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  There I was, much like any other night, lying in the sand, watching the stars slowly fall. Or was it the other way around? No, I knew where I was, and it wasn't here. I must say it is difficult to try to relax when you know there's a fight waiting just ahead. However, I had to. I looked up to see how much was left at the top of the glass. Still almost an hour left. I wish this could end early, but I knew I needed that if I were to survive. Not necessarily for tonight's battle, but for what was to come the following morning. I can't think about that too much, or else my time will be cut short. I took ten deep breaths and focused my mind on nothing but the sand. The stars that drifted down to slowly bury me alive. I focused on how the weight on my chest was getting heavier and heavier until I completely forgot I was weightless. Finally, all that was left was the sound of time itself.

  tik - tok

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  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarms in my earpiece blared.

  "AAHHH! Off! Off!" I shouted. It persisted to beep. "I'm awake, you can turn off now! Stooop!" I groaned. I had to slap the side of my hood to get it to stop. What's wrong with this thing? Did the mic in my mask turn off?"

  "Hello? Hello, hello!" I spoke, but the words that came out weren't my own. The voice distortion seems to be working fine, the voice commands still need some work, though. At least the suit didn't lose power, I'd be waking up on the ground. I flipped over in the air to see that I was still floating a few feet above the roof of Alpha Iota tower, the tallest skyscraper on the north side of Shadow Brook. Noticeably, I had drifted a bit higher and closer to the edge while in my sleep.

  "That's probably fine." I sighed. I turned down a slider on one of my gauntlets and floated down to the roof. I don't feel much more rested, but it's probably time to go. Yawning, I checked the time on my phone to find out it was-

  "11:59!? No, no, no! How'd I sleep through the alarm that much? I'm gonna be-" Looking off in the distance, at the rail line that ran by the ocean on the south side of town, the massive torii gate straddling the tracks began to fill with an emanating teal light. "-late…"

  Without further hesitation, I sprinted to the edge and hopped off the tower. The antennas and scarf on my costume whipped around violently in the wind. I held my breath as I quickly approached the roof of a much shorter neighboring building. Moments before impact, I turned my gauntlets' sliders back up and kicked on the repellers in my boots, stopping an inch above the roof, before launching myself back into the sky. Flying too veridical, I used quick bursts from my gauntlets to gain forward momentum and adjust my trajectory to kick off the side of a building, up a head. As I hopped from building to building, a train emerged through the portal in the torii gate, oblivious to the danger they would soon face.

  A certain half-asian teenage girl sat alone on the train as it passed through the portal into Shadow Brook. She looked through her window with stars in her eyes and a melody in her earbuds, with a calico cat curled up in her lap. Tired from her travels, she rested her head and closed her eyes. It may have only been for a second, but when she opened them, the train around her had changed. The interior of the cutting-edge maglev Spirit Train now resembled an early American steam engine straight out of a Western movie. The passengers looked at each other with confusion; some of them entertained, others panicked. Their attention was soon grabbed by a woman, dressed like a wild west outlaw, kicking open the door of the cab from the engine car.

  "Damn, should have known they wouldn't be there!" She growled. "Anyone know where the hell the conductor and his little brat are?"

  A man in the crowd laughed, "Ha, is this some kind of a show? I love your costume, but this better not make us late to the station."

  "Oh, y'all think this is funny?" She spoke with a deep southern drawl. She lifted her poncho and pulled her revolver on the man.

  "On second thought, take as much time as you need." He raised his hands and slowly sat back down. "Villains and their damn gimmicks these days." He muttered under his breath.

  The villain fired her gun and he disappeared into a puff of smoke. "Anyone else got anything to say about my "gimmick"? … Didn't think so. Now I know the conductor and his son are hiding somewhere on this train. Tell me where they are, and no one else has to get smoked." The passenger sat quietly in fear, no one wanting to be the first to speak. The bandit yawned in frustration and pointed her gun at a child in the front row.

  "Wait!" The teen girl got up. "Listen, if they weren't in the engine room, we have no idea where they are. I've been riding since this morning, and I haven't seen them come through this car." She pleaded.

  "Is that so?" The bandit questioned while turning her gun on the girl, "I suppose he wouldn't make it easy for me, would he? Damn, I don't have time to search every car before a hero gets here, and I don't want to get my butt toasted by a dragon tonight. Only thing to do now is draw them out." She grabbed the girl, holding the gun to her head. The calico cat hid in her bag. The villain took out an old-timey microphone, strangely not connected to anything.

  She began to speak her demands that somehow echoed through the whole train, "Saitō, I know you're still here. Quit hiding and send your boy to the front car right now. Or else these passengers are going to get real equated with my gun. One. By. One. So why don't y'all come up here so we can… talk things out. Don't keep me wait'n."

  The hostage girl closed her eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek as she held her breath, praying for a hero to save them. When suddenly, THUD! They heard the impact of something landing on the roof. That's when I, Night Hopper, entered the scene.

  "Gravity press!" I called out. The purple details in my suit briefly flash yellow as I get pulled down through the roof of the train, landing directly on the villain. I swiftly separated her from the girl and pinned her to the floor. "Well, if it isn't Crooked Cassidy. I had a feeling our paths would cross again."

  "Who the hell are you?" She asked. Her eyes lit up with a charcoal color right before she disappeared in a puff of smoke, then reappeared above me, pinning me as I did her.

  "You-you don't remember me?" I frowned. "Well, maybe you'll remember this! 0 G lift!" My gauntlets let out a burst of purple light, and we began to float off the ground. I managed to kick her away from me. "Remember? I stopped you at the bank."

  "That was you? Oh, you're that Night Skipper guy. And you didn't really stop me from robbing that bank." Cassidy commented, then fired her gun at me.

  I used the thrusters in my gauntlets to dodge mid-air. "It's Night Hopper. I fought you off and saved the hostages." I argued.

  "I was about to let them go and leave when you showed up and blasted me up the window, bag of cash in hand. I thought you were gonna follow me, but instead you got the hostages out of there as I ran away with the money. You kinda suck as a hero." She laughed, shooting again.

  "I never said I was one. You were about to shoot them. I prioritized the lives of civilians over some cash." I explain, dodging again.

  "And that's what makes you so weak." She cackled, turning her gun to the teen girl.

  "No!" I shouted. Swiftly, I kicked off the wall, launching myself between the girl and the gun. BANG! I was hit. Before I knew it, I was disappearing in a black puff of smoke. … Then… THUD! I hit the ground of the railroad tracks.

  "What? I'm fine!" I said in disbelief, checking my chest for bullet holes. I looked up to see the spirit train in the distance. "Aww, shoot!" I squatted down, then pushed off with all my repellers. I hopped from arch to arch to catch up to it. So that's what that gun does: kicks people out. I should have realized sooner. Hope I'm not too late this time. I caught up and hopped through the hole I made when entering. When I got there, I noticed there were significantly fewer people in the car than when I got kicked, but those who were left were screaming and crying in chaos.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Crooked Cassidy was talking through her old mic, "Ughh, come on already." She carelessly shot another passenger who screamed as they disappeared. "Hear that? You can make it all stop if you give yourself to me. All of their blood is gonna be on your hands if you don't- Aw crap!" She saw me and tried to shoot me, but I jumped behind a passenger and let them disappear for me.

  "You're alive!" The girl I saved exclaimed.

  "What are you doing?!" Cassidy grumbled.

  "Everyone, she's just bluffing! All the gun does is send you back on the track. I got hit and I was totally fine." I announce. The panic and chaos began to leave the crowd.

  "Damn it! Should have just brought the real thing after all." She pouted.

  This brief moment of defeat for the villain was abruptly cut off when a young man, with tears in his eyes, ran in through the back door. Cassidy's eyes lit up as she narrowed her attention on her target.

  "Stop this!" He frantically shouted, "I'm the one you're after! I can't hide away any longer as you kill innocent people just to get your hands on me!"

  "Well, how about that, this koi actually fell for it, hook, line, and sinker." Cassidy cackled.

  An older man hurried in, catching his breath. "Mako, get back here! It's a trap, she'll take you away. RUN!" He cried.

  Crooked Cassidy twirled her gun, approaching the scared boy. Quickly, I launched myself at him. He screamed as I threw him over my shoulder and hopped for the hole in the roof. Before I could make a break for it, Cassidy poofed to the exit and knocked me down with a swing kick, hanging from the hole.

  "Not so fast," she declared, "I had dibs on that kid fair and square!"

  Wait, does she think I'm also trying to kidnap him? I guess it might look like that, but I have to get him out of here ASAP. I took a capsule off my belt and tossed it at her. It burst open with a flash of yellow that pulled her down, pinning her to the floor long enough for me to jump out of the train with Mako. He apparently had the same idea as Cassidy because he was yelling and hitting me as I hopped off the train over to a nearby skyscraper.

  "Unhand me, villain!" he whaled, "You're not gonna get away with this. Drako-Knight is gonna kick your ass!"

  "You'd think that wouldn't you?" I sighed, dropping him on the roof, "But the fact is, I'm the one who had to come save your ass." Mako scrambled towards the roof door, but stopped when he saw me going back instead of chasing him.

  "So wait, you really were rescuing me?" He asked, "I'm sorry, I know a lot of heroes, but I've never seen you before, and how come you wear a mask?"

  "'Cause I ain't no hero, kid," I groan, "Now stay put. I got a bandit to catch."

  "Hold on! I can't just wait here, she'll keep killing people to-" I hopped away before he could finish. Don't have time to explain, gotta catch her and get answers. She could have intel connecting Drako-Knight to the kidnappings. I caught up to the train to find Crooked Cassidy was still there, holding out a sack as passengers dumped their wallets and jewelry in it.

  "In the minute I was gone, you went from kidnapping to robbery? You must be really committed to pulling off a train crime tonight." I mocked, dropping in.

  "Back again?! I figured you'd be halfway across the city with the boy by now."

  "Sorry, I missed the "kidnapping super-powered teens sign-up sheet." Maybe if you took me to your boss, I could join the club." I proposed.

  "I don't know what "club" you're looking for, but this bounty hunter runs solo."

  "Who the hell is putting bounties on innocent children?!" I demanded.

  "Do ya know why I'm so good in this line of work? I don't ask questions, I take action." She yawned, drawing a lasso from under her poncho. She seemed to dance as she twirled it around before letting it fly at me. I dodged by jumping out of the way, but the rope turned in mid-air and caught me around my ankles. Cassidy pulled me in with immense strength and flung me to the ground.

  "Technically," I coughed, "you just asked a question."

  She growled, pinning me to the ground with her knee, "I've had enough of your sly mouth, pest." She unsheathed a Bowie knife and plunged it at my chest. Just in time, I blocked it with my left gauntlet. Sparks flew as the knife cut through the thin shielding into the delicate circuitry and power source. The glowing purplish liquid that runs through my suit and gauntlets spilled everywhere. Some of it sank into the train, causing it to begin pulsing with purple energy as it headed toward a sharp turn.

  "That's not good…" I sighed, holding out my arm so nothing would touch the glitching gauntlet. Unfortunately, Cassidy grabbed it, accidentally pushing the slider down, then slammed it into the ground, trying to pin me down better. More sparks flew as the command flowed into the ground, turning off gravity throughout the train.

  "The hell did you do?!" She questioned.

  "I- did not know this could happen." I gasped, "Oh, shi-" The train ran right at the turn, as it hit it derailed and was sent flying off the cliff to the ocean. Thankfully, it kept flying, the outside of the train seemed to also be in 0 gravity, but not for long. The passengers went back into a full panic.

  "MY TRAIN!" the conductor cried.

  "God, I know this is a maglev train, but this is a bit much." I joked, copingly.

  "Heh, I was gonna say I'm used to my plans going off the rails but not like this." Cassidy chuckled.

  "Oh, you do have a sense of humor," I remarked.

  "Whatever. Can you bring this thing down slowly?" She asked. "Rather not die today."

  "Well, you busted up the personal gravity field controls, but I'll try… .1 Gs!" I commanded, but nothing happened. ".1Gs! .1Gs!!! Damn voice controls! Time to try the hard way." I jumped out of the train and tried pushing the train back to land, but my repellers began to fail due to most of my power source being spilled earlier. I hopped back inside in defeat.

  "Wow, you're more useless than I thought. I'm out of here," Cassidy claimed, eyes lighting up.

  "Wait! This won't stay weightless forever. We need to evacuate everyone." I pleaded.

  "We?" She laughed.

  "Go shoot everyone with your gun. That will kick them out of your domain to the spot they were when they entered, am I right?" I guessed.

  "You are, but why should a crook like me help you?" She asked.

  I argued, "You might be a bad guy, but you still care for these people's lives. Otherwise, you would have used a real gun."

  "How much time before this thing drops?" She wondered. I used my working gauntlet to get a reading of how fast the energy was decaying and run the calculation.

  "Three minutes," I stated

  "Three minutes! There's no way I'll be able to get everyone in that time." She shouted. A wave of fear and despair spread through the crowd as they thought, is this the end? All hope seemed lost when a teal portal formed in the back doorway.

  Mako, eyes glowing teal, stepped through the portal and asked, "Is everyone okay? I saw the train start flying and thought you might need my help."

  "Well, how brave, the Porter returns. He must think he's a real hero." Cassidy remarked, "Looks like tonight might not be such a failure."

  "If you lay one figure on my boy-" The conductor started before vanishing into a puff of smoke thanks to Cassidy's gun. Mako looked shocked, like he was about to cry, before I stepped in.

  "Trust me, he's fine! He just got sent back to land." I informed, "There's no time to waste. Mako, go to the back cars and get everyone through your gateways. Cassidy, you can try to get him once we're out of here. Right now, I need you to go shoot as many people as you can in the front cars."

  "Fine," she grumbled.

  "The rest of you in this car, through this portal now!" I shouted.

  I didn't have to tell them twice; they all pushed themselves to the door, including the hostage girl I saved. Mako and Cassidy hurried to get everyone out in their own way. I tossed the sack of the passenger's loot through the portal, then watched them clear the train, from the outside as the timer ticked down and the train's glow began to fade. With only twenty seconds to spare, both of them evacuated their halves of the train. I broke in and followed Mako through a portal back to the roof of the skyscraper as Cassidy vanished into smoke and the interior of the train reverted to normal.

  "Is anybody missing?" I asked the passengers.

  "Oh no, I left my backpack!" The teen girl yelled.

  "Sorry, but there's no-"

  "My cat was in there!" She interrupted, "I have to go back to the first car."

  Mako nodded, and she ran through the doorway. I chased after her, and as soon as I got through, the train dropped. Once we fell the portal closed behind us. The girl screamed as we plummeted. Ironically, we still seem to be in zero gravity because of the free fall.

  "Hang on!" I shouted, boasting to her. I scooped her up bridal style and kicked off to grab her backpack. Voice commands, please don't fail me now. "ZERO G, MAXIMUM HOP!" The rest of the liquid left in my suit glowed brighter than ever before, crackling with cosmic power. I rocketed off the train's wall, through the window, towards the cliff the train ran off of. As we soared across the night sky, I looked down to see the moon and stars reflected in the black eyes of this girl. Her expression changed completely from terrified to one of awe once in my arms. As we approached the cliff's ledge, the glow of my suit started to rapidly fade. We lost speed, and my repellers began to stutter. Just a little farther! I reached out for the ledge, almost grazing the rocks before my suit gave out. I closed my eyes in acceptance, but then, a moment later, a hand reached out from a cloud of smoke and pulled us up. I put down the lady and her bag, then collapsed. I looked for Cassidy, but there was no trace of her.

  "We're alive!" The girl cheered. She opened her backpack and hugged her calico cat. "I'm so sorry I left you, Mirai!" I sat up.

  "What did you say that's cat's name was?" I asked.

  "Oh my gosh, are you okay, Mr. Night Hopper? Or wait, is it Ms. Night Hopper? Sorry, I'm still pretty shaken." She stammered.

  "Just Night Hopper is fine, but I-" I stared. Never mind, there's no way that could be the same cat. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

  "I'll be fine, but can I ask you a question?"

  "You already did."

  "Fair." She laughed, "Uh, early on the train, you said you weren't a hero. What are you then?"

  I took a breath to think about that, then answered, "I'm someone who heard a call from this city and answered. Someone who does what they have to regardless of this world's laws. I am a vigilante."