A friendly sparring match

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival backflips as Shinken leaps away, in order to avoid a counter-strike.

Nice one, he muses with amazment at Shinken's acrobatic skill.

With Shinken's katana now in his hand, Nightrival tosses the sword with an underhanded throw, using the full force of his upper-body strength. The katana flies up into the air and sinks deeply into the ceiling with a loud thunk. Although Shinken attempts to vanish in the confusion, Nightrival is able to track his movements and picks out his opponent's location within a few seconds.

Smart move, he thinks. I've done the same.

He tumbles onto his hands and pushes himself twenty-five across the Wreck Room to close the gap between the two combatants. As soon as he returns to his feet, Nightrival immediately switches to a Muay Thai stance.

"Let's dance."

--

As the two heroes leap across the rooftops, Nightrival comes up with an idea. "Since the party crowd tends to buy this stuff, we should patrol until we see a deal go down. Maybe someone will fit the profile."

After roaming the neighbourhood for an hour, they finally spot two well-dressed men walking into an alley. A few moments later, they are joined by another man. The newcomer is decked out in designer jeans and a hooded sweathshirt that looks as though it costs more than the rent for Liam's apartment. After they greet each other, one produces a roll of cash and the other a small package in a Ziploc bag.

"I think we just got lucky," he says to Shinken.

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival backflips as Shinken leaps away, in order to avoid a counter-strike.

Nice one, he muses with amazment at Shinken's acrobatic skill.

With Shinken's katana now in his hand, Nightrival tosses the sword with an underhanded throw, using the full force of his upper-body strength. The katana flies up into the air and sinks deeply into the ceiling with a loud thunk. Although Shinken attempts to vanish in the confusion, Nightrival is able to track his movements and picks out his opponent's location within a few seconds.

Smart move, he thinks. I've done the same.

He tumbles onto his hands and pushes himself twenty-five across the Wreck Room to close the gap between the two combatants. As soon as he returns to his feet, Nightrival immediately switches to a Muay Thai stance.

"Let's dance."

--

As the two heroes leap across the rooftops, Nightrival comes up with an idea. "Since the party crowd tends to buy this stuff, we should patrol until we see a deal go down. Maybe someone will fit the profile."

After roaming the neighbourhood for an hour, they finally spot two well-dressed men walking into an alley. A few moments later, they are joined by another man. The newcomer is decked out in designer jeans and a hooded sweathshirt that looks as though it costs more than the rent for Liam's apartment. After they greet each other, one produces a roll of cash and the other a small package in a Ziploc bag.

"I think we just got lucky," he says to Shinken.

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival backflips as Shinken leaps away, in order to avoid a counter-strike.

Nice one, he muses with amazment at Shinken's acrobatic skill.

With Shinken's katana now in his hand, Nightrival tosses the sword with an underhanded throw, using the full force of his upper-body strength. The katana flies up into the air and sinks deeply into the ceiling with a loud thunk. Although Shinken attempts to vanish in the confusion, Nightrival is able to track his movements and picks out his opponent's location within a few seconds.

Smart move, he thinks. I've done the same.

He tumbles onto his hands and pushes himself twenty-five across the Wreck Room to close the gap between the two combatants. As soon as he returns to his feet, Nightrival immediately switches to a Muay Thai stance.

"Let's dance."

--

As the two heroes leap across the rooftops, Nightrival comes up with an idea. "Since the party crowd tends to buy this stuff, we should patrol until we see a deal go down. Maybe someone will fit the profile."

After roaming the neighbourhood for an hour, they finally spot two well-dressed men walking into an alley. A few moments later, they are joined by another man. The newcomer is decked out in designer jeans and a hooded sweathshirt that looks as though it costs more than the rent for Liam's apartment. After they greet each other, one produces a roll of cash and the other a small package in a Ziploc bag.

"I think we just got lucky," he says to Shinken.

[Toptomcat]

Shinken takes a basic karate stance in response, being as evasive as possible into an effort to buy some time.

Load Daito-ryū software package. Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

He slips a jab, then barely manages to block an elbow, responding with an easily blocked reverse punch.

||Working...||

||Working...||

||Error 4334. Cannot simultaneously load Daito-ryū and KS Jikishinkage-ryū techniques. Conflicting grapple protocols. Abort/Retry/Ignore?||

Damn, damn, damn! Abort!

-----

"Well, I wouldn't say that. We don't know that they're neccesarily selling Zoom, and if they aren't it could be-"

Shinken stops abruptly, then raps his knuckles on his forehead.

"I'm overthinking things. Hey, look- drug dealers! Let's go beat 'em up!"

With that, Shinken launches himself into the air, coming down right between the dealers and their customer like a red-gold meteorite.

"Stay still and answer questions for the easy way. Run for the hard way. Fight for the very hard way."

[Toptomcat]

Shinken takes a basic karate stance in response, being as evasive as possible into an effort to buy some time.

Load Daito-ryū software package. Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

He slips a jab, then barely manages to block an elbow, responding with an easily blocked reverse punch.

||Working...||

||Working...||

||Error 4334. Cannot simultaneously load Daito-ryū and KS Jikishinkage-ryū techniques. Conflicting grapple protocols. Abort/Retry/Ignore?||

Damn, damn, damn! Abort!

-----

"Well, I wouldn't say that. We don't know that they're neccesarily selling Zoom, and if they aren't it could be-"

Shinken stops abruptly, then raps his knuckles on his forehead.

"I'm overthinking things. Hey, look- drug dealers! Let's go beat 'em up!"

With that, Shinken launches himself into the air, coming down right between the dealers and their customer like a red-gold meteorite.

"Stay still and answer questions for the easy way. Run for the hard way. Fight for the very hard way."

[Toptomcat]

Shinken takes a basic karate stance in response, being as evasive as possible into an effort to buy some time.

Load Daito-ryū software package. Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

He slips a jab, then barely manages to block an elbow, responding with an easily blocked reverse punch.

||Working...||

||Working...||

||Error 4334. Cannot simultaneously load Daito-ryū and KS Jikishinkage-ryū techniques. Conflicting grapple protocols. Abort/Retry/Ignore?||

Damn, damn, damn! Abort!

-----

"Well, I wouldn't say that. We don't know that they're neccesarily selling Zoom, and if they aren't it could be-"

Shinken stops abruptly, then raps his knuckles on his forehead.

"I'm overthinking things. Hey, look- drug dealers! Let's go beat 'em up!"

With that, Shinken launches himself into the air, coming down right between the dealers and their customer like a red-gold meteorite.

"Stay still and answer questions for the easy way. Run for the hard way. Fight for the very hard way."

[Shadowboxer]

Avoiding Shinken's attacks, Nightrival sees an opening under Shinken's arm when he reaches with a reverse punch. Nightrival brushes it aside and and drills into Shinken with a forward kick, landing a thunderous blow onto his midsection.

--

Nightrival follows closely behind, landing behind the two potential customers.

"You better listen to him, man," he growls. "You see that sword? You wanna taste of that?"

The three men raise their arms in submission, and the two heroes detect some panic in their faces. Their hands are visibly shaking. Nightrival inches closer to them.

"You holding some Zoom there?" He quickly grabs the package from the dealer and tosses it to Shinken. "What do y'think?" he asks the armoured avenger.

[Shadowboxer]

Avoiding Shinken's attacks, Nightrival sees an opening under Shinken's arm when he reaches with a reverse punch. Nightrival brushes it aside and and drills into Shinken with a forward kick, landing a thunderous blow onto his midsection.

--

Nightrival follows closely behind, landing behind the two potential customers.

"You better listen to him, man," he growls. "You see that sword? You wanna taste of that?"

The three men raise their arms in submission, and the two heroes detect some panic in their faces. Their hands are visibly shaking. Nightrival inches closer to them.

"You holding some Zoom there?" He quickly grabs the package from the dealer and tosses it to Shinken. "What do y'think?" he asks the armoured avenger.

[Shadowboxer]

Avoiding Shinken's attacks, Nightrival sees an opening under Shinken's arm when he reaches with a reverse punch. Nightrival brushes it aside and and drills into Shinken with a forward kick, landing a thunderous blow onto his midsection.

--

Nightrival follows closely behind, landing behind the two potential customers.

"You better listen to him, man," he growls. "You see that sword? You wanna taste of that?"

The three men raise their arms in submission, and the two heroes detect some panic in their faces. Their hands are visibly shaking. Nightrival inches closer to them.

"You holding some Zoom there?" He quickly grabs the package from the dealer and tosses it to Shinken. "What do y'think?" he asks the armoured avenger.

[Toptomcat]

Shinken doesn't react to the hit, but it leaves a visible dent in the chestplate, and damage reports begin to scroll across his vision.

Mostly superficial...but there's enough there to cause me more serious problems if I get hit there again. Got to stop the bleeding.

Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

The man in the armor dances backwards on the balls of his feet, barely evading a wheel kick as the armor on his right leg begins to reconfigure itself into a shape roughly resembling a sword- then abruptly stops. A spark skitters across the surface of the chestplate- right across the dent- and a thin tendril of smoke wafts up.

||Error 1006. Fault reported in chestplate KT266A.||

Benjiro begins to curse in English, deems it unsatisfying, and finds a few choice Japanese expetives that calm him down properly just in time for him to get clobbered again.

--

Shinken opens up the bag, finding three small syringes filled with a clear fluid. He squeezes out a drop onto an armored fingertip, brings it to his faceplate, and lets his sensors do their work.

"...people can survive this stuff? I'm seeing about eight hundred times the amount of stimulant that you'd need to burst a horse's, heart, Nightrival- this can't be-

Wait. There's some weird nitrogen structures in here that might work to time-release...and some other stuff that I don't really understand. It might work, I guess. But this stuff is a designer drug way more complex than anything I've ever seen. I can't see how anyone criminal could possibly find the resources to synthesize something like this. I'm not sure some governments could.

More importantly, I really can't see how it could possibly be economical to distribute as a street drug. Anyone distributing this has to have an agenda of some sort. If we track this all the way to its source, you and I could be going up against some very big fish, my friend.

...

Anyway. In terms of tracking it, it's definitely unique enough to make false positives a non-issue, and as for detection...well, it's got detection charactarisics that'll make things difficult, but not impossible. We'll have to get out there and see.

What does this shit do, anyway? You never told me."

[Toptomcat]

Shinken doesn't react to the hit, but it leaves a visible dent in the chestplate, and damage reports begin to scroll across his vision.

Mostly superficial...but there's enough there to cause me more serious problems if I get hit there again. Got to stop the bleeding.

Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

The man in the armor dances backwards on the balls of his feet, barely evading a wheel kick as the armor on his right leg begins to reconfigure itself into a shape roughly resembling a sword- then abruptly stops. A spark skitters across the surface of the chestplate- right across the dent- and a thin tendril of smoke wafts up.

||Error 1006. Fault reported in chestplate KT266A.||

Benjiro begins to curse in English, deems it unsatisfying, and finds a few choice Japanese expetives that calm him down properly just in time for him to get clobbered again.

--

Shinken opens up the bag, finding three small syringes filled with a clear fluid. He squeezes out a drop onto an armored fingertip, brings it to his faceplate, and lets his sensors do their work.

"...people can survive this stuff? I'm seeing about eight hundred times the amount of stimulant that you'd need to burst a horse's, heart, Nightrival- this can't be-

Wait. There's some weird nitrogen structures in here that might work to time-release...and some other stuff that I don't really understand. It might work, I guess. But this stuff is a designer drug way more complex than anything I've ever seen. I can't see how anyone criminal could possibly find the resources to synthesize something like this. I'm not sure some governments could.

More importantly, I really can't see how it could possibly be economical to distribute as a street drug. Anyone distributing this has to have an agenda of some sort. If we track this all the way to its source, you and I could be going up against some very big fish, my friend.

...

Anyway. In terms of tracking it, it's definitely unique enough to make false positives a non-issue, and as for detection...well, it's got detection charactarisics that'll make things difficult, but not impossible. We'll have to get out there and see.

What does this shit do, anyway? You never told me."

[Toptomcat]

Shinken doesn't react to the hit, but it leaves a visible dent in the chestplate, and damage reports begin to scroll across his vision.

Mostly superficial...but there's enough there to cause me more serious problems if I get hit there again. Got to stop the bleeding.

Shift surplus leg armor into backup kodachi configuration.

||Working...||

The man in the armor dances backwards on the balls of his feet, barely evading a wheel kick as the armor on his right leg begins to reconfigure itself into a shape roughly resembling a sword- then abruptly stops. A spark skitters across the surface of the chestplate- right across the dent- and a thin tendril of smoke wafts up.

||Error 1006. Fault reported in chestplate KT266A.||

Benjiro begins to curse in English, deems it unsatisfying, and finds a few choice Japanese expetives that calm him down properly just in time for him to get clobbered again.

--

Shinken opens up the bag, finding three small syringes filled with a clear fluid. He squeezes out a drop onto an armored fingertip, brings it to his faceplate, and lets his sensors do their work.

"...people can survive this stuff? I'm seeing about eight hundred times the amount of stimulant that you'd need to burst a horse's, heart, Nightrival- this can't be-

Wait. There's some weird nitrogen structures in here that might work to time-release...and some other stuff that I don't really understand. It might work, I guess. But this stuff is a designer drug way more complex than anything I've ever seen. I can't see how anyone criminal could possibly find the resources to synthesize something like this. I'm not sure some governments could.

More importantly, I really can't see how it could possibly be economical to distribute as a street drug. Anyone distributing this has to have an agenda of some sort. If we track this all the way to its source, you and I could be going up against some very big fish, my friend.

...

Anyway. In terms of tracking it, it's definitely unique enough to make false positives a non-issue, and as for detection...well, it's got detection charactarisics that'll make things difficult, but not impossible. We'll have to get out there and see.

What does this shit do, anyway? You never told me."

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival is baffled by Shinken's lack of defense, until he sees the sparks erupt from his armour's chestplate and his right leg shifting itself into a new shape. He clenches his fists even tighter.

I need this opportunity, he thinks, before he comes around.

Nightrival switches to Tae Kwon Do and follows his previous attack with a spinning roundhouse kick, smashing into Shinken's head with the edge of his foot.

--

"From what I've heard, Zoom makes you super fast like that Johnny Rocket guy," he replies. "But when this stuff wears out there's a chance it'll burn out your heart."

Nightrival turns to the three suspects. "You guys hear that? This stuff will kill ya. What in blazes were you thinking?" He reaches over to the dealer, grabs his sweatshirt and slams him hard against the wall. "And you, don't you get it? Do you understand what my buddy here is saying? Someone's out to do some serious damage in this neighbourhood and you're helping him?" He releases the dealer. "All of you, get outta my sight. I see you buying or selling in my 'hood and next time I won't just give you a warning." The three men promptly run out of the alley.

"Those guys would be useless to us," he says to Shinken. "They won't talk, trust me. Someone's got them scared. If you think you can trace it to the source, then let's get to work."

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival is baffled by Shinken's lack of defense, until he sees the sparks erupt from his armour's chestplate and his right leg shifting itself into a new shape. He clenches his fists even tighter.

I need this opportunity, he thinks, before he comes around.

Nightrival switches to Tae Kwon Do and follows his previous attack with a spinning roundhouse kick, smashing into Shinken's head with the edge of his foot.

--

"From what I've heard, Zoom makes you super fast like that Johnny Rocket guy," he replies. "But when this stuff wears out there's a chance it'll burn out your heart."

Nightrival turns to the three suspects. "You guys hear that? This stuff will kill ya. What in blazes were you thinking?" He reaches over to the dealer, grabs his sweatshirt and slams him hard against the wall. "And you, don't you get it? Do you understand what my buddy here is saying? Someone's out to do some serious damage in this neighbourhood and you're helping him?" He releases the dealer. "All of you, get outta my sight. I see you buying or selling in my 'hood and next time I won't just give you a warning." The three men promptly run out of the alley.

"Those guys would be useless to us," he says to Shinken. "They won't talk, trust me. Someone's got them scared. If you think you can trace it to the source, then let's get to work."

[Shadowboxer]

Nightrival is baffled by Shinken's lack of defense, until he sees the sparks erupt from his armour's chestplate and his right leg shifting itself into a new shape. He clenches his fists even tighter.

I need this opportunity, he thinks, before he comes around.

Nightrival switches to Tae Kwon Do and follows his previous attack with a spinning roundhouse kick, smashing into Shinken's head with the edge of his foot.

--

"From what I've heard, Zoom makes you super fast like that Johnny Rocket guy," he replies. "But when this stuff wears out there's a chance it'll burn out your heart."

Nightrival turns to the three suspects. "You guys hear that? This stuff will kill ya. What in blazes were you thinking?" He reaches over to the dealer, grabs his sweatshirt and slams him hard against the wall. "And you, don't you get it? Do you understand what my buddy here is saying? Someone's out to do some serious damage in this neighbourhood and you're helping him?" He releases the dealer. "All of you, get outta my sight. I see you buying or selling in my 'hood and next time I won't just give you a warning." The three men promptly run out of the alley.

"Those guys would be useless to us," he says to Shinken. "They won't talk, trust me. Someone's got them scared. If you think you can trace it to the source, then let's get to work."

[Toptomcat]

The roundhouse would've been a solid hit to the temple of anyone unarmored, but glances right off the carefully-angled plates of Shinken's helmet. Shinken catches the foot between shoulder and neck, pushing forward to force Nightrival off- balance for a moment: then, he bolts, running away from his opponent at top speed...straight towards the group of watching ninja! Going down into a roll at nearly top speed, he comes up with a pair of the bokken they'd been using in the earlier sparring. As the shinobi scatter, he turns back to Nightrival and adopts a Niten stance- one sword pointed straight up, another at his opponent's face.

"Come on, then!"

----

"They won't talk, but they can still tell us something. I talked about us trying to track this stuff right in front of them for a reason; if there's anyone who's got them scared into silence, there's a good chance they'll go to them to tell about the pair of capes that's just shown up to ruin everything. If we can follow them without them managing to realize it, we might move a bit higher up on the food chain and get some real answers without needing to rely on the dodgy method of tracing the chemicals.

Don't you Americans watch your own spy movies? Best entertainment in the world, I tell you."

With a grin that goes unseen, Shinken leaps up onto the rooftop and begins stealthily following the two dealers.

[Toptomcat]

The roundhouse would've been a solid hit to the temple of anyone unarmored, but glances right off the carefully-angled plates of Shinken's helmet. Shinken catches the foot between shoulder and neck, pushing forward to force Nightrival off- balance for a moment: then, he bolts, running away from his opponent at top speed...straight towards the group of watching ninja! Going down into a roll at nearly top speed, he comes up with a pair of the bokken they'd been using in the earlier sparring. As the shinobi scatter, he turns back to Nightrival and adopts a Niten stance- one sword pointed straight up, another at his opponent's face.

"Come on, then!"

----

"They won't talk, but they can still tell us something. I talked about us trying to track this stuff right in front of them for a reason; if there's anyone who's got them scared into silence, there's a good chance they'll go to them to tell about the pair of capes that's just shown up to ruin everything. If we can follow them without them managing to realize it, we might move a bit higher up on the food chain and get some real answers without needing to rely on the dodgy method of tracing the chemicals.

Don't you Americans watch your own spy movies? Best entertainment in the world, I tell you."

With a grin that goes unseen, Shinken leaps up onto the rooftop and begins stealthily following the two dealers.

[Toptomcat]

The roundhouse would've been a solid hit to the temple of anyone unarmored, but glances right off the carefully-angled plates of Shinken's helmet. Shinken catches the foot between shoulder and neck, pushing forward to force Nightrival off- balance for a moment: then, he bolts, running away from his opponent at top speed...straight towards the group of watching ninja! Going down into a roll at nearly top speed, he comes up with a pair of the bokken they'd been using in the earlier sparring. As the shinobi scatter, he turns back to Nightrival and adopts a Niten stance- one sword pointed straight up, another at his opponent's face.

"Come on, then!"

----

"They won't talk, but they can still tell us something. I talked about us trying to track this stuff right in front of them for a reason; if there's anyone who's got them scared into silence, there's a good chance they'll go to them to tell about the pair of capes that's just shown up to ruin everything. If we can follow them without them managing to realize it, we might move a bit higher up on the food chain and get some real answers without needing to rely on the dodgy method of tracing the chemicals.

Don't you Americans watch your own spy movies? Best entertainment in the world, I tell you."

With a grin that goes unseen, Shinken leaps up onto the rooftop and begins stealthily following the two dealers.

[Shadowboxer]

"You're on!" replies Nightrival. Seeing another sword in Shinken's hand, despite only being a wooden practice sword, is enough to cause him to worry. His attacks will have to be conservative and cautious. He springs towards Shinken in the series of backflips and then lunges with a well-timed spin kick that hopefully won't leave him wide open. Nightrival's foot once again connects with Shinken's chest with terrifying speed.

--

"Heh. Never said I was a detective; that's why I needed your help. I'll follow your lead."

Nightrival leaps up to the roof with Shinken by bounding off a dumpster and then vaulting off the steps on a fire escape.

They tail the dealer, who runs west down 20th Street past Pennslyvania Avenue and towards the cluttered collection of warehouses that sit under State Route 6. He veers south to the artery that connects D Street to Shelley Avenue, considered by many to be the bridge between Southside and Lincoln. These warehouses have been here for years, but the slow gentrification of the Southside means that they'll be torn down to make way for new condominiums. The process has already begun, with a few lofts newly built on the fringes of the neighbourhood, and some warehouses have been knoocked down. Nightrival remembers there were a couple of factories here, too.

Where are people gonna work if they keep taking these places away, he wonders.

The dealer zig-zags between the buildings, keeping to the narrow lanes. The two heroes stay on the rooftops. Street lamps glow orange among the wide, low-lying warehouses that stretch for what seems like miles.

"Movies? Man, I don't got time for movies. I haven't watched one since I was 10," he finally replies. Nightrival can smell traces of burning coal in the crisp air. "Hey, check it out," he adds, pointing to the fleeing dealer. Their lead enters what looks like a unoccupied warehouse, indicated by the FOR RENT sign nailed to the front entrance and loading bay doors.

[Shadowboxer]

"You're on!" replies Nightrival. Seeing another sword in Shinken's hand, despite only being a wooden practice sword, is enough to cause him to worry. His attacks will have to be conservative and cautious. He springs towards Shinken in the series of backflips and then lunges with a well-timed spin kick that hopefully won't leave him wide open. Nightrival's foot once again connects with Shinken's chest with terrifying speed.

--

"Heh. Never said I was a detective; that's why I needed your help. I'll follow your lead."

Nightrival leaps up to the roof with Shinken by bounding off a dumpster and then vaulting off the steps on a fire escape.

They tail the dealer, who runs west down 20th Street past Pennslyvania Avenue and towards the cluttered collection of warehouses that sit under State Route 6. He veers south to the artery that connects D Street to Shelley Avenue, considered by many to be the bridge between Southside and Lincoln. These warehouses have been here for years, but the slow gentrification of the Southside means that they'll be torn down to make way for new condominiums. The process has already begun, with a few lofts newly built on the fringes of the neighbourhood, and some warehouses have been knoocked down. Nightrival remembers there were a couple of factories here, too.

Where are people gonna work if they keep taking these places away, he wonders.

The dealer zig-zags between the buildings, keeping to the narrow lanes. The two heroes stay on the rooftops. Street lamps glow orange among the wide, low-lying warehouses that stretch for what seems like miles.

"Movies? Man, I don't got time for movies. I haven't watched one since I was 10," he finally replies. Nightrival can smell traces of burning coal in the crisp air. "Hey, check it out," he adds, pointing to the fleeing dealer. Their lead enters what looks like a unoccupied warehouse, indicated by the FOR RENT sign nailed to the front entrance and loading bay doors.

[Shadowboxer]

"You're on!" replies Nightrival. Seeing another sword in Shinken's hand, despite only being a wooden practice sword, is enough to cause him to worry. His attacks will have to be conservative and cautious. He springs towards Shinken in the series of backflips and then lunges with a well-timed spin kick that hopefully won't leave him wide open. Nightrival's foot once again connects with Shinken's chest with terrifying speed.

--

"Heh. Never said I was a detective; that's why I needed your help. I'll follow your lead."

Nightrival leaps up to the roof with Shinken by bounding off a dumpster and then vaulting off the steps on a fire escape.

They tail the dealer, who runs west down 20th Street past Pennslyvania Avenue and towards the cluttered collection of warehouses that sit under State Route 6. He veers south to the artery that connects D Street to Shelley Avenue, considered by many to be the bridge between Southside and Lincoln. These warehouses have been here for years, but the slow gentrification of the Southside means that they'll be torn down to make way for new condominiums. The process has already begun, with a few lofts newly built on the fringes of the neighbourhood, and some warehouses have been knoocked down. Nightrival remembers there were a couple of factories here, too.

Where are people gonna work if they keep taking these places away, he wonders.

The dealer zig-zags between the buildings, keeping to the narrow lanes. The two heroes stay on the rooftops. Street lamps glow orange among the wide, low-lying warehouses that stretch for what seems like miles.

"Movies? Man, I don't got time for movies. I haven't watched one since I was 10," he finally replies. Nightrival can smell traces of burning coal in the crisp air. "Hey, check it out," he adds, pointing to the fleeing dealer. Their lead enters what looks like a unoccupied warehouse, indicated by the FOR RENT sign nailed to the front entrance and loading bay doors.

[Toptomcat]

The armor holds, this time- barely- but the kick still creates some space for Nightrival, sending Shinken stumbling back a step or two. He comes back like a tiger, kiai coming fast and hard as he charges Nightrival with a flurry of aggressive slashes from both swords. Expecting an offense that relies on one hand over the other, the black-clad martial artist is taken by surprise with a completely ambidextrous assault, and he takes hit after hit from Shinken's furious strikes.

----

Shinken decides to take his time; he's found the criminals' bolt-hole, and the warehouse won't be getting up and running away. The first thing he does is reactivate his mass spectrometer, searching the air for any traces of Zoom wafting from the warehouse; then, he leaps as quietly as possible onto the roof. When Nightrival follows, he leans in close and lowers his voice to a whisper.

"Let's hit 'em from two sides and scare the bejeesus out of 'em. I'll go in through a window on this side: you take the other side. We'll go through whoever's in there and meet in the middle.

Sound like a plan?"

[Toptomcat]

The armor holds, this time- barely- but the kick still creates some space for Nightrival, sending Shinken stumbling back a step or two. He comes back like a tiger, kiai coming fast and hard as he charges Nightrival with a flurry of aggressive slashes from both swords. Expecting an offense that relies on one hand over the other, the black-clad martial artist is taken by surprise with a completely ambidextrous assault, and he takes hit after hit from Shinken's furious strikes.

----

Shinken decides to take his time; he's found the criminals' bolt-hole, and the warehouse won't be getting up and running away. The first thing he does is reactivate his mass spectrometer, searching the air for any traces of Zoom wafting from the warehouse; then, he leaps as quietly as possible onto the roof. When Nightrival follows, he leans in close and lowers his voice to a whisper.

"Let's hit 'em from two sides and scare the bejeesus out of 'em. I'll go in through a window on this side: you take the other side. We'll go through whoever's in there and meet in the middle.

Sound like a plan?"

[Toptomcat]

The armor holds, this time- barely- but the kick still creates some space for Nightrival, sending Shinken stumbling back a step or two. He comes back like a tiger, kiai coming fast and hard as he charges Nightrival with a flurry of aggressive slashes from both swords. Expecting an offense that relies on one hand over the other, the black-clad martial artist is taken by surprise with a completely ambidextrous assault, and he takes hit after hit from Shinken's furious strikes.

----

Shinken decides to take his time; he's found the criminals' bolt-hole, and the warehouse won't be getting up and running away. The first thing he does is reactivate his mass spectrometer, searching the air for any traces of Zoom wafting from the warehouse; then, he leaps as quietly as possible onto the roof. When Nightrival follows, he leans in close and lowers his voice to a whisper.

"Let's hit 'em from two sides and scare the bejeesus out of 'em. I'll go in through a window on this side: you take the other side. We'll go through whoever's in there and meet in the middle.

Sound like a plan?"

[Shadowboxer]

Unable to properly block Shinken's brutal assault, Nightrival is subjected to the full force of his opponent's multiple slashes. Nightrival can no longer focus to summon the strength or ingenuity to formulate an effective defence, or even a counter-attack. The first few strikes fill his senses with a reverberating dull pain, and the final blow slams into him like freight train. His costume torn to shreds, the powerful attack sends Nightrival twenty-five feet away, landing on the ground like a lifeless doll.

--

"Sounds good," he whispers back. "Be careful - don't get spotted." At that, Nightrival leaps down to the sidewalk below and carefully makes his way to the other side of the warehouse, using the shadows to conceal his approach.