Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

“Maybe,” Gabi sighed. She went to put her phone back but then received a few more chimes. “We’re going to hold a meeting probably tomorrow night to figure out how to respond.” She tapped her phone a few more times. “I silenced it.” The brunette let Monica continue to gently clean her, then she turned her attention to the older girl. Slowly and lovingly, she helped Monica wash, while at the same time, letting her fingers continue to explore and caress her girlfriend’s body.

Afterwards, the two girls started to put together a meal using some of the ingredients Melanie had tipped them off to in one of her notes, Chelsea occasionally sauntering over to their ankles to get a sniff at what was cooking. “I was thinking maybe for when Dr. H—Melanie gets home, maybe we could cook her up something. As like, a thank you.” The professor was due back around 3:30 or 4:00 that Sunday.

 

[siobhancan99]

The weekend flew by, mostly studying, a few hours spent lounging in the bath. Monica took the time to get ahead on things, as she had way less on her calendar than Gabi, but she didn't want to distract her girlfriend from studying much. Sunday, around lunch she was curled up on the bed, watching tik-toks about the nighthawk. "so what did you wanna do for dinner for Mel?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“I was thinking a stir fry. She has most of the stuff for it, and there’s a co-op nearby we can hit for some bok choy,” Gabi said.

The professor was dropped off by an Uber driver around quarter to 4, as a glum, hazy, misting rain was settling over everything. “Thank you,” Melanie said as Monica easily hauled her larger suitcase in while Gabi tended to the food. Monica noticed the older woman wince as she leaned over to remove her shoes at the threshold, and once more again as she slipper off her coat. She wore a purple button down shirt and black pants.

A few minutes later, the three women were settling in at Melanie’s dining room table. “Thank you. This is an unexpected surprise,” she said, putting fork to plate.

“You’re, like, giving us free therapy and everything,” Gabi said. “It’s kinda the least we can do.”

The red-haired woman smiled. “Well, I consider a couple of hours a week a small price to pay for having a, ahem…superhero protecting this city.” Blushing for a moment, she said to Monica, “Somehow I forgot about this, but…now I’m remembering the night those very aggressive young guys started harassing us outside of the diner, and how I tried to step in between them and you. More than a little embarrassing knowing what I know now.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica noted the wincing, but didnt comment on it. For all she knew Mel had a little fun while she was out of town and well, she didn't need those details. She busied herself cooking, then laid out dinner and dug in. When Mel commented she smiled "oh. Don't even. It was really endearing. And i'd have gotten between you and them, but seriously it was all very maternal and great. Don't ever discount your own bravery." She ate a bite then continued "I am very hardy and very strong, so standing up to a pack of guys like that is easy. for you it isn't, and so it is actually more heroic"

 

[Halcyon638]

Melanie grinned. “Well, I was pretty sure I could have handled two of them, but I would have needed a little back up for the third.”

After dinner and some light conversation about how the two girls had enjoyed their stay, Melanie drove them home, thanking them again for watching her house. That evening, Gabi attended the LSA meeting to strategize about how to respond to the invitation extended to Travis Walder, a right-wing pundit who was pushing long-debunked claims and stereotypes about immigrants in various podcast appearances.

“So, just because I know only about half of you read my emails, this is a quote-unquote friendly reminder to get yourselves to the STEM Industry Career Fair,” Professor Gilbride, Monica’s Electrical & Computer Engineering instructor, noted as he flashed the date and flyer on the screen. It was about two weeks down the road. “This is a big deal. Also, there’s a rumor that Cullen Griffiths might show up,” he said, referring to the CEO of the massive, Prospect City-based tech company Weel. The stocky, balding, middle-aged man added, “Dress nice. Wear a suit. Or a skirt. Or both! Now, leave.”

As Monica left the classroom, she saw a text from Zoe sent to herself and Gabi: “Hey, lovelies! I am so bummed but I’m not going to be able to make it into town this weekend for the party. Traveling for my aunt’s wedding. Make it up to you sometime?"

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica texted back, "of course. have fun with whatever you're doing." She headed home, doing a bit of studying, making her way through the next few days keeping busy. Tuesday night, with Gabi at work, she finally had a moment to slip out. Some of the terrible winter chill had receded, and she was hovering over the city in the sliver, checking a few hot spots and listening to the police band radio.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica was steering the Sliver over Preston Center, the wealthy tech hub of Prospect City, planning to make her way to the more dangerous environs of Benjamin Park, when she spotted what seemed to be a blackout. Looking closer, she realized that it was just a single high-rise that had seemingly lost its power and gone dark. The building was HelixCorp’s headquarters within the city.

 

[siobhancan99]

On one hand, Monica was like 'fuck that centauri tech stealing...' but on the other, it was pretty clear that some shit was probably going down there. On the other hand Helixcorp could afford to buy justice for itself, but on the other other other hand, if there was some sort of insane tech in there that could fall into the wrong hands she could prevent the theft today or fight the theft tomorrow. She sighed, bringing the sliver in close to see if there were signs of external penetration of the building.

 

[Halcyon638]

As Monica was bringing the vehicle downward, through the windows, she spotted a sudden bright flash of light on what appeared to be the 2nd floor of the forty-plus-story skyscraper. Then, the building was dark once again.

 

[siobhancan99]

Deciding it was best not to go in through the window, she landed and approached the door. she assumed the doors would be shut if they were electronic, but if the place were being robbed they might be open. Best to check before making a mess of things.

 

[Halcyon638]

As suspected, the lobby doors of the building were open. She stepped into a large space where banks of screening stations were set up, probably to ID people coming in and out during business hours. Flashlights were combing the area, wielded by two security guards, a middle-aged guy and a younger man.

“Mackie, your cell phone working?” the middle-aged man asked.

“Nope. Like, not even no signal—it’s not turning on at all.”

“Mine, too. Look—are we the only building on the block that’s out?” they said as they approached one of the windows about twenty feet from where Monica had instinctively crouched down to stay out of their sight. As at HelixCorp’s facility upstate, there was helpful signage that would make it easy to navigate the building.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica hmmmed a moment, then stepped out and put her hands up "your building is the only one out, and phones are working except for yours. Your building is likely being infiltrated. There are moving lights on the second level." She pointed "I'm sure you know who I am. you can have my help or not, but someone able to pull this off is likely beyond your 20 dollar an hour pay grade, to be honest."

 

[Halcyon638]

The two men looked at her, then back at each other. “Shit,” the younger guy said.

“Should we go notify the cops?” the middle-aged man asked. “De Soto. De Soto’s up working the second floor."

 

[siobhancan99]

"yeah call the cops, tell them you let the Nighthawk in to investigate. I don't want to be shot." She also didn't want to be sued for trespass etc, and having the guards let her in gave her.. she hoped... some kind of cover on that front "If your radios don't work, it might just be De Soto around up there. if it is maybe they can take me around the building and we can see if anything is amiss. You two stay here, wait for the cops. Keep an eye on the outside and make sure nobody is coming in or out without you seeing."

Heading in she looked for the fire stairs, making her way up to the second level.

 

[Halcyon638]

The middle-aged guard nodded. “Mackie, go find a phone and call the cops. I’ll stay here and watch,” he said. Mackie hesitated for a moment, then headed outside with purpose.

Monica headed up to the second floor, which was perfectly visible to her with her Centauri vision, but still pitch black to any humans that might have been hanging around. Just outside of the stairwell, she saw a body on the ground and smelled a tinge of burnt hair. The person was a heavyset security guard, still breathing, a flashlight about six feet away from them.

She could hear the faintest hint of low voices on the stairwell, about 15 feet above her current position.

 

[siobhancan99]

This tracked. Whoever these people were they probably stole the lightning device the week before. They were high tech thieves looking for more high tech to steal, using their purloined gear. It was a good thing she'd come in. She made her way up slowly, trying to be quiet and also trying to hear what she could of their conversation.

 

[Halcyon638]

“—couldn’t have let us hop on the elevator before you had me nuke the whole place?” a woman said in a slightly gruff voice with a vaguely midwestern accent.

“You would want us to take out security cameras after we ride the elevator for 20 floors?” another woman replied in a Slavic accent with a somewhat teasing tone. Their voices were just above whispers and they, too, were moving at a slow pace. “Remember how much we’re getting paid. I would walk 100 times more stairs, with smile on my face.”

Monica rounded a corner, still staying concealed but stealing a quick glance up at the two women. One wore a suit that appeared almost identical to the electricity manipulation suit worn by Kevin Bowman when she’d fought him at the start of her career, albeit with a sleeker, less motorcycle-helmet-style head covering. Her frame was compact, but muscular.

The other woman was decked out in black boots along with a blood red bodysuit, her face concealed by a mask the same color topped off by what appeared to possibly be night vision goggles. Her frame was athletic, yet curvy in a way that her outfit accentuated, and a mane of blonde hair flowed out of the back of her mask. She led the way.

 

[siobhancan99]

Electric girl would have to be the target for now. She assumed the other had some tricks up her sleeves as well, but getting hit with that weapon sucked the first time, and it was probably refined since then. She swung into action, she needed to put the woman down, and hoping to atke advantage of surprise threw everything she had into a powerful attack launched at the one's back. She didn't even quip. quipping could come mid-melee if it was going well.

 

[Halcyon638]

Both women began to turn toward Monica as she raced up the stairs. While her attack still caught them off-guard and she connected with a powerful kick, the woman in the electrical suit had managed to brace herself a bit, and the armor she was wearing absorbed some of the impact as well, though she still let out a groan of surprise and pain.

The Slavic-accented woman in red let a foreign exclamation slip, a sound of genuine concern to her voice. She turned toward Monica now, removing a baton-shaped item with what appeared to be electric prongs at the end from a hip holster. “It’s you. Is this how you do things? Sneaking from behind? I’m a little disappointed,” she said as she thrust the item forward, activating a crackle of electricity at the tip.

Monica easily sidestepped the attack, seeing an open while the other woman was still recovering from her initial attack.

 

[siobhancan99]

"against a woman with a stolen electro suit and a friend? yeah. I open the smart way. Be disappointed all you want." she made a face at the taser, seeing the duo had a theme going. A theme that sucked for her muscles if she got hit. still she had to go hard and fast, try to take at least one of them out quickly, and she launched another kick, wishing she was better with the chain.

 

[Halcyon638]

The kick connected with the shorter woman’s right shoulder, producing a satisfying crack and another cry of pain from her. The armor was evidently making up for her shortcomings in the realm of mobility, as she didn’t seem like the most difficult target to hit. The red-suited woman let another foreign word slip, again evincing what sounded like concern.

“Fuck it,” the woman in the armored suit said. “Go get the thing. I’ll handle her,” she grumbled as she powered up the suit’s gauntlets.

The woman in red reached over and put her hand on the woman’s arm, as if trying to be reassuring. “Babe—”

“Go!” The woman in the electrical suit demanded, firing a bolt of electricity Monica’s way. The bolt was close, and as Monica dove to avoid it, she could feel the hairs on her arm standing up as it zapped a spot on the stairwell below.

The blonde-haired woman raced off up the stairs now, following orders.

 

[siobhancan99]

"you two are cute together. I leave my girlfriend at home though." she launched another kick for the woman in the electro suit. The wasn't about to let her fry her. she could always trade her for whatever the other woman was stealing "all this power and you use it for what, stealing? and you're here to steal another weapon so you can steal some more? boring. pedestrian."

 

[Halcyon638]

“How about I use it to put you in the fucking ground?” the woman snarled as Monica launched another kick. The blow struck the chin of the helmet hard, cracking it. She stifled her cry of agony, put a splotch of blood dripped through the opening.

She let out a wordless eruption of anger and feinted a blast with her left hand. As Monica reacted, she realized she’d overcommitted, and was now off-balance on the stairs as another basketball-sized, crackling sphere of energy came her way.

It hit her dead on. She wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline, her own Centauri mesh-weave armor, or luck, but it barely registered. “What the fuck?” the woman said, looking at her gauntlets as if they’d failed her. Her voice was weak with pain.

 

[siobhancan99]

"At this point, you're really just bringing this on yourself. I'm the mother fucking Nighthawk." Monica did feel a bit bad, but she needed to put her down. she launched a punch, trying to take the woman out of the fight. "why don't you tell me what you're here to steal. Make this a lot easier on everyone involved."

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s punch slipped past the woman’s pitiful attempt to block it, her opponent’s arms too weak to put up much of a defense. The fist connected with the burglar’s abdomen, bringing a low groan of pain. “Not…gonna…happen.”

She aimed her hands down toward the ground. This time, the electricity spread out along the ground, electrifying the stairs as Monica leapt instinctively upward, avoiding them and going into a low roll. The criminal collapsed onto her rear, sitting upright, breathing hard. A moment later, she slumped onto her back.