning, she said, “You know, we’re not far from CHS. We could do the most Cottersville thing ever and go make out near Lerman Field,” she suggested, referring to their former high school’s athletic field. “Not that I’m that kind of girl…”

 

[siobhancan99]

The night went by too quickly, and Monica found herself packing for the return trip soon enough. She kept anxiously looking out the window for her father to return. She couldn't believe he was free, not till he was standing there. Not till he was in the flesh right in front of her. Gabi had picked up on her mood, offering some quiet solace in the form of hugs and whatnot, but she was a ball of tension. A few days distraction and now she was back to thinking on this alien menace. There were a few options of course. She could just disappear into the sea of humanity. It would be easy enough. people did it all the time, people hiding from real earth governments who had actual access to bank records and the like... but... running wasn't her style. She could marry the guy and ship him off back to space and just let it be a marriage of convenience. he seemed too weird and rapey for that though. Maybe she could kill him... that meant a lot more training though. She kept staring down out of the window, trying to will her father to come back so she could discuss her options, none of which were really all that great in retrospect.

 

[Halcyon638]

James Bergenson looked drained by the time he slowly walked up his driveway half past 6:00 PM as the white van pulled away. When he entered the house, he hugged Monica tightly. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want any of this for you.”

Once he had settled in a bit, James caught her up. “I managed to buy us some time at least. There’s a reason you want to stay on your mechanic’s good side,” he noted, taking a swig of water. “I sent that asshole to get some materials that aren’t easy to come by and also let him know once I have them, it’s going to take some time for me to build what I need to fix the thing. That satisfied him for now, but I don’t know how long it’ll fly with whoever he’s reporting to. In any case, no signals are getting through until that thing is up and running.”

James sighed. “If only I’d gotten lucky with that first shot in the parking lot. By the way, I cleared something up with the cops with some bullshit story about me getting drunk and meeting up with an old college friend at the motel, then ditching the van because I was too hammered. I’m pretty sure the cops think I was either hooking up with a gay prostitute or dealing meth, but there’s no evidence that any crime was committed, so nothing doing with that.”

He leaned back in his chair. “The way I see it, we have a few things working to our advantage right now: we’ve got some time with the repair, there are no signals getting through, and even if there were, it’s possible that the Warpstream is still down or they’d just be sending somebody to see what’s up with the Beacon. Also, there’s the fact that he thinks he’s serving his future empress.”

Outside, rain began to fall. “On the downside, that fuckhead is still alive and if the Warpstream issues are on their end, they might just say to hell with it and send someone or someones to find out what's going on with the Beacon or come get you.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded "I've been thinking about this. It seems like our best alternative is for me to agree... after a fashion... to marry the guy. I was thinking of saying that I needed a year to wrap up my affairs here on earth, and that if he came and like... bested me in single combat or some stupid macho martial bullshit in one year's time... i'd marry him. Not necessarily that but something along those lines. That gives us some time to find that guy you were talking about. the one that can close down the warpstream. What that does for our side too is I guess they can probably do some kind of purge while the warp is down at that point then they don't have to follow through." She had some other plans too, ones that largely involved telling the US government everything there was to know if they couldn't shut the warpstream down, then maybe letting them blow the guy up with artillery or something. human weapons were getting pretty advanced, after all. "In the future dad... you need to leave the fighting to me though." she got up and wrapped him up in a hug "i thought I lost you. After losing mom and Tom... how could I bear that? You were just gone..." she squeezed him as tight as she could, which was pretty fucking tight after all. "You can't run off and play the hero. We need to plan all these things together. We have to be on the same page."

 

[Halcyon638]

A surprised look spread over James’s face. His brow furrowed and he looked as if he were about to interrupt Monica, but then he stopped to listen. He sighed. “That…,” he said, resigned. “That sounds like the least terrible option. Still pretty damn terrible but…you’re right. Also…if worse were to come to worst and Sorrinel comes to claim you, if you marry any Centauri of Battle Caste or higher—well, male. They surprisingly aren’t that liberal. If you marry and…consummate it, that would protect you. It may be the only way to protect you.”

James hugged her back, cradling her head against his shoulder. “I know, angel. I know you’re the fighter in the family. I just…the ‘Dad’ part of my brain went a little haywire and…killing Thalmor looked like the only way. I didn’t want…I don’t want you to have to…cross that line. But I know I can’t protect you from the world—or other worlds—forever.”

He stroked Monica’s hair lightly. “His name was Alex Sutter,” James said, gently letting her go and approaching the refrigerator. “The engineer. The one who disappeared. At least, that was his human name. He lived somewhere in Mass. About 15, 20 years ago, his wife died giving birth to their kid and then 1, 2 years later, the guy goes missing on a hike. Mysterious circumstances. I didn’t buy that he fell down a ravine or something.”

James pulled out a soda and popped it open. “Guy designed and built the Beacon. He was part of the Warpstream project, too. He’s probably out there making serious bank somewhere working for Lockheed Martin or something.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica considered for a long moment "he's probably making bank at that fucking security company that made that body armor that I intercepted. The one the Imperial was after. Or he's the imperial." She leans against the wall "though I suspect the Imperial might be a woman, and it woulddn't surprise me if she was one of us. That's conjecture, I know but... So from what i understand the Imperial has a number of cells that work for ...'him'... and none of them know each other but they're largely contacted by a woman. What woman wouldn't know to hide in plain sight, right? Like... suuuuuuuurely the Imperial has a dick right? I mean that's the assumption everyone's going to make. The Imperial is just dripping with machismo. He has 10 y chromosomes. Everyone ignores the messenger lady. Turns out she IS the Imperial, but still a lot of human women wouldn't be safe in that role. You know. If some guy got it in his head to send a message to her 'boss' and then that message you know... didn't get there because she's the boss and she's dead... So she'd have to be capable. So I guess like, she doesn't have to be centauri but... it would help a lot. Like, in the early days of establishing dominance. Then too she could be all like "if you think getting your ass handed to you by me was bad, just wait till you meet the boss some day" and all that"

 

[Halcyon638]

James pulled a piece of Amy Reed’s homemade apple pie out of the fridge and plunked the plastic container down on the counter. “First Line,” he said, referring to the Prospect City-based defense giant. “Could be a good place to start. I wasn’t able to pull up much info about their employees because of their encryption. I mean, if the guy was trying to disappear which was sort of the rumor among us, working for one of the country’s biggest companies probably wasn’t a great strategy, but maybe he got tired of living a quiet life in some suburb.” With a glint of sadness in his green eyes, he added, “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

James unbuttoned the rumpled dress shirt he’d been wearing when he’d been taken and took it off, draping it on a chair nearby. In his form-fitting white undershirt, he picked the pie up and began eating it as if it were a cold slice of pizza. “Sorry. Starving. You know more about the Imperial than I do. I suppose he could be—or she could be—a Centauri.”

He sat back down at the table. “You’ve got one week of classes and then exams and I want you to do well,” James noted, reaching across the table to take Monica’s hand in his. “What can I do to help you?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica hmmmed and looked out the window "for one, you can show up in a nice shirt and jacket to Gabi's mom's for dinner. Bring your lady friend... if you haven't blown that by running off to Michigan. After that well. I just want to focus on school the next few weeks so... don't get in any trouble" she smirked and stole a crumb off his plate. "you know, dad... you don't have to blow up the dam for the glory of your forgotten space empire any more. You could "invent" something useful with basic principles of Centauri tech and you know. get a job in the city..."

 

[Halcyon638]

James winced. “Kat. Shit. Can I use your phone? Mine’s on the side of the highway somewhere. It’s a little short notice to invite her for tonight and with everything that’s been going on with you and Gabi and her mom…you’ll get to meet her in a couple weeks. If I haven’t messed it up.”

He grinned a bit as Monica speculated about his future. “Heh. It was your mom that was going crazy living here. I like it here. I like my rut.” Tousling her hair, he added, “But in a couple of years I’ll probably need you to take care of me and I’ll have to move close by wherever you end up. So I don’t set the house on fire. That kind of thing.”

Standing up, he said, “I’ll go get dressed.”

 

[siobhancan99]

The week flew by. Gabi was safely (for now) ensconced in the apartment though who knew what would happen over christmas. Classes were mostly review for the final. She'd quit her job as it was all too much and with the onset of the colder weather, street crime was down a bit. No leads on the deal with the dead reporter... Monica took a few days to just be. Finally, midweek, after Gabi fell asleep she suited up and headed out the window, looking for a little something to do.

 

[Halcyon638]

The Sliver glided over Prospect City, which seemed unusually quiet. After hitting the usual trouble spots of Founder’s Square and Benjamin Park, Monica was flying over the city’s warehouse district when she heard shots ring out. When she arrived on the scene, she spotted a truck outside the rear loading dock of one such building. Someone was hauling gigantic, industrial-sized drums of some chemical out of the building and into the waiting vehicle—obviously someone not human. The glint of the truck’s headlights revealed that the figure hauling the massive metal containers was Mark Sabyn, A.K.A. Chromium.

 

[siobhancan99]

Bringing the sliver down quietly near the truck, Monica hopped out. She left it close, because even with her actual armor she might have to run on this one. She also called 911 on her new burner she got for just that purpose, saying quietly "Chromium is stealing shit near wherever this phone is. Nighthawk is there too." then hung up, trusting the cops to locate the phone... or not. whatever.

"So, Chromium, at least we meet again for the first time for the last time." She called out to him, moving around the truck "whatcha got there buddy? I'm pretty sure you're you know... not supposed to be here."

 

[Halcyon638]

Nearby, Monica spotted two unconscious security guards lying on the pavement. “Oh, fuck me,” Chromium said. “You want to do this again? You’re not going to get lucky twice.” Glancing behind her, Monica could see there were at least 3 other drums of the stuff near the entrance of the warehouse. The area was dimly lit by two lights over the door.

As Chromium lumbered toward her, she saw a potential opening for an attack.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica launched herself at the guy, throwing a kick for his midsection "lucky? I have my armor and there's no civilians to worry about. I think I have your measure buddy." After pulling back from the kick, successful or not, she'd survey the scene to see what might be in the barrels he was stealing. Might need to use one as a weapon so best to know if it was something awful and toxic or just... giant barrels of cooking grease or something. "What are you even doing out here?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“You don’t know what kind of shit you’re getting yourself into,” Chromium threatened a second before Monica’s kick landed with a satisfying solidity. She could feel guts and other soft tissue give a bit as his metal-coated skin couldn’t fully protect Chromium, and he let out a groan of pain.

A glance at the barrels revealed they were some rare chemical in the “-zine” family that she didn’t recognize off the top of her head, but there was an indicator on the container signaling that exposure to fire would make the contents explode. The two men in the back of the van, guns in their hands, seemed to be well aware of this from the fact that they were not intervening. “The guy who sent me is the real deal. You fuck this up, you’re basically dead.” He launched a few crosses and jabs, eventually catching Monica with one of the latter.

Her armor absorbed the impact of the glancing below, and Chromium’s assault had left him in a precarious defensive position now.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I mean, really... I wouldn't be the one fucking it up. you would be." She staggered back with the impact of his blow, careful to keep herself by the containers so as to neutralize the gunmen. She had, wrongly it turned out, assumed Chromium would be a one man army "So either he's tough enough to kill you for it, in which case you should worry about yourself..." she trailed off and stepped inside his range when he exposed himself, delivering a punch from close quarters "or I don't really have anything to worry about, personally."

 

[Halcyon638]

“Shut the fuck up,” Sabyn countered artlessly as Monica taunted him. Being out of position left him open to another strong his from Monica, and he let out another grunt of pain. “You really know how to piss me off, you know that?” he roared, extending his arms toward her, fingers outstretched. He lunged, powered by his superhumanly strong legs, and caught her off-guard, grasping both of her arms tightly and pressing her lower half against one of the large metallic drums.

Monica struggled against Chromium’s tight grip. At a certain point, he began to try to push her left arm backwards as if attempting to break it. “Let’s see how much you talk after I rip your arms out of their sockets.” Before he could apply enough pressure on the limb to injure it, though, she managed to use her legs to shove him back and slip from his grasp, sending him stumbling back a couple of steps.

“Come on!” one of the men in the van shouted as she prepared to potentially retaliate.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I get to you because you know, deep down inside, that I'm right" She stepped in and launched another kick for his midsection. "you know that whoever sent you down this road won't tolerate failure. Failure is what you do. You get caught. you get beat. your whole life all you've done is fail and this is a spectacular failure." Whether the kick landed or not she stepped back a moment "oh also you let me distract you while the cops are on the way. So there's that too. I don't have to beat you. I just have to be here long enough that that truck can't get away. Since they need you to secure the barrels inside so it doesn't all go to hell in some kind of chase... guessing its mission accomplished for me"

 

[Halcyon638]

“Sabyn, let’s fucking go!” one of the men shouted, momentarily distracting the metallic-coated criminal for Monica’s kick to deliver another precise strike. He let out a cry of rage and charged toward her now. “Chromium!” he shouted, lashing out with devastating, sweeping punches. “Call me Chromium!”

Monica easily dodged the wild blows, attacks she had no doubt could have collapsed in a car door, while sirens could be heard approaching maybe 750 feet away. The van’s engine started. “Fuck him,” one of the men said. “Strap this shit in and let’s go!”

 

[siobhancan99]

"What's the matter Sabyn? don't like what your daddy gave ya?" She laughed "I mean your last name, not your phallus." She launched another kick "they're never gonna get that shit strapped in. That truck is a deathtrap. You're lucky you're out here fighting instead of getting into that walking fireball."