Chapter Text
Sophia Hess
She watched impassively as the group of men she'd been following finally made their move. She knew the type, the swagger of the pack looking for its next meal and they'd been slowly closing on the lone woman they'd found as Sophia had made her way closer over the nearby rooftops.
The woman screamed when they grabbed her, not that it did her any good. There was no one around, no one who would care at least and Sophia jumped across to the next roof, briefly shifting to her breaker state and stalking closer as the men dragged the woman off the street and into the wide alley adjacent.
She saw the moment the woman gave up. When no one was coming to save her just because she'd made a lot of noise, sagging and crying as one of the men held her against the wall while another one ripped the bag off her arm with no resistance.
Sophia grimaced at the sight, hating that the woman had given up so easily. Maybe if she'd shown some spine, actually made them fight for it she'd realise she wasn't actually as powerless as she thought she was. But that was how some people were, weak, helpless, cowards and Sophia watched as they shouted at her, pulling off her coat, forcing her to empty her pockets as she shook and sobbed and took it.
One of them slapped her as she begged, the sound ringing out as they shoved her back against the wall, almost ignoring her as she begged them to stop, the four men rooting through her things like scavengers over strips of carrion.
'Worthless.' Sophia thought as she fixed her crossbow to her shoulder, taking patient aim like so many times before as the gang members crowded around their finds, trash just like all the garbage that surrounded them.
Her finger squeezed the trigger, the quiet 'thut' of release she knew only sounding loud to her own ears as the bolt vanished downrange. The scream that followed stoked the satisfaction of another perfect shot as one of the men collapsed as he grabbed his leg and the other idiots didn't have a clue what was going on.
She loaded the next bolt, scowling as she noticed the woman didn't even take the chance to flee, just paralysed with terror like she deserved to be saved. Sophia would deal with her later.
Another trigger press and another gang member went down with a scream of pain. She could have kept picking them off, but she needed to hit something. School had been pissing her off. She'd already had to beat down one upstart wannabe skinhead who thought they were tough shit after Mads had spoke back to her and Taylor kept managing to dodge her outside of Art.
Maybe if she wasn't stuck patrolling the fucking PR zones she'd actually feel like she was accomplishing something. But no, patrol all the 'safe' routes with whichever idiot they saddled her with, pretend to give a shit about the groupies wanting pictures and autographs when she wasn't stuck on console or doing jack shit otherwise. She could only spend so much time in the range and no one wanted to spar with her after her fight in the ring with Clockblocker, but it was that idiot's fault for making jokes in the middle of a fight to begin with.
Feeling the click of her crossbow locking into place on her back she shifted to her breaker state as she jumped down off the roof, shifting back as she reached the ground and kicking the man still standing despite the arrow she'd just put through him.
He went down and she smoothly slipped her baton out of its holder, snapping it out to its full length as the remaining two started to turn on her with surprised yells. The first fist came her way and she side stepped it easily, bringing the baton down on his arm and ignoring the yell of pain that followed as she switched to her breaker state when the other man tried to tackle her. It was a simple thing to let her momentum carry her out of the way, reforming behind him and she punished him for the attempt. Her foot hooking out and tripping him as his arms closed around empty space, the man crumpling to the ground with nothing but a pained cry to mark his own failure.
The first man pulled a knife with his off hand and she relished the grimace of pain on his face from the hit she'd already left on his good arm.
"Come on then you bitch." He snarled, stepping forward aggressively even as she saw him glance back to check and make sure his friend was going to get back up and help him.
She darted forward the moment his gaze slipped from her, the reflexive guard he put up just what she wanted to see as the tip of the baton caught him on the wrist in a hard downward strike and his scream of pain eclipsed the crack of the impact as he staggered back away from her. She didn't let him, grabbing the man by the shoulder and yanking him forward as her knee came up to fold him over before she shoved him hard to the side. A kick sent him to the ground and she was already dismissing him as she turned to the last actual threat left.
He was bigger than the others, probably why he'd gone for the tackle in the first place and he came back at her with a short knife of his own. She stepped back out of the first swing, giving him nothing for his desperate rage as he followed her back. She could see when his eyes changed, from determination to something more vicious like he'd actually cornered her against the wall. 'Idiot.'
He went to gut her as she kicked off the wall to her back, gliding out of the way in her breaker state and reforming as the knife bounced harshly off the brickwork. The steel tip of her boot took him in the back of the knee, her baton coming round to crack against the side of his skull as he dropped with a grunt. Another two kicks in the ribs made sure he wasn't going to be getting up again and she turned to survey her handiwork, impassively noting the woman had finally gone, though she'd left the things the gang members had taken which was hardly her problem.
The first one she'd shot was still moaning which was good, dealing with a body was always a pain and she kicked the man over so she could get the bolt he was laying on as she walked to the other man who still had it partially sticking out of him.
He wasn't moving and she checked to make sure he was still breathing, satisfied he was before phasing the bolt free and putting both bolts away in her other quiver so she could clean them properly later. It didn't matter that none of the blood carried over when she shifted them to shadow state and back again, it was something she'd started doing right at the start, when she'd first hit the streets before she'd realised she could just phase the bolts free without physically pulling them out and doing even more damage. But it was part of her routine now, something to do with her hands when she thought back over her night afterwards. How she could have done better so she would do better the next time.
Giving one last look over the scene she stepped away, there was a time she might have taken a trophy, or even their wallets. But that was when she'd been childish, hadn't realised that just putting down scumbags was all she'd needed and the part of the Wards salary she actually got was enough for anything else she needed. She was better than the trash she put down after all.
Holstering her baton she checked there was still no one else around and there were no cameras she'd need to deal with, but the lenses of her mask didn't show anything. They weren't as good as the ones from the PRT, but she hadn't figured out a good way to get her mask out of the building yet without anyone getting suspicious.
She knew the mask that the PRT had issued her with had a tracker and she knew where it was too. With Armsmaster always just fucking off at the earliest opportunity and dumping all his work on them, it was Kid that actually maintained her gear. So it hadn't been hard to fake making a mistake, pretend she took a hit and trash the mask a little after she'd ditched Clock on patrol a few weeks in.
Kid had actually thought she was being overprotective of her gear when she'd demanded to watch him work on it and she wasn't sure if he'd been trying to be friendly or just scared of her when she'd made him explain what each part did. Though it had been a fucking herculean effort trying to keep her patience with his fucking rambling before he got to the part that actually mattered and told her where the tracker was. At least that idiot Triumph hadn't been suspicious either, thinking she was 'finally taking an interest' and patting himself on the back like he was their actual leader even though they all knew he didn't do shit.
After that it had been a couple of dead ends before she'd found a Tinker that could actually deliver, but she wasn't going to let herself be handicapped again or get caught out by some idiot with a cell phone and the new lenses she'd got were good enough, better than the nothing she'd had before at least.
Satisfied there was no else about she crouched, eyes on the edge of the rooftop above and sprung upwards, shifting to her breaker state and letting the momentum carry her up before shifting back to drop onto the roof. A running start and another jump was enough to get her to the next rooftop and between her own strength and her breaker state it was short work to make her way deeper into her preferred hunting grounds. The fight had taken some of the edge off, but had also reminded her of just how much more she could be doing. Should be doing if she wasn't stuck playing the perfect student and the perfect Ward, just to keep all the irresponsible assholes in her life happy.
She shifted course when she spotted someone on a rooftop further ahead. Some kid in a hoodie, maybe a lookout and she angled towards them to investigate. It was easy to stay in their blind spot, she could see the dim glow of the phone they had to be looking at even from a few rooftops away, but that's what you got when you asked some kid who probably didn't give a shit to be a spotter to begin with.
She'd scout it out, if there was something going on she'd deal with the spotter first and she narrowed her eyes as the lookout put their phone away, ready to shift to her breaker state in case they checked behind them. But they didn't, they fucking disappeared.
She stopped, looking around and it took her a moment to spot them another couple of blocks away, her gaze barely catching the flicker of movement before they disappeared again.
'So that was Ghost Step?'
She'd heard about the new vigilante before the powers that be had finally decided to brief them. Some high level Mover they wanted everyone to make nice with if they met her. Didn't say shit about the rumours she took the wallets from everyone she left beaten and tied to a lamppost though.
Sophia figured the power was wasted on the vigilante who would probably just get herself killed sooner or later, since she obviously wasn't stupid enough to join the Wards and the PRT clearly didn't have shit on the theft thing to grab her that way. Hell maybe the vigilante would prove her wrong, hadn't got themselves offed yet after all.
Though it was obvious to her that she'd have been able to get more use out of the power the new vigilante had lucked into. Armsmaster would never have caught her, she'd have made damn sure of that and she'd have dealt with the Eighty-Eight a long fucking time ago too that was for sure.
Still, it wasn't like she was going to risk contacting the vigilante. Same with all the others, wasn't worth the risk and they were all pushovers in the end. Maybe one or two survived long enough to get shoved into the kiddie pool like she had, or just fucked off out of the city entirely. But she'd already had to lay down the law on a couple who tried to start shit with her, thinking she was just some thug and she hadn't seen them again after that.
She shook her head, dismissing the idea of what she'd be able to manage with a Mover power like that in addition to her own. She still had work to do and wasn't going to get lost in pointless delusions. Either the new vigilante would make something of herself or she wouldn't, wasn't Shadow Stalker's problem unless Ghost Step decided to make it one.
Sophia cursed under her breath as she ducked under another impromptu projectile, finally catching where her crossbow had landed.
She should have known something was off, but gang members were always cocky. Always full of themselves because they had numbers, a few knives, a couple of guns or all of the above. Wasn't hard to find them when they weren't even trying to be subtle about robbing the place either.
She hadn't expected the cape when she'd closed with them after taking out the one holding the shotgun though.
"Come on then girlie! Or are you gonna keep dodging all fucking night like some pansy ass bitch!"
"Fuck you." Sophia spat, still shaking from the residual pain and hoping her leg wouldn't lock up again.
"Maybe if you ask nice, bitch." The cape leered, even if he was the only one still standing. The one she'd shot had crawled over to the wall, two of them she'd laid out before they knew what was happening and one fucker had just run.
When she'd seen the trash can lid coming at her she'd dodged out of the way, slipping into her breaker state and it had almost killed her. She didn't know what the cape's power was exactly, but they could launch any of the shit they were holding at her and anything they did had some kind of residual electrical charge and it fucking hurt.
They were new though, that much was obvious. Probably a recent trigger trying to make a name for themselves, get together a gang of their own before someone bigger slapped them right back down again. They seemed like they'd practiced a few times against a wall than anyone trying to actually get out of the way and once she'd wised up he hadn't come close to hitting her yet, even if she was down to one good leg and her knife after losing her baton too.
She scowled behind her mask as the cape held his arm out, pipe in hand as the other hand kept his aim steady and she feinted to the left before launching herself right. She heard him curse as she rolled and the pipe he'd tried to skewer her with clanged nosily on the ground nearby, but by then she'd managed to grab her crossbow and she came up with a snarl.
She fired at the same moment something heavy smacked her in the shoulder, spinning her round as she heard her own shot connect. Not trusting she was out of danger as she let her momentum carry her, rolling to the side before jumping to her feet and ready to dodge or duck before she let herself relax - A smile coming easily when she saw the other cape down for the count with a bolt sticking out of his chest, laying on his side as he weakly pawed at it with a pathetic groan.
His eyes tracked her, mouth opening and closing as she drew near and blood dribbled from his lips, his breath coming in a tortured wheeze and she eyed him critically. He wasn't going to make it, not that she was going to cry herself to sleep about that. He gave her his best shot and like every fucker before had come up short. Not that she had been planning to let him go regardless. Couldn't let a power like that go running around, especially if the Empire decided they wanted him. Better for everyone that she took him out now before he actually knew how to use his gimmick for more than a few flashy tricks.
She watched for a moment before checking on the others, they'd live and know better to start shit with her again when they woke up and realised their leader was gone. Probably find a new gang, new protection so they didn't feel like they were the smallest piece of dirt around and if they were lucky they wouldn't see her again. Crouching down she retrieved her bolt from the first man she'd shot with a quick application of her power, making her way back over to the cape following and was glad he'd finally stopped breathing as she pulled the bolt free, using her power to shift the blood and gunk off it before putting it away with the others.
The worst part was always dealing with the body. No one gave a shit if some injured gang members turned up in ER, it wasn't like she was the only person to use a crossbow and there was even that woman who used a compound bow a year back. But if the idiots brought a body back with them it could be a different story and she didn't need the potential scrutiny, even if the police wouldn't find shit.
She was always careful with her shots, she knew exactly where she could hit that wouldn't have them bleeding out after, not that some of the fuckers actually stayed still and then ended up making things worse for themselves. It had fucked her up the first time when she'd realised after a fight one of them had bled out right in front of her. She'd been stupid and panicked, thinking the PRT or the police would find her right there and then and drag her away. The fucking irony when she was done in almost a couple of years later because she'd got caught for almost killing a man instead.
Spotting her baton on the ground, she picked it up and holstered it before pausing to take a breath as she started to come down from the fight. Her leg still hurt like an absolute bitch, but she'd had worse and she still had a body to fix before anyone else showed up. Not for the first time she wished she wasn't Manton limited, being able to just phase the body under the surface of the road would solve a lot of her problems in one and no one would even notice until the city did maintenance on the area. Which meant no one would notice until the surface of the road was eroded far enough away to show the body at all and she'd have been transferred out of her shit hole of a city long before that ever became a problem.
But the only thing that mattered was dealing with the kill shot and she already had the perfect tool at hand, retrieving the shotgun they'd wanted to use on her and firing two shots into the cape's chest before tossing it away to the side. No one would question a gang fight gone wrong and even if one of them did squeal, she doubted any coroner would be able make a case for a crossbow bolt when she'd just pulverized anything that would have even looked like one. The police wouldn't care and there was nothing tying it back to Shadow Stalker, just another small gang who got in over their heads and decided to blame the black girl for their own idiocy.
Wouldn't have been the first time if they did and hell she was almost grateful to the Empire's constant hate campaign against her on PHO, since no one believed anyone who did say they saw her do anything anymore. The PRT had only ever questioned her the first couple of times it happened, but she had alibis so the case was shut and they hadn't really bothered her about it since. All they'd done in the end was to step up their own PR bullshit, make sure she'd taken another course on 'how to deal with negativity online' along with another PR refresher so she didn't curse anyone out under her official PHO handle.
Her leg spasmed and she winced, gritting her teeth until it passed and hating that she was going to have to cut her patrol short, even if it was tempered by the satisfaction that she wasn't going to have to worry about that particular cape again. Once she managed to finish off Grue there wouldn't be any other shitheads who could hard counter her as she cleaned up the city.
Testing her leg again she grimaced, knowing she'd be walking it off for at least another week. She could spin some bullshit to the track team, but she'd have to be careful with her real job. They'd want to know how she got her injury and Armsmaster never believed any of the shit she said. Emma would probably mother hen her too, but at least the redhead would actually appreciate what she'd managed to accomplish. It wasn't like she did it for accolades, but it was nice to have someone respect the work she put in to make the city a better place. She was the only one who could do what it took after all.
Amy Dallon
"Panacea?"
"Panacea?"
"Panacea?"
She didn't mean to snap at the last nurse who'd asked for her, she was just tired even as she knew she couldn't stop yet. Couldn't go to bed when there were still people who needed her. Needed Panacea to do her duty. Because she didn't want to go home. Because people needed her.
She was Panacea, miracle healer with the responsibility to do that day in day out, why did Amy deserve sleep when people still needed Panacea? She could deal with a bit of fatigue when people still needed her power. She'd be a monster if she didn't. Coffee helped.
"Panacea?"
When was the last time someone had asked for Amy? Who wasn't a fan or someone who wanted something from her? She couldn't help but think of the dishevelled hoodie wearing vigilante and scowled further. It wasn't her fault if the other girl had a thin skin and didn't like what Amy had to say.
"Do I have your consent to heal you?"
"Panacea?"
"Do I have your consent to heal you?"
"Panacea?"
"Do I have your consent to heal you?"
"Panacea?"
At least no one bothered her about her caffeine intake as she sat in the break room, phone on the table in front of her. She wasn't sure why she kept looking up when the door opened, she knew the staff tried not to bother her when she was taking a break unless it was an emergency and it wasn't like the vigilante would show up to be a distraction again.
With a sigh she downed the last of her drink, getting up and tossing the empty disposable cup in the trash as she headed towards to the door to continue. Maybe another couple of hours and she'd let herself call it a night if she wasn't forced out first.
She could have really have gone for some dark chocolate though.