A cold September breeze trailed through Union City, carrying the stench of dread and despair with it. The smog in the sky blocked the stars, draining their hope from the city. The echo of despair drowned the voice of the hopeful, leaving an atmosphere of suffering. Purgatory. 

Audrey Steven lay bound and gagged in the back of a dirty van, her legs and hands bound, and her mind floating in emptiness. The haze clouding her vision and the paralysis in her muscles left her helpless. She thrashed around in the van at every bump and dip, her muscles helpless to lift her back up. Her eyes were stained with tears, but no wails of sorrow escaped her mouth. She didn’t have the strength.

After an eternity, the van screeched to a halt, thrusting Audrey’s body to the front of the van. Faintly, she could hear the sound of boots thudding on concrete. The boots made their way to the back of the van. Light flooded the back of the van, intensifying the haze surrounding Audrey. Two beams of light focused themselves on Audrey. Two distinct but faint voices bantered as two silhouettes climbed into the van and dragged Audrey out.

The air of the outside only cleared her head slightly. Audrey could make out the shape of a warehouse in front of her. The bigger of the two silhouettes picked up Audrey and draped her over his shoulder. His low and raspy echoed in Audrey’s head. The only words she could make out were “boss” and “merchandise.” The silhouettes and Audrey sauntered forward into the warehouse. Audrey’s gut dropped. It took her forever, but she discovered what was going to happen to her. The silhouette saying “merchandise” finally made sense.

The dim lights of the warehouse obscured Audrey’s vision even further. She could only barely make out the shapes of several people standing around and one man sitting in a chair. The man carrying her and the one in the chair talked for a minute, with every sentence escaping Audrey’s perception until the man in the chair said: “let me have a look at her.” The man carrying her stepped forward and released Audrey, her body plummeting to the ground like a mockingbird that had just been shot. She heard faint shuffling next to her head, then she felt the cold grip of a cold man grabbed her head and pull her up.  The brown eyes of the man burned the image of dread in Audrey’s brain. If there was ever a time to act, this was it.

“We drugged her, she won’t say much.” The raspy voice informed, with a spiteful chuckle at the end.

“P-plea-please…” Audrey muttered, with all the strength left in her body. The brown-eyed man smirked with a cold fire in his eye. 

“She’ll do nicely.”

Audrey felt her body being elevating off the ground, and once again felt the solid, rock-like shoulder of the man piercing into her stomach. With all her energy spent, Audrey’s eyes began to slide shut, until all she could see was the empty abyss of her own mind. The world fell silent. All she could feel was the occasional sway of her legs and arms over the man’s shoulder. Hope was a long lost dream.

Just before Audrey truly fell, a single sound burst through her perception. The startling sound of shattering glass from above. Her heart sprang into overdrive, pumping adrenaline through her system. Audrey’s eyes snapped open just to still a still blurry world. Despite that, she could clearly make out the form of a new man, surrounded by the shattered glass. He was dressed in dark colors, with a grey cape draping over his shoulders, broad and intimidating, and a hood blacking out his face, except for his eyes, which glowed white with a burning intensity. His hand was reared back with a silver object gripped between his index, middle finger, and thumb.

The man in the cape’s hand and arm snapped forward. The silver glided through the air, revealing it’s sharp points orienting around the center of the object, and then split into two objects. They spun and hit the man carrying Audrey in the chest, sending him to the ground in pain, dropping Audrey who rolled into the nearby wall.

Looking up, Audrey saw the blurred motions of the man in the cape taking down all her abductors and the occasional flashes of light followed by deafening booms that echoed through the space. The gunshots never slowed the man in the cape, who gracefully and with thunderous force gilded between attackers, and leaving them limp on the floor. His form was deliberate and precise. His sidekicks landed perfectly into the jaws of his enemies, and his punches landed in their guts with pinpoint accuracy.

After what could only be seconds, the room fell still. Audrey’s senses had almost reached their normal levels when she heard the man in the chair cry out.

“No! No, please!” The man who was in the chair pleaded.
“Keith Kyler” a low voice boomed through the warehouse. “You are guilty.”

“Just-just tell me what you want!” Without hesitation, the man in the cape rushed forward, grabbed Kyler by the collar and hoisted him into the air with one arm. After a second, the man in the cape twisted his body, launching Kyler over his head and into the ground with a bone-crunching crack as Kyler hit the floor.

Did that just happen? The thought raced through Audrey’s head over and over again. At this point in the night, she wouldn't be surprised if her mind had lied to her. While looking up at the man, his head slowly turned his head, until his glowing white eyes met hers. Despite him having appeared to save her, fear still flooded her body at the sight of his menacing figure. 

The two locked eyes for only a moment before the man in the cape reached to his belt and removed a small grey object from one of the many pouches orbiting his waist. Holding the device in his hand, he clicked the top of it and a purple LED began blinking. He then tossed the device to the ground and reached back down to his belt. This time he removed what could only be a gun. Audrey recoiled slightly, assuming the worst, but the man pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. Audrey braced for the boom, but it never came. All she heard was a hiss as steam emitted from the barrel and a black cable shot up and out the shattered window. After a moment, the man’s body was yanked up, with his cape rippling behind him as he flew through the window.

Audrey watched for a moment, in awe at what just happened. A million questions raced through her mind at once. Who was he? Why’d he save me? Where’d he come from? How’d he know? Audrey’s mind couldn’t process all the questions. The world began to grow quiet again, and her muscles failed, bringing her back to the ground. Now everything began growing dark until finally, her eyes shut, and the world turned black.

She woke up 14 hours later in the Union City hospital.