Chapter Text
ROOFTOPS - LOS ANGELES...
A dark figure lands on a roof, inspecting the city below as it greets him with the sounds of sirens, headlights, and the restless hum. He adjusts his cowl and goggles, making sure they are secured as he observes the city, his trench coat fluttering in the wind. Four years of training have led to these long nights. Even though it's been months since I started, it still feels new. The dark figure watches two men approach a young woman. Sometimes I wonder if I jumped the gun. Maybe I should’ve trained a little bit longer. He continues staring at the two men who begin to harass the young woman.
“Come on, don’t be shy—just hand it over!” Thug #1 says, grabbing her left arm while thug #2 grabs the other as the woman yells to let her go.
The dark figure stands up, fists curling tightly at the scene. I’m not ready, but I don’t have much of a choice, do I?
The vigilante jumps from the fire escape and lands hard on the floor. The loud landing makes both thugs turn as they see a man in black standing in the shadows.
The first thug, a man with an ugly scar, shouts, “Whoever you are, show yourself!”
The vigilante slowly walks towards the alley light as the thugs get a good look at the dark figure. The first thing they see is a bat-shaped symbol on his chest. As the thugs look up to the vigilante’s face, they see a mask with small bat ears and white-tinted goggles covering the man's face.
“Leave her, now,” the vigilante growls. Silence fills the alley as both thugs look at each other before laughing at the vigilante’s costume. The terrified woman looks at the vigilante with a bewildered look.
The ugly scarred man, through a fit of chuckles, says, “What…What are you supposed to be, trick-or-treater?” as he turns to his friend with a beanie, “Deal with this weirdo”.
“With pleasure,” The man with the beanie says with a grin, walking over to the vigilante, getting ready to swing at him. “Look, buddy, I don’t know what you think you are doing, but my friend and I don’t like interruptions!” The man with a beanie swings at the vigilante, hoping for a quick finish, only for the vigilante to block the thug's attack and deliver a jab to the thug’s face.
The thug flinches back as he holds his now bleeding nose.
The thug looks down at his bloody hand as he growls, “You’ll pay for that, you son of a bitch!!!” as he rushes towards the vigilante and tries to tackle him. The vigilante sidesteps to the left, narrowly escaping the thug’s tackle as he reaches into his left pocket and throws a black projectile at the back of the thug’s head, knocking the thug out.
The ugly scarred man, seeing his friend on the ground, throws the victim to the floor. “You’re gonna pay for that fucker!!!” he growls, pulling out a knife and rushing towards the vigilante, delivering a variety of cuts and stabs as the vigilante narrowly avoids the attacks.
The thug lands a lucky strike at the vigilante as he cuts the hero’s arm. The vigilante grunts in pain as he distances himself from the thug, clutching his wound. He throws a round object towards the thug, exploding in the thug’s face. “What the fuck!? Is this glitter!!” the thug yells, rubbing his eyes as he looks at his whole body covered in purple glitter.
Taking advantage of the thugs' distraction, the vigilante delivers a right hook to Thug 2’s jaw, disorienting him before delivering an uppercut to the Thug’s jaw, knocking him out.
The vigilante exhales, relieved that the fight is over. He clutches his wounded arm and turns to look at the victim, only to find her long gone.
The vigilante sighs tiredly as he quickly moves to zip-tie the thugs near the dumpster. He pulls out one of the thugs' phones as he dials 911. “911, what’s your emergency?” the operator responds
“Got two thugs waiting for you near 14th street,” the vigilante states, ending the call. He drops the phone to the floor, then grabs his batarang from the floor before leaving the scene before the cops arrive.
RANDOM ROOFTOP...
The vigilante arrives on a roof. His body exhausted as he sits down, he takes off his coat to inspect his arm. Luckily, the coat took most of the damage, but the injury still needs to be treated. He reaches into his utility belt, dabbing some disinfectant on the wound before wrapping the injury. As he finishes, he takes off his goggles and pulls off the cowl to give himself some fresh air. The cool air hits his tan face, feeling refreshed already. From his utility belt, he pulls out a protein bar as he begins to recount the earlier event.
The look the woman gave me, as if saying, “What the hell are you crazy or something?” was the first time a civilian had a proper look at me… I don’t blame them; not only did I jump off a roof and hit the pavement hard, but I also almost got stabbed. The good news is that the woman got away, the bad guys are down, and I didn’t die. I’ll take any victory I can get.
The vigilante finishes his protein bar as he turns to take a view of the city below. I’m not ready…but it doesn't matter; I made a promise to her. I’ll be the hero I couldn’t be for her. The vigilante clenches his fist as he stands up and puts on the mask once more.
“Let’s get to work”
RANDOM ALLEY...
In a rundown alley behind a liquor store, a man is seen rummaging through the liquor store's trash for his next meal. A homeless veteran mutters to himself as he uses his only hand to look through the trash. As Raymond pulls out a half-crushed sandwich, he sniffs it only to shrug and take a bite from it as he savors his dinner.
From the shadows of the alley, a voice is heard behind Raymond. “Corporal Raymond Carter. 42nd Infantry. Discharged with honors.” Raymond freezes as he slowly turns to see a man dressed in a dark windbreaker jacket, black gloves, and a plain white mask covering his face, save for the two hollow eyes staring into Raymond's soul.
The man named Raymond turns to him, confused, “How…How do you know my—?”
The masked figure steps forward as Raymond slowly begins backing away, “You lost your arm to shrapnel. Developed dependency on tramadol. Multiple failed reintegration attempts. Three assault charges. Two public intoxications."
Raymond hits the wall behind him as the masked man stops three feet away from him. “What–what do you want from me?” Raymond says, trembling as he looks around for a way out.
“You were a good soldier once.” Raymond's breath catches at the masked man's words. “Now…you’re broken; I can fix that”
Raymond frowns as he says, “Wha–” as he feels a sting on his chest, and he looks down to see a dart stuck on his chest. He looks up to see the masked man holding a gun. Raymond shoves the masked man as he tries to run, “HELP! Somebody—” only for his body to completely shut down as he falls to the ground face-first.
The masked man calmly walks to the unconscious man, picking him up as the masked man says, “Do not worry, by the time the night is over, you will be rebuilt…no, you will be perfected.”
As the masked man carries the veteran out of the alley, a van arrives, picking up the masked man as they disappear into the streets.