BLACKWING
Levi stood balanced atop the spire of the city's highest building. The city of Mitras was the largest in the country, and as such, had the highest crime rate. From his current vantage point, he could see the entire city. He was also at an ideal spot to hear almost everything within a several mile radius. Tonight, however, was one of the rare quiet ones.
He stretched his midnight black wings with a bored yawn and took flight. Levi was what people referred to as a Super; more specifically, a Super Hero. The ironic thing was that he was raised by a criminal with no Super abilities at all; though, Kenny's organization was not in any way the conventional crime syndicate. Kenny was still a great source for information on all the other criminals, Super Villains and organizations throughout the city and even beyond.
What made Levi a Super, was not only his obvious jet-black wings. His hearing was far more acute than most, able to hear both higher and lower pitched sounds than normal people. He could even hear a dog whistle. His eyesight was clearer and sharper than most. He could see as well as an eagle in the day, and as well as a cat at night. His aversion to all things filth related, made him grateful that his sense of smell was not enhanced. Combined with abnormal, though not quite super strength, speed and agility, he was well above average, even for a Super.
He was only sixteen years old, but had already made his mark on the city. He was known by the moniker Blackwing. Not especially original, as monikers go, but it fit. His large, powerful wings were black as a raven's and matched perfectly to his equally jet-black hair. They stood out in stark contrast to his fair skin and unusual light silver eyes. Kenny had provided him with his mask to cover the area around his eyes as well as a top-secret Kevlar/polymer uniform. Both were black, but the uniform had dark red accents, including a dark red circle above his left breast with a flying black bird depicted in the center. The costume hugged his body, but did not restrict his movements. It showed the powerful muscles that seemed to belong to a man far older than a mere teenager.
Though he'd never been to school, his education was currently on a university level. Kenny had seen to it that the boy had the best tutors; history, grammar, science, math, 5 foreign languages and more. He'd also been taught to fight, being tutored in Kung Fu, Karate and Kick Boxing. He learned all about the criminal world from Kenny; extortion, fraud, theft, laundering. Kenny had also given him information on much darker crimes that he himself would never consider committing; slave trade, sex trade, drug trafficking, assassination.
Levi's education had not been just academics and fighting. He'd also been given piano lessons and encouraged in the arts, such as painting and photography. The boy considered himself lucky to have been raised in such an encouraging and loving environment and to have had such a well-rounded education.
As he passed over the river by the sporting arenas, he heard the sounds of a dispute. A moment later he could see that another Super was already handling it; a woman by the moniker of Bolt. Her power was electricity. Lightning bolts filled the alleyway below, rendering all the crooks unconscious and twitching on the ground. The teen chuckled to himself and flew on. Serves the dumb asses right, trying to break the law in Bolt's territory.
Most Super Heroes had territories that they patrolled, though they would often help each other and cover each other's territories when needed. There were enough Supers in the city that they needed only cover about 5-10 square miles each and frequently overlapping by a few blocks. Blackwing had no territory. His senses and speed enabled him to cover the entire city. Supers could only be in one place at a time, so Blackwing took up the slack for all territories.
Since it was such a quiet night, the teenager decided to indulge in some recreational flying. With a couple of powerful strokes of his broad wings, he accelerated and began to climb. He powered up to well over 30,000 feet (and yes, he could actually breath at that frigid and mind numbing altitude) before holding his wings and arms open, closing his eyes and tipping back to go into a head-first freefall. He reveled in the sensation of air and clouds whipping past him as he rocketed towards the ground at nearly 200 miles per hour. When he was about 2,000 feet above the streets, he changed his position to feet down and snapped his folded wings open. The effect was dramatic. He went from a free fall into a sudden yank upwards a good 50 feet as the wings opened.
He grinned proudly and dove again, this time to fly at high speed through the city, weaving around the buildings, bridges and skyscrapers. One of the skyscrapers had a large circle through the middle of it near the top. He folded in his wings and went into a fast spin as he passed through it and then spread his wings to bank sharply right to avoid hitting the building across the road on the other side. He let out an unrestrained whoop of delight as he continued. Being able to fly was awesome! He passed through the posts and girders of a new skyscraper under construction, taking a zig zag course, doubling back on himself a couple of times just because he knew he could.
While there were several Supers that had spontaneous flight – that being the ability to fly telekinetically without any obvious power source -, Levi was the only one that had natural powered flight. Some supers used jets, many used grappling hooks and a couple used artificial wings, but his were a natural part of his physiology that he'd been born with. He had been equipped, presumably at birth, with a small device embedded in his left collarbone that enabled him to hide his wings with nothing more than a thought. The device, called a phase inverter, took his wings out of phase with the rest of the world just enough so that they could be neither seen nor touched, but were still very much a part of him. Kenny had been shocked to discover that the blanket on the small boy he'd accepted custody of eleven years ago was in fact a functioning pair of wings.
Light began to show on the eastern horizon, so Levi decided it was time to return to one of Kenny's many apartments scattered throughout Mitras. He chose the one penthouse that Kenny owned just outside the city center along the river. He coasted in to land with nary a flap of his wings on the wall of the massive rooftop deck outside the suite. Kenny was leaning against the wall a few feet away, watching the growing light of dawn.
"How was it last night, boy?" Kenny asked.
"Quiet. Too bad there aren't more like it," Levi replied as he crouched on top of the wall and watched the dawn beside his guardian. "Any trouble that stirred up last night was handled by others."
"Heh. Well, want some breakfast before you go to bed?"
"Nah. I'm going out with Farlan and Izzy. We're going to that pancake joint at the edge of town. You know how much Izzy loves the waffles there." Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church were Levi's only two friends his own age, but they were like siblings to him. Isabel even went so far as to call him "Big Brother". They'd hung around together since they were all six or seven years of age. They knew almost everything about each other, except for one thing; Izzy and Farlan had no idea he was a Super or that he was a hero.
Kenny barked out a laugh. "Admit it, boy. YOU like the waffles there!"
Levi chuckled. "Guilty as charged. But let's be honest; who doesn't like the waffles there? Drowned in butter and REAL maple syrup . . . what's not to love?"
"Can't argue with you there. Why don't you take the Camero? Better 'n taking the bus or the train. Maybe go for a hike after? You don't get to hang out with them very often anymore."
"Yeah. Them in high school; me working nights. It's not easy to get together except on Saturdays and Sundays. Keys are by the door?"
"Yep. So's the gas card. Don't forget to fill 'er up. And be safe."
Levi hopped down off the wall and headed inside to shower and prepare for the day. "I will. Thanks, Uncle Kenny!"
Kenny chuckled as he heard the door close behind him. "You'd be right proud of your boy, ma'am," he spoke to the rising sun. "He's grown into a fine young man."
A couple of evenings later, as Levi was preparing to head out for the night, Kenny called him into the living room to talk. At first, Levi assumed it was work related. After all, Kenny was his top source of reliable information regarding criminal activity in the city. But something in the man's eyes said this was something more. "Have a seat, son."
Levi did as he was told and sat in the middle of one sofa, while Kenny sat on the one on the other side of the massive coffee table. He began to really worry when Kenny just sat there for several moments, leaning forward on his knees and staring at the floor. "Levi, how much do remember of your mother and father?" he finally asked.
Well, that was unexpected. What clear blue did that come out of? Levi took in a deep breath and answered. "We were happy. I can remember picnics in the park, trips to the lake, tickle fights with Dad, and Mom singing to me. Why?"
"Do you remember that night when I took custody of you?"
"Sort of. Mostly by what you've told me about it, though. The only thing I clearly remember is Mom telling she loved me and to never forget it. I never have."
"That's right. And I promised your ma I'd take care of and protect you. Thing is, your pa wasn't home as far as we know, and he'd never been found." There was an awkward pause before Kenny sighed and continued. "I remember that picture of your family when we broke into the safe. You look just like your ma. I wish I coulda saved that picture for you. She was a lovely woman. Your pa was a right handsome fellow too."
Levi couldn't help but wonder not only where this was all coming from, but also where it was going. "I can barely remember their faces anymore."
"I know, son. The fallibility of the human mind. Happens to us all." Kenny was quiet for a moment before continuing. "Thing is, your pa's been seen."
Levi's silver eyes widened. "What? Where?"
"With Harbinger."
The teen's face paled as he felt a cold pit form in his belly. Harbinger was the by far the most dangerous Super Villain in the country, if not the world. Above average super strength combined with super intelligence made for a devastating combination. The two times he'd been brought in, he'd escaped the prisons within a couple of weeks. The man was nothing short of a monster that took pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. Even Kenny's syndicate steered clear of the villain, careful to never interfere even though they kept tabs on his activities. "He's still alive; my Dad?"
"He was as of last week when I was told."
"Last week? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Levi, Harbinger is beyond dangerous. Far stronger than most of those with super strength. More experienced Supers than you have been killed trying to take him in. Human life means nothing to that piece of shit."
Levi was quiet for a few moments as he mulled over this shocking information. "I have to save him, Kenny. I can't leave him in Harbinger's grasp. I know you're trying to protect me, but . . . I won't confront Harbinger. I'll just sneak my father out from under his nose."
"Son . . ."
"I have to, Uncle. Please, you know where he is."
Kenny sighed in defeat. "Not specifically. Harbinger is never based in one spot. He moves around a lot to keep from getting caught. The report comes from a surveillance cam early last week in the parking garage of Opecorp. Harbinger was discussing something with Opecorp's CEO. Your pa was in the back seat of Harbinger's car. He's gotten older, grey around the temples, but he was definitely your pa. He had that little scar through his right eyebrow that I saw in the picture in your house."
Levi frowned. "Opecorp is a weapons and defense company. Easy to figure out what Harbinger wants, but why is the CEO working with him?"
"Possibly a special order. As for why, well, fear is a really good motivator, but so is greed. Whatever the reason, my people have been ordered to steer clear of Opecorp for a while. Just as soon stay off Harbinger's radar."
"I have to find him, Kenny. I will find him and I'll get him away from Harbinger. I've just found out he's still alive, and I won't lose him again."
Kenny looked worried. "Be careful, son. If you need help, ask me. I don't want to lose you."
"Right. But I have to find him first." Levi stepped out onto the apartment's tiny balcony. "Thank you for telling me." He put on his mask, then spread his wings and took off across the city with only one thing on his mind. Don't worry, Dad. I'll save you.ave you.
