The chilled air flapped through my coat as we hopped from the various rooftops. After our questioning, the location of the warehouse was quickly revealed. Only now did I realize I had forgotten to ask for justification in the who or why. In the end however, that didn't matter half as much as actually preventing murder in the first place.
We ended up leaving the criminals to bleed in the street. None of their wounds were fatal and at least one of them had the means to call for an ambulance. The last thing I did was to crush their weapons disarming them while also demonstrating what could have easily happened to them. Making those bullies tremble felt like a good omen for the rest of the night.
Roof hopping proved to be the quickest way for us to reach the warehouse. With my bare feet I would slide a bit before stopping. The gravel was barely noticeable but still did force me into a cycle of skidding to a halt before my next spite of the shabby condition of most of the buildings neither of us were worried much about falling through.
In my current form a fall from a few stories probably wouldn't harm me. Shadow stalker could simply avoid the impact entirely. It had taken me awhile to get as comfortable as I was now, although a small part of me still hesitated to so casually jump off buildings.
It showed in how I was just slightly behind Stalker. She remained human until just before the jump, then like a shadow she was pitch black and weightless. The way she sprinted between buildings had rhythm and confidence that showed in her every motion.
When we first meet, seeing her in costume reminded me more of a child playing dress up than an actual superhero. But that perception shifted as I got to know her. She was the one to help me when I first triggered, she helped me escape from the chest and escorted me home in the dark of night. She was the one to check up on me during the following day over text messages, when dad had been drunk to even leave his office.
Over those first several weeks, we kept in touch me with my recovery and powers, and her with tales of nightly heroics. I wanted to be like her, someone who could fight against the monsters and win.
It had taken a bit of convincing but eventually she agreed to take me on as her partner. Normally we limited our activities to smaller crimes, incidents that would otherwise go unnoticed by the protectorate.
Our patrols were mapped out by Shadow stalker and mostly focused on the docks where it was unlikely we'd be noticed. But tonight is going to be different, it has to be. So far this arrangement hasn't been one I could see myself come to regret in the near future.
We arrived at the warehouse only a few minutes later. It was one in a row of abandoned warehouses. Most of them were characterized by their patches of graffiti or the shattered glass littered around their broken windows. Ever since the economic shift in Brockton, the warehouses that once contained various goods and products were now either the homes of vagrants or drug dens.
The one Stalker and I watched over right now had several cars pulled out in front of it. They'd run out of space forcing them to spread out farther towards the other buildings. Entering the building was a constant stream of people dressed in various shades of red and green.
It was the largest gathering of ABB I'd ever seen in one place. Whatever was going on was big.
I felt a hand press upon my shoulder; Shadow stalker had turned towards me phone in hand,"If you want, we don't have to do this. That's a lot of guys, we can always call someone else."
I did not respond at first. Of course she was right, the heroes were always a call away. But what was the point of turning back now when my entire reason for being here was exactly this?
"No." I said looking her in the eye."We go in, beat the bad guys, and then we leave."
Shadow stalker only turned away in response but I could nonetheless feel that she was smiling.
We made our way to the back of the gang warehouse. Powers weren't any excuse to be reckless. We came across a single lookout watching through a broken window.
In quick succession I yanked him out of the window and face first into the asphalt, Shadow stalker shot him for good measure.
Peering in, we could see the building was lit by a collection of scattered garbage fires. The goons had set up a makeshift stage out of wooden crates and slabs.
As they waited for the speaker, most stood around distracted in conversation. I could only spot a few of them that didn't sport some manner of gun.
In that moment I inexplicably began to think of the bullies from Winslow. What would they think if they could see me now? Would they regret their actions then? My thoughts drifted to my dad, and I wished that he'd have some sentiment towards the current situation but disinterest was the only fit for him. I definitely needed to roll some heads.
The majority of my wraith poured into the building. My earlier feedings had developed it to be several times larger than it had been at Winslow.
It managed to spread across the room, cutting off all the doors and windows in the process, no one was going to escape.
A wave of shock and confusion ran through the room. I could sense several gang members shoot at the barrier and when that failed they attempted to push past it instead.
In response my wraith proceeded to feed on anyone who touched it doing so with such speed that mere contact was painful.
Dozens of ABB thugs had their weapons drawn and aimed in every direction, prepared for an unseen enemy. Climbing through the window I obscured the front of the room with the rest of my wraith only dispersing it once we were on the stage.
"Drop your weapons!" Shadow stalker said with several arrows already pulled back.
The room had been silent for only a moment before the initial sounds of gunfire rang out.
Stalker was gone, leaving me alone to face the incoming fire. I covered my face out of habit. The bullets merely bounced off, they stung for but didn't pierce my skin. I pulled a few gallons of the wraith around myself molding it into a orbiting ring.
I collapsed some of the barrier lining the walls into a wave and sent it crashing into then, mob temporarily halting the gunfire. I leaped off the stage with explosive force trailing shrapnel as I did.
My ring intercept me in its tide shifting my course as I fell. My new direction had made a gangster my new landing pad. He screamed as he fell but it was cut short by the air being choked out of him.
He wasn't alone, having stood near a group of his buddies. They held their guns close to me, but none dared shoot. One of the thugs farthest from me had recovered enough to aim.
But before he could shoot two arrows landed in his hand and shoulder. Stalker had taken up a nest in the rafters shooting anyone she could.
In a fluid motion I approached the man, snatching him up, and flinging him towards the rest of the group.
The initial shock wore off, the criminals had reorganized into a single mob. Stalker must've become intangible, because I could feel the mobs gunfire increase around me.
The bullets still mostly bounced off but were leaving small gashes where my skin had become tender.
Fuck this.
I tugged on the wraith from every corner of the room. It descended like a dense fog clouding the room in crimson mist. Sacrificing some of the wraith, I extinguished the fires leaving the room solely illuminated by moonlight.
The blood had immediately healed the minor cuts and gashes leaving me refreshed to continue the fight.
My wraith could sense the location of every person in the room. They jerked around erratically, swivelling their barrels at the slightest sound in search of their target. They were right to be terrified.
Sprinting towards the closest cluster I made sure my approach was heard. Dissipating the mist around us, I startled one of the goons with my sudden appearance.
He shot towards my face, but the bullet merely grazed my cheek. He didn't get a second chance; I grasped his hand and pistol crumpling both into useless pulp. His criminal friends could only witness as he dropped to the floor, weeping.
I moved towards the next closest thug backhanding him in a single motion. His body twisted at an odd angle, before hitting the ground with a hard snap.
Another gang member quickly raised his gun, but I had managed to wrap my hand around the barrel before he could fire. The resulting explosion sent him flying back from the shrapnel.
The noise of this and my previous attacks had alerted nearby groups starting a new round of shooting. Unfortunately several people were in the crossfire.
I managed to intercept the incoming bullets while also managing to clothesline the remainder of the initial cluster. One of the gangsters who I must've only grazed began to rise. Before she could I grabbed her shoulder throwing her into the wall with a painful scream.
That triggered a chain reaction where each cluster began shooting in every direction. Immediately I began running across the room tackling, punching or throwing everyone I encountered.
Again I wondered about Emma's reaction if she could see me right now? Would it have been shock, regret, fear even? The thought was triggered by those very emotions flashing across several of the faces I encountered.
Eventually, some of them even dropped their weapons in an attempt to flee, but I wouldn't let them.
Instead, I condensed the bloody fog into a single river. The wraith quickly gathered up each of the stragglers in the raging rapid.
Once they were trapped in the bloody whirlpool, I let them struggle to breathe, taking a moment for consideration.
They were people who went out of their way to hurt those they considered their lesser. They didn't deserve a soft touch.
The remaining gang members were lifted into the air by the scarlet geyser. They reached about halfway to the rafters until they dropped back to the floor.
The first to fall were followed by the sickening sound of broken bones. The luckier ones fell with a dry thud courtesy their fleshy cushions.
The only sound in the moonlit room had become the injured groaning of several dozen ABB members. The air was thick with blood. Most of their guns lie either disarmed or discarded. I made sure to gather the weapons in a corner for the police.
Shadow stalker had dropped down by my side carrying a noticeably empty quiver. Even with her mask on it was clear that she was practically beaming.
"Wow!"
"What?"
"I knew you wanted to blow off some steam, but geez Herbert!" Shadow stalker had said in her regular voice.
Looking around, even with only the moonlight I could see that I might've gone a little over boa-Wait what?!
Before I could process what Shadow stalker had just said two men had entered the warehouse.
From the looks of their silhouettes, they both wore masks. The larger one took a drag from his cigarette before speaking.
"Lee, go."
The shorter man walked forward before seemingly disintegrating. A moment later, something exploded next to us.