The click-clack sound of boots against concrete echoed throughout the dark cold corridor. The man in those boots walked briskly yet calmly past several cells, each housing an incredibly dangerous individual. He slowed as he reached the cell he had been looking for.
Behind the powerful glass sat a figure shrouded in shadows. They tilted their head up, sensing the man's presence.
"Was that your doing?" he asked the stranger.
There was no reply.
"You should know what I'm talking about."
Again, no answer.
The dark figure chuckled. "Fine then. Who are you?"
Silence.
The figure sighed. "Of course, a foolish question. Let me rephrase that: what do you want?"
There was a chuckle, and if there was enough light, the figure would have seen the stranger smile. What he did see were two white orbs where the eyes would have been.
Then the stranger asked a question of his own.
"Do you wish to be free?"
* * * * *
The roar of a powerful engine was soon followed by the shouts of angry pedestrians.
"Watch it you idiot!" an angry man shouted, shaking his fist at the speeding motorcycle.
Sorry! the cyclist silently apologized to the man. He sped past more people, weaved through vehicles, passed by large, floating billboards, and finally drifted up onto the ramp of the superhighway he'd been rushing to get to.
The squeal of tires filled the air as he stopped the bike at the back of an incredibly long line of vehicles. Ugh! he grabbed his helmet in frustration after slowing to a stop beside a large truck. Now I'm going to be even more late!
He pulled off the helmet letting his dark blue hair fall over his face. He pushed it back, revealing light tan skin and a face more cute than handsome. His figure was slim, and he pulled at the black tie he was wearing and opened the first button of his crisp white shirt.
"The only reason I was going so fast was because this is the shortest possible route," he grumbled as he opened the satchel that had been hanging over his shoulder and pulled out a small black tablet and a stylus. His eyes, his most defining feature, were reflected in the dark screen. They swirled with different colors, and at certain angles glowed.
Before he could do anything however, a large tremor shook the highway, followed by a powerful gust of wind.
"Oh come on!" he shouted, covering his face. "What the hell is it now?!"
When he lowered his arms ,his eyes widened at the sight of a figure in black and white flying backwards, do a backflip, and land on top of the truck beside him.
"An attack at a time like this?" the woman groaned, scratching her short green hair. "I'm gonna be so late."
I can relate strange flying woman, the boy thought, before flinching as she dropped down beside him. His mouth nearly dropped as he noted the heels she was wearing.
How do you move like that in heels?! he gaped.
"Hey kid," the woman pulled off her suit jacket and draped it over her arm. "What's your name?"
The boy looked down at her, perplexed. "I'm...Liam. Liam Paxton."
The woman smiled, nodded, and threw her jacket at him. "Hold this for me Liam. I'll be back shortly."
Liam caught the piece of clothing and frowned in deep confusion.
Who...!
His jaw dropped as the woman smiled and tapped the screen on her black wristband, causing hundreds of thread-like tendrils to burst out of it. Liam nearly fell off his back as the white blouse and black trousers that were hugging her shapely body were transformed into a black, green-lined bodysuit. Her heels seemed to break apart, turning into sneakers and merging with the rest of the suit. Around her neck formed a long, green, translucent scarf that flowed like the wind.
She smiled at Liam, a cheeky glint in her eyes, and winked before a black-and-green mask covered the lower half of her face.
"S-S-S-Spirit?!" Liam stammered, incredulous.
"You know it," she chuckled as people looked out of their cars in shock at the sudden appearance of the global star.
"Gotta go," she turned and crouched. "Be back in a flash."
Spirit blurred for a split second before disappearing, leaving behind a dark green trail.
The Hero with the best maneuverability and speed a person could ever want. A suit that doubles as fireproof, stab-proof, airtight, watertight, armor. Her Superspeed is unrivaled! Chad would flip if he was here! Oh wait...he'd want an autograph...I have her jacket so that shouldn't be too hard. Having a little brother is stressful.
Liam's attention was suddenly drawn skyward by an incredibly loud, piercing scream. He paled at the sight of large bird-like creatures circling the vicinity.
"What the devil are those?!" the driver of the truck beside Liam yelled. Only he and Liam had noticed, as the rest of the people were rushing forward to get a glimpse of the fight between the Hero and a villain.
Pteras, the flying dinosaurs, Liam shuddered. His incredible sight allowed him to take note of the inky black bodies, the brown membranous wings tipped with small claws, and the razor sharp beak attached to a long-necked head. There were six of them
"Today's been bullcrap!" the truck driver raged. "Horrible traffic, the sun's blazin', some bastard Villain attacks, and now monster crap? I've had enough of this!"
"U-um s-s-sir," Liam stuttered nervously. "C-c-could you p-please c-c-calm down?"
The driver completely ignored him, or it could be that he just couldn't hear the boy over everything else.
"Here's an earful you damn bastards!" he yelled, slamming his hand down on his truck's horn.
"N-NO!" Liam yelled before covering his ears, wincing in pain as the overpowering sound seemed to shake the very ground.
People turned for only a moment in annoyance, but Liam looked skyward in fear.
Pteras are attracted to loud noises! he grabbed his hair as the circle the beasts had been drawing was suddenly disrupted. They're only here because of that explosion!
A Ptera suddenly broke off from the group and dived towards the source of the sudden distraction. It fell like a stone, and it instinctively altered its course as an attractive scent wafted up its nostrils. It's target?
Liam Paxton.
The boy in question had frozen in fear as certain death zoomed towards him.
A Ptera dives at almost 96 kmph...I'm dead...if only my power wasn't so weak!
His eyes widened, and for a moment the world slowed down. Liam could make out every detail on the beast's face, from the murky black eyes to the widening beak.
I'm dead, he thought again.
Then, out of nowhere, a brown and black blur slammed into the monster.
Liam caught a glimpse of short black hair and a blue mask before the two bodies zoomed off and over the superhighway's edge.
Liam turned shakily, both disbelief and relief flooding his brain.
N-no way...
A moment later, a tall man flipped onto the guardrail at the edge of the highway. he was clad in simple clothes, but his most striking feature was the dark blue mask on his face, accentuated by a few white lines. In his hands were two bloody short-swords, and with a flick of his wrist the blood was sent flying. He put the blades in sheaths on his back.
"A Hunter...," Liam breathed in shock.
The Hunter turned his attention skyward, then Liam jumped as a smooth baritone slipped out of the mask.
"You okay, kid?"
Liam nodded profusely. "Y-yes sir! Thank you!"
The Hunter grunted, then put a hand to his ear.
"Hmm? Chalcotauri? Three herds...where?"
Chalcotauri, the Bronze Bulls. They're Commander or C grade individually, but Ruler or B grade in a herd.
"Hey Anansi, could you repeat that?" the Hunter muttered.
Liam's eyes widened as he simultaneously registered the man before him and the name he'd mentioned.
ANANSI?! The Asura class Spider Mutant? He's a frickin' legend! Eight powerful arms and the ability to shoot webs out of his fingers! He's got over two hundred Mo kills! And this guy..., Liam shivered in excitement. This guy's Rapido! A member of the Second Hunter Division, just like Anansi! And he's even stronger than Anansi too, even though they're both in the same class!
"Alright," Rapido muttered before crouching. "I'll be right with you. Just have to deal with something first."
"Um, sir?"
Rapido looked down into the eyes of the boy on the motorcycle. He was holding out a small tablet and a stylus pen, his head bowed.
Wonder what he wants, Rapido thought.
"Yeah kid?"
"...could I um, g-get your autograph?"
"...," Rapido fell silent.
"P-please?" he asked, looking up.
Rapido frowned behind his mask. What is going on? A scam? Is this a journalist in disguise? A criminal?
"Why would you want my signature?" Rapido tilted his head in confusion. "I'm no Hero; I'm a Hunter."
Liam nodded emphatically. "I know! But...um, Hunters, I'm a huge fan, and...you guys are my heroes."
Rapido was silent for several moments, noting that the only ones who had noticed his presence were the boy in front of him, a few people meters away, and the driver of a truck who had rolled up his window.
To a Hunter, a member of a profession known to be more than a little antisocial, someone asking for an autograph was as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.
*Rapido, are you on your way?*
"Relax Anansi," Rapido sighed. Then to Liam, "What's your name kid?"
Liam blinked. "Liam Paxton."
Rapido nodded, and he turned his focus back up to the Pteras.
Liam lowered his eyes. "Oh...um..."
"Check the tablet kid."
Liam checked, and staring up at him in a small blue scrawl was the statement:
'To Liam Paxton, Rapido.
When Liam looked up, the Hunter had vanished. His head swiveled round and he spotted the man crouching up on the truck.
The boy grinned, starry-eyed. "Thank you! H-how did you move that fast? Was that your Venma?"
"...yeah. Sure."
Rapido leaped into the air, Liam's voice following him.
"THANKS FOR SAVING MY LIFE! AND THANK YOU FOR THE AUTOGRAPH! AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!"
The Hunter didn't notice, but he was smiling.
No wonder Heroes keep doing what they do.
Rapido zoomed past the once again circling Pteras and slowed to a stop midair.
"Hey birdbrains," he uttered as he unsheathed his short-swords. The monsters shrieked and turned their attention towards him.
"It's hunting time."
In an instant, he stomped one into a plummet, blade embedded in its skull.
He sliced off the neck where it met the main body, grabbed it mid-jump, and smashed it into the head of a diving monster.
Its skull caved in, and both it, its fellow carcass, and Rapido fell towards the earth.
Three of the remaining Pteras screeched and swooped down into a powerful dive, each one aiming for the Hunter, completely unaware that they weren't the predators present.
Smirking underneath his mask, Rapido twisted and rolled out of the way of the first. He kicked off one of the dead monsters, zoomed down to the one he'd dodged, and slammed his reclaimed weapons straight into its back.
It gave a guttural scream as blood spurted out of its back, staining Rapido's hands and clothes.
He burst off its body, pulling out his blades in the process, and spun like a top as the other two neared him.
Code One: Baded Tornado.
In a flash of brown and silver, Rapido burst upwards, and the next moment the diving monsters were sliced up in quarters from neck to short, clawed feet.
The remaining monsters screamed, and a few of them dived to avenge their fallen brothers, plummeting down like huge black arrows towards the still rising human.
The moment the first one got within two meters of him, Rapido crossed his arms.
Final Code: Slaughterhouse.
Rapido seemed to teleport for a moment, and as the sun bathed him in light, he set his feet down on the Ptera that should have killed him and smiled again.
Full power...
He vanished. Then a minor shockwave shook the air, punctuating the red and black shower of blood and bodies that the brown blur left behind.
He slowed down above the dead flock, arms spread out, hair flowing in the wind, and his mask melted off to reveal bright blue eyes set in a handsome face.
He took in a deep breath and stared at the clear blue sky before gravity took hold and pulled him down into a dive.
As his mask crawled back onto his face, Rapido put his arms to his sides to speed up his fall.
He fell amongst the dead monsters, their destination a large park near the superhighway.
Rapido twisted midfall and kicked a falling midsection. He used that force to ricochet himself from carcass to carcass before falling the rest of the twenty meter gap.
The moment his feet touched the ground he tucked his body into a ball and rolled before sliding to his feet.
He immediately began to walk as the monster bodies slammed into the grass behind him.
"This is Rapido reporting," he said as he put a hand to his ear. "Requesting a Sweep. Mo subjugated west of the Benjamin Superhighway. Roughly twenty eight Pteras, and I apologize for the mess."
Rapido switched the communicator's channel and spoke again.
"Hey Anansi, I'm on my way."
*Took you long enough. We're on the outskirts, and more Bulls are on the way. It's strange, but that doesn't matter. How long till you get here?*
Rapido paused to do a few mental calculations.
That's roughly fifty kilometers from here...
Rapido put a hand to his neck, and a pop came out.
"Be there in three minutes."