It was the night after Conner had rescued Janet and the other children from Geffry Lincoln’s cellar.

Shining Darkness and the police went to his house and place of work to catch the monster immediately, but his dungeon apparently had some sort of alarm system. Cursedly, it’d given him enough of a warning to go on the run. In turn, the Shining Darkness and the police had begun scouring the city for this child killer.

Every second the Super Mask didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, Conner was dashing through Miracle City for this monster at speeds so intense he likely would have hurt some people if he hadn’t been running and jumping along roofs. Fortunately for his search efforts, so long as Conner stayed in his powered state, whatever moments of rest he needed were few and far between.

|X|

In one such instance of recuperation, Conner had returned to his warehouse hideout. It was less that he was actually tired, and moreso he needed a moment to gather his thoughts in a place he felt safe.

Going along his usual path, Conner entered the base’s training area/kitchen and walked past the recliner chair Death Head had always used after missions.

Conner wasn’t willing to get rid of the thing, as Flint said he was apparently going to come back for it eventually. But every time Conner saw it over the past month and a half, he found himself wishing his boss was still active to help him, especially now.

The young man felt tempted to power down and relax for a moment, but he knew his exhaustion would go past mental and into physical at this point if he did. Looking at the corner of the room that’d been converted to a kitchen, Conner sped over and grabbed a protein bar from the cupboards and an orange juice from one of the two fridges. He then pulled off his mask and started snacking.

As he ate and drank, Conner couldn’t help but wish he had someone to talk to before realizing that John should still be there. He normally went home at 11:00-12:00, and it was still 9:40.

Cupping a hand around his mouth, Conner yelled at a volume appropriate for not shattering glass, “Hardwire?! You still here?! You didn’t die on me, did you?!”

Getting no response after waiting a full minute, Conner decided to check the computer and evidence room John spent most of his time working in.

Dashing over to the door, Conner opened it, saw all the lights were on, and called, “Hardwire? You in here?”

Staring at the side of the room John had converted to his work station, Conner saw him lying facedown on his keyboard. When his newly enhanced hearing picked up on snoring, Conner realized John was passed out.

Finishing his food in an instant, Conner super-sped back to the kitchen, grabbed some snacks for John, and returned. Walking to his friend’s desk of operations, Conner set a protein bar and a juice box on the desk and started gently shaking John’s shoulder.

With a sharp inhale, John sat up straight like a spring, his face indented with the keyboard pattern, and exclaimed, “I’m up! I’m here! I’m working! Very busy!”

Feeling Conner’s hand on his shoulder, John stared up at his friend. Unfortunately, the intense shine of his glowing eyes did nothing to help John’s freshly woken vision. Strangely, however, he simultaneously felt somewhat rejuvenated, though he attributed the boost in energy simply to the shock.

While John rubbed his eyes, Conner asked him, “You okay, brother?”

Pulling his hands down, John let out a sigh and said, “Yeah… Yeah… I’ve just… I’ve just been up since you found the kids. And some of us actually need sleep, Shine.”

“You know we have cots here if you need more sleep,” Conner remarked while gesturing to one of the evidence room’s exits.

Brushing Conner’s hand off his shoulder, John looked at him and said, “Nah. I’ll go to bed when I get home. I still have some work to do… Lord, school tomorrow is gonna suck.”

It hit Conner right then. Sunday was nearly over, and the teenage Super mask had to contemplate school eating into his work time again. If he took time out of his schedule to attend classes, then Geffry might be able to take that time to leave the city.

I might have to skip school tomorrow… Dammit! I’m actually doing well nowadays… But I can’t let this monster escape me! Conner thought.

Letting out an annoyed sign through his nostrils, Conner decided to shift the topic and asked, “Right… By the way, I’ve been going non-stop, so I’m a bit out of the loop. Has Jericho messaged us back yet about everything?”

Thinking for a moment, John responded, “Uh… Oh, yeah! A little bit before I passed out, I think.” Pulling up his encrypted email, John said, “Let’s see… She said doctors said the kids all seem stable, and they’ll be ready to take visitors in about a week. Janet’s parents showed up to see her and wanted their thanks passed on to you. They got special permission to see her, obviously.”

Hearing this good news, Conner couldn’t help but let the smallest smile form on his face.

However, remembering the other victims, he asked, “That’s… That’s flattering… What about the other kids?”

Grimacing a bit, John replied, “That’s… Their parents never showed up, and they’re going into foster care from what I understand… Both those people and the parents of the… deceased… kids were tracked down by Jericho and her people.” When John said the word deceased, it was with pain, as if his body was rejecting this horrific reality. “They’re all being charged for child neglect and endangerment, and any other charges the judges can throw at them for abandoning their kids to that monster.”

Folding his arms behind his back, Conner replied, “I see… That’s… something.”

Lightening up a bit, John said, “Oh, there’s actually a couple other things.” In response, Conner raised his brow, signaling John to go on. “Okay. So, apparently, a couple other Masks have come to Miracle City to help out with the search.”

Genuinely surprised, Conner asked, “Really? The last time Death Head and I teamed up with other Masks was over a year ago. Who are they?”

“Looks like the Dhampire aaaaaand… Bow String.”

|X|

Dhampire was a Mask who themed himself with a sort of vampire motif. He focused on hunting down serial killers and used bladed weapons laced with anticoagulants to bleed them out. Meanwhile, Bow String was a Mask who used stealth and archery, and she gave charity violin performances to raise money for sick children.

|X|

With genuine interest, Conner remarked, “Dhampire? Really? I’ve never met the guy, but he’s another of Death Head’s apprentices… It’ll be interesting to meet another besides Parker. And working with Bow String would be nice too.”

Beginning to type on his setup, John asked, “They’re already working with Hive Town’s police. Do you want me to have Jericho give them our radio info? With your new super hearing and some extra manpower, you should be able to find this monster way faster.”

“Yeah,” Conner answered without hesitating. “Just be sure to alter it after the mission is done… What was the other thing you wanted to bring up?”

Pulling his hands from the keyboard, John turned back around and said, “Oh, yeah. The Page Printer’s been trying to contact us. They said they have something important to tell us.”

Page Printer…? Oh, Lana… I feel like a piece of shit, but she’ll have to wait.

Concluding his thought, Conner replied, “I see… We can get back to them tomorrow if we need to. We’re too busy right now.”

Shrugging, John said, “Oh. I guess that’s fair...” Spinning his chair back to the computer, he finished, “I’ll get the info spread out… You have a copy of Geffry’s I.D., right?”

Taking a small photograph from his belt while putting his mask back on, Conner said, “Yeah, I’ve got one… Alright… Unless there’s anything else we need to talk about, I’m gonna head back out.”

His eyes enlightened with sudden realization; John spun around to address Conner as he was about to leave, “Hey! There’s one thing I left out…! Janet’s father. He also wanted to tell you that he wants to see this maniac dragged in to fry for what he’s done… So, try to bring him in alive, I guess.”

Those words snagging him like a bear trap, Conner’s stride came to an immediate stop. His mind was flooded with the memories of the previous night. Images of the horrors no child should ever have to suffer.

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At once, Conner was filled with vomit-inducing disgust and unyielding rage to tear apart the monster behind the slaughter. The request of bringing that thing in alive would have had him yelling bloody murder if it hadn’t been delivered by his best friend and came from one of the only two people who had the right to ask for it.

For a moment, Shining Darkness’ body quivered with rage, the twitching of his muscles creating audible thudding, and John noticed. Shining Darkness wasn’t responding for a solid minute, and John wasn’t sure if it was smart to prod him.

However, just as a hint of fear of the superhuman calling himself Shining Darkness entered John’s mind, he had to remind himself of something much more important. John wasn’t sitting across from a maddened Super Mask; he was watching the man he considered a brother having an emotional breakdown and doing nothing about it.

Reforging his mental fortitude, John snapped at Connor, “Shine! Are you still with me…?”

Flinching at John’s yelling, Conner’s stance relaxed somewhat. Taking a few deep breaths, he stared at John and nodded hesitantly.

Somewhat awkwardly, after giving Conner another moment, John asked, “Are… Do you need some rest? It’s okay if you need a minute. Sleeping for you usually takes less than an hour, right?”

Clenching a fist, Conner stammered out, “But- But I… I need to…”

“Dude. You’re not gonna help anyone if you can’t think straight,” John cut in sternly.

Straightening his posture, Conner looked at John tensely before reaching up and pulling off his mask with both hands. His exposed expression was one of pure conflict and anger.

Taking a deep breath, Conner shoved his mask into his belt and said, “Yeah… That’s probably for the best… Thank you, Hardwire.” He then started toward where they kept the cots so he could get a full night’s sleep in an hour. As he walked, Conner waved to John behind his back.

Calling after Conner, John replied with a bit of haste, “Of course, brother!”

Once Conner was out of the room, John spun in his chair to face an important corner of his workstation. In it was what looked to anyone else like an assortment of mechanical junk spread across several steel tables. But to John, these were his vital pet projects.

Standing up and cracking his back, John muttered to himself, “Alright… If I’ve got some time, then I’ll get some future projects further along.”

|XXX|

Across the city, a man in a black cape with a red interior was leaning against a sharp-looking black and crimson motorcycle in the parking lot of a convenience store. He had a black cloth over his mouth, crimson sunglasses, and spiked-up bleach-white hair. Aside from the cape, he wore a red and black outfit that looked like a mix of a motorcycle uniform and a Victorian ballroom tuxedo. On either hip, he had holstered handguns and bowie knives, and on his back was a sheathed shortsword.

|X|

This Mask, the Dhampire, was speaking with a small crowd who were asking for autographs and selfies. Although he was being amiable, Dhampire’s attitude toward his gathered fans was more like a customer service tone than genuine enthusiasm.

It was evident just how much he wanted to leave when he perked up at his partner, Bowstring, walking out of the store.

|X|

Bowstring wore a dark blue leather suit with a hood that appeared as a cross between a European Middle-Ages highwayman and a classic Japanese ninja. Her hood was pulled up, and she had a bandana mask over her eyes. For weapons, Bowstring had twin handguns on her hips like Dhampire, a longbow with a quiver of arrows on her back, and a shortsword across her waist designed to look like a violin’s bowstring.

|X|

Carrying a pair of protein shakes, Bowstring approached Dhampire, stuffed the drinks in a backpack on the motorbike, and told the crowd, “Thank you, everyone! We love you all so much, but we have to get going! My partner and I have to help the local police find that horrible kidnapper.”

Finishing a selfie with a college-age boy, Dhampire patted the boy’s shoulder and added suavely, “We’re gonna take down that monster and help the Shining Darkness make the streets safe again. You have our word!”

Although their words were simple, the sheer charisma and confidence coming from the Masks easily swooned the crowd’s attitudes.

All at once, the dozens of people let out their cries of support, “Whoo-hoo!” “Kick some ass!” “Drink his blood, Dhampire!” “Leave him hanging from a tree, Bowstring!” “I love you, Bowstring!”

Hopping onto his bike as Bowstring got on and clung to him, Dhampire put up the kick-stand, rode in circles a couple times to build speed, and drove away.

While they were effortlessly swerving through traffic, Dhampire complained, “I always hate that part of the job. If we could just get the same success as Death Head, we wouldn’t have to bother playing so nice with those idiots just to keep our brands up. If they understood what we do for them, they’d be throwing money our way.”

Hugging her partner a bit tighter, Bowstring told him, “Oh, you always complain about that. Taking a few minutes for autographs and pictures every once in a while isn’t that bad… Besides, with that Shining Darkness guy being a thing, I think we’re gonna be outshined for a while. We should get used to this.”

Sighing as he swerved around a truck, nearly missing another one coming the opposite way, Dhampire replied, “Speaking of my junior, did Jericho get back to us about getting in contact with him? I couldn’t check with all those idiots bugging me.”

“Oh yeah! I saw it while I was shopping. We got the radio frequency he uses. Pull over when you find somewhere private,” Bowstring told Dhampire in a more upbeat tone.

“Ah, good. Right.”

|X|

About five minutes later, Dhampire managed to locate a vacant lot, not a rarity in Miracle City, for he and Bowstring to stop and talk. But first, they took a moment to drink their shakes and give themselves the energy needed for the rest of the night.

Leaning against a half-constructed lamp pole while Dhampire sat on his bike a few feet away, Bowstring was programming Shining Darkness’ code into their communicators while humming a tune from one of her performances.

Laying his arms on the handlebar and his chin on his arms, Dhampire muttered, “Hrmm… If he had a warning system where he kept the kids… He must have another safehouse to hide in. Most of his type do…. The police and Darkness would’ve caught him by now if he was just trying to make a run for it… Or he’s just really lucky… But that’s not likely… Always eliminate the most likely answers first when hunting the monsters…”

Standing up straight, Bowstring handed Dhampire his earpiece. She then pulled her hood down, showing her brunette hair bun, to put her own back in.

“So, should we try to contact this Shiney guy right away, or are we still heading to that monster’s house?” Bowstring asked while flipping her hood back up.

Picking his head up to put his earpiece in, Dhampire answered, “First, I want to swing by that sick freak’s place and see if we can find anything. My reputation as a detective should be enough to get us access there.”

Putting a hand on her hip while poking the side of Dhampire’s mirrored glasses, Bowstring asked, “What are you hoping to find there that the police haven’t already?”

Fixing his glasses, Dhampire said, “Just hoping to find a lead on where he might’ve gone. You know I always pick up on clues the warts fail to.”

“Sometimes. You find things sometimes,” Bowstring corrected with a sarcastic mockery.

Glaring upward, only noticeable thanks to his eyebrows poking over his glasses, Dhampire replied sternly, “Most of the time. I find things most of the time. Now come on.”

“Sure, sure. You’re the detective here,” Bowstring replied smarmily while getting back on Dhampire’s bike.

With an annoyed grunt, Dhampire built up speed like before and took off, reaching one hundred miles an hour in no time.

Smirking under his mask as the wind washed through his hair and Bowstring clung to him, Dhampire thought, Heh. If I love anything about this gig, it’s that the warts never try to pull me over for driving the way everyone else wishes they could.

|XXX|

Waking up a little after an hour, Conner stretched out and flipped out of his cot.

Feeling his mouth was uncomfortably dry, he dashed back to the kitchen and drank some water from the faucet. Even with the water in his ear, though, Conner picked up on the sound of footsteps entering after him. Turning the faucet off and spinning around, Conner relaxed when he saw John approaching him.

He had a pair of welding goggles on his forehead, a screwdriver in his pocket, an empty juice box in his right hand, and on his left, John had what looked like the framework of an armored glove. John had the kind of smile he’d only have after making progress on one of his projects.

“Thought I heard a six-foot-three brute lumbering about,” John greeted warmly.

Smiling weakly back at his brother, Conner asked, “Hey, Hardwire. Keeping yourself busy?”

Showing the framework glove open and close with the hand inside it, John answered proudly, “Yeah. Making headway on some armor to protect myself with, on top of another project… Admittedly, the second one might take me a year or two to see any real progress, but I’m still confident it’ll work one day.”

Nodding, Conner didn’t really care too much about John’s inventions at the moment but also didn’t want to insult his best friend with a dismissal of his passions. Instead, he tried to steer the conversation toward his real interest.

“If you’re that invested, it must be interesting. You’ll have to tell me about this long-term project tomorrow… As for tonight, I know it’s a long shot, but did you make any progress on the case while I was out cold?”

With excitement and guilt exploding off him, John flinched and answered, “Oh, yeah…! Actually, Dhampire contacted us a few minutes ago. He and Bowstring went to Geffry’s apartment and managed to find a compartment hidden under a dresser. The police didn’t find it because the dresser seemed like it was screwed to the floor. That must have been a bit embarrassing for the officers there, right?”

Tapping his foot on the floor, Conner rolled his right hand and told John, “Dude, stick to the important details.”

Rubbing one of his eyes anxiously, John replied, “Right… Anyways! There were some of Geffry’s confidentials hidden there, and they found a thumb drive on it with all of the monster’s financial records.”

Perking up, Conner asked eagerly, “Really…? Did they find something valuable?”

Raising his fists with a grin, John stated, “Yes! They found a small garage he purchased around the same time as the factory! They think he’s using the place as a safe house. Dhampire told the cops, and so he, Bowstring, and Jericho and her men are all on their way there now.”

Immediately, all expression drained from Conner’s face as he pulled out his mask and put it back on.

“Show me the address, Hardwire. I’ll go there immediately,” Shining Darkness instructed, his voice as deprived of emotion as his face.

Although a bit unnerved by Conner’s sudden stoic attitude shift, John understood it, nodded, and said, “Yeah, Shine. The email’s on my computer. I’ll sh-.”

With his inhuman speed, Shining Darkness moved just short of causing a sonic boom, read the information on Hardwire’s computer, and jumped out of their headquarters.

This whirlwind of kinetic air pressure Darkness left behind knocked over everything not bolted to the floor, including John, who was flung about and landed hard on his back. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt any worse than a possible bruising.

Stumbling to his feet and looking out the now-shattered window Shining Darkness left through, John muttered in pain, “Asshole…! No… I’d probably be acting the same in his shoes.”

Rubbing his back until the immediate discomfort stopped, Hardwire eventually looked at the door Shine nearly took off its hinges that led to the evidence room.

With an exasperated grunt, John said to himself, “I guess I better get back on the communicator to lend whatever hand I can… If any.”