//------------------------------// // Issue 3: Predator // Story: The Peerless Power Patrol in: Terror of the Nighthawk! // by Silent_Witness //------------------------------// Issue 3: Predator Thursday night…   In one corner of the Power Patrol’s sanctuary sat a very unusual machine. It was covered in numerous buttons and dials, and from the top rose a short, flexible arm which ended in a lamp, not unlike the kind that one could find attached to a dentist’s chair. The device had been built by Matter-Horn several years ago, as a prototype to test various emitters and power sources that she would go on to use in her HORN blaster. But as big and bulky as it was, it still served a purpose to the Power Patrol- namely, under the proper settings, it could be used to heal injuries. Which was precisely what Zapp was doing as she sat under the machine’s lamp. But Fili-Second pushed Zapp out of the way. “Alright, move over Zapp. It’s my turn.” She pulled the lamp down to her face, and bathed her face in a strange green light- the scabs and bruises on her face began to fade, slowly, but much faster than the human body could heal on its own. But Zapp seized the lamp and pointed it at herself again. “Come on Fili-Second, let me get another minute. My forehead is still killing me.” “You know, you should really be letting Mare-velous use the healing lamp,” Saddle Rager said. “Well I would, if she were here,” Zapp replied. “By the way, where is Mare-velous?” “She’s at some high-society thing over at the museum,” Fili-Second replied. “They finished setting up the exhibit for all those paintings Hood-Rat was gonna steal.” “Okay. So?” Zapp asked. Saddle Rager asked in turn, “You do know that Mare-velous is a curator over at the museum, don’t you?” “What, really?” “Yeah, duh!” Fili-Second replied. “We have lives outside the Power Patrol, you know.” At that moment, the steel door slid open, and Matter-Horn and Radiance stepped into the sanctuary. “Alright team,” Matter-Horn said as she sat down near the others. “We may be down a member for tonight, but we still have a job to do. Zapp, Radiance, you’re on patrol tonight.” She first looked to Zapp. “Zapp, you take the north end.” “Aw, again? Well, might as well have a look at Charge Island while I’m up there…” “Radiance, you start in the south. Same procedure as before- meet up and contact me at the Midtown Convention Center at midnight.”   Some time later…   Radiance detested Maretropolis’s south side. She could remember a time when she had been young, and how she dreamed of going to Maretropolis. It seemed like a veritable heaven on earth, a place where anyone could be anything. But of course, the realty could never have lived up to the expectations. And she was sorely disappointed by what awaited her- far from the national center of culture and prosperity she envisioned, all of Maretropolis seemed to be covered in a thick grime of greed and corruption that stripped away its luster, even in the city’s bright spots. But the south side was the worst of all. It epitomized everything that was wrong with this city- its people were rough and crude, its buildings and streets dark and gloomy… If it weren’t for the fact that she could see Broadway just a few blocks away, she wouldn’t have believed that she was in Maretropolis at all. But Radiance shook her head. She had a job to do: to patrol the south end, however much she might have detested it. So, she flew over the deserted streets, surrounded by a violet light as her bracelets held her aloft. And she did owe the city one thing- if she had never come here, she never would have been disappointed by what she found and returned home. She never would have seen the meteor, she never would have found the ship… and she would have never found the bracelets she now wore around her wrists. As she flew, Radiance brought a hand up to her chin, and asked herself, If I were a crazed vigilante with a penchant for violence, where would I hide? She didn’t know. No one seemed to know, not even Matter-Horn- the Nighthawk simply seemed to appear from nowhere, break faces, and then meld into the shadows from whence he came just as quickly. But she remembered something Zapp had said a few days before; that Nighthawk seemed to be looking for someone. That he’d been poking around Pharaoh’s hideout when she found him, and that he mentioned Soundblaster as one of the people who might know where “she” was, whoever “she” might have been. Soundblaster’s lair wasn’t too far away, so she decided it was worth a look. It wasn’t long before Radiance landed in front of an abandoned electronics warehouse near Fisherman’s Row. It had been cordoned off by the police earlier that day, but no one had set foot inside just yet- there was no way to know what sort of traps Soundblaster had set up within. But if Nighthawk was here, she would have to risk it. She opened the door… …and immediately hid behind a shield of energy when she laid eyes on a massive cannon aimed directly at her just a few feet away from the door. But it never fired. She looked again, and saw that the cannon was heavily damaged- its casing was cracked, and numerous wires had been ripped out from within. Other machines were scattered throughout the room as well, all similarly damaged. It seemed Nighthawk had already come through here. She lifted herself off the ground and floated deeper into the warehouse- if she was lucky, perhaps the vigilante was still inside. And sure enough, as she went deeper into the warehouse, she heard the voice of someone who didn’t belong there. “So you didn’t know either,” she heard Nighthawk say. “I have to give you credit though, Soundblaster- at least you were looking for her.” She peered around a corner into the room ahead- there, a black-clad man stood, examining a board with a heavily marked map of Maretropolis pinned to it. Radiance focused, and a long construct shaped like a baseball bat emerged from her bracelets. Slowly, she crept up behind the vigilante, readying the bat, and she was in range, she swung with all her strength. But Nighthawk spun, catching the bat. “If you want to sneak up on someone, you shouldn’t wear heels.” Radiance was shocked. But not shocked enough that she couldn’t bring up one of her bracelets and fire a bolt of energy into Nighthawk’s chest. He flew back from the impact, crashing through the map board, and hit the ground hard. But he quickly rose to his feet, throwing a number of his small metal wings at her- she focused, creating a shield of energy, and blocked the projectiles. “Radiance,” he said. “Equipment: pair of bracelets enhanced with alien technology that allow the creation of energy constructs. There is theoretically no limit to what constructs can be produced.” “That’s right,” she replied, her bracelets glowing brightly. “You must be very skilled if you can take down three of my teammates as easily as you did. But even you can’t prepare for everything.” But he replied to her flatly, “…I can improvise.” Radiance thrust out an arm- a rope emerged from her bracelet, coiling around Nighthawk’s ankle and lifting him into the air. But as she lifted him, he reached into his belt and threw out a canister that exploded in a brilliant flash of light when it hit the ground. She shielded her eyes- when she looked again, the rope was gone, and Nighthawk was free. He tried to run. But Radiance created three walls around him to box him in. He turned to the one open space, where Radiance stood. He pulled his grappling hook gun and fired it at her- she erected another wall in front of herself, deflecting the hook, before she pushed it forward, closing off all of Nighthawk’s ground routes. She placed yet another wall on top of the box, sealing in Nighthawk completely. “Caught you!” Radiance said triumphantly. She then touched her radio and said, “Matter-Horn, I caught Nighthawk! We’re in the old Axis Electronics warehouse in Fisherman’s Row…” But Nighthawk calmly brought up his forearm, and tapped it, mumbling “Don’t be too sure of that.” There was an explosion. “What-” Radiance spun around, aiming her bracelets at the explosion’s source. But there was nothing there- just a small thin cloud of dust in the center of the room. Radiance realized what had just happened. A diversion. She turned again. The box she had used to trap Nighthawk had dispersed while she’d been distracted- in its place was a thick, rapidly expanding cloud of smoke. She created a fan to blow the smoke away; but once it was cleared, she saw that Nighthawk was gone. She stepped forward, looking around. “Where did-” Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her neck from behind. At the same time, a hand clamped over her nose and mouth. Normally, Radiance could’ve easily conjured some construct to free herself from Nighthawk’s grip. If she focused. But she couldn’t focus- she had been taken by surprise, and her natural instincts overrode any rational thoughts. She kicked, she twisted, she clawed at the arm holding her, she did everything except use her bracelets. Bright spots began to appear in her vision. The lack of air, combined with the circulation to her head being cut off, caused Radiance to black out. Her struggles weakened, and after several moments, she went limp in Nighthawk’s grip. Nighthawk released Radiance- she unconsciously gasped when he removed her hand from her mouth. He gently laid her down on the ground, and put a finger against her neck- she still had a pulse. Her face was flushed from strain, but she was unharmed, and would awaken in just a few minutes. Nighthawk bent down, and touched the small radio in Radiance’s ear- it lit up with a red light as it sent an emergency signal to the Power Patrol’s sanctuary. As he looked down at Radiance, Nighthawk said aloud, “Weakness: Any disruption of focus will cause the constructs to disperse. Also, both bracelets must be used together, or their effectiveness is reduced.” He then left the room. There was a small burst of static as Radiance’s emergency call was answered. “Radiance, I just received your distress signal,” Matter-Horn said. “What’s happening? …Radiance, respond. …Zapp, this is Matter-Horn. Radiance just activated her distress signal but I’m not getting any response from her. The signal is coming from inside the Axis Electronics factory- get to her. Now.”   Friday night…   “I still don’t know about this,” Saddle Rager said into her radio. She was in the Cauldron, Maretropolis’s former industrial district. “You have to do this, Saddle Rager,” Matter-Horn replied. “You’re our last option- everyone else who’s faced the Nighthawk has failed.” “I thought you didn’t want us to call him-” “I know what I said. But right now, we have something more important we need to focus on. We have to take him down. Remember what he did to Mare-velous. To Fili-Second. To Radiance. You have to stop him, Saddle Rager. You have to stop him before he hurts another one of our friends.” “But what about what he told Mare-velous? He said he’s on our side. What if next time-” “There might not be a ‘next time,’ Saddle Rager. He might have said he doesn’t kill people, but how can you trust a criminal’s word? How do you know he won’t kill one of us if we get in his way again? Are you really going to sit back and wait until that happens before you do something?” “No! I would never!” The anger began to build up within. “How dare you accuse me of not caring about my friends! I’ll stop Nighthawk myself! I’LL TEAR HIS ARMS OUT!” A terrible cracking and tearing filled the air as Saddle Rager’s muscles grew far past their normal size. Her body stretched and contorted, becoming a bloated, grotesque parody of a human form- her arms grew until they were as long as she was tall, her chest muscles expanded until they alone were nearly as large as her normal human body. Saddle Rager leaned backed, and let out a furious roar that echoed across the city. She leapt into the air, leaving a small crater in the roof she jumped from; she left another crater in the street where she landed. She walked down the street, using her massive arms to support herself, her footfalls shaking the earth slightly with every step. She stopped next to a particular building- an old factory of some sort. He was close. Yes… she could smell him. She drew back her arm, and punched through the wall next to her, grabbing the thing on the other side. She pulled her fist out of the wall, clutching Nighthawk in her grip, before she threw him down the street. Saddle Rager wasted no time in charging after her. Nighthawk skidded across the ground for several moments before he was able to right himself. “Saddle Rager,” he said once he righted himself. “Powers: gains increased muscle mass when under-” She backhanded him, sending him tumbling across the street. He tumbled again for several moments, before he was able to right himself. “…when under extreme emotional duress.” “GGRRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGHH!” Saddle Rager roared. But she didn’t charge- instead, she ripped a nearby lamppost out of the ground and threw it at him. Nighthawk ducked under the speeding projectile, only just avoiding it. He couldn’t fight Saddle Rager in the street, Nighthawk realized- there was too much risk of collateral damage. And far too many weapons she could throw at him. So he pulled out his grapple gun and rappelled up to the roof of a nearby building. A moment later, the building shook when Saddle Rager jumped up from the street below to pursue him. Saddle Rager stomped toward him. “I WON’T LET YOU RUN FROM ME.” she growled. “I don’t plan on running.” Saddle Rager charged him again. But Nighthawk stood his ground. He pulled a long rolled-up paper from his belt, and when she closed in, unrolled it and showed it to her. She slid to a stop, and looked at the poster. It depicted a cat with a hangar stuck around his neck; its caption read, “Human, I request your assistance.” Saddle Rager bit her lip, but she could only contain herself for a seconds longer before she laughed uproariously. Almost immediately, steam began to billow from her body as her enlarged muscles began to shrink down; her deepened voice returned to its original tenor, and she regressed to her original height. Eventually, Saddle Rager took several deep breaths, trying to regain her composure. “Okay… okay,” she began. “That was pretty funny. But you’re gonna more than a poster to-” Saddle Rager stopped when she realized her voice was no longer the deep bestial growl that it was when she was transformed. She looked down at herself- she had reverted to her original form. In a panic, she looked over to where he had been standing. Nighthawk was gone. Only the poster remained, resting on the ground where he had been standing. “Oh no…” she said aloud, pacing. “Okay, just stay calm… wait, no. No, I shouldn’t be calm. I need to be angry. Alright Flora, get angry. You can do it. Just remember what Matter-Horn said…” Not far from Saddle Rager, Nighthawk stood on a nearby rooftop, watching her. He crossed his arms and said aloud, “Weakness: transformation is tied to subject’s emotional state. If the subject’s rage is quelled, she will revert to her original human form.”   Saturday…   The sanctuary was silent. Matter-Horn sat at the head of one of the numerous tables scattered around the subway station. The rest of the Power Patrol sat at the table with her. She looked to each one of them in turn: Mistress Mare-velous had returned to active duty, but one could still the back brace she wore under her costume. The bruise on Zapp’s forehead had faded considerably, but it was still visible, having turned from purple to pale green. Fili-Second’s face was still covered in scratches, and a long line of bruises traveled up the left side of her face, from her chin up to her eyebrow. Radiance held an icepack to her throat, obscuring a long, dark bruise that spanned the length of her neck. Saddle Rager was unharmed, but she wouldn’t look at anyone else, Matter-Horn least of all. Matter-Horn looked on to the others for several more moments, before she took a deep breath, and finally spoke. “It has been five days since I changed our nightly patrol protocol,” she said. “I changed it with the express purpose of bettering our chances of capturing the vigilante known as ‘Nighthawk.’ However, not only has this change failed to result in his capture, but nearly every member of our team has been subdued by the vigilante. The only exception is myself.” “We know that,” Mare-velous said. “What’re you getting at?” “Tonight, I’m going to go to Charge Island, and lure the vigilante there. Then, I’m going to subdue and arrest him.” “Matter-Horn, that’s crazy!” Zapp protested. “When we tried taking him on by ourselves, he handed our asses to us! What makes you think things will be different this time?” “Because I won’t be fighting him on his terms. He’s going to fight me on mine.” She looked to Mare-velous. “Mare-velous, I need to borrow some proximity explosives from you.” She looked to the others. “Fili-Second, Mare-velous, you two are on patrol. Since I will be absent, Saddle Rager will be monitoring the comm channels. Zapp, Radiance, you two are on standby- but once you get my signal, you’re to retrieve Nighthawk and bring him to the police.”   That night…   Charge Island was a small island only a mile or so away from Maretropolis’s North Point. It was home to an old military fort, Fort Sunrise, which had once been Maretropolis’s first line of defense against invaders from the sea. It was also home to the offices and docks of the old Sunrise Ferry Company, which had once been the largest ferry company on the East Coast. Now, both the fort and the offices stood empty- access to the island was restricted by the city. Though the fort had been preserved, the Sunrise Ferry Company buildings had been condemned for well over a decade, patiently awaiting the day when the city would demolish them. But that wasn’t the only thing Charge Island was known for. Thanks to its isolated location, Charge Island was better known as the lair for numerous supervillains over the years. Matter-Horn stood upright. At the moment, she stood in a courtyard choked with weeds, situated between several of the Sunrise Ferry office buildings. She paid no mind to the innumerable amounts of graffiti that coated nearly every wall on the island, each piece having been added when a supervillain had settled there. After several hours of preparation, everything was in place- her HORN blaster was fully charged, and she had just finished planting the last of Mare-velous’s proximity bombs. Now, there was only one thing left to do. Get his attention. She looked up to the sky, and touched the side of her goggles. In response, a light shone from her horn, forming a spotlight on the clouds overhead- within the light was an angular bird with its wings spread, the logo of the Nighthawk. She shone the spotlight up into the clouds for several seconds. Eventually, she said out loud, “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” “I think a phone call would have been more practical,” a voice said. She shut off the light, and looked up to its source. Of course, it was him, on the roof of one of the buildings. It took every ounce of restraint to keep her from burning a hole straight through his head, for her arms to stay at her sides. “…You got here awfully quickly.” He jumped down from the roof. “After everything that’s happened, I thought you might want to challenge me one-on-one. And, that you would choose here as our meeting ground. Isolated, minimal chance of collateral damage… I have to admit, it’s exactly the place I would’ve picked.” Matter-Horn crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Nighthawk. “Is all of this funny to you? Do you like making us look bad in our own hometown?” “I don’t,” he replied. “In fact, I’d hoped that I could work with the Power Patrol, not against it.” Matter-Horn was silent for several moments. “…You know… if I’d met you in person just a few weeks ago, when you were still fighting thugs in the streets… I might have believed you. But now, after everything you’ve done?” She touched the side of her goggles again, and her horn began to glow brightly. “…I’m bringing you in. One way or another, it all ends, here, and now.” She fired a blue beam from her horn at Nighthawk. He leapt to the side, evading the beam, only for the ground beneath his feet to explode, knocking him forward. He pushed himself up. “Mines? Those aren’t part of your equipment set.” “You’re right. They’re not- Mare-velous let me borrow them. One of the advantages of working with a team.” She fired another stream of bolts at the vigilante- he dodged, before throwing his metal wings at her in retaliation. She blasted them out of the air with a long sweep of her energy beam. Nighthawk threw down a pellet that exploded into a thick cloud of smoke. But Matter-Horn was unimpressed- she simply turned the lens of her goggles, activating the thermal vision mode. She could see him moving through the smoke, and fired yet another beam at the vigilante- he jolted, and there was a pained shout when the beam struck his shoulder. She fired again, but he avoided the beam. He threw out something- instantly, her goggles were filled with a brilliant yellow light, and she was forced to switch back to normal vision. Immediately, she could see the object Nighthawk threw was a flare. It could’ve blinded the night vision and thermal modes of her goggles easily… but no one outside the Power Patrol was supposed to know she had them. Matter-Horn spotted the vigilante on her left, trying to flank her. She quickly turned a dial on the side of her goggles, and fired a golden projectile that expanded into a net made of energy. He evaded the net, before throwing a strange canister toward her. After a moment, it flashed in a strange blue light- then, her goggles filled with static, before shutting off completely. “What- an EMP?” she said, stunned. Suddenly, a hand gripped her goggles and yanked them off her face. She stumbled forward, before turning to face the vigilante. She cocked her fist back and threw a punch at him with all her strength, just as Mare-velous had shown her. He caught her fist. “You’re not a close-range combatant.” He spun her around, twisting her arm behind her back- she fought, to no avail. “And the EMP grenade disabled not only your blaster, but the rest of the mines as well. It’s over, Matter-Horn.” She continued to fight for several more moments, but eventually, Matter-Horn fell to her knees. “…why?” He looked down to her. “Why what?” “I’ve fought vigilantes before. Whether they had powers, gadgets… we brought them down just the same. But not you. Why?” She looked back. “Why are you so different from the rest?” “…It’s because I’m looking for someone.” “Who?” He didn’t answer. “Who are you looking for? Tell me! If someone you know has been taken hostage, then we can help you find them!” He released her. “You wouldn’t be as willing to help me if you knew who I was looking for.” She turned to face him. “Try me.” Nighthawk was silent for several moments, as though he were carefully considering his response, before he finally said, “…I’m looking for the Mane-iac.” Matter-Horn did not reply right away. He was right- that did change things. But, painful as it was to admit, she was curious, so she asked, “…why?” He replied flatly, “I have unfinished business with her.” Matter-Horn recognized his tone- it was the tone of someone who’d had something taken from them. “Listen to me,” she began. “I know the Mane-iac. I know what she does. And I know she’s hurt a lot of people. I don’t know what the Mane-iac did to you, but if you’re planning to kill her, then I will stop you. Revenge and justice are not the same thing.” “No. I don’t kill. Not even her. Especially not her.” He looked back. “Now, where is she?” Matter-Horn crossed her arms and glared at him. “You have no right to demand anything from us,” she replied, indignant. “You’re still a criminal.” “You don’t know, do you?” She sighed. “…no. We have no idea where she is.” Nighthawk began to pace around the courtyard. “She escaped from Blackrock Penitentiary last month, and has been laying low ever since. That’s the most anyone seems to know about her.” He clenched his fist. “But someone is lying. Someone knows where she is. And I’ll find them, even if I have to go through every punk in this city to do it.” At that moment, a tremendous sound emanated from the south, from the city. It almost sounded like feedback from a microphone. And before long, a woman’s voice began to shout over the city. “Hel-loooooooo, Maretropolis!” the crazed voice shouted. “Did you miss me? Because I missed you!” “That’s-” Matter-Horn began. “Yes, it is I! The one, the only, and now available for the first time in Technicolor… the Mane-iac!”