Friday Night Fights (Canon)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Friday Night Fights
They'd gotten Fridays down to a routine at this point. Some people went to the movies. Some people snuck out to the Bot Fights or Food Wars. The snooty types went to see symposiums at SFIT.
Noelle and Kendra had massive, spectacular grudge matches.
"You'll never get away with it Downbeat!" Noelle cried out theatrically as she chased Kendra up the side of the San Fransokyo Museum of Art. This was a real workout, since while Kendra had the wonder of flight worked into the smooth white armor of her costume, Noelle had to make do with years of parkour practice and some impressive nanofibers woven into her silver and black getup.
Oh well.
She fired another burst of half-depleted uranium at her target, doing everything she could to look like she was trying to hit her without ever actually doing so. Just having to deal with the PR nightmare that was radiation weaponry was bad enough without giving her best friend cancer at twenty-five.
Kendra retaliated with a few lances of colorful light as the ever-present musical backbeat thrummed in time to the burst. The 'notorious supervillain' Downbeat was known for somehow syncing up her combat systems- everything from laser weaponry to flight controls- to a complex musical pattern she synthesized on the spot. Noelle had no idea how the girl did it, but Kendra always claimed it helped her 'get into the rhythm'.
With one last leap, Noelle flipped herself up onto the red roof of the building, facing off against her mortal enemy. And long-term roommate.
It had all started with rookie tech cape Peacemaker foiling a bank robbery when, in an incredible coincidence, newly minted villain Downbeat attempted to burgle the same bank while the previous burglary was ongoing. The two had struck up a rivalry that had slowly become friendly, until an unexpected Christmastime caper revealed that the two of them had been roommates the entire time.
The last few weeks had been spent adjusting to a new normal. Neither girl wanted to hurt the other, but they were both also unwilling to concede defeat in their professional work. The result had been an odd sort of game, in which both girls tried to beat each other without any lasting harm done. Noelle idly wondered if this was what the Glory Days natural born Supers were always going on about was like. Then she rapidly stopped wondering as a burst of neon light scraped two inches past her helmet, punctuated by a particularly strong beat drop. Kendra wasn't shooting to kill, but she'd figured out how to modulate the power of her laser blasts two weeks ago, and she wasn't shy about bruising.
Judging the angle carefully, Noelle leapt into the air, perfectly accounting for Kendra's attempted swerve and starting a grapple to keep any further blasts on the backbeat. The two stared into each other's eyes.
"We still on for dinner Sunday?" Kendra asked with a grin, even as she tried to shake the other woman off.
"Only if you don't have a prior appointment with SFPD." Noelle shot back, trying to decide if she could risk a disabling shot at Kendra's flight pack.
"We've been quiet too long, better yell something sweety." Kendra added, trying to shift the painting she'd stolen without damaging it.
"How about: TAKE THIS, CRIMINAL!" Noelle asked before her polymer-encased fist smashed into the other girl's helmet.
"Ah!" Kendra rubbed at her chin. "Girl." She said reproachfully.
"Oh crud, did I go too hard?" Noelle asked, concerned. "I thought I worked out the kinks in the assisted impact system."
Kendra smiled. "No." She replied, tempo rising suddenly. "But I figured it might be a good distraction."
Noelle found herself falling backwards as a point-blank soundwave threw her onto the roof again. Kendra smirked, the lines across her armor changing color as she charged up a blast that would keep her pursuer down long enough to escape. Then, she stopped. "Do you... hear something?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
Noelle fiddled with her gloves. If she could get a shot off just right, she could disable the-
"No seriously." Kendra held up an arm. "What is that?"
Noelle listened. It was coming from above them. It sounded like… shrieking?
"Incoming!" She yelled a moment later, and Kendra rolled desperately out of the way.
A black shape whooshed through the air a few seconds behind her. It landed on the tiled roof, clawed feet cracking the red surface. The thing was the size of a human, almost cone shaped with massive leathery wings. A mouth filled with fangs led upwards into a squashed nose, beady eyes and pointed ears.
The thing shrieked again.
Noelle blasted it.
"That'll give you something to cry about." She said in satisfaction as the creature clawed at its face.
"Uh, hun?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah?"
"It brought friends." She finished, just as five more of the things swooped out of the sky.
"Hit them from range!" Noelle yelled as she fired blast after blast of low-yield radiation at the things. "They can't win if they can't reach us!"
A moment later, one of the flying monsters made a retching noise and then hurled a blast of flame at the two girls.
"Scratch that." Noelle admitted as they dove for cover.
The two capes made a fighting retreat to the ground, dodging gouts of flame and dive bombing runs as they fired back. Eventually, however, the beasts wheeled about and all dove together.
"Any ideas?!?" Noelle asked as she did her best to keep one of the things at bay.
"Cover your ears!" Kendra responded. Noelle barely had time to respond before an enormous burst of white noise blared outwards on all frequencies. Noelle clapped her hands over her head, trying to blink away the pain sending her reeling.
The monsters wailed in pain, several of them falling to the ground and all of them keening in terror. After a few seconds they picked themselves up, fleeing into the night in a disorganized mess.
"Ow." Kendra said.
"What?"
"What?"
After a few moments for their hearing to resume, the two girls watched the last monster disappear into shadow. "I didn't know you could do that."
"It was going to be a surprise. I haven't figured out the feedback yet."
The two started out into the darkness for a few more moments.
"What the hell was that?"
"I have no idea!"
Kendra snapped her fingers as the beat began again and she lifted into the air. "Well, I'm not gonna sit around and wait while somebody else finds out. Come on."
Noelle looked around. "Do we really want to be seen working with each other?"
"Something just went after us on our turf. I'm not playing around."
Noelle nodded. "All right but first? Put the painting back."
"Aw come on! I was gonna get the apartment a new holoscreen!"
Downbeat and Peacekeeper began their investigation without the slightest idea what was going on, and no clues whatsoever as to what had attacked them. Focused on this new mystery, they could be forgiven for thinking there we no secrets left between them. But there are some things they had to hide. Some things that could risk their careers. So the 'heroic' Peacekeeper went on with her new plans, totally unaware that her nemesis was being funded by the Bakaemono Corporation.
And the 'villainous' Downbeat did the same.
They'd gotten Fridays down to a routine at this point. Some people went to the movies. Some people snuck out to the Bot Fights or Food Wars. The snooty types went to see symposiums at SFIT.
Noelle and Kendra had massive, spectacular grudge matches.
"You'll never get away with it Downbeat!" Noelle cried out theatrically as she chased Kendra up the side of the San Fransokyo Museum of Art. This was a real workout, since while Kendra had the wonder of flight worked into the smooth white armor of her costume, Noelle had to make do with years of parkour practice and some impressive nanofibers woven into her silver and black getup.
Oh well.
She fired another burst of half-depleted uranium at her target, doing everything she could to look like she was trying to hit her without ever actually doing so. Just having to deal with the PR nightmare that was radiation weaponry was bad enough without giving her best friend cancer at twenty-five.
Kendra retaliated with a few lances of colorful light as the ever-present musical backbeat thrummed in time to the burst. The 'notorious supervillain' Downbeat was known for somehow syncing up her combat systems- everything from laser weaponry to flight controls- to a complex musical pattern she synthesized on the spot. Noelle had no idea how the girl did it, but Kendra always claimed it helped her 'get into the rhythm'.
With one last leap, Noelle flipped herself up onto the red roof of the building, facing off against her mortal enemy. And long-term roommate.
It had all started with rookie tech cape Peacemaker foiling a bank robbery when, in an incredible coincidence, newly minted villain Downbeat attempted to burgle the same bank while the previous burglary was ongoing. The two had struck up a rivalry that had slowly become friendly, until an unexpected Christmastime caper revealed that the two of them had been roommates the entire time.
The last few weeks had been spent adjusting to a new normal. Neither girl wanted to hurt the other, but they were both also unwilling to concede defeat in their professional work. The result had been an odd sort of game, in which both girls tried to beat each other without any lasting harm done. Noelle idly wondered if this was what the Glory Days natural born Supers were always going on about was like. Then she rapidly stopped wondering as a burst of neon light scraped two inches past her helmet, punctuated by a particularly strong beat drop. Kendra wasn't shooting to kill, but she'd figured out how to modulate the power of her laser blasts two weeks ago, and she wasn't shy about bruising.
Judging the angle carefully, Noelle leapt into the air, perfectly accounting for Kendra's attempted swerve and starting a grapple to keep any further blasts on the backbeat. The two stared into each other's eyes.
"We still on for dinner Sunday?" Kendra asked with a grin, even as she tried to shake the other woman off.
"Only if you don't have a prior appointment with SFPD." Noelle shot back, trying to decide if she could risk a disabling shot at Kendra's flight pack.
"We've been quiet too long, better yell something sweety." Kendra added, trying to shift the painting she'd stolen without damaging it.
"How about: TAKE THIS, CRIMINAL!" Noelle asked before her polymer-encased fist smashed into the other girl's helmet.
"Ah!" Kendra rubbed at her chin. "Girl." She said reproachfully.
"Oh crud, did I go too hard?" Noelle asked, concerned. "I thought I worked out the kinks in the assisted impact system."
Kendra smiled. "No." She replied, tempo rising suddenly. "But I figured it might be a good distraction."
Noelle found herself falling backwards as a point-blank soundwave threw her onto the roof again. Kendra smirked, the lines across her armor changing color as she charged up a blast that would keep her pursuer down long enough to escape. Then, she stopped. "Do you... hear something?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
Noelle fiddled with her gloves. If she could get a shot off just right, she could disable the-
"No seriously." Kendra held up an arm. "What is that?"
Noelle listened. It was coming from above them. It sounded like… shrieking?
"Incoming!" She yelled a moment later, and Kendra rolled desperately out of the way.
A black shape whooshed through the air a few seconds behind her. It landed on the tiled roof, clawed feet cracking the red surface. The thing was the size of a human, almost cone shaped with massive leathery wings. A mouth filled with fangs led upwards into a squashed nose, beady eyes and pointed ears.
The thing shrieked again.
Noelle blasted it.
"That'll give you something to cry about." She said in satisfaction as the creature clawed at its face.
"Uh, hun?" Kendra asked.
"Yeah?"
"It brought friends." She finished, just as five more of the things swooped out of the sky.
"Hit them from range!" Noelle yelled as she fired blast after blast of low-yield radiation at the things. "They can't win if they can't reach us!"
A moment later, one of the flying monsters made a retching noise and then hurled a blast of flame at the two girls.
"Scratch that." Noelle admitted as they dove for cover.
The two capes made a fighting retreat to the ground, dodging gouts of flame and dive bombing runs as they fired back. Eventually, however, the beasts wheeled about and all dove together.
"Any ideas?!?" Noelle asked as she did her best to keep one of the things at bay.
"Cover your ears!" Kendra responded. Noelle barely had time to respond before an enormous burst of white noise blared outwards on all frequencies. Noelle clapped her hands over her head, trying to blink away the pain sending her reeling.
The monsters wailed in pain, several of them falling to the ground and all of them keening in terror. After a few seconds they picked themselves up, fleeing into the night in a disorganized mess.
"Ow." Kendra said.
"What?"
"What?"
After a few moments for their hearing to resume, the two girls watched the last monster disappear into shadow. "I didn't know you could do that."
"It was going to be a surprise. I haven't figured out the feedback yet."
The two started out into the darkness for a few more moments.
"What the hell was that?"
"I have no idea!"
Kendra snapped her fingers as the beat began again and she lifted into the air. "Well, I'm not gonna sit around and wait while somebody else finds out. Come on."
Noelle looked around. "Do we really want to be seen working with each other?"
"Something just went after us on our turf. I'm not playing around."
Noelle nodded. "All right but first? Put the painting back."
"Aw come on! I was gonna get the apartment a new holoscreen!"
Downbeat and Peacekeeper began their investigation without the slightest idea what was going on, and no clues whatsoever as to what had attacked them. Focused on this new mystery, they could be forgiven for thinking there we no secrets left between them. But there are some things they had to hide. Some things that could risk their careers. So the 'heroic' Peacekeeper went on with her new plans, totally unaware that her nemesis was being funded by the Bakaemono Corporation.
And the 'villainous' Downbeat did the same.
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