3 - The sentinel

Didi Abrahams-Thomas frowned. She and Nate were currently sitting in her car, on their way to her favourite local restaurant. Despite the pleasant company and cool evening air blowing through her hair with the top down, her mind was spinning. Who - or what - had been that thing in the hospital? Where had it come from? Was it a mutant?

She'd never been bothered by the idea of mutants. As a scientist, the idea of human evolution - if, indeed they really were the next stage in human evolution, as claimed - hardly alarmed her. As a person, as long as they didn't harm her family, there was no reason to persecute them. Live and let live was her thought process on the mutant 'problem'. Still, it was alarming.

The powers that being had displayed. Had she not seen him up close, she might have assumed he was a highly advanced robot. Maybe something like the prototypes Hank had shown her the last time they met. It was physically impossible for a human being to move that fast. Mutant or not, his bones would have been broken.

She let loose a breath as they reached their turn off. She could worry about such matters later. For now, she would enjoy this quiet time with her oldest. Nights like this reinforced her conviction she had been right to adopt her children three years ago. Nothing had made her happier, not even meeting and later marrying Steven Abrahams. Alexis had taken to her new stepfather like a duck to water. Nate had proven to be more resilient to Steve's charms. True, they weren't actively hostile to one another, but the pair were hardly the picture of a loving father and son either.

She smiled sweetly at Nate as he ran around to open her door. As they walked together towards the entrance, she slung an arm around his shoulders. Yes, she thought as she and her son strode into the restraunt, the smell of indian dishes assulting her senses. Today was a good day.

–AoS–

Patrol cars and erected barriers had sealed off the block. No one could get in or out, without their say-so. He strode past the officers standing watch near the barriers, who greeted him with nods and salutes. He carefully stepped over a puddle which had filled in one of the many potholes as he walked into the courtyard. Even for a run down slum, this place was a disaster zone. It looked like a bomb had gone off.

There were fifteen men sat shivering in a line, each clearly injured in one way or another off to one side. Officers were watching them carefully, making sure none escaped. Forensics officers rushed about, collecting blood and other samples. In the middle of it all, conducting the chaos, stood a young brunette. Her hair tied in a bun, his newest detective looked a veteran of fifty years.

"Philips", he called over the cacophony of noise. She turned and hurried towards him, stiffining slightly as she stood to attention.

"Sir?" He waved her off.

"Easy there Katie," he grinned. "How about you tell me what it was actually happened here?"

"Yes, Captain Stacy", she grinned sheepishly and gestured for him to follow her. They made their way into one of the appartment buildings. He stopped as they approached, a sea of glass shards scattered across the ground outside the building. Glancing up, he spotted the cause. Two of the upstairs windows had been smashed completely to pieces. Philips spotted his distraction.

"Two of the suspects went through up there. Thrown bodily out the windows." He winced. This lot were hardened criminals. Drug dealers, kidnappers, even murderers. Yet still, it was had not to feel some empathy for them when thinking of the damage they would have sustained landing on concrete from two storeys up. With a final hum, he followed Philips into the building.

If a bomb had gone off outside, hell had been unleashed in here. Everywhere he turned there were bullet holes. Blood stained the floor, and there were several lose teeth scattered across the floor. One wall had been completely disintegrated, though how, he could not tell. When he had recieved the call about a massacre, this wasn't what he had in mind.

"Grim, isn't it?" Philips murmured softly. He nodded, and pointed at the shards of wood and brick that had once been a wall.

"What happened there?"

"According to the driver, the assailant hurled one of the gunmen through it". He snapped around to stare at her in shock. She nodded. "I didn't believe it either. But that's the story those idiots are sticking to. Officers spoke to some of the other witnesses, no one said anything about recent demolitions. Checked with the city, they had no records of renovations or demolition jobs either."

"What else do the witnesses say?" She shrugged despondantly.

"Not much to tell, really. Most didn't get close enough to see anything, and whatever happened was so fast it was almost impossible to tell anyway. The guys out there were pretty talkative though". He nodded, glancing back outside at the group of disgruntled criminals.

"And?"

"Some black clad demon attacked them. Or a mutant. Or an angel. Hell, maybe just a giant animal. Accounts differ. All they agreed on was that it was the fastest and strongest thing they'd ever seen. Their bullets were useless. Just bounced off. Most didn't even get time to get a shot off. One of them got away though. The leader."

"Vladimir Petrov". She nodded, expression grim. He groaned. Petrov had been near the head of the Russian Mafia in New York for years. He was the real prize out of this lot. For some fool to get in the way and let him get away was a disaster.

"What were they doing here?"

"Petrov had been contracted to abduct targets for some sort of experimentation. They came out here because they knew no one would miss anyone they took." George Stacy winced at her words. Although he wished he could deny them, he couldn't ignore the truth in them.

He couldn't help but think of his wife and children. At least he knew if anything were to happen to them, they would be well looked after. They would be cared for. Noticed. He sighed, wishing they didn't have so many citizens falling through the cracks in the system. His officers worked hard, and the mayor and commisioner did their best to support them, but no one could be everywhere at once.

And now, if things weren't stressful enough, he had this latest freak to worry about. Man, demon, or beast, some fool had taken it upon themselves to dispense justice. Whilst he respected the need for action, and was grateful no one had been killed, the violence alarmed him. He'd managed to develop a working relationship with Daredevil in hell's kitchen and the so-called X-Men, but it was a thin tightrope to walk, balancing their needs and those of his superiors. And now, there was another vigilante. Seemingly more powerful - and more dangerous - then the rest of them. He hoped this one just wanted to help.

Phillips' phone began to buzz in her pocket. She spoke quickly, and sounded annoyed with whoever was on the other side. After hanging up, she turned to him.

"Sir, that was Metro-General. They say a black clad figure dropped two potential witnesses off just under an hour ago. They caught him on camera". He nodded, thanking her.

"Head back to the precinct Phillips. Start interrogating and charging this lot. I'll head out to the hospital myself now". She nodded, hurrying to do as he bid. He stepped out onto the street once more, heading for his nondescript black sedan. The sky above gave a great moaning rumble. He glanced up as the heavens opened up, rain pouring down.

–AoS–

The saucepan simmered on the stovetop. Rain lashed the house, and thunder lit the night sky. Steven Abrahams frowned as he drunk his beer and glanced at the TV. Alexis was sat on the couch, half listening to the News broadcast, half focused on her phone. Didi had already phoned to say she was stopping with Nate in the city for dinner. It would just be the two of them for dinner tonight. By the look of the weather outside, they might be staying in Didi's Manhattan apartment over night rather than coming home.

He was just about to switch from the news to another channel when the last story started. He frowned and lowered the remote. Alexis glanced up at him, and he smiled and ruffled her hair in response. She pulled her head away with a frown. Steve grinned, sticking his tongue out at her.

On screen was a looming image of Metro-General hospital. The story began with the female newscaster describing a black-clad individual who had apparently rushed into the hospital, moving at inhuman speeds and dropped off a patient and the woman's son. Grainy security photos showed a tall figure, indeed clad in black, save for a red cape. He frowned. Something was strange about all of this. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The phone in his pocket buzzed for a text message. Reading it, he frowned. He slipped the phone back into his pocket, and stood up, making his way into the kitchen. Everything else he could deal with later, for now he had a daughter to look after.

–AoS– Arthur McNorman smirked as he watched the footage of the hospital drop off. The media had taken it upon themselves to name the stranger "Sentinel". Presumably, they were doing this for the S on his chest. He sipped his wine and chuckled. Things in New York were about to become very interesting.

A/N - A short chapter to show the reactions to the newest New York-based Superhero from a handful of concerned individuals.

Didi Abrahams-Thomas - Kate Winslet

Steven Abrahams - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Captain George Stacy - Bruce Greenwood

Detective Kathryn 'Katie' Phillips - Anna Kendrick