[ Present Day ]
Overhead, sunlight shines down upon the city of Chicago on this fair afternoon. The weather is rather chilly and sitting just below 57 degrees, but it's business as usual in the busiest section of Illinois' most famous town. Crime-fighting was certainly a part of that agenda, as well.
"Matrix, got five heading down north side."
"Got it, Boss."
C R A S H! - C R A S H!
Like laundry being tossed into a bin, a handful of masked assailants go flying from the 48th floor of a 51st story tall corporate building in the most casual fashion. The one responsible, the divine lad in charcoal black and adorning cyan, isn't so uncaring of life as his actions may lead anyone observing him up close to be. No, he's just awfully confident in his team. Rightfully so, truth be told. After using the first two to shatter a couple of windows, he handles the rest of the armed culprits in the same manner. With speed like lightning, zipping from one to the next. And strength that is only surpassed by only one individual on Earth, tossing them as if they were weightless - inefficient as even paperweights. At the very foot of the building, a heroine calmly sets up a 'safety net'. She gestures as if she's spreading out a scroll upon a table, and uses her mere thought to construct a transparent zero gravity space that reaches widely below the screaming criminals falling toward it. Naturally, the crowd of pedestrians nearby watch with suspense and dreading anticipation, expecting a gruesome ending for the five.
"OH MY GOD!!"
An exclamation of panic shouts from the crowd as dire gasps and screams follow when they are getting dangerously close to meeting with the ground. However, one by one, they stop short and almost abruptly. The confused bunch caught up within the weaver's 'web' were floating almost ten feet above the steps of the building. Murmurs of curiosity and praise begin replacing the suspenseful atmosphere. A smug look spreads across the greenette's face - the one who willed such an unnatural change to a fraction of space - as she makes another gesture. Motioning as if she was boxing in something between her palms, which results in the wide invisible field shrinking into a large see-through box, huddling the criminals together in the process. She turns and takes a prideful bow before the onlookers.
"Thank you, thank you! I know, that was totally amazing, wasn't it?" While she gloats to the public, Righteous Lad ascends to the 50th floor via jogging up the stairwell.
On his way up, a familiar sound begins creeping up the absurd levels of stairs. A constant coursing of electricity that grows louder by the passing nanoseconds. He doesn't have to stop and look to know it's none other than Alexecute who's following him up. In fact, he witnesses her passing him by with his inhuman senses. He's, as well as her, capable of observing what the human eye can't quite follow. He might've been standing still to her, but she was clear as day to him and moving at what he often subconsciously mistakes as normal speed. Nonetheless, his teammate beats him to the top. And when he comes up to the last flight he needs to climb to reach the appropriate floor, there she stands. Leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.
"Hey, Alex." Righteous Lad greets with a simple smile as he casually peels open the door and heads beyond it. Of course, she follows right behind him.
"Did you seriously throw them out the window?"
"I... Did. I shouldn't have, but I did." The two begin as they tread through the corridors of the floor.
"You know, I'd expect something like that from Mr. Pain, but you? I kinda' thought you'd be a little more responsible than that." Alexecute chides.
"Don't take another step!" There in waiting stands another armed and masked culprit with his rifle trained on the two . One Alexecute prompt takes care of with a swift electricity bolt from her palm that sends the male slamming into the wall behind him before he falls onto his stomach.
"I know, I know... And I've been thinking about it this whole time. I got too comfortable and got carried away." Tyson explains as they turn at the next corner.
"Hey, what the h-"
T H W A C K!
After abruptly snatching the gun out of the next criminal's hand who was likely coming over to see what was going on, Righteous Lad carefully strikes him in the face with the butt of the gun and knocks him out cold.
"It was a dumb way to go about it, and I'm sorry for it. I hope I didn't upset you too much." He concludes right after, turning to look upon her with an apologetic expression.
"Nah, it's cool! It's cool, Boss. Just wanted to make sure you weren't going Episode III Anakin Skywalker on us. Now come on, let's clear out the rest of the floor." She gives him a little push with her forearm before continuing on.
"Righteous." A term he speaks with a newfound grin curving his lips upward.
"Uh huh.
Yup.
You bet cha'!
You guys should totally follow me on Instagram @MayTricksO6. That's may as in 'may I', and tricks. T. R. I. C. K. S. Then the letter 'O', followed by the number six. You can find my Twitter handle and official YouTube page in my about me, too!" Down on street level, Matrix self-promotes her social presence while giving autographs and answering the simplest questions from the crowd standing behind the border of the perimeter. Though a tad peculiar to do at such a time, it was understandable to some degree. Monetization was a common motivation in the field of Samaritan (Or superheroism, as some prefer).
During, another hero begins descending from above. A figure clad in black with minuscule glimpses of silver, gliding down with outstretched arms and bent knees, being aided by the jet-black cloak puffing out behind him.
"Matrix." The hooded male in black -the solemn teen of the group- calls to her just after landing within a brief crouch. He rises to stand at his full height of 5'7. His lean figure is obscured almost entirely by his long draping cape. On his face, right over his eyes, is a mixture between a domino mask and a headband that hides most of his facial features. Purple oval-shaped lenses are what he's constantly looking through, and all anyone sees.
"Oh. The Suicide Boy returns." Matrix dismissively responds, signing one last autograph before she gives him her undivided attention.
"Matrix..." He nonchalantly repeats, unamused by her remark.
"Relax, relax. I'm just messin'. The boss is still on the top floor, and I think Alexecute may be up there, too."
"Any more apprehended culprits?"
"Hm. I don't think so. Haven't seen any more of them since the last handful Righteous Lad threw out for me to catch."
"I see. Then I'm heading up to-"
B O O O O M ! !
Before he can finish that statement, a roaring and fiery explosion erupts high above and over the building just as many pieces of shattered glass fall to the sidewalk. An accumulating mass of gray smoke begins spreading shortly after the visual of violent orange and red fades.
"WHAT... was THAT?" Matrix questions of no one in particular. Her associate and teammate goes from a wide-eyed expression, to glaring intensely at the upper floor, where another window had been broken.
"I'm going to need a boost."
A moment before the explosion...
T h u m p .
The last body of the armed militia guarding the office up ahead falls unconscious onto the floor after a flick from Righteous Lad's finger to the gunman's forehead. The long hallway is littered with over two dozen of them, as well as their dropped guns, by the time the two civil servant heroes finish taking them down.
"And that is the last of them." Tyson announces with a grin, dusting invisible filth off his hands in the midst of speaking.
"Yeah-" Alexecute pauses briefly and takes a moment to survey their surroundings.
"Yeah, that's definitely it. They're done."
"Time to greet the biggest fish of them all." He declares and begins treading forward with Alexecute tailing behind. Upon reaching a set of double doors, he reaches out to grab hold of the handles and simultaneously twist them with the utmost care. He pushes and pulls... All he manages to do is rattle the doors.
"Huh... it's locked."
"What?" His comment earns a curious glare from his teammate.
"It's locked."
"No, I- I heard you the first time. I'm just confused as to why that's a problem... for YOU."
"It just seems kind of rude to ruin a pair of perfectly good looking doors like these, you know? You think... they'll open them willingly if we ask?"
"Are you serious right now!?"
"I just want to be considerate, is all. A smashed office door just seems inconvenient for a businessman. There's also property damage..."
"You're actually serious... I can't- Dude, open the gosh darn door!"
"Okay-okay. Just let me try to be a little careful here. Maybe I can get it open without totally ruining them."
"NOW, Mr. Canadian Nice." Alexecute presses with a scolding stare. Hands at her hips as she impatiently taps her right foot.
"Alright.." He responds softly and obliges her demand. He takes a moment to inhale, then exhale with a sigh. With an abrupt thrusting kick, he barges his way with a B L A M !
Sending one door falling three feet away onto the floor, while the other barely hangs on by its one intact and loose hinge. The two head inside the spacious room, coming to stand across from two masked men standing behind a desk. Their hostage, the owner of the building, sitting in his leather office chair with a pistol making contact with his temple.
"It's over. The rest of your accomplices are either apprehended or unconscious, so it's best to just give it up now." Righteous Lad informs them.
"And you think that foils our efforts up to this point? You have no clue what our motives are, boy. No IDEA what we're prepared to sacrifice for our cause." The thinner of two, the one holding the hostage at gunpoint, retorts with a strong French accent behind his voice. He also looks to his right to his partner before the two nod at one another.
"Alright, you got me there. What is your intent here, huh? Does it even matter? Is it worth it to be caught up in a situation like this and to have your life ruined?"
"Oh-ho-hooo.. More than worth it. What we'll accomplish in this lifetime will be felt through several generations to come."
"What are you even talking about?" Tyson's tone is nothing short of doubtful. However, a peculiar sound begins grazing his ears. Low and whirring. He looks toward the heavy set guy who's wearing a trench coat, and seems as if there was a faint gold light shining inside it.
"I'm talking about the end of this life you've grown so accustomed to." The gunman begins as he uses his free hand to grip at the hostage's four-wheel chair and brings him around to the front of the desk.
"Your patriotism, your values, your ideas, your native tongue, your fears, and even your wants will all be lost with you and the generation of today." The apparent leading head of the armed group goes on to explain. Though, Tyson finds himself only able to half pay attention. He was divided by the distraction of that growing whirring sound and the other talking, constantly shifting his eyes between the two.
"We will crush the horrendous surface that sits atop of a misguided foundation. And-"
"Hey, do you hear that?" Alexecute chimes in with a questioning scowl upon finally being able to hear that growing noise. It's also then Righteous Lad swiftly closes in on the heavy set accomplice with a sudden burst of speed, and pries open his trench coat. An illuminating shiny sphere of energy is what he sees floating at navel level of the man's body.
"Alex, handle that one for me." Is all he says before promptly grabbing the accomplice by his sweater and taking off, effortlessly shattering an office window before curving to fly upward above the building. He adjusts to use both hands to hold and bring the masked man up to eye-level while ascending.
"I don't know what you guys were intending to do, but you NEED to desist. It's not worth giving your life up over." Tyson tries to reason.
"I... I..! I don't need to do anything, you government pigeon!" Though briefly swept up in a moment of fear, the masked man eventually finds his voice and nerve. Suddenly, his entire body begins to radiate with energy under his clothes.
"What are you- "
B O O M !
Before Righteous Lad could finish that notion, the man within his grasp discharges that accumulated energy in the form of a powerful explosion that envelopes them both instantly.
"Holy Fishbuckets..." was all Alexecute could murmur out after collecting herself and moving toward the broken windows. The explosion had knocked all three of them down inside the office, and seeing what came to be right after was chilling. She could have been caught up within that fiery blaze. Possibly dead or in agonizing pain.
She squints at the massive cloud of smoke, pondering if that was even remotely enough to take out Righteous Lad. He was tough for sure, but she wasn't sure just how HOW tough he truly was.
"Aagh... That fat blubber of a fool. Why didn't he do that sooner?" The voice of the armed criminal draws her attention, and in time to see him recovering on the floor while rubbing at his temple. Just until he spots his gun on the floor nearby. By the time he reaches out to grip the handle, the heroine's boot comes stepping down onto the hollow end, pinning it in place.
"Hi again." She cheekily greets when he looks up. Then a swift soccer-kick to the chin follows up, knocking him out cold.
"And good night." After dealing with him, she moves to check up on the hostage nearby.
During, another individual joins them - propelling like a human rocket, and immaculately losing his momentum just in time to enter through the opening where tall sheets of glass used to stand. His cape flapping as he lands within a crouch.
"Huh? Oh, it's just you, Crow." Alexecute comments after looking his way. Her attention settles back onto the older man sitting on the floor.
"Can you stand, sir?"
"Y-yeah, I think so."
"THE Crow." The teen corrects stoically.
"Huh?"
"It's THE Crow." He repeats as he begins examining the room. What catches his attention almost immediately is the desktop computer on the office desk, and what was displayed on screen. Behind his lenses, his eyes shift toward the tower below, where something even more curious awaits.
"Oh, come on... we all know the THE part doesn't really matter." She responds whilst helping the civilian up onto his feet.
"It actually does matter. I didn't choose the name just so people could butcher it, Alexecute." He retorts, now crouching to pluck an unusual black USB drive from a port. At the backside of it was a small tail-like antenna with two tiny flashing green lights at its split tips. His eyes narrow at the implication of its design.
"I'm just saying, it's normal for it to fall off. Happens all the time, to be honest. People won't always refer to you as The Crow. You're kind of meant to grow out of it." Alexecute rebuttals as she helps the building owner settle back into his seat.
"What are you even doing over there?"
"Investigating, of course. I think they were transferring data from this computer using this peculiar flash drive as a funnel device. A mini mobile server, of sorts." The Crow shares as he raises to stand again.
"By the way, where's Righteous Lad?"
"He's-"
"I'm here!" Swooping down to levitate right outside of the window is none other than the young divine himself, unscathed and holding the unharmed superhuman offender by his pits.
"You guys carry on and share your findings with the rest of us later. I'm going to see about getting this guy into a comfy indestructible cell. Catch ya soon!" And with that, he heads off into the city.
"And don't forget the guys in the hallway!!" He shouts out from afar.
"Something told me he'd be fine."
"Oh n-no... This is pretty bad. You said they were transferring data? That desktop had sensitive data on it... Schematics and private information! It could compromise not only my company, but my business partners, as well!" The company owner blurts out in horror.
"Then these guys definitely got what they wanted. How'd they even get this far up?" The Crow questions before slipping the flash drive into a pouch attached to his utility belt.
"I'm not sure. Security should have seen them!"
"Then this was an inside job. Whoever these guys are, they have reach and resources. Likely an ideological cult of some kind." The Crow nonchalantly reasons.
"Oh, definitely an ideological cult. I'm almost sure frenchie over there was ready to hand us a pamphlet about their exciting new vision for the world. Total drone for sure." Alexecute comments, moving to lean against the desk while folding her arms.
"Then we better get on top of this and take care of them a.s.a.p. We can likely interrogate that one for details about their organization. Though, I'll definitely do some digging if I have to."