“HELP!” the woman screamed. “SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!”
“Oh shut it, girlie!” the thug called back. “Ain’t no one comin’ ta help ya!” He looked back to his partner. “What’s taking ya so long?”
A second thug was searching through the woman’s bag. “I’m looking, but I can’t find the list anywhere!”
“Oh, you worthless- Let me do it!” He stomped up the girl, aiming his gun at her stomach. “Listen: we know ya work for the shipping company down by the docks. We know that there’s a ship comin’ in that’s bringin’ paintings to the art museum. And we know there’s a manifest with a list of all the paintings onboard. So where is it?”
“I- I don’t…” the girl stammered.
The thug brought up his gun and pressed it against the girl’s forehead. “I’m not the kinda guy ya wanna be lyin’ to. Give. Us. The manifest.” With each word, he jabbed the gun against her forehead for emphasis.
But then, from the darkness, a voice spoke. It was a deep voice, one that seemed to come from every direction at once:
“Put the gun down and step away from the girl.”
Both thugs looked around, but couldn’t see where the voice had come from. Still, the thug with the gun stepped forward and said out to the empty alleyway, “Why don’t ya mind yer own business before ya get hurt.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the voice replied.
The first thug looked, but still couldn’t see anything. “What’re you, a cop?”
“No.” The voice suddenly came from right next to him. “I’m worse.”
The thug whirled around, and found himself face-to-face with a black-clad man glaring directly at him. He aimed his gun, but the dark man seized his wrist in one hand, and drove his other hand into the thug’s elbow.
There was a sickening snap as the thug’s elbow was forced to bend in the wrong direction.
The thug fell to his knees, the gun slipping from his grasp, and let out an ear-shattering scream. But his screams were silenced when the dark man pulled back his knee and slammed it into the thug’s face, instantly knocking him unconscious.
The other thug shoved the woman away and pulled out a knife, before charging the dark man. The dark man evaded his swing easily, before pulling back his fist and burying it deep in the thug’s gut. He doubled over, gasping for breath, until the dark man’s leg kicked out and knocked his feet out from under him.
Before he could rise, a boot suddenly pressed down on the thug’s face, pinning him to the ground.
“Who are you?” the thug gasped. “You’re not like those other costumed freaks!”
“I don’t answer to you,” the dark man snapped. “But you will answer to me: Where is Hood-Rat?”
“You think I’m stupid or something? Hood-Rat’ll kill me if I told you anything!”
The dark man pressed down on the second thug’s throat. “You should be more worried about the man who can crush your larynx with a few more pounds of pressure. Now where is he!?”
“Alright alright! He’s hiding out in the docks! Warehouse number six! He’s gonna rob that ship that’s bringing in all those paintings to the museum!”
“If you’re lying, I’ll find you.” The dark man lifted up his foot… before he dropped his knee down on the thug’s head, knocking him out as well. He then looked up at the woman.
She stumbled back when his eyes fell on her. “Please…” she began, “…I don’t want any trouble…”
The dark man said nothing. Instead, he pulled a gun-shaped object from his belt. She flinched, but he aimed it upwards and fired. A cable shot out from its barrel, and a moment later he was suddenly pulled up into the darkness, and out of sight.
For a moment, the woman could only stare after him. Then, her attention fell on the motionless thugs before her. “…Did… that really just happen?” she asked.
The Peerless Power Patrol in: Terror of the Nighthawk!
By: Silent_Witness
Issue 1: Vigilante Justice
A single girl with long brown hair climbed down the stairs of the abandoned subway station on South 5th Street. She was clad in heavy, unseasonable clothes for the time of year, but she was otherwise so unremarkable that she caught nobody’s attention. She passed through the open gate at the base of the steps, ignoring the various “Keep Out” signs, and carefully stepped over the various pieces of litter as she made her way deeper into the station.
As she walked, she soon came across something that certainly wasn’t in the original station plans- a massive wall of solid steel that completely blocked off the tunnel. She pressed her hand against a small black surface mounted on the wall- it lit up briefly in a green light, before a section of the wall slid open. The girl quickly stepped inside, the doorway sliding closed behind her.
The subway platform beyond the wall was much brighter than the tunnel leading to it. One wall of the station was completely dominated by computer monitors and wires, all connected to a single large console. The rest of the station was filled with various pieces of furniture: tables, couches, bookshelves, even a few beds, separated by short walls. Fili-Second said that the furniture gave their base a more “homely” feel.
The brown-haired girl began to remove her clothes, revealing that she wore a green bodysuit underneath. But as she undressed, a woman’s voice said to her, “You’re late, Saddle Rager.” Saddle Rager looked over to the voice’s source- a masked woman with blue hair, wearing a red and green bodysuit. A lasso and various pouches hung from her belt. She sat at a nearby table, reading a newspaper. Sitting at the table with her were two other women wearing dark blue costumes: one wore a distinct pair of amethyst-encrusted bracelets, while the other wore a necklace with a golden, lightning bolt-shaped pendant.
“I’m sorry, Mare-velous,” Saddle Rager replied, as she tied her mask over her eyes. “The bus was late, so I had to walk.”
“Don’t worry about it, Rage,” Zapp replied. She held up a donut. “Donut?”
“No, thank you.” Saddle Rager looked around the station. “…Where’re Matter-Horn and Fili-Second?”
“Matter-Horn got called to investigate a crime scene in Downtown,” Radiance replied. “And Fili-Second went with her. The rest of us are on standby unless we get called out, or until Matter-Horn returns.”
“Oh…” Saddle Rager looked around again. “Where’s Hum Drum?”
“He went on vacation in Grand Neighman, remember?” Zapp replied. “He said he won’t be back for a couple weeks.”
“Good,” Mare-velous said. “No offense to Hum Drum, but it’ll be nice to get things done without having to worry about him mucking everything up.”
“Well you don’t have to be so blunt about it,” Radiance protested.
At that moment, a voice echoed from within one of the train tunnels, “We’re back!” A purple and white streak shot into the room, stopping in front of the table. Her suit was covered in purple arrows, and a long lock of orange hair stuck out from underneath, swept back from all the running she did. “Hey Saddle Rager!” Fili-Second said cheerfully. “You finally made it.”
A moment later, another person emerged from the tunnel. This person wore a dark red bodysuit with a light blue chest- on her head, she wore a pair of goggles, and above them rested a short, metallic horn. “We’ve finished our investigation,” the Masked Matter-Horn said.
“So what happened?” Zapp asked.
“Our mystery vigilante struck again,” Matter-Horn replied. “Gather around the computer, and I’ll show you the evidence I gathered.”
The others crossed the room and gathered in front of the computer. When they were in place, Matter-Horn plugged a small card into the console- at once, a map of Maretropolis appeared onscreen, before zooming in on a section of Downtown. A red dot appeared between two buildings, and Matter-Horn pointed to it.
“At around 11:00 P.M. last night, two armed suspects attempted to rob an employee of Global Shipping in this alley, just a few blocks away from their company headquarters in Downtown. Then, our vigilante swooped in and pummeled the suspects senseless. He interrogated one for the location of Hood-Rat, before knocking him unconscious and fleeing the scene.”
“Hood-Rat?” Zapp asked. “Why’s Nighthawk going after Hood-Rat?”
“According to the eyewitness’s statement, the thug said Hood-Rat is planning a heist: the robbery of a ship carrying a number of paintings to be delivered to the Maretropolis Museum of Arts. The ship will drop anchor at the docks two nights from now.”
Matter-Horn took a breath. “…There was other evidence as well: we found another logo at the crime scene, just like the last three.” A picture appeared on-screen, displaying a logo- a sharp, angular bird. “I haven’t run an analysis yet, but it appears to be made from the same waterproof resin as the others, so it doesn’t appear to be a copycat. And, we have this.”
Another photo appeared onscreen. This one showed a man clad in a suit of grey and black, with red accents. He wore a cape, and a most peculiar mask- it jutted out slightly and hooked back, greatly resembling the beak of some bird of prey. The vigilante stood over a thug, grinding a boot into his face.
“A picture?” Saddle Rager asked.
“Our eyewitness snapped it while he was interrogating one of the suspects,” Matter-Horn continued.
“You know, I kind of expected him to be taller,” Radiance said.
Mare-velous shushed Radiance as Matter-Horn began to speak again: “This is the first clear image anyone has ever captured of our vigilante. Now that we know what he looks like, it’ll make tracking him- and bringing him down- that much easier.”
“Uh… Matter-Horn? Aren’t we vigilantes too?” Fili-Second asked.
Matter-Horn glared. “No. We work with the police. This ‘Nighthawk’ is no better than the criminals he fights. And one way or another, we’re taking him down.” Matter-Horn looked back to the computer. “And I know exactly how to do it.”
“How?” Radiance asked.
“According to the eyewitness, the thug told our vigilante that Hood-Rat is hiding out in warehouse number six down by the docks.” As she spoke, the screen moved over to the map to the docks, before highlighting one of its warehouses with another red dot.
“Oh I get it,” Zapp said. “We go there, take down Hood-Rat, and then wait for Nighthawk to show up. When he does, we move in, and take him down… right?”
“That’s the idea.” Matter-Horn turned off the computer. “Let’s get down to the docks. We need to apprehend Hood-Rat before he catches wind that anyone’s coming for him.”
So, the six set out down the eastbound subway tunnel, toward the docks. The light from their sanctuary faded, leaving the Power Patrol in near darkness, with only the occasional emergency light to guide them. But as they walked, Matter-Horn looked back and said aloud, “One more thing, Zapp, and this goes for everyone else too: Don’t call him ‘Nighthawk.’ Calling him by that name legitimizes his actions. And we don’t abide criminal behavior of any kind. Are we clear?”
Zapp stammered for a moment, before she replied, “Uh… y-yeah. Okay.”
A few minutes later…
The warehouse shutter door exploded. Through the dust, Matter-Horn strode in, her horn still faintly glowing. Zapp swooped in after her, held aloft by the wind. “Aright Hood-Rat, the jig is up!” she shouted. “Come out with your hands up and… uh…” She trailed off as she took in the sight before her.
Just over a dozen bodies were scattered throughout the warehouse. Splatters of blood covered the floor. Even from their distance, the six could see that Hood-Rat’s henchmen had been badly beaten.
The others stepped in, and gawked just as Matter-Horn and Zapp did. But Matter-Horn quickly collected herself and looked to her comrades. “Fili-Second?”
Fili-Second shot forward, stopping for a brief instant at each body, before returning. “I just checked their pulses. They’re unconscious, but they’re all alive.”
“Don’t tell me that Night- er, our vigilante did this,” Radiance said, stunned.
“So this guy beats up everyone, but doesn’t kill them? That’s crazy!” Zapp said.
“Everyone, spread out and search for clues,” Matter-Horn said. The others did so, examining the floor and the bodies, unsure of what to look for. But Matter-Horn knew- she stepped forward, knelt down, and touched a spatter of blood. “…This blood is already dry,” she said. She then examined the body of one of the thugs. “And judging from these bruises, these men were attacked several hours ago, likely before dawn.”
“We got a live one over here, Power Patrol!” Mare-velous called. The others hurried over- once they’d gathered, she pulled the thug up by his collar and demanded, “What happened here?”
“Guy,” the thug stammered. “Big. Black. Came in out of nowhere. Beat the crap out of everyone and went up to the boss’s office. But watch out! He might still be here.”
The thug let out a pained grunt when Mare-velous dropped him. She looked around, and spotted a rectangular room jutting out of the warehouse’s far wall. “Up there.”
Zapp flew up to the door- the others climbed the stairs. Once she reached the top, Matter-Horn pushed the door open.
Just like the warehouse floor below, the office was splattered with blood, furniture was overturned, papers were scattered everywhere, and windows were cracked and broken. There was only one victim in the office: a man wearing a hooded grey cloak, and a mask depicting a rat’s face.
“Hood-Rat…” Saddle Rager said.
Matter-Horn knelt down next to Hood-Rat and placed her fingers on his neck. After a moment, she said, “He’s still alive.” She then stood, and looked to the others. “Alright everyone, clear out. I’m setting up a crime scene. Saddle Rager, put in a call to Detective Shetland. Everyone else, keep an eye on Hood-Rat’s henchmen- make sure no one leaves this building. I’ll be examining the office.”
The others left the room. Once they were gone, Matter-Horn shut the door to begin her investigations.
Hood-Rat was still unconscious, and unlikely to wake any time soon- questioning him would have to wait. So, she switched her goggles to their special vision modes, and began to search for forensic evidence. As with the other crime scenes, there was a lot of blood, and footprints from an unknown style of boot. And as before, it would be impossible to isolate the vigilante’s blood from that of his victims’, assuming it was present at all. She switched to a different vision mode, and at once, the room lit up with countless small dots, every one of them a fingerprint. “Block all fingerprints more than five hours old,” Matter-Horn said aloud. The majority of the prints faded, and she examined those that remained- most belonged to Hood-Rat, some belonged to a few of the thugs downstairs… but there were no unknowns.
Matter-Horn switched to yet another vision mode, and immediately spotted a bright object embedded in a nearby wall. She approached, switching off her goggles- it was a small, metal object shaped like a wing, with a single sharpened edge. She examined the sides, but saw no fingerprints. With care, she pulled the wing from the wall and examined the other half, but still, saw no fingerprints. However, she tucked the metal wing into a pouch anyway- by analyzing its composition back at the lab, she might be able to determine its origin.
She had to admit, this vigilante was no amateur- he knew exactly how to cover his trail. But she knew he couldn’t keep it up forever. One slip-up was all she needed to nail him. And he would slip up.
Just as with the other crime scenes, the vigilante had left his insignia on a nearby wall- an angular bird inside a circle. She didn’t need to gather a sample of the material it was made from- she already knew it was made from the same waterproof resin as the others.
She rested her hands on the edge of Hood-Rat’s overturned desk and looked at the insignia. “I don’t know what you’re game is, Nighthawk,” she said to the insignia, “but you’re not going to get away with it. It might not happen today, and even if I have to do it on my own, I’ll bring you down. I swear it.”