Chapter Text
A young girl awoke with a small groan, overhearing the news blaring from the living room. She stumbled out of their room, avoiding the clutter with practiced ease as they followed the sound to the tattered, worn-down couch where one of their roommates sat.
“Whatcha watchin’?” The blonde asked as she draped herself over the couch to look at their friend. Their vigilante suits sat discarded beside them, barely hidden despite the activity being very illegal.
“The news… Hey Wendy, do you know this girl?” The other asked offhandedly as he glanced back up at them.
Wendy squinted to look closer at the screen and then shook her head. "Why? 's she a new one?"
“I guess so…” he muttered, pushing his blue hair out of his face.
The TV crackled to life as a news reporter moved on screen. “BREAKING NEWS! A chase is currently underway between our local heroes and a mysterious criminal, allegedly an assassin. What we know so far is that our heroes Rewind, Strings, and-” NYOOOOOOOOOOOOM-, “Turbo-” the reporter looked shocked, their hair now ruined. Out of nowhere, a big explosion suddenly sent people ducking and screaming.
“Pan over there! Pan over there!” The reporter yelled as the camera shifted to the tall buildings that surrounded the area.
The camera zoomed in to focus on the action, with heroes Turbo and Rewind chasing the mysterious criminal through the streets. “WOW! As you can see here, folks, the heroes are currently in pursuit of a criminal who seems to really be screwing them over! Will our heroes succeed on their mission? Find out after these commercials!”
“What..the fuck.” The two muttered in unison as they stared at the TV—which was now playing a dumb car commercial—with faces that could only be described as gobsmacked.
***
“Shit!” The criminal yelled as she stood up and jumped off her motorcycle, the vehicle exploding into a million pieces behind her. Debris was scattered across the road, creating a hazard for oncoming traffic. The blast pushed her up onto a ledge of a two-story building, allowing her to get to high ground and continue running.
“GET BACK HERE!!” Rewind yelled as he and the other heroes climbed and ran up the building. By now, Rewind had managed to close the distance between him and the criminal.
“Fuck no! You just blew up my bike, that thing was worth a million bucks!” She yelled back, adrenaline rushing through her veins.
“I bet you stole that bike," Rewind scoffed, "Besides, you're a damn criminal! There’s gonna be some collateral damage along with your arrest!”
“Nuh uh!”
The differing sides continued to bicker as they parkoured to the next platform. The heroes were closing in despite the woman speeding up as fast as she could. The criminal jumped down from the building and into an alley, hoping to shake the heroes that were still hot on her tail.
“Psst! Over here..!” A cryptic voice exclaimed in a hushed tone as a pair of eyes emerged from an unlit side section of the alley.
The criminal ran towards the ominous eyes, momentarily losing the heroes until a voice spoke into the group's earpieces.
“Take a right into the abandoned building. I've got eyes on her and her accomplice.”
Another hero stalked the alley, a predator waiting to capture their prey. He wasn't visible to the naked eye, but the criminal could sense his presence from the fire escapes and balconies above.
“Gotcha…” Rewind muttered under his breath as he ran down the criminal’s route.
“Fuck fuck fuck!” She stammered as she kept running, her energy visibly depleting. “Go, get out of here, I can handle this on my own!” She called out to her little helper. They nodded in affirmation, making a sharp turn around the corner and disappearing into the shadows.
Once the two split apart, Rewind continued to chase after his target, sending Turbo after the other. Little did the criminal know, she was reaching a dead end… to her relief, another villain decided to step in and engage in some tomfoolery, toying with the heroes. Not to help the criminal, but to instead mess with a… ”friend”.
“Oh, Rewind~!” taunted a mysterious, echoey voice from above.
Rewind’s ear practically twitched towards the voice, and his head snapped to the side to see Ethereal, his arch-nemesis, gazing down at him through their vague mask with a mischievous grin.
“ETHEREAL! YOU SON OF A—” Rewind started before remembering to keep up appearances, since the press were definitely watching the chase, “Strings!”
Ethereal just laughed as the second-in-command pulled out a long, whip-like weapon and rushed towards them, not caring how strong the heroes were. The two dashed across buildings, laying hits on one another that only left bruises and small wounds.
“This isn't helping anyone, Rewind!” The top villain called out as he generated a small pocket knife and dodged an attack from Strings, jumping off the building they were both on to continue the battle elsewhere.
Rewind scowled and ignored Ethereal's comment, shifting his focus to the issue at hand. Now, the criminal was trapped, watching as he came closer—and inevitably, before she could climb up the building, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the wall. “Gotcha, bitch.” He grinned, a manic glint in his eyes as he stared down at her.
“It’s Astrea!” She growled.
“I know it isn’t Astrea, Freya…” He chuckled, but his cheeky smile faded almost immediately. Rewind reached for his cuffs, but Freya had another idea in mind.
A smile grew on her face, slits forming and running up to her ears as her figure grew. Enormous bat wings ripped out of her skin and widened. Rewind was terrified of what he was witnessing and stood back. “You’re like her…” He said quietly as he looked up at the beast.
Blood dripped from Freya’s mouth as she fully transformed into this terrifying creature. She clenched her fist and punched Rewind with so much strength that he flew back into the street, the harsh pavement tattering his suit, giving way for Freya to make a successful escape.
Tonight's events intrigued the invisible heroine as he watched from afar, ignoring his teammates who rushed to assist their leader for a time. It wasn't like they would know he wouldn't be following them back to the headquarters yet, so he had time to gaze upon the oddly beautiful monster flying away. This was the first, but certainly won’t be the last encounter with her.