Amirah sat down on the couch with a protein shake in hand. It was a very early morning thus it was still dark outside. She was used to this though as she frequently went on morning jogs this early. However, they were usually just a front since 'Talon' patrolled this early. She adopted this routine early in her career as she felt the calmest during this period of time. There was no sun in her eyes, no rival birds chirping in her ear and very few cars driving around. She took a second to quietly sneak over and peek into Dray's room. He was still fast asleep, adorably curled up into a ball to feel more comfortable. Amirah smiled and returned to her seat.
It had been a week since Amirah found out about her husband's biggest secret. While she still felt a little weary around him, she already made the promise to continue supporting him as much as she could. However, while she was raring to go taking on both her and her husband's ambitions at the same time, she almost immediately ran into an issue.
See, Amirah was a hero. A very popular and very capable hero for that matter. To fill the Hero Association's quota, Amirah had to patrol a minimum of 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. For Amirah, this was easy. Before she got married, she filled this quota and then some. A lot of her coworkers warned her against overworking herself but she never felt too tired.
Once she finally did get married though, her thoughts on her patrol timing changed. Her schedule worried Dray to the point that he got quite mad at her when she kept brushing off his concern. In an attempt to fix that problem, she started spending less time out for patrols to spend more time with Dray. At first, she was also quite annoyed at Dray's insistence on the matter but once she realized Dray was home most of the time, she relented. In fact, she quite enjoyed her newer lifestyle. She could go out as Talon and do what she liked, fighting crime and perfecting her skills, then come back as Amirah to a clean house, home-cooked food, and a husband that spoiled her rotten. Well, Dray's food might not always be very good or healthy but he was improving at least.
Conveniently enough, her cover story was that she was a gym instructor with a great many clients so she had to work as often as she could. This is where the problem lies. Amirah was merely a worker. A high-ranking worker, sure but a worker nonetheless. She was active pretty much every day as Talon and as such, she looked for any opportunity to help 'Technus' the entire last week. However, while she was working her butt off, the almighty and powerful 'Technus' was busy ranking up in Valorant. She heard that he finally reached Master Rank 100 in Monster Hunter. Good for him.
It became clear to Amirah that while she was "just a worker", Dray was the boss and a villain at that. Villains didn't need to constantly be active. They just needed to plan one big score and then lay low for a while. Since 'Technus' was one of, if not the most prolific thief of them all, she realized that he never really needed to constantly be working. Amirah was paid very well for her work of course but her numbers never came close to the apparent high-stakes robberies 'Technus' has managed to pull off.
Amirah pouted to herself. We just settled on a joint bank account not even two months ago. Now I find out he probably has some offshore bank account with millions and millions... Then again, I always wondered how a freelance scriptwriter could afford an all-expense trip to Greece. That was of course, where he proposed. The honeymoon was a joint effort.
She pondered a bit more on how she could help her admittedly somewhat lazy husband before eventually heading off for work. She settled on maybe getting a gift for Dray. It made sense in context, he did handle most of the particulars for the move. Maybe I could get something that would help him as Technus? Like one of those...taser thingies he uses. But weapons like that, while readily available in a dangerous world such as this, were expensive. Expensive enough that 'Talon' needed to get her own score before she could consider buying one.
While the Hero Association paid monthly with pay raises and extras based on overall performance, there are instances where a hero's outstanding achievements rewarded them with an immediate bonus. One way 'Talon' could achieve this was to neutralize a villain group.
Villains don't usually team up but when they do, they are exponentially more dangerous. Not only do they become more unpredictable but, should they strike, any poor hero on their lonesome would be sitting ducks. However, exceptionally good and powerful heroes like 'Talon' or StarStrike had the ability to take on these villain groups alone and emerge successful...most of the time. Whenever they were successful, the Hero Association gives them an immediate payout of 4 months' salary. Mostly to cover any injuries or damages but for Amirah who rarely got injured at all, it was just another big payday.
Amirah stood up and stretched. She took one more longing look at Dray before kissing him on the forehead and heading off. For the past 3 days, she had been focused on tracking down and eliminating the villain group known as the 'Downtown Monsters'. After questioning witnesses and victims, Amirah knew that the 'Downtown Monsters' were a group of 4 young adults most likely. They would storm into small shops and convenience stores and threaten whoever happened to be working at the time. They were always wearing full-body get-ups and masks so nobody could identify any bodily features aside from hair. They would take all the money in the cash register before completely wrecking the place. One of them had a buzzcut and used simple fire powers. while another wore glasses and could apparently control the wind around him. This made a destructive combo that ruined many businesses alike. Several employees have also gotten injured, emerging from the attacks with first to second-degree burns. The other two seemed to be powerless, or at least haven't used their powers.
From the testimonies she gathered, Amirah deduced that this was just another group of delinquents going mad with power. They finally found a group of like-minded individuals and thus decided to go on a rampage with their newfound prowess as a whole. This hunt would be earlier than usual for her but she didnt't mind. She had seen it all before. This will be easy. But first, need to find them.
Amirah changed into Talon in the nearby alleyway yet again, not forgetting to attach her retractable wings. Amirah's wings that she got custom-made for her usually took the form of an arm-length prosthetic which were clipped on her costume at the back of her arms. They were made, to her specifications, to be light and flexible while also being able to carry her in flight. She never understood the science behind them but they worked flawlessly. Finally getting her wings, the moniker 'Talon' became a feared one. A fact that made Amirah very proud.
Amirah launched herself upwards and propelled herself further with her wings making her way to the Downtown area. She had been staking out a particular store the past 3 days as it seemed to be en route with the path of destruction left behind by the 'Downtown Monsters'. After a few minutes of gliding, she suddenly heard a loud shout coming from the street below her
"Hey hey! Would you look at that! It's Ms. Talon, the giant chicken!"
The heckling seemed to come straight below her which she immediately checked. A group of 4 individuals...full-body get-up...cloth skull masks that looked damp...yeap. Excellent. Her prey came to her.
Amirah knew she was being overconfident here but she saw no issue. Even if they were gloating her to fight, she doubted that any street-level criminals pose any real threat to her. Especially not ones like these who Amirah hoped were as dumb as they looked. Getting blindsided, however, is always possible so, with her end goal in mind, she calmed down and focused. She took a look at her watch and made a mental note.
"Hey! You gonna come down or what!" the buzzcut individual screamed, tossing a fireball at Amirah. She quickly halts her forward momentum and dodges the fireball. The buzzcut starts cackling before preparing another fireball. He looked up to aim only to realize she wasn't there anymore.
Barely a second later, Amirah was right in front of him. Like a gust of wind, she moved unnoticed yet full of energy. Before landing on the ground Amirah decided that using the buzzcut monster as a landing pad would suffice. Crashing into his chest at breakneck speed, Amirah was careful to tuck her legs in. No need to break any bones here. Buzzcut monster slid across the rough pavement with Amirah standing on top of him. Before he could move his arms to prepare for another attack, Amirah stomped one foot on his right hand. He squealed in pain as his buddies stood behind Amirah, dazed and confused at what just conspired. The monster with the glasses clenched his fist
"You little-"
He waved his arms around wildly, violently disturbing the wind around them and causing the other two monsters to steady themselves. Thr wind caught the trash on the streets swirled them around, occassionly forcing a passerby to dodge. Amirah merely looked back in annoyance, staring daggers into the soul of her opponent. If there was anything that villains could recall from their brutal fights against Talon, it would be her eyes. Her eyes were always filled with animosity, disgust, and a cold fierceness. The streets nicknamed her the "bird of prey" due to the fact that if you got close enough to see those eyes, you were already dead.
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The glasses monster shivered at the sight but continued nonetheless, increasing the power and intensity of the wind around them. The parked cars next to them started shaking with the might of the wind. The cries of distress from his comrades behind them were drowned out in the wind. They both closed their eyes and ears trying desperately to protect themselves from the wind. Amirah never faltered though, using her strong legs to propel herself off the first monster and straight to the glasses monster. Using this strength she headbutted the glasses monster, ironically knocking the wind out of him. The air around them settled as quickly as they were disturbed. Amirah quickly took a step back, grabbed glasses monster by the head, and brought her knee straight up. Glasses monster was knocked out cold.
Two down...two to go.
The two remaining monsters pulled out a long-bladed weapon each. Their hands were trembling but they still posed quite the threat. There was a minuscule moment of silence before Amirah pounced forward. One of the monsters swung randomly while charging. Amirah dodged to the left and bounced off the wall. She knocks into his side with exceptional force staggering him. The monster panics swinging his blade in Amirah's direction which she easily ducks under. Amirah swipes his legs from under him knocking him to the ground. She stamps on his wrist before he could swing again shifting her focus to the final monster.
The final monster was terrified. Trembling so much he could barely hold his weapon straight. The monster, who spent too long terrorizing others found his 'monster'. Amirah took a step forward and it was enough. The final monster dropped his weapon and cowered on the ground.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"
Amirah clicked her tongue in disgust. She couldn't stand it when they begged like this. What a bunch of pathetic bullies... Looking at the scene around her, she had successfully incapacitated a small villain group that had been causing trouble for several days now. All in a day's work. She took a look at her watch. Two minutes...not bad. Next, she pulled out her company-issue phone and called the police.
She took a second to look at the carnage around her. Civilians were fleeing the scene, panicked look their faces. Several cars were damaged with shattered glass on the ground around her. Not to mention the damaged pavement.
This...could've gone better.
-------
After the arrests were made, a policeman went up to Amirah.
"Nice work here Talon. Uhm...forgive me for asking but, were you in a rush?"
"Hm?"
"This 'Downtown Monsters' were a dangerous bunch sure but uh...you're not usually so...quick."
"These are your guys right?"
"W-Well yeah but you usually confirm with us first."
Amirah sighed. It was definitely an oversight on her part. She would usually always check with the police and do more preliminary examinations before going out on a hunt. In fact, now that it was brought up to her, she wondered why she was so gung ho about it in the first place. A taser for Technus? The same Technus that already has a million of them and steals experimental prototypes? Amirah slumped her shoulders which made the policeman in front of her panic slightly.
"Uhm..it's no big deal really...you can do whatever you want, you're Talon you know! So uh...cheer up." Amirah did not cheer up. She took out her phone to calculate the bonus she would be receiving. ...Less than ten percent of what Technus stole last month. Amirah sighed loudly which only served to make the policeman fear for his safety
-------
Amirah returned home dejected. She walked into the living room to find Dray sitting on the couch, munching on some chips they had in the pantry. He was watching TV apparently. He looked up at her and smiled.
"Hey, welcome home. How was work?"
If only you knew...
"...Work was good. I got a bonus."
" Oh that's great! Why...why do you look so down about it?"
Amirah dropped her backpack with her costume in the floor and crawled onto the couch. She laid her head on Dray's lap and looked up at him causing him to blush lightly.
"Nothing. I'm just tired."
"Oh..well, you're home now."
Dray places a hand on her head and gently scratches it, Amirah making a sound of content in response.
Amirah felt conflicted. She was happy that she dealt with a dangerous group so easily and so quickly. She successfully removed a big threat from the streets without any harm to herself or the people around her. She should be proud of that achievement and she was. And yet, she still felt mad at herself. She was mad that she rushed into things. As skilled as she was, she was not invincible. She could've been seriously hurt. She didn't even profile the other two monsters before she went in for the attack. What if they had powers she had never seen before? If she returned home burned and bruised, she technically would be helping Technus but Dray would blow a fuse. The last time she got hurt, Dray dotted over her restlessly, tiring himself out just to make sure she was okay. She didn't want to put him through that again. Amirah sighed and buried her face into Dray's shirt, hugging his waist tightly.
"W-woah. Are you really okay?"
Amirah nodded.
"Okay...just let me know if you need anything alright?"
And with that, Dray changed the channel on the TV.
"In more pressing news, the villain group by the name of "Omnipresence" have made their reappearance today."
Amirah immediately turned around to look at the TV, albeit not letting go of Dray.
"The villain group has made their presence known recently by stealing a shipment containing several thousand units of stolen weaponry. Police only found out days later as they had apparently stalled the receiver of said weapons through false emails and notices. The familiar Omnipresnece tag, a detailed drawing of an eye within a goble, was found at the scene of the robbery. Workers were quoted stating they had no memory of the incident with a majority not even showing up that day due an official looking email that was sent to them."
Omnipresence...one of the more unique groups. They walk around with seemingly endless knowledge of what they are doing hence the name. Prefering to stay completely under the radar, the last time their members were even seen was during a failed raid where they slipped up and made too much noise. I thought they were too broken to come out of hiding but...apparently I was wrong.
Amirah sneaked a glance at Dray only for her eyes to widen. Dray had a furious look on his face that borderlined on being menacing. This look made Amirah feel a certain...way but she pushed that feeling aside for now. An idea popped into her head.
That's it! I can't commit a crime to support Dray and I can't buy him anything Technus would use but...I can get rid of his competition.