"Following the incident at Isle Monroe, the culprit, Austrian heir Tomas Gaspar has been convicted to life in solitary, with no opportunity for parole." The sound of the radio echoed all across Soweiland that evening, the nasally voice of Theodore Soleman narrating the verdict of the trial that was held just that morning to the whole world.
One Jon Johnson was listening in himself on a portable radio, as he wandered through the city in the cold night breeze. His long coat flapped along the wind, and his lucky 1000-pounder was safely strapped underneath his bandana. But that's nonsense. Jon Johnson had been killed in the Isle Monroe incident had he not? This must be someone else.
"In other news, reports have been going around the past few weeks of a masked vigilante running around Sowei City stopping criminals? Personally, I think it must be nonsense." Soleman said, shuffling through some papers in the studio.
"Then why are you talking about it?" Some guy at the studio commented.
"I'm sorry why are we letting Steve speak? This is my- hold on. Ladies and gentlemen, we're getting reports that an escaped convict is currently in the process of robbing a bank in Sowei City?" Soleman announced. Suddenly, Jon -or rather- the unnamed vigilante, stopped in his tracks. He pulled up a black buff, covering his nose and mouth, and took out his grappling gun, the last remnant of his previous life, and pulling the trigger launched the hook on a lamp post, swinging up to the low roofs of the houses of the city, and began running on them as he made his way to the scene of the crime.
At the scene, the escaped convict, who was really the notorious thief calling himself Hook Master, draped in an orange prison jumpsuit, was pointing his dual hook blades at the lowly, curly-haired employee, who was quickly putting as much money as he could into a bag. The vigilante jumped into the bank from the skylight, then swung using a pipe in the ceiling directly at the thief, kicking him across the room the process!
"Ah, the Noir Vigilante! What a pleasant surprise!" Declared the Hook Master, before lunging at our hero with his blades forming an x shape. Unable to block, Jon had to leap away, using his grappling gun to latch onto the environment and fly around like a flail, smacking on the criminal again and again, before catching him off guard and swiftly binding him in the grappling gun's rope.
Shortly after, hearing the sirens of the police cruiser approaching, Jon leaped away leaving the bound criminal ready for the police to pick up. The cruiser came to a swift halt outside the bank, with Detective Owen McCord stepping out. Following it close, the Sowei City News van, making a live report of the events. Theodore Soleman quickly ran outside, following the detective as he headed in the bank, hand firmly on pistol holster.
"Wow! And the criminal is already bound and tied!" Soleman reported as they came in the room.
"Yes, I've been had by the Noir Vigilante… Please take me back to jail, I'm very hungry." The Hook Master said. McCord grumbled some insults as he handcuffed the robber, treading towards the cruiser.
"Oh, detective! Have you any thoughts for our neighbourhood vigilante?" Soleman gave chase, asking questions to McCord.
"He's unneeded. The police is managing just fine on its own!" McCord exclaimed.
"You say that, but had it not been for the Noir Vigilante, this scoundrel would have gotten away with it! And they sent a detective on patrol, instead of a patrolman…" Soleman continued, but McCord shook his head and quickly drove of as the journalist rambled on.
"God, Noir Vigilante is a horrible name… Steve! Jot this down… Noir Assassin; Soweiland Vigilante!" Soleman declared, as he got back on the van.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And tomorrow, on every newspaper in the country, those four words were printed on the second page. While the result of the State v Gardner trial was the front page, the appearance of the Noir Assassin did not escape the sights of the avid newsreaders. Among those, Dr. Christine Parr made sure to also give the ol' paper a good looking through.
"Vigilantes… pfft." She scoffed tossing the paper on the cluttered table of her lab. The workload was heavy, in an attempt to replenish the losses from the incident, and her assistant was out shopping for parts, leaving her alone, finally able to continue her personal projects.
"Tomorrows news will be all about me, that's for certain. I will finally be able to release my greatest creation!" She exclaimed. Opening a drawer in a nearby freezer, she picked up a vial filled with a green liquid, with a label on it that read "Master Cure." Indeed, after years of research, Dr. Parr had finally created a medicine potent enough to cure any disease. The blood sample retrieved from Inferno, the Hellspawn, and various other parts, sampled from resilient bugs, like cockroaches and beetles, were the primary ingredients.
"Alright, if my calculations are correct, this should be able to, at the very least, fix my eyesight. Here goes." Parr said.
She shook the vial, mixing the liquid, poured some in a glass with water, and took a sip. She quickly removed her glasses, and began pacing around the room waiting for the effects to kick in. A couple minutes passed, and indeed, the doctor's vision cleared up.
"It worked! Incredible!" Dr. Parr celebrated, visions of all the money and fame coming her way clouding her mind. Unfortunately it didn't last, thanks to the instant urge to vomit that overtook here shortly after. She grabbed a nearby bucket and gave it all she had.
"Okay, so it needs some more work…" She muttered, slowly regaining her composure. However, it didn't last much, because she then immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach.
In an unfortunate turn of events, it seemed her calculations were off, and rather than creating a cure, Dr. Parr had accidentally created a serum to create the ultimate Starborne-insect hybrid superhuman! A rather grotesque transformation ensued, during which the woman's skin hardened into an incredibly durable shell, her eyes dimmed into a voided black, and various appendages including two wings shout out of her back.
By the end of it all, she was mostly unrecognisable, bar the hair that was somehow still there, still tied up in a messy bun. The transformation also has effects on her psyche, as well as her appearance, as the monstrous woman had seemingly lost all self-control, and proceeded to hurl herself through the wooden gate separating the castle basement with the outside of Mount Sowei, and proceeded to fly off into the city.
About 5 minutes after she was gone, George returned, carrying bags filled with metal parts. He took a good look around the empty lab, and the broken door, and immediately headed back outside.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the meantime, in the Sowei City Police Department, rather unusual reports were coming in.
"I'm sorry, you want me to send my men to deal with what, exactly?" Acting police chief, Rowan Callaghan asked, lounging on his chair, with his legs up on the desk, without a care in the world.
"A rabid bug lady, Rowan." Responded Detective Owen McCord, not amused.
"I have heard a lot of bullshit in my line of work, McCord, and I'm fairly certain this tops everything. And besides, my men are busy with the Noir Assassin case." Callaghan deflected, uninterested in the situation.
"All of them?" McCord raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. My agents are very busy men and its high time you guys start pulling your weight around here." Callaghan pointed out, nonchalantly wagging his finger at the good detective.
"You don't even send them on patrol anymore! Whatever, you guys keep chasing ghosts, I'll go arrest the bug woman." McCord declared, put on his fedora, and walked away, shaking his head, irritated. He couldn't even believe the words coming out of his mouth.
Fortunately for the Detective, George Renie had made his way to the station, to report the missing person and the sacking of their lab, and the two quickly got in a police cruiser and headed to where Dr. Parr had set up her 'nest'. The site was the dilapidated mansion near the city centre, formerly belonging to one Joseph Gray Sr., who had perished in a house fire a few years prior. The plants of the affluent entrepreneur's prized garden had enveloped the building with vines, making the perfect spot for the insect queen's nest. However, the street the mansion was on was rather busy, so whenever any pedestrians passed too close, they were attacked.
The police cruiser, made a quick turn on the road, and parked on the opposite side of the mansion. The two men come out, and quickly rush towards the building.
"We must cut through these vines to get inside." McCord points out as the two run through the path leading to the door. George, of course, already has an answer to the issue, as he presses a button on the side of his glasses, and an incredibly narrow laser comes out of a lens, beginning to cut through the foliage like butter. As the two men continue on, McCord kicks in the front door, and pulls his pistol out of the holster, pointing it forward. And indeed, Dr. Parr is there, in the middle of the foyer!
McCord immediately opened fire, landing 5 shots directly in the woman's chest, but thanks to the outer shell, they had no effect merely bouncing off. The Detective took a worried step back, attempting to reload before Parr retaliated, and just before he could fight back, he found the doctor's pitch-black eyes right before his own, as the woman was inches away from hitting him away. But before he was hurt, a foot came down, hitting Parr in the gut, and tossing her towards the back wall.
"The Noir Assassin!?" McCord exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes. "You're real?"
"Please to meet you, detective!" Jon responded, his voice lower than normal. He saluted the detective, and followed after Parr.
The charred walls of the mansion weren't enough to withstand the impact, so the insect queen had simply gone through the wall, landing on the street on the other side. She had regained her composure, and was waiting on the other side for the attacker, and one he came through, without the element of surprise aiding him, Parr easily grabbed him by the leg, swung him around, and tossed him straight into a lamp post.
The serum provided her with some of the incredible strength possessed by the Starborne people, and it became apparent to Jon, that he was out of his league. The two got engaged in a scuffle, and even though the Soweiland Vigilante was using his grapple gun to propel himself further, his attacks had no effect against her hard outer shell. In comparison, Jon was also dishing more than he could take, and was making himself more vulnerable by going up close for the attack. This eventually prompted Parr to dish out a devastating spinning kick into the Noir Assassin's chest, sending him flying into one of the nearby house's fences.
As the transformed scientist rushed to deliver a killing blow on her fellow combatant, the homeowner of the house they were fighting next to, an old man in his sixties, carrying what appeared to be a cane, came out to witness everything. Unfortunately for the rabid insect queen, that was no ordinary old man. That was Sowei Revolutionary hero and master swordsman Robert Johnson, and wasn't carrying a cane, but rather, the sheathe to his weapon of choice, the illustrious titanium katana, Night's Edge. With a quick draw of his blade, Robert cut off both of the bug's wings. Choosing to preserve herself, she ran back to her nest, leaving the wounded vigilante in the care of the old swordsman.
Robert extended his hand, lifting up the Noir Assassin. He took a good look at the man, then sighed and shook his head.
"Kid, you're hopeless. You can never hope to win this fight as you are, you're missing a key component; power. Your attacks are weak." Robert said to the man, an amused smile creeping into his face as he did so.
"And what do you propose I do, sir?" Jon asked, barely keeping it together. Robert rifted up his re-sheathed sword, nudging at the vigilante to take it. He hesitated, unsure if it was the correct choice, or if he deserved it.
"What about you, sir? Won't you need this for yourself?" He asked.
"Please. I'm too old to be fighting anymore. It's time to pass the torch to the newer generation. So please, take it." Robert urged him to do so, which he did.
Lifting the Night's Edge up, the Noir Assassin felt as if everything had clicked, like a missing puzzle piece had been inserted in just the right spot. Wielding the blade just felt natural. He bowed deeply to his benefactor, and began walking back towards the mansion, ready to defeat Dr. Parr at last.
"For the record kid… I didn't believe you died for a second." Robert said, a smirk forming on his lips.
"How could you know?" Jon asked.
"Body language. Just remember I'm here if you need anything." Robert explained. Jon nodded, and headed back into the fight.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
McCord had left the mansion a couple minutes earlier, in order to clear the area of civilians, leaving only the Noir Assassin and the transformed Dr. Parr inside. The woman's wounds had healed, and her wings had grown back, showcasing the medicinal purposes of the serum that had transformed the scientist in the first place.
The fight recommenced, the insect woman quickly charging right back at the vigilante. Unfortunately for her, he could finally fight back. The Night's Edge flew in front of the punch that was being delivered, chopping off the attacker's hand, albeit it quickly grew back. Parr's attacks in her current state were unfocused, and rarely damaged Jon, unlike before. The sword provided a much-needed range boost, as well as providing the necessary power to cut through her thick hide, being made of titanium.
Again and again, the Soweiland Vigilante countered the barrage of attacks, but was unable to get a decent opening to hit her where it would count. Eventually, and idea sparked in Jon's mind. Using the vines in the ceiling, Jon grappled onto them, and landed behind Parr, cutting off her wings once again, like his father had done earlier. Following that, he kept swinging from the vines above, landing sporadically and cutting off other appendages the insect had on her body.
After cutting off the last one, however, Parr again grabbed him by the leg and slammed him down hard, winding him. The woman let a terrifying screech, saliva flying everywhere as she did so, and then kicked Jon on the side as he was collapsed on the ground, knocking him aside. The Noir Assassin got up, clutching his side, then ran straight at her, managing to slide underneath her feet as they were inching closer and closer, preventing a collision. Then, he flipped over her, landed gracefully, and with another quick draw, vertically sliced through her stomach and thorax, bug juices spilling out of the severed shell.
After that, Parr stepped back, clutching her stomach, and then violently threw up, finally removing all traces of the poison from her body, and fainted.
Hearing the commotion, McCord and Renie both came back inside, finding Parr collapsed on the ground, and Jon hovering above her.
"Oh dear…" George exclaimed, and rushed to his boss, checking if her vitals were okay. In the meantime, though, the Detective walked up to the Noir Assassin.
"Impressive work, vigilante. I gotta say, I'm impressed." He said, nodding in admiration. He shook hands with the vigilante. "I'm assuming you've noticed how dismal the state of the police is. I, a homicide detective, have been reduced to chasing after bug women. It's awful. So, seeing someone else out here, doing God's work, it's inspiring."
"Thank you, sir." Jon responded.
"I'm making a bet on you, young man. So here's this." McCord put a hand in his coat's pocket, and took out a VHF, putting it on Jon's hand. "This can tune in to police frequencies. By using this you can become a first responder, you can be there first, certainly earlier than I ever could. I've chosen to trust you. Don't let me down, Noir Assassin."
"I won't, detective." Jon responded, thanking McCord for the gift. Following that, George took Parr back to the lab, while the other two men headed back to their posts.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Parr woke up several hours later, in the Sowei City Castle's infirmary. The effects of the serum had mostly worse off, and while her skin was paler, and her eyes still pitch black, she was mostly back to being a regular human. As she regained her consciousness, she noticed tow people on her bedside. George Renie, and a particularly pissed off Prime Minister Leo, with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers on a nearby table.
"What happened to me?" She asked, clutching her head.
"You drank the master cure and turned into a bug monster!" George exclaimed.
"I just spent 500£ of taxpayer money --the same taxpayers you assaulted while being turned into a rabid cockroach, by the way-- to get a surgeon out here to save you from the wounds you had after fighting with that Noir Vigilante guy. Oh, and you destroyed a bunch of buildings that we'll have to pay for. And then you had the gall to call me reckless about the Isle Monroe program." Leo explained, rather angry.
"Must you argue with me now? My head is killing me." Parr bushed him off, waving him away with her hand. "You'll discipline me later…"
"There is no later, Christine! You're axed! I can no longer keep you around, especially after finding out what you've been wasting out money on!" Leo announced. Parr shot up from her bed, screaming.
"WHAT!? This was just a minor bump in the road! I was so close to a breakthrough, you saw! I healed everything thrown my way; I was faster, stronger- You can't do this to me! You know how much I've sacrificed?!" She yelled, but Leo wasn't having it.
"A serum that turns you into a bug superhuman, really Cris? Does this look like a comic book to you? After you recover, feel free to pack your bags and go home. Your services are no longer needed." Leo said. He straightened his jacket, and began leaving, but Parr shot him another question.
"Who will you replace me with, then? You can't!" She smugly said, crossing her arms.
"With him!" Leo exclaimed, and pointed at George, who was sitting on a chair in the room the whole time.
"HIM!?" Parr exclaimed.
"ME!?" George added, pointing at himself with a confused expression on his face.
"Indeed. You start tomorrow, Mr. Royal Scientist!" Leo exclaimed, and left the room.
"Fine then! I don't need you, I'll continue my research independently! And mark my words, one day you'll regret ditching me like this!" Parr exclaimed, but by then it was too late. The ministry of science and development, now had a new chief; George Renie!