11. Showdown

Posted on Mon Dec 18th, 2023 @ 3:06am by Duke Drake & Rebecca McMillen & Sakura Tanikawa & Caitlin Thompson PhD & Andrew Hallows

1,727 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Catching the Crooks
Location: Dee Dee's Jewels
Timeline: October 1992 1105 PM

"Nice to meet you Andrew," Doc said as he stood in the circle of heroes ducking behind the Bronco. "Alright, we need to slow them down and distract them. They're not going to be in there for long, how can we contain them?"

As Andrew stood with the others, he pulled his hood up which had an integrated half-mask over his face.

“Well, as I said, they can’t run from what they can’t see, and that happens to be a specialty of mine.” He wasn’t sure if he could trust these people, nor how his new boss would react to their new English Teacher being late due to this favor he was doing for his father’s old partner.

“If someone can distract these miscreants, then I should be able to get the drop on them.” This should be interesting as this was the first time he would be working with people since he left the military.

“I can overload the lights?” Sakura suggested. “Temporarily blind them before total darkness.”

"Blind them, Tekku" Doc said using Sakura's code name, "And Mr. Hallows will attempt to get the drop on them. I can teleport around as well trying to distract them as well. Critter will do Critter things," he said with a chuckle, before looking around at his team. "Let's do this, ya'll!"

The power outlet by the entrance was all Sakura needed. It would be quicker if she were inside but electrical systems are by their very nature interconnected. She crouched at the entrance and said "Cover me." Tekku zoned out, her eyes glazing pinky-purple as her mind probed the intricacies of the system. It wasn't long before she found the lighting system. Two circuits linking the shop's overhead fluorescent light bulbs to the electrical grid, each interrupted by a light switch, presently OFF. With a bit of a nudge, the switches were forced to ON and a surge was sent through. "Shield your eyes," she whispered to the team.

From the outside, the mutant heroes first saw a blinding light coming through the windows, followed by the shattering of the long bulbs in the ceiling, plunging the interior into darkness and covering the ground -- and any would-be thieves -- in glass.

Rebecca shielded her eyes as the lights grew more and more intense. Then the shattering cacophony of florescent tubes. Loud to the others, especially loud to the mousey blonde. Enhanced hearing was nice, until it suddenly wasn't. She did her best to keep her squeak of discomfort on the down low, not that anyone inside the building would hear her over the detonating bulbs. A field of glass, a crash of sound and light. "I'll stay here." she said shortly. "Go get em!"

As Tekku was beginning her distraction, Hallows began to shimmer and then he was simply gone. Where he had stood a sort of shimmering nothingness could be seen. "Also, just call me Revenant." As he walked forward, only the briefest hint of where he walked could be seen (Think of how the Predator looked in the 1987 movie when it was cloaked.).

Moving quietly into the jewelry store, the stealth padding of his shoes aiding him, he slipped up behind Sapphire and tapped her on the shoulder. "I don't believe those items belong to you." There was a click as he released the catch on his right-armed tonfa before attempting to drop to his knees and trip her up.

Using what he hoped was a surprise as he attacked.

Caitlin didn't want to use what she had. Some of it could destroy the glass cases of the store. Instead, she was willing to get close and punch.

The ladies were temporarily blinded by the sudden surge of light before being plunged in darkness, they stumbled out the door to stand in front of the store, where they were slightly illuminated by the street lights, facing the gathered heroes they stared them down, "Y'all can't catch us," the tall one in the center dressed in scarlet said mockingly. "Let's get out of here" she told her sisters as they clutched their bags of stolen jewels.

Scarlet looked as she heard a faint grunt and watched Sapphire trip over a wannabe hero's tonfa. With a quick burst of speed she helped her sister up off the floor and replied to his comment, "The jewels belong to us now. If you can't protect them, they ain't yours, Sugah," she said as she blew him a kiss in mockery and turned her back on him.

As Ruby helped her sister up, Hallows realized that he would need to stop pulling his punches. Something which for him was second nature, as he normally dealt with non-powered individuals. He had never fought a fellow mutant, his last fight was with the criminal who had shot him and left him medically retired from the military.

There was a lightning-fast shimmering as Hallows struck out again, this time with the intent of either dislocating or shattering Sapphire's knee. He had no intent to kill these ladies, only to immobilize, so that the police could handle them. Though, he was still learning how to use his powers better, his combat skills were top-notch due to both the military and martial arts training.

Sapphire partially blinded from Tekku's light didn't see Hallows' kick coming, She let out a scream as it impacted, and knocked her down. Her sister Ruby was instantly by her side, screaming with rage at Hallows for hurting her sister. She began punching Hallows rapidly with jabs moving quicker than the eye could follow.

Hallows grunted with each third punch that hit him, thankfully due to his combat training he was able to deflect two thirds of the punches, they hurt, but Ruby lacked actual training, just speed which made them decently dangerous. He still had much to learn about his powers, because unlike true invisibility, if he moved too quickly, he could be seen. This was something that he would remember as his skills with his powers increased.

After, the third round of punches, Ruby would hit air as Hallows moved out of the way slowly, so as not to let her eyes follow his movements. The next thing Ruby would feel was a knee strike, followed by an elbow strike to the forehead. He had dropped his tonfa's as he moved which leaving his hands seemed to materialize from nothingness.

Missing punches only enraged Ruby more, "Emerald," she bellowed in her shrill high soprano as she continued swapping punches. She knew they had to get Sapphire out of there before the cops showed up.

Emerald rushed towards Ruby and saw her punching at the man and absorbing knees and elbows, she knew the situation was getting dire too.

Doc took the situation in and reacted, he teleported to the rooftop and picked up rope that was stowed for the window washers, he teleported by back down to his team and handed it to Rebecca, who quickly returned to her normal stature. "Tie this off somewhere quickly," Doc said before teleporting beside Hallow. The rope grew taught just before Emerald tripped over it, causing her to crash into Ruby at full speed.

Both sisters tumbled across the pavement and lay in a heap against the ruined front of the Jewelry Store, leaving Sapphire lying on the sidewalk with her broken leg.

Rebecca had only seconds to act before the speedster tripped over the rope, so she wasted no time. Just in time to catch Emerald up in the trip trap. Though, that being handled, Rebecca rushed over to Sapphire. The others were in a crumple, but she was actually hurt. "Hey, hey truce. You're really really hurt. Try not to move."

Doc teleported to Rebecca's side holding a piece of rebar that was knocked loose from the concrete facade of the jewelry store. He held it along her shin, and summoning his power caused it to disintegrate to the correct length. Carefully doc used the rope and the rebar to tie a makeshift splint on Sapphire's leg.

Hallows watched as Drake and Rebecca tended to the injured Sapphire, with that handled he released his hold on the active camouflage. As he did this his black clothed body materialized out of near nothingness, pulling his domino mask and form fitting hood from his face and spat a thin rivulet of blood from a cracked lip. Walking over to where Ruby and Emerald were crumpled on the pavement, he checked their pulse and insured they were breathing. Before they started moving again, he insured that they were both tied up and together, so they would be ready for when the cops came to get them.


Once the leg was stabilized Doc moved Sapphire over by her sisters and checked the knots, "I don't think they're going anywhere, but I think we should be. Let's go Team," Doc said as he looked around and counted heads making sure everyone was accounted for.

“Doc, the security cameras,” Sakura said, pointing to the two pointed inside the jewelry store. “Do you want them intact or erased?” On the one hand, they were asked to assist, and would be useful evidence for the robbers’ eventual trial, but on the other, it was also evidence of their vigilantism.

"Can we erase the bit where we showed up? Our fighting was all outside so hopefully we can leave the internal stuff intact. I don't want anyone knowing we were here if we can help it," Doc replied.

Sakura stood on a chair and reached a camera. She suddenly saw similar feeds to the ones she’d seen earlier on the stakeout. She traced the line back to the storage tape and with a little push corrupted a few parts, leaving enough to show that these three thieves had broken and started looting.

“It’s done,” she reported.

"Right, well it was wonderful to work with a team again, however, I have a meeting which I am late for about an English teaching position." Hallows walked back to his car and pulled his tan trench coat back on and was getting ready to get in his SUV and drive away.

Doc nodded and led the team down an alley where they boarded a non descript van and drove back to the Manor.

#The End

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