The broken-down plastic slide from a disused wooden climbing tower lay in the way as Ren crossed the yard, heading towards the door and the decorative layers of spray-paint.
Up at the second floor window, he saw a figure against a shifting backlight looking down at him. It was a silhouette, but clear enough in shape that he could tell they were watching him. Ren kept moving.
Confidently, he reached for the door to open it and slip inside, trying to find the muggers or anyone who knew anything about them. His leads had all coalesced here. The door creaked open, and inside he saw two figures sitting by a toppled-over desk.
Empty-looking bags and backpacks had been thrown into the corner, with a small metal box laying on the floor next to the two figures, its lid removed from broken hinges and with wallets and jewelry pouring out of it. The cold concrete hallway echoed with the meticulous footsteps of hard, low heels, an occasional squeak of rubber piercing his ears.
"So, the mighty Lucid comes for us at last?" A mocking voice reached Ren's ears, going through a modulator to mask the gender and identity of the speaker. Ren turned to see a figure in a long white cloak that, after being tied around the neck, continued up into a hood. He had to admit that this figure had a certain panache, one that was often found in Japanese media, but here in the hallway of a broken building, it looked more ridiculous than impressive.
Ren took an immediate step back away from the door as the figure moved closer. The iron door groaned, then moved to close in front of him. He was back in the yard, but as he turned he saw the same figure standing right next to the monkey bars, straightening their awkward-looking get-up and hiding a set of white clothes beneath the cloak.
Even in the darkness, Ren could see through to what the hood was hiding. Instead of a face, he saw very nondescript facial features bent in ways that should be impossible. He looked closer and saw a thick layer of something, perhaps a mask, that seemed to refract what little light was hitting it, causing an intriguing and somewhat mesmerizing effect that made this person's face twist and melt to the point of being unrecognizable. Near the lower edge of the plastic mask, Ren spotted an opaque ring with horizontal slots on it, probably the voice modulator.
"I've heard about you. The way you've crashed into our business. The police we can handle; they can be directed to other leads and led on chases that can last for years. You vigilantes are an unfortunate lot, butting yourselves into business that doesn't and shouldn't involve you," the figure said, the voice modulator shifting between a higher and lower pitch, tinted by a robotic mechanical tinge.
"I believe you simply stumbled upon our business, but perhaps you were always meant to discover us in one way or another. You see, the world has changed. There has been a New Dawn for all of humanity."
In a flash, the figure in white disappeared, then reappeared again standing next to Ren. Behind him, he heard the heavy door slamming shut with a mighty boom. The stranger was faster than anything he'd seen before, becoming a very faint trace of a white blur streaking across his vision. It reminded Ren of Aura, but she had the courtesy of leaving a trail. This was just a faint sense of movement that his brain couldn't handle.
The two of them clashed in a furious exchange of blows. Ren lost track of time very quickly, but fairly early on one of his blows hit the figure in white, leading both of them to tumble back onto a weak part of the roof. With a horrendous noise, they both went through the roof and at least two floors below it before finding themselves in an abandoned living room.
On his back on a piece of concrete, Ren rolled over, seeing a piece of rebar jutting out of another large piece of concrete. As the room fell silent, he picked up on a rough electronic rasping, then the high-pitched squeal of a speaker blowing out, ending the noise. Slowly, Ren rose to his feet, seeing the figure in white slumped against the rubble with their mask cracked and the modulator hanging off. The figure's chest was heaving up and down.
Ren leaned down and placed his hand upon the voice modulator, pulling on it slowly. In his chest, his heart raced with adrenaline, excitement, expectation, and fatigue.
The face beneath was revealed, and as he gazed upon it, his eyebrows immediately shot upwards in shock. He had seen this face plastered all over the news in recent weeks, fuelling the fires of hatred towards those with powers.
Richard Rennow.
Ren reached for his gadgets and pulled out a cord of high-tensile polymer wire, something he used fairly often when capturing criminals and tying them up for the police. A couple of zip ties to hold the hands and feet, then a few quick wraps of the wire between all the zip ties to make a nice little bunch for the police. Too easy.
As he finished up and used a pair of tiny cutters to break off the wire, the figure in white came around and began shifting. Ren heard a guttural mumbling as he climbed over the rubble and headed back into the empty apartment building, seeking a stable way out.
Standing atop a roof nearby, Ren watched the first police car arrive at the scene. He observed them walk inside the building, and a while later walked past one of the windows on the second floor. There was no sign of the white-clad figure. He didn't see the figure escape, but one of the two officers walked out with a scrap of white cloth in hand. The officer then went to guide other cars to the location.
The rest of the night went fairly slowly. Ren had escaped the area just as more police sirens turned the corner and wailed his way. He withdrew to a safer place to lick some of his wounds and rest. After a quick trip to a drive-thru, he was fed and ready to keep going for a bit longer. He applied some of the ice from his drink on any bruised spots on his body, although any bruises on him were disappearing quickly as his healing powers kicked in.
As he returned to the rooftops and overlooked the cityscape once more, he took in a deep breath of the chilly night air. A chopper was flying overhead, spotlight beaming down into the apartment buildings on the south side, making long sweeps in search of someone.
The small stones and other dirt that had gathered on the roof rustled ever so slightly, bringing his attention to something moving behind him. Ren turned, seeing the black silhouette of a man in front of him. Although there was enough light to see some of the details on him, the silhouette had been more than enough, Nightreaver.
"We need to talk."
Ren looked at Nightreaver for a moment. The man in black stood as an imposing figure against the cityscape, just the same as the first time he had seen him. Ren had continued to find traces of him, and had heard crooks of all kinds mention him with fear in their voice. Ren, however, had not met him since the incident in the store at the start of his vigilante career. Now, as Nightreaver stood in front of him, he couldn't help but ball his hand into a fist and lunge at him.
Nightreaver shifted away from him with very short steps, then suddenly darted straight towards him with arms outstretched. Ren saw the night sky for a moment, then heard a loud smash as he hit the rooftop. A dark boot landed on his throat, pressing down.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nightreaver growled, then leaned into Ren's line of sight. "I said, we need to talk."
"About what?" Ren gasped, the boot lifting slightly off his throat.
"Not here. I'll let Aura explain everything. Just follow me, and believe me when I say that this is important."