It was nightfall by the time I had to leave for the rendezvous. I didn't cook anything for dinner tonight but dad knew how to order takeout. I didn't bother saying goodbye either, by now he was probably too drunk to care. I left the house in the pair of sweats from my 'costume' along with cheap sneakers and a hoodie. I carried my coat in a separate bag hanging from my back. The weather in Brockton was chilly around this time of year but rarely got to be frigid cold.
Even with all that said I felt exposed. I was still ill prepared not just with my costume but with every aspect of being a superhero. It was hard to believe that the last few months had actually happened, I knew that I was just nervous but the feeling persisted. I was refreshed after my earlier run from Winslow, but settled for a light jog on my way to the boardwalk just to relax. I needed something to keep busy and I knew just the thing.
Occasionally I would release the wraith in small amounts. I left control of it mostly to my subconsciously, the wraith feed on anyone I noticed nearby and as it feed it grew ever so slightly. Some of that growth would split off to travel back to me as fuel for later. It had taken me awhile to accept that blood was the source of my power. I had researched that regular blood was supposed to circulate for up to a hundred and twenty days. But with the wraith that number had shrunk into a little over a month and continued to decline with regular use of my powers.
Blood feed the wraith, the wraith feed my powers, and my powers let me help people. Everything required it, all I needed were mere seconds of contact and most people would barely notice. I took special care not to feed from anyone who looked sick or otherwise diseased. Not strictly out of fear of infection, but because I wouldn't risk the possibility of any medical emergency from my carelessness.
These two constraints limited me to densely packed locations like the boardwalk. With Brockton being a coastal city, the boardwalk was where all the tourists and their money flocked towards. It was exclusive in the sense that a small cup of coffee cost fifteen dollars and that estimate had likely been cheaper than the actual price. It was a place of jewelry, fine dining and expensive fashion, a playground for the rich. My only concern was being caught. Every shop had multiple cameras that pointed towards every direction. I'd even heard rumors of security hiding among the crowd for immediate response time. With how expensive everything was it made sense that it would all need protection. I picked up my walk into a slow jog my clothes were suspicious enough already no point in sticking around. I released several more milliliters of the wraith keeping them lowered to the floor. I dispersed them around the boardwalk as fast as I could. If a single person saw what I was doing things would get a lot more complicated.
As if to punctuate the point the clouds shifted to reveal the golden towers of the Protectorate HQ. The former oil rig had been renovated into a high-tech fortress, shrouded by a translucent force field, it served as the base for the adult heroes. Growing up my parents couldn't shield me from all of the rumors surrounding capes. Its golden towers shining in the moonlight, it brought to mind the countless rumors surrounding the building. Some of the more outlandish ones claimed the building possessed some kind of super-powered laser weapon. It was located in a place where it could be seen by most of the city. It was a clear message the Protectorate was meant to be a powerful shield covering all of us.
It was a difficult sentiment to trust with the Nemean's silver ring currently orbiting in the sky above.
Yet for all the Protectorates power and reach crime still infected the city. It wasn't their fault; it would be naive to think they alone could put an end to every injustice. It would be easy to criticize when they were the ones risking their lives every day. But that being said the heroes existed in a cycle; the heroes would capture a villain for a short time, eventually that same villain would escape with the help of their allies, and then it happened all over again. It was a pointless loop where the heroes were not losing per say, but they didn't win either. I still admired the heroes but for now at least I wanted my approach to the hero life to be under my terms.
I called back the last of my wraith as I ventured into the docks. It was a street or two between the boardwalk and the docks, I knew where I was by the lack of functioning streetlights and the faintest smell of garbage. The impressive building that was the Protectorate headquarters now became little more than silhouette. Under the cover of darkness I would have been allowed greater freedom to feed my power.
The issue arose with the docks itself, unlike the boardwalk the docks was a hub for criminals and the destitute. When the import/export industry crashed it took most of the cities economy with it. Some people managed to adapt getting jobs in technology and software, like my dad had done. Unfortunately, the majority of people who relied on the former economy were left with few viable options outside of illegal activity; as a result area's like, the docks experienced a surge in gang population and crime. But at this time of night I wouldn't run into crowds of gangsters on the street, only crack whores, the homeless and drunkards. I was pretty self assured that I couldn't get sick from my power but I had no desire to test that theory anytime soon.
Most of the people I came across were either too out of it to see me or just avoided me altogether. It made sense, with the hoodie shrouding my face it was difficult to determine my gender, and in this part of town people dressed how I was rarely had good intentions. I had eased back into a brisk walking pace as to avoid garnering unwanted attention and to not trip along the cracked and uneven sidewalk. Despite the dilapidated state of the neighborhood, I did eventually reach an area where some of the street lamps were functional, under one such light stood a trio of Asian men.
The only thing that caused them to stand out to me was the red and green colors they wore identifying them as members of the A.b.b. Normally when I came across gangsters I feed a little more than I usually did. The blood loss wouldn't affect them in the long term, but it would make them light headed for a couple of hours. With the added bonus of an easier to fight in the near future. The only reason I hadn't done so yet was to overhear their conversation. Under their leader the Abb was a diverse blend of Asians thus in regular conversation they spoke English, a language that everyone had some level of comprehension. One of the men held out a weapon in the open, a knife that he was stabbing towards his friends. Not in a threatening sense but more as an example.
"I'm gonna stab that fucking bitch before she even knows whats going on," said the man swinging the knife
"Hey fool, cut that out before you hurt somebody." the oldest member of the trio said before taking a step back
"Man forget just one, I want to kill all those punk ass kids," said the third gangster. From where I watched them he looked like someone old enough to attend Winslow."Do you guys remember where we meet everybody else?"he asked, pulling out his phone to check for the answer.
According to the street signs I was near where I was supposed to meet Shadow Stalker. For as long as I had known her she had always given off a serious vibe. Not in the sense that she was hard to work with but more like this was a job, she expected punctuality. But there was no way I was going to just ignore criminals contemplating violence when they were right in front of me. I wanted to send her a text alerting her to what I was doing, but doing so would probably light up my face in the process. I would need to stay hidden if I wanted to follow them. I could text shadow stalker my location once I arrived to wherever the Abb were gathering. In the meantime I tracked the group, taking extra care not too step under any street lights lest any of them turn around.
I knew where I was headed likely had more thugs than I had ever encountered before. In the months leading up to now shadow stalker and I only engaged with small groups of between one and a dozen thugs. Mostly petty theft or harassment of anyone they came maybe meant a gun or two. But from how the trio were speaking earlier it sounded like we were going into a situation where the majority of people were armed and ready for violence.
For all I knew 'those punk ass kids' referred to a group of actual children or just a couple of teenagers who had pissed off the wrong person. I wasn't blind to the possibility of their targets being a rival gang. In the docks gang violence was just a way of life. Regardless of that fact I couldn't just abide with any of the inevitable collateral damage. That being the case if the conflict were to be something more than a minor gang dispute than it was more than likely that other capes would be involved. Shadow stalker had made it clear that under no circumstances would we face other capes if we could avoid it. I couldn't help but to agree with her, as strong as our powers were there was always someone stronger.
Lung for instance, was infamous for fighting the entire Protectorate and winning. He was a major reason for why the Abb were so feared. If we had to fight someone like him the outcome could only be bad. That idea was enough to give me pause but not to the point of cowardice. I could never stand against my bullies as regular Taylor, their was no fucking way I was going to cower as a cape as well.
I continued walking behind the trio, my heart thumping rapidly with anticipation. They maintained a steady pace until they took a sharp turn. I followed them only to encounter the barrel of a gun inches from my face.
"You think we wouldn't notice you stalking us, bitch?" the oldest one asked as the other two pulled their own weapons.
My veins were iced over, the gun in my face took up most of my mental space. I could just barely make out the bullet in the chamber. Aware that the slightest movement could get me killed I was petrified. The youngest one moved to pull down my hoodie thus revealing bundles of my lengthy blonde hair. Predatory smiles immediately fell upon all their faces. The oldest one stroked his hand against my cheek.
"Well well sweetheart were kind of in a hurry but I think we can squeeze in some fun time-"
He was cut off as an arrow suddenly sprouted in the hand touching my face.
"What the fuc-," the knife wielder had begun to say before similar arrows were shot into both his and his partner's shoulders.
My body was too shocked to move despite the waves of relief surging through me. Shadow Stalker manifested from the darkness behind me firing another arrow into the oldest man's knee. All three of them were screaming in agony but no one was coming to help, 'help' didn't happen in the docks.
"Your hood," stalker reminded in her gruff voice.
That being the moment I snapped out of my stupor I immediately complied, kicking myself for having been so stupid. Shadow stalker crouched down ripping out each arrow and inspecting them before placing them back into her quiver. Her costume was even more bargain bin than mine. Her costume consisted of a hockey mask with the rest of her "armor" being similarly comprised of various sporting pads and guards all spray painted black. She went for the anti-hero look using a combination of her long black cloak, weapons, and demeanor she managed to pull it off.
"I saw you following these guys and decided to see what you were doing, you should've called me."
I wanted to defend my actions but now wasn't the time instead I said,"they were talking about going somewhere to kill some kids I decided to follow them so they could lead me to them. "
"You need to be more careful," was all she to me said before turning to the injured men.
"Where were you guys going?" she asked nocking back another arrow.
The older man began to speak but not before the youngest interrupted. "Man don't tell these bitches shit!"
Stalker wordlessly released the arrow into his other yet again she pointed it back at the first man. This was how she tended to operate, attacking a problem relentlessly until it finally caved.
It was effective but also time consuming and that was something we didn't have much of. I was never the biggest fan of torture and things needed to happen faster. I stepped to the side and out of my shoes placing my bare feet on the cracked cement. Unzipping my coat, I grew to my full size and stepped between Stalker and the thug. Moving above him, I crouched down using one of my hands to wrap around his throat and pulled him close to my face. With the other I slid the nail of my index finger down his cheek leaving a shallow cut.
I spoke in a whisper,"Where were you headed, bitch?"