Four years later...
The sky was severely overcast over the town of Bayville, New York. Red, yellow and brown leaves flew with the wind, resting in lawns and gutters. Cars were backed up everywhere from people trying to get their Thanksgiving shopping done. Grocery stores parking lots were full and a few accidents had occurred throughout the day over a free parking space.
Julie Summers walked around downtown Bayville observing the normalcy. Families walked together, looking picture perfect in matching sweaters. A friendly middle aged man stood in front of a department store window, admiring a set of golf clubs. Tweens walked in groups, trying to look cool being on their own without parental supervision.
About one block up, a man in dark grey overcoat and a black fedora stepped out of a barber shop. He walked toward her, to which she turned to face the store window in front of her.
Looking at her reflection, she saw a seventeen year old girl on a mission. Standing at five foot two, she didn't look very dangerous. She was dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, tucked into a pair of knee high black boots, a dark blue silk blouse with a black lace back, and a black fringe scarf. Her long, brown wavy hair fell down to her shoulder blades, bangs swept just over brown eyes. Everyone told her so, but even she admitted she looked like her mom, or what she knew from the few photos she had.
The man walked by her, and she waited for him to get a block ahead before slipping into the crowd, following him at various distances. She remained at a neutral pace, losing sight of him once or twice. He turned a corner, she walked to the other side of the street before turning, remaining parallel with him.
After following him for a good while, they ended up in the warehouse district of Bayville. She was a good distance behind him, since there were barely any pedestrians besides the two of them.
Finally, he slipped into an alley between two large warehouses. Julie ran and hid around the corner. Turning herself invisible, she peeked around the corner and watched him punch a code in to a small panel beside a metal door. The door slid open and he walked in.
Julie stepped into the alley, still invisible since there was a security camera over the door. A fire escape led up the side of the building all the way to the top, but there were no windows. She flew up to the roof and landed on a flat anding.
In the middle of the landing, five giant metal balls, taller than Julie, rested. She went up to one of them and knocked on it. A slight echo came from within. Hollow. Odd.
A few feet away, a door opened to a staircase leading down into the warehouse. The door was, of course, locked, but Julie simply passed through the door. Down a few flights of stairs, she came out into the actual warehouse and stopped.
The entire warehouse was taken up by a giant metal dome. The top of the dome was a few feet shy of the ceiling. The sides of the dome all connected to the sides of the building. The landing she was currently on lead to a sort of trap door on the dome. Julie tried opening it and was surprised and wary that it opened.
She climbed down down a ladder into a closet, the room was that small. Still invisible, Julie walked into a hallway. The hall followed the curve of the dome, meaning Julie had to be wary of people walking around the curve. The hallway led to a giant room, full of boxes at the edges. In the middle there was a metal table surrounded by metal chairs. In the chairs, four men seemed to lounge about, bored out of their minds. But the man she had followed wasn't there.
Julie climbed onto a stack of boxes, perched so she could see everything in the room.
At the opposite end of the room, a wall seemed to slide open, and a man in a red costume, complete with purple cape and metal helmet, stepped into the room. He moved to the table where the four men snapped to the attention.
"Gentlemen," he said, "we are graced with the presence of an unwanted guest."
Julie inhaled sharply. How could he possibly know she was there?
"Find her, and bring her to me...alive."
The four men jumped out of their chairs. Two of them ran out of the room, the other two spread out across the room.
A man in a long brown trench coat and a long rod in his hand walked toward her. On the other side of the room, an animalish man seemed to be sniffing the room.
"Show yourself, chere," trench coat said with a strong, thick Cajun accent. "I promise not to hurt you."
Julie thought for a moment. I could just dodge them. But what is the fun in that? I think I'll play with them.
Julie jumped down a few feet away from him. He heard her land and jumped into a defensive position. She stepped beside him and kicked his leg out from under him. He swiped at her with his rod, but she easily side-stepped the attack. She grabbed the rod and shoved it into his chest, pushing him back.
A growl behind her warned her to the animal mans attack. She stepped to the side and laughed as he fell onto the Cajun. Both men quickly picked themselves up and positioned back to back. Julie started with the animal man and punched him in the throat then the ribcage. The Cajun man rolled to her side and blindly attacked her. She managed to avoid his attacks, but a painful punch to the back sent her to the ground.
Maintaining her invisibility was draining her, but she needed the element of surprise. Putting a hand to the ground, she formed a slick layer of ice that spread across the floor, and crawled up on the two men. They fought the ice, breaking it as it kept trying to form over them.
The Cajun man pulled out what looked like a playing card and threw it toward her. She noticed some electrical charges coming off the card and jumped back just as it exploded. She rolled on the ground, against the metal boxes and got up. She was now cornered by the Cajun and the animal man.
The Cajun stepped forward, pointing the rod in her general location, and somehow released a gas. Julie inhaled, immediately gagging and coughing. Her body became sluggish as she tried to get away. Her legs gave out first, and she couldn't seem to stay awake. The last thing she saw was the Cajun man standing over her.