The stream fully kicked off with a dramatic shot of Nightwatch crouching on the edge of a towering skyscraper, surrounded by the neon lights of Meteor City below.
He was in a dark, high-tech suit lined with glowing blue stripes, like something out of Tron, and had a pair of high-tech batons at his side.
Right away, the look of his suit grabbed the crazy viewers' attention.
His mask had a sleek, shutter-like lens, and the HUD on it was synced up with the stream, giving real-time stats like his pulse rate and environmental scans… all the cool data any thrill-seeking audience would love to see.
Seconds after going live:
It was crazy across numerous social media platforms!
On Chirper:
[@RealNightwatchFan: HE'S BACK! THE LEGEND IS FINALLY LIVE!!! (｢ ⊙Д⊙)｢ #NightwatchReturns]
[@MetroCitySpy: Who had "Nightwatch returns in full sci-fi drip" on their 2030 bingo? ╰། ◉ ◯ ◉ །╯ #Nightwatch]
[@ThirstyForNightwatch: someone please hold me… i can't with that suit… the Tron lines are TOO MUCH (,,๏ ⋏ ๏,,)!!]
[@EagleEye420: Look at the HUD! Dude's tech is next level… are we sure he's human? #GOATStatus]
On Threadit, fans dissected each second:
❖ t/MetroCityTalk
[u/StreamSleuth: Pause at 0:03, you can see the new HUD layout. That's straight-up military grade. And is that… adaptive camo??]
[u/Nightwatcher_1999: He just skipped the small talk and went straight for the action. Not a single "I'm back," just all BUSINESS!]
[u/PulseCanonSurvivor: Bro shrugged off that Pulse Cannon hit like a legend, survived an explosion, and now he's here, better than ever, he's HIM!]
---
❖ t/MeteorCityTalk
[Nightwatch is Back!!! Live Stream Going Crazy Right Now - He's Got New Gear!]
[u/MCNightwatcherFanGirl21: Y'ALL. Nightwatch is back in Meteor City, and the dude is swinging across rooftops like a shadow with this crazy new suit and weapons!! He looks like a freaking superhero. I'm watching his stream, and it's legit like he's a vigilante or something! This is the coolest thing I've seen this whole week!]
[u/RealVigilanteOfMC: Finally, someone actually doing something in this city! Cops don't bother, politicians are corrupt as hell, and we got freaks running around with zero accountability. Nightwatch is like… our only hope?]
[u/AltRoc: Can we take a second to talk about his new suit, though? It's like he went full "cyber ninja." The blue lines are sick af and that HUD he's using, bro… He's out here like some Tron character mixed with Batman. Who funds this guy?]
[u/MCLurkerBot: As much as I'm all for the hype, this feels like a setup. You just show up out of nowhere with tech that advanced? I smell a rat. One big Corp might be using him to look good for the city, but really they're pulling the strings. I dunno, y'all, seems shady af.]
[u/SoulLess: Bro, sometimes a hero is just a hero. Not everyone's in bed with Corps. Some of us just want someone who'll wreck shop in our favor without asking questions, okay? Either way, I'm grabbing popcorn for this.]
---
The stream itself was an event.
Scott hadn't even said anything yet, but the shot of him crouched on the edge of the building was already blowing up LoopVid as users scrambled to create edits of the moment.
The snapshot of his silhouette against the neon lights became an instant profile picture across social media.
On Chatterbox's voice channels, fans reacted in real time:
[Did you see that HUD overlay? Dude's on some Isaac Volkner level tech.]
[Isaac Volkner? Isn't that Xenon, an A-ranked hero?]
[Yep Yep!]
[He's already got 10K live viewers! I feel like I'm witnessing history.]
On WeTube, comments flashed across the screen like a storm, impossible for a normal human to read. But Scott's HUD conveniently filtered and highlighted the funniest and most over-the-top reactions:
[@GigaChadFan: NIGHTWATCH MY KING, STEP ON ME!]
[@BerserkBringer: The dude's got HUD upgrades and a new suit! Bro, this looks better than any movie I've seen!]
[@KeepItSleek: I love how he just ignored those thirsty hookers LMFAO go off king (￣ε￣〃)]
[@REALfancyfanboy69: Bro's like, "I am inevitable."]
---
The flood of comments was nothing short of chaos, but there was a strange rhythm to it—almost like a crowd chanting at a live event. He scanned a few more of the best ones and smirked under his mask.
Back on Chirper, hashtags were piling up:
#NightwatchReturns
#TronNightwatch
#NightFreakinWatch
#GOATwatch
---
Nothing could unseat #PulsarPower and #PulsarStream at the top, but that just drove his fans even harder to promote his own tags. On ReddHub, one thread even went wild with conspiracy theories about his week-long disappearance:
[u/CityUnderbelly: He's been underground dealing with Meteor City's biggest gangs, that's why he went off-grid.]
[u/MysticWatcher: No way. He was in hiding because he got hit by a missile. Remember the burns on his suit from his last stream?]
[u/SmartestPersonAlive: Have you considered he might've just needed to recover? Guy took a hit from a PULSE CANNON last week and then survived getting blown up. Cut the man some slack fr.]
---
Through his HUD, Scott caught a bizarre chat message in bold from a Chatterbox group chat:
[@SoThirstyPlzNotSorry: Nightwatch, if you're seeing this… make me feel like a real woman!]
[@PolarBearRider replied: Girl chill, this man's here for the action, not your fanfic. This reminds me of the Pulsar and Nightwatch fanfic I read last night ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )]
[@BearRunAway: Weird girls like you drive me to the wilderness to hide with the bear]
The chat was unhinged, but it energized him even more.
Scott felt completely in sync with the System as it scrolled through WeTube, tracking his rising view count, and let him see the individual reactions from fans pouring in from every corner of the internet.
He took a breath and finally spoke into the mic with a calm and confident voice.
"Miss me?" he asked, his voice low and smooth.
The chat went berserk.
On Chirper, posts flooded in:
[@LunarEcho: OMFG he SPEAKS. IM MELTING SO BAD, DADDY (*^﹏^*)!!]
[@MistressAnne: A tear ran down my leg (.づ◡﹏◡)づ]
[@NotYourMamasHero: Bro just casually said "miss me?" like it's nothing. KING MOVE.]
[@MeteorCityChronicles: Welcome to Meteor City, Nightwatch. The city needs you. I hope you stay… we're way better than Metro City!]
Back on Threadit, fans dissected his voice, the exact tone and volume, to create soundbite memes and editing them to ridiculous effect.
The viral clips were everywhere.
They had captions like:
[When your ex slides into DMs but you left her on read]
[Me when I finally start that new job and everyone's freaking out (I lied in my CV)]
And in the voice channel on Chatterbox, his dedicated fans hyped each other up in sync with his every move:
[Omg he just adjusted the batons, it's about to go DOWN!]
[Dude's mask looks better than my whole life.]
---
Scott lowered his head and chuckled.
"Let's give them a show."
He steadied himself on the edge of the skyscraper before facing the camera.
The neon lights from below gave his suit an electric gleam, while the synchronized HUD across his mask showcased his calm heart rate.
It really helped the viewers know him better.
He let a few moments pass, feeling the thrill of thousands of eyes glued to him. Then, he leaned slightly forward, as if he was speaking right to each viewer.
"I've been in Meteor City for a while now. Uhhh, noticed it's a bit more… chaotic than I'm used to. Crime-ridden, you could say."
The chat exploded immediately, filling the HUD with comments scrolling like a ticker tape.
[HA! That's what you get for slumming it in Meteor. Metro City for life, bro.]
[Meteor City is like Metro City's awkward, angsty cousin nobody wants to visit.]
[Hey! It's really not that bad here, alright? Y'all exaggerate too much.]
["yo dudes the empire is pretty chill" ahh reply 😭🙏]
[Ugh, I'm serious tho ( ⊡ _ ⊡ )…]
[Says the guy who probably hasn't left his apartment in weeks. Good luck, Nightwatch; they'll steal your shoes here.]
[I'm more worried they'll steal his suit. That tech's worth more than most apartments in Meteor, lol.]
---
A smirk curled up beneath Scott's mask.
"Alright, alright, settle down. I'm here to make a difference, not start a war in the comments."
He held up his wrist and tapped a virtual button to bring up a sleek counter on-screen.
"Alright, here's the plan: I'm going on a crime-stopping spree tonight, and I want you all to join me. Every time I stop a crime, just drop a number in the chat. Every donation we raise will go straight to a local orphanage here in Meteor City. Let's make a difference together!"
He paused.
"Who's with me?"
The chat fired up instantly with both excitement and, as expected, a bit of skepticism.
[Sure, but we better see proof it's going to an actual orphanage. I'm not dropping cash just to fund his new suit.]
[Trust the man; it's Nightwatch. Dude doesn't need our money to upgrade.]
[Charity, huh? Could use a little more context… but you know what? Fine. I'll throw in $50 for each scumbag he takes down. It's for the kids.]
[This is literally the best way to spend my Friday night, go off, my dude!]
Scott watched the comments flow.
He was really amused with how cooperative they were these days.
But it made sense.
Fans would support you if you gave them the content they desperately wanted!
"Good enough for me."
Scott said, and with that, he jumped off the ledge and glided down to the streets below like a shadow.
He hit the ground running, sprinting through the dark streets and alleys as his high-tech lenses already pinpointed small-time robberies and car break-ins like blinking targets on a radar.
Each time he descended upon a crime in progress, he moved with swift, calculated strikes, each one more brutal than the last.
The viewers were living for it:
[OMG, did he just suplex that guy into the windshield?? I felt that (￣ ￣|||)]
[Is it just me, or does he seem a bit harsher than usual? These hits look PAINFUL.]
[It's called justice, baby! This is what happens when you mess with Meteor's protector.]
[He's like, extra motivated tonight. Probably hates Meteor City's criminals with a passion lol.]
---
As the counter ticked up to 15 crimes, a generous donation came in from @PhantomMuse89!
[@PhantomMuse89: $5000 from me, welcome back, Nightwatch… I really missed you (◡︵◡)]
Another viewer chimed in right after.
[Looks like Nightwatch's girlfriend just dropped by, LOL.]
PhantomMuse89 replied with a simple blushing emoji, which sent the chat spiraling into conspiracies and playful teasing.
Scott chuckled, tipping his head in the camera's direction.
"Appreciate it, PhantomMuse. Really."
He continued rooftop to rooftop, clearing alleys, cutting through abandoned lots, and the counter climbed higher.
He was about to swoop into another alleyway when he paused and noticed some odd noises coming from a nearby window.
Peering through, his mask lenses adjusted for a zoomed-in view, and he was greeted by an unexpected sight: a couple locked in a particularly… enthusiastic scene.
"Yeah! Yes, harder ♡♡! Finger me more ♡!"
The woman yelled.
"Now slap me ♡!"
She was practically begging for it.
The guy was huffing, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"Uh… are you sure? I'm already choking you…"
"Stop being such a wimp! Can you imagine getting choked without one or two smacks?! If it's not rough, they won't let us go, dumb fuck!"
"O-, Okay!"
… SMACK!
"AHHHHNN~ ♡ SO GOOD ♡♡♡!"
The chat practically erupted.
[Omg, what is he WATCHING?! Is this stream even gonna stay up?]
[Damn, didn't know Meteor City folks were like that.]
[They be getting freaky out here ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )]
[That woman tho (ㆆ _ ㆆ)…]
[Mods?? Anyone??]
[Nah, let the man watch!]
Scott shook his head and stifled a laugh.
But then he noticed someone else in the room, a heavy-set man with a camera in hand, looking disturbingly pleased as he filmed the couple.
Not just disturbingly pleased, he was also rubbing himself off to the couple as they kissed.
"Come on! Quit complaining and just plow her, already. You got a job to do."
He looked like a picture perfect loser.
[Nawww, even the villains are down bad (´-ι_-｀)]
[Beating your meat in an abandoned building has to be illegal on some level bruh…]
[He ain't gotta do allat man, it was NOT necessary!]
[You don't get this on Pulsar's livestream tho…]
[Reminds me of that one hero that strokes herself during all her streams…]
[Wait, fr?!]
[Ye, but you gotta pay $50 since it's bonus content]
[Nightwatch doesn't even charge us, my man's so great any woman would be lucky to have him (・ε・`*) …]
[Crazy glaze but we movin']
Scott's HUD ran a quick scan, and the man's profile popped up on screen.
[Name: Wade Billson]
[Alias: E-Porner]
[Age: 43]
[Information: Notorious for abducting people and forcing them into explicit videos, later selling them on the dark web.]
---
Scott's jaw tightened.
[WAIT. E-Porner?? That guy's real??]
[That's it, I choose the bear (´･_･`)]
[Blud thinks we care, stfu]
[BRO!!! He kidnapped people for this? Please beat the shit out of this weirdo?]
[Guys, hear me out…]
[Oh God no…]
[If this guy could kidnap Miss Mercury and force her to do some of those tapes we've been begging her to, then he's defo doing the Lord's work ( ˇ÷ˇ )]
[You did not just say that （ ;¬＿¬)]
[♪～(￣,￣ ) average Metro City civilian]
Immediately, PhantomMuse89 donated $1,000.
A message was attached to it:
[Nightwatch, please get rid of this creep.]
[Yo, I was just playing…]
Without a moment's hesitation, Scott booted the particularly nasty viewer who'd crossed the line and the chat instantly appreciated the move.
"Alright… now that that's over…"
Scott cringed as he looked back at the dirty, fat man who was rubbing himself more aggressively.
"Urrgggh… let's uh, handle E-Por… him."
━ ━ ━ ━
Back in Metro City…
While the various social media platforms went crazy over the return of a fan favorite, Gwen lay in Scott's bed with a sad look on her face.
"He still hasn't called…"
She tried to reach for her phone, but stopped.
"Whatever…"
Her tired voice drained away as she pressed her head into the pillow and sighed painfully.