"Hurry up!" Dagdan hissed, urging his sister on. "We haven't got all night!"
"I know," she snapped back. "I'm trying."
Her hands worked at their hardest, trying to crack the lock. But she was taking too long. According to Dagdan's calculations, they hadn't much time before the backup generators kicked in and the alarms went off. And then it was only a matter of time before the guards were called in.
And he didn't want to go to back to jail anytime soon.
He paced up and down, tapping his hands against his arms. He peered out the window. Trying to escape if things got bad would not be easy. He thought he saw something on the roof across the way but it was gone before he could catch it.
"We're through," Brannagh suddenly said. "Come on."
He turned back, eyes lighting up at the open door. The plan had gone through without so much as a hitch. They had plenty of time to grab the stuff and go before the guards arrived.
"Let's get moving," he grinned. Together they ran in and started shoving money into his bag. He held more money at that very moment than he had ever owned in his entire life. They were rich!
"This is the best thing that's ever happened in my life!" he cried, shouldering his bag.
"Well, boy… I hate to disappoint…"
Dagdan whipped around at the sound of another voice just in time to see a fist. He howled in pain, stumbling back. He dropped his bag. He heard Brannagh's hissed fury as she lunged in to defend him. But no matter how talented his sister was, she soon hit the ground next to him.
"You bitch!" he snarled. "You're just a vigilante with no life!" He rose and swung at her but she dodged easily.
Dressed from head to toe in a suit of black, her mask was shaped like strong curved wings. Specifically crows' wings. Through the eye holes he saw bright brown eyes filled with amusement. Her blonde hair was tied back in a long ponytail, bobbing back and forth as she danced around him.
"I? No life?" she teased. "You're the one robbing a bank."
They called her Nightgod, one of the most recent so-called 'superheroes' roaming the streets. She hadn't existed for more than a couple of months but she already busted some of the most notorious criminals in the city.
As far as he could knew, she was as superhuman as you'd get.
Dagdan gritted his teeth and took a step back. Nightgod's lips quirked upwards.
"What? No retort?" She pouted. "You're no fun."
In the distance they heard sirens flaring. Nightgod's grin grew.
"How long til they get here, do you say?" she frowned. "Five, ten minutes? Soon enough."
Brannagh gripped his arm. "We need to leave. Now."
He knew that. It was just the woman standing in his way that was a bit of a problem.
"Step aside," he said calmly, keeping his voice from wavering. "And we won't hurt you." He had a gun in his bag. All he had to do was to inch his way back and get it. He could end her right here.
Nightgod frowned. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" She pointed at the safe. "I think I have the upper hand here."
Dagdan flung himself at his bag, tearing the gun from the inside pocket. He spun on his back while fumbling with the safety. With a click, he was ready to fire.
Nightgod hadn't moved. In fact, her smile seemed to widen.
"Oh… so that's how we're doing this," she nodded. She cracked her knuckles. "Darling, don't you think people have already tried that?"
He faltered a little but kept the gun trained on her. Even if she was superhuman, she was still mortal. A bullet between the eyes would kill her as sure as anything.
But her confidence was what got him and he hesitated. And it was that hesitation that cost him everything.
Faster than he could blink, she darted forward. A well landed punch shoved all the air from his lungs while her other hand expertly disarmed him. Suddenly he was on the ground, his own gun pressed to the back of his neck.
"Stay where you are or your friend gets it!" He heard Nightgod say.
His sister shuffled somewhere off to the side of his vision but she didn't move. Nightgod had them pinned.
She'd beaten them. It was all over. Dagdan slumped against the ground, the fight leaving him. This was it. He was going to jail.
Nightgod bound his wrists and ankles, leaving him trussed up for the police. They were closer now, probably outside the building.
"Well, I have to go now," Nightgod said, spraying some sort of symbol onto the floor. "But I had a good night. You're a good guy."
Would she ever just shut up? Dagdan gritted his teeth. What a snarky bitch.
Footsteps were entering the building and he heard shouts from below.
Nightgod clapped her hands together."Say hi to Captain Tarquin for me!" she said.
Dagdan wriggled around to look at her, anger coursing through every vein in his body. She was perched on the window, ready to flee out into the night. She blew a kiss at him.
"I'll get you," he swore. "One day!"
"I'll be waiting," she grinned and leaned backwards. She fell from the window and was gone from his sight.
"Up here!"
Suddenly, harsh torches shone on him as the answering officers found the two of them. They quickly swept the area, taking note of the safe, his bag and the gun. It was too easy to realise what was going on here.
"A crow symbol," the leading officer mused. "Nightgod's work."
The one next to him groaned, rolling his eyes. "Ugh… Can she ever give us the chance to do our jobs?"
The leading officer chuckled as he waved them forward to do their jobs now. Dagdan felt handcuffs clicking around his wrists before he was untied. "I don't know, Varian. One may have thought you'd like getting to claim credit for minimal effort."
"You have the right to remain silent," the officer pulling him to his feet said. "Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."
Dagdan kept his mouth shut, glancing over at Brannagh. His sister looked ready to spit fire but her teeth were firmly clenched.
He begrudgingly let them take him away.
Getting up early was a task that Mor did not find hard.
However, getting up early after a night of hardcore vigilanting, was a fair bit harder.
But as usual, she forced herself to get to her feet and start her day. She showered and cleaned her supersuit of dirt and blood, before tucking it away.
Her new roommate was supposed to be arriving early that day. She was actually the sister of one of her recent friends, Feyre. She hadn't known Feyre for that long but she knew her boyfriend quite well. Rhys was her closest cousin; the only member of her family she actually had contact with.
Mor sat at her table, flicking through the news. She stopped on the station that was reporting Nightgod's latest actions.
"-twins broke into Velaris' City Bank and successfully cracked the safe. However, they were apprehended before they were able to escape with their bounty. The vigilante known as 'Nightgod' is still at large and taking out criminals," the reporter said.
Mor grinned. "That she is. That she is."
"Today we have Nesta Archeron on her with us," the reporter continued as the camera swept towards a young woman. "Ms. Archeron is a young and upcoming journalist who has recently moved to Velaris. Ms. Archeron, please tell me about your most recent vow to humanity."
Nesta was beautiful. There was something familiar about her but she couldn't quite place it. She shrugged. Who knew?
"Nightgod's identity is unknown to the public. I promise I'll find it out," Nesta said calmly. "She is breaking the law. I'm surprised someone from the law enforcement hasn't cracked down on her yet."
She was quiet but her determination was clear. Mor rolled her eyes and took a bite of her apple. She wasn't the first person who swore they'd find out her identity—just the only one to make it onto national television. Why she was different, Mor didn't know.
There were multiple theory sites on who she could be. Unfortunately for them, she was not in anyway famous enough for them to get it right. As far as they were concerned, she was just an innocent civilian.
The interview continued on with Nesta talking about her theories. She was right in suggesting she was a random citizen and correctly guessed she was in her twenties, but besides that she had nothing.
Mor chuckled under her breath before she flicked the channels over. She settled on a music channel and set about cleaning the apartment. In all, she was a pretty tidy person but when Feyre's sister came over she wanted to make a good first impression.
At about one o'clock, she heard a knock at the door. Brushing herself down, Mor hurried to the door.
"Hi, I'm Mor. It's nice to meet-" She froze when she saw who was standing at the door. "-you…"
"Likewise, Mor. My name's Nesta Archeron," she smiled.
Nesta Archeron, the journalist from TV. The one who vowed to find out Nightgod's identity.
Mor suddenly found herself feeling a lot more nervous.
She didn't know Feyre's surname was Archeron. Otherwise she might have recognised her. Looking now, she could see the similarities between the sisters and she cursed herself for not noticing earlier.
"...can I come in?" Nesta jolted her out of her thoughts.
Mor forced herself to smile despite the nervous butterflies in her stomach. "Of course, sorry. I had a late night." She opened the door.
Nesta walked into her apartment. "Late night, you say? Any reason?" Mor couldn't help but notice the way her eyes were taken to her blonde hair.
Mor quickly shook her head. "Nah, I was just watching a new show. You know how it is."
Nesta took that without any questioning. "Well, we ought to get to know each other. I'm a journalist and I've made it my mission to find the vigilante, Nightgod. I had an interview earlier-"
"Oh, yeah," Mor said as casually as she could. "I saw that on TV. I… certainly a bold statement. This is a large city, what makes you think you can catch Nightgod?"
Nesta's smile was calculated. "I've been triangulating her position for months now. If I'm correct in assuming she leaves her house around the same time every evening, then she should be located somewhere in this neighbourhood."
Damn, she was good. Mor usually did keep to a regular schedule, meaning she left at about eight every night. But to find out almost her precise location from just reports… that was insane.
"So what about yourself?" Nesta dragged her out of her thoughts. "What do you do?"
I'm Nightgod and you terrify me. In a good way.
"I'm Mor. I'm a freelance architect. And I'm pleased to meet you."
Nesta's eyebrow quirked and a grin met her lips.
"As stated before, likewise; I'm very pleased to meet you."