The
sun had set an hour ago, and still Natalie stood on the rooftop overlooking a
poorer section of Hopling. Ever since the super villains’ attack on Hopling
city, an investigation into a string of dead bodies has been under way. Every
victim was a lowlife criminal, and every crime scene showed signs of a reverse
mugging gone wrong. But instead of the usual signs of attack, the autopsies
proved there was no external damage done to the bodies. It was as if each of
them dropped dead suddenly from heart failure in the middle of mugging someone.
When murders appear that seem to defy normal explanation, the GMA is contacted
and a search is put in motion to find the killer. Frontier was alerted, but
Natalie kept the information to herself for now. She decided there was no need
to concern Steve, since he had his hands full with the Western Frontier team,
and Marian and Matt were off saving a couple of rich idiots. Besides, no one
had any solid description of the killer since it appeared to be happening
during random muggings. Natalie just kept her eyes open during patrols, and
hung near the poor sections longer than usual, all in an attempt to apprehend this
new metahuman serial killer.
Marian
and Matt were not out of the plane for five minutes before people started
walking up to them and asking questions and demanding autographs. The attack on
Hopling last month spread across the globe, and the members of Frontier became
an international hit. Despite trying to hide behind his glowing energy, it was
not hard for people to identify Matt as the glowing new powerhouse of the team.
Matt tried desperately to avoid these fans, but Marian reveled in the fame.
When
they finally ducked through a door and were alone, Marian was laughing and
having a great time. Matt, on the other hand, was desperate to get away.
“What’s
wrong, Matt?” Marian asked, noticing for the first time Matt’s irritation.
“I
hate the attention,” he grumbled. “How did so many damn people know we were
coming?”
Marian
shrugged, “I don’t know, word gets around I guess. But what does it matter?
You’re on Frontier now, you should be getting used to the attention.”
“It’s
different in Hopling. Crowds aren’t swarming around us, I’m in the sky most of
the time, and I can take off whenever I want. Plus I try to hide in the light.”
“I
don’t get why though,” Marian said as they exited the airport and quickly
dashed to a waiting car that was to take them to the celebrities’ beach house.
“You’re such a powerful hero, Matt. You should let the whole world know who you
are.”
Matt
hesitated, realizing he had yet to tell Marian, or anyone for that matter, what
actually happened to him all those years ago that convinced him he wasn’t
superhero material. Matt went to begin, but stopped. He really liked Marian,
but he was sure this wasn’t the time or place for that story. Plus this wasn’t
the first time she had tried to convince him to become licensed, and after the
few weeks with her he seemed to be slowly changing his mind. But for now he
deflected it, which was second nature to him by this point.
“It’s
too complicated. I’m not licensed, and I have my family to think about. If my
dad’s old enemies knew his son was out and about, it might cause problems.”
Both things were completely true, Matt knew, but it wasn’t the whole story. It
was good enough, however.
Marian
nodded that she understood, but Matt could feel a shift in her energy. She
wasn’t happy with Matt’s reluctance to be known.
“I’m
sorry Marian. Perhaps I’ll come around to it soon. You seem to love it!”
Marian’s
smile returned. “Hopefully! Especially if I’m going to be hanging on your arm
out in public.”
Matt
settled down into the seat and picked up the file once more. He was not happy
with himself for not telling Marian the whole story, but it wasn’t the first
time he felt this way. Not many people outside of his family made him feel so
guilty for not joining the superhero spotlight. None of them tried to cause
that guilt, but it was always the same. He could feel the confusion and unease
in their energy, and hated it.
With his recent spot on
Frontier’s team, and his soon to be official status with Marian, Matt had been
rethinking his ideas of licensing. There were many, many drawbacks in his
opinion, but at least he wouldn’t need to hide anymore. This wasn’t an easy
choice for Matt, who had been against becoming licensed for most of his life.
With a sigh Matt forced himself
to concentrate on the surrounding suburbs they were driving through. The
quicker they could find the celebrities and get back home, the better. Maybe
then he could consult with his father and make his decision on gaining a
license once and for all.
The
grounds of the beach house were deserted, and they could tell the local police
had already torn through everything looking for evidence. Matt floated slightly
above the compound and concentrated, trying to sense for metahuman energy
signals somewhere off grounds. Meanwhile Marian walked around the grounds,
trying to focus but finding herself dreaming of one day owning a place as
beautiful and rich as this. Suddenly from inside the house she heard a door
close. Marian went to check it out, since she and Matt were supposed to be the
only two people there.
As
she quietly moved through the house, Marian could hear the shuffling of feet
coming from the basement. Then she heard a person’s cough. Marian clicked on
her communicator and whispered, “Matt, there’s someone here...”
The
basement door was kicked open. Out poured a stream of men with guns, all of
them shouting and taking aim. Marian reacted instantly, kicking down the first
armed gunner. She bounded forwarded and vaulted over the next in line, tackling
another attacker. Attacking with trained speed and accuracy, Marian began
taking the gunners down one at a time. She counted a total of eight armed
gunmen, and methodically disabled them one by one. As she smashed her elbow
into the neck of one, another took aim and fired. The bullet grazed Marian’s
side and struck the gunman in front of her. Before she could retaliate, a flash
appeared behind the shooter and his body fell limp to the ground.
Matt
was glowing brightly as he expelled a wave of energy that knocked out any
attackers who weren’t already. He walked up to Marian and put his hand on the
wound to stop any bleeding.
“I’m
okay,” she said as she took out gauze from a little med kit on her back. “The
bullet only grazed my skin. Give me a second to bandage it up.”
Matt
nodded and then looked around. None of the men had any IDs or insignias on
them, but they were clearly well armed and somewhat trained professionals. “You
really handed them their asses, huh?”
Marian
smiled then winced as she applied antibiotic ointment and tightened the gauze.
“That’s from a lifetime of having to fight with my hands instead of fancy
powers.” A pause, “You’ve never really seen me kick ass before, have you?”
Matt
shook his head and he looked into the basement. “Nope, we always seem to be
fighting on opposite ends of the battlefield. But seeing these guys makes me
glad I’m on your side.”
Marian
put her hand in Matt’s and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “That’s sweet,
Matt. You’re the first guy my age who actually acknowledges my power as
something useful for more than bedroom pleasure. But I’m no powerhouse, and I
know it.”
“Tsk,
having power doesn’t matter if you can’t use it. You can’t let anything limit
you, Mare.”
Marian
laughed, “Now you’re sounding like Alex.”
Matt
turned suddenly, breaking the conversation off. He sensed a metahuman
approaching fast, and went outside to see what it was. Marian went to follow
him, but didn’t get far. The meta running towards them plowed into Matt and
sent him flying back through the house, destroying much of the living room. The
metahuman skidded to a stop and lifted his domed head, smiling through gray
wrinkles of skin.
“Fancy
meeting you here! Looks like I get to give you a good bashing!”
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