April 9, 2011
It was dark, Shadow Stalkers form blending into the night as she moved across the rooftops. The weightlessness of her shadow state carrying through the air from one roof before touching back down on the next.
She wasn't supposed to be out right now, not as Shadow Stalker at least, but she was still riled up from yesterday and she needed a way to burn some energy, a way that the PRT probably wouldn't approve of.
So she was out, doing her own patrol, armed with lethal crossbow bolts rather than the tranquilizers she had to use on patrols with the Wards. She preferred it this way, no restrictions, no nagging Protectorate members, none of the annoying children that are the Wards. Like this it was just her and whatever unfortunate thug was on the other end of her crossbow.
Unfortunately, the night had been unbearably slow with barely any prey to hunt, a fact that was beginning to annoy the ex-vigilante immensely, leaving her alone to her thoughts.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" A voice suddenly called from behind Shadow Stalker.
In no time at all, the ex-vigilante spun around and fired a pre-loaded crossbow bolt at the voice, a bolt that was swiftly caught by the figure to which the voice belonged to.
A cape? Not one I recognize, must be a new one.
"You should really be careful with that," the figure spoke again, irritation laced in his voice as the bolt snapped in two in his hand, "someone could get hurt."
He was a man, that much was easy to tell even through the dark clothing, trench coat, and scarf blocking any identifiable features, but it did nothing to hide how big the guy was. He was at least six feet five, well muscled but still lean, and what little of his face showed between his scarf and his coat hood showed what could be asian features.
Probably some new ABB thug, at least I can burn some energy now.
"Your fault for sneaking up on me," Shadow Stalker finally said, loading another shot, "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"
"Who am I?" he repeated before looking off to the side in thought, "Ashborn maybe? No, too edgy. Shade? Maybe, but it's probably taken already. Jin? Yeah, let's go with that," he finally decided, turning back to Shadow Stalker, who was getting increasingly more annoyed, "Call me Jin."
Then, just as quickly as 'Jin's' thoughtful demeanor came, it vanished, eye's narrowing into focused glare as the air got heavier, as if the area was being pressed down on by an unseen force, then hemoved.
Figure blurring in motion, Jin crossed the distance between him and Shadow Stalker almost instantly, fist whipping out and striking the ex-vigilante across the face. The blow was hard, like being slammed by a brick being thrown at the speed of a baseball and sending Shadow Stalker toppling to the ground, not unconscious though, not yet.
Jin didn't stop there, stepping forward to stomp down on the ex-vigilante's downed form. Shadow Stalker barely reacted, moving into her shadow state and letting Jin's foot pass through her body and into the pavement.
She reformed a few feet away, no doubt sporting a bruise identical, if not much worse, than the one she'd given to that girl at school. A crossbow bolt went shooting through the air towards Jin once again, meeting a similar fate as the other bolt as the man caught it and snapped it between his fingers.
Definitely a brute, mover too, don't want to fight up close. I'll stay back and take shots, and if he gets close I'll escape in my shadow state.
Shadow Stalker had just finished loading another shot when Jin came upon her again, quickly shifting into the familiar weightlessness of the shadow state to phase through another attack. Except it didn't work.
The moment Jin's fist passed through her body, Shadow Stalker was overwhelmed with intense pain, she might have screamed if she was capable of it.
When she reformed this time she was on the ground, body feeling as if it had just had a hole burned through it. Shadow Stalker hadn't noticed it before, maybe the darkness of the night hid it from view, or maybe something else, but now that Jin was standing above her, she could see it clearly. Wrapped around his hands, was wire, connected to a large battery in each of his hands.
"A simple trip to the hardware store, and a half-hour of work. To think that's all I need to take down the Shadow Stalker," Jin said, almost sounding disappointed. The Ward glared from behind her mask, "don't worry, I don't want the Protectorate breathing down my neck, so I'll stop here. Butā¦" Jin reached down and yanked Shadow Stalker's utility belt off, "I'll be taking this."
Shit, how did he know about my weakness to electricity?
She wouldn't get any answers though, Jin was already leaving while Shadow Stalker was in too much pain to move, forced to watch as he made his way to the edge of the roof and disappeared into the alley below, the weight of the air decreasing with his absence.
As I landed in the alley below, I quickly returned my scarf and trench coat into my inventory, switching them with a simple gray hoodie.
Leaning against the wall of the alley, I let out a sigh. Fighting a Ward, even Shadow Stalker, would probably get the PRT on my bad side.
But it was bound to happen eventually, I just wish it would've happened later on, I'm not at the level where I can take on all of Brockton Bay's capes yet, and with my plans I'm going to get on almost everyone's bad side. I'll have to be more careful.
But first, I got to work.
It took a minute of searching Shadow Stalker's utility belt to find what I was looking for, but I eventually found it, an old, worn out phone, Sophia Hess' personal phone. Honestly it's rather careless, to bring it along during hero business, but it helped me so I couldn't complain.
I turned on the old phone, there was no password, just as I knew it would be. This phone is what was used to expose Sophia in the original story, an old phone with no password that she foolishly brought with her during her hero work.
Opening up her text messages, it didn't take long to find them, texts between Sophia Hess and Emma Barnes describing a prank they pulled on one Taylor Hebert, proof of 'the Trio's' bullying, and the catalyst needed to get them out of my sister's school.
From there it didn't take long to send copies of the messages to the staff at Winslow, the Police, everyone that might have a say in what happens to the Trio that I could contact got a copy.
With any luck, this'll be taken care of by the end of the week. Still, this encounter was risky, for more than one reason.
Warning!
[You Sense Someone With Immense Amount Of Bloodlust In Close Proximity.]
That girl really shouldn't be on the Wards.
Thankfully it didn't go any further, I definitely didn't want to deal with the emergency quest, that would definitely draw some unwanted attention.
With everything done I began to walk down the street, heading home at last as the sun began to rise.
Director Emily Piggot was angry, and everyone knew it, judging by how everyone was avoiding her gaze.
She had just gotten news from the police, they had been sent someā¦disturbing evidence of bullying committed by none other than Sophia Hess, Shadow Stalker. Though 'bullying' is almost too soft a term, the sheer number of different text conversations describing and planning the various 'pranks' is staggering, not to mention the severity of some of them, destruction of property, assault, harassment, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The infamous 'Locker Incident' is definitely the most noticeable among them. Overall it was more like torture than bullying.
Of course the texts alone, while enough for Piggot, wouldn't be enough for everyone, and as such a full investigation on Shadow Stalker's activities, Winslow High, and Ms. Hess' supervisor was being initiated.
Overall, it was a massive mess, only made bigger by other, potentially more concerning news.
The PRT found Shadow Stalker early in the morning unconscious on a roof because some citizens passing by reported 'suspicious activity' in the area. Upon closer examination the ex-vigilante was found to have a fractured cheek bone and muscle damage, and upon questioning it was discovered there's a new cape in town, one who made his debut by attacking a Ward.
The people in the PRT are already putting together a profile for this 'Jin', but knowledge is vague at best, and his scuffle with Shadow Stalker was too short to get much from it besides knowing he has ratings as a brute, mover, and potentially a shaker, and thinker judging by how he knew Shadow Stalker's weakness, and the 'heavy air' that Shadow Stalker described.
Shadow Stalker being attacked by a new cape, and Sophia Hess' bullying campaign being exposed in the same day, definitely not a coincidence. If one were to assume the worst, which Piggot always needed to consider, then it means that it's very likely that Jin knows the identity of Shadow Stalker.
Emily rested her elbows on her desk and massaged her temples, her headache just kept getting bigger. What's next? Maybe Lung will go on a rampage? Or maybe the Empire will make another grab for power. Whatever comes next probably won't be good knowing her luck.
The PRT Director sighed, "I need more coffee."
