"Lady Impulse."
The other two were out cold, knocked out by the superhuman strength of Nova city's number 2 hero.
"Why..." Even the leader couldn't believe his eyes.
"Why is Nova City's number two hero here!?" Thanks to Lady Impulse's untimely intervention, his fate was sealed. Arrest or not, as long as the Purple Syndicate's vice leader still breathed, he was already a dead man walking.
The Purple Syndicate, a ruthless Russian mob that migrated to Nova City for its technological edge. This advantage made expanding their power effortless, turning them into one of the city's most feared crime gangs.
To make matters worse, they were infamous for their brutal methods of torture and murder, making death at their hands an utterly horrific fate for anyone who crossed or defied them.
Mason couldn't fathom the fear flickering in the leader's eyes, from what he'd seen so far, the man had always been calm and level-headed.
But it was no surprise that a thug like him would cower the moment he faced a superhero, especially one ranked among the city's top five.
"So we finally meet, vigilante."
Silence.
The masked man said nothing, he couldn't. The more he stared at the city's supposed top-five symbols of justice, the more the memories of his parents came rushing back to him.
Sure, she had nothing to do with it, but Blaze's actions five years ago had already set the standard of heroism in Mason's mind.
"I knew those robbers would be back, I just never expected you to show up." Lady Impulse had nothing against vigilantes, it only became a problem when the city was against it.
The Heroes Act ordained that any civilian operating without authorization from registered heroic factions was deemed a vigilante, making them illegal under safety and protection laws.
Still, the masked man stayed silent, not even thinking of offering her a single word.
Seizing the opportunity, the leader sprang to his feet, shoving the masked man aside before making a break for it.
"Hey!" The masked man finally spoke, regaining his balance, he started sprinting after the leader.
However, before he could take another step, he felt a very powerful force overwhelming him. In the next instant, he was pinned against the building's wall by his neck.
'She's fast!'
He hadn't even taken a step forward, but Lady Impulse had already reached him, pinning him to the walls before he even realized it.
"You're not going anywhere."
She wasn't just fast, she was strong. Beneath that thick, alluring demeanor was a being whose strength far surpassed the limits of ordinary humans like Mason.
The leader of the hijackers ran into the streets, knowing it was already too late for his two accomplices. All that mattered now was delivering the V-core to his employer before he became the next casualty.
Spotting a passing power bike, he kicked its rider off without hesitation and sped away into the night.
"You're coming with me." Lady Impulse said plainly as she increased her grip on his neck, attempting to choke him out.
'Hava.'
[Adjusting Dual Specter to full capacity.]
"You're in the way." The masked man spoke coldly, managing to stretch his hand out in front of her.
A sharp hum burst from the masked man's glove as concentric rings of blue energy surged outward from his palm, a focused pulse wave that slammed into the Lady Impulse's chest with brutal force.
The impact launched her backwards like a ragdoll over the car.
With no time to lose, the masked man took off running, springing from the car's roof to launch himself into the air before firing a grappling hook that caught the side of the warehouse, and just like that, the chase was on once more.
Lady Impulse took a moment to gather herself, she was in no way harmed by the pulse wave, but it caught her completely off guard. What's worse, it was almost similar to her talent's abilities.
"I overestimated him, I thought he was just a crackhead acting foolishly because he wanted to play hero. I was wrong, he clearly knows what he's doing, making him even more dangerous."
She brushed the dust from her clothes and rose to her feet. With a quick glance at the two unconscious robbers, she secured them tightly and left them out in the open for the police to find.
"Now then." She soared into the skies, rising high above the clouds in search of the vigilante and the last robber. The moment she spotted them, she shot forward at supersonic speed, leaving a sonic boom trailing in her wake.
The moment the leader of the robbers glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widened in horror, behind him, the vigilante was closing in through the rooftops, and worst of all, Lady Impulse was hurtling toward them like a torpedo.
"Shit! Shit!! Shit!!! Shit!!!! Shit!!!!!" He twisted the power bike's handle, and the engine roared to life, the exhaust spewing a cloud of smoke before the bike shot down the road at full speed.
The sonic boom caught the masked man's ears, and he turned around almost instantly. "Tch, I never thought I'd encounter a hero this early, damn it, I can't handle both of them on my own. In that case.."
He reached into his right pocket and yanked out an EMP grenade. There was no escaping Lady Impulse at her current speed, so before she could take him out of the sky, he aimed to take the leader off the road.
He pressed the grenade's button and hurled it with all his strength toward the power bike from above. The grenade hit the ground with a metallic clink, its casing pulsing with a rapid blue glow before erupting in a soundless flash.
A rippling wave of distortion rolled out in all directions, and the next second, all electronics within a ten meter range screamed and died.
Within the blast radius, the power bike's headlights flickered once before going dark. The engine seized instantly, sending the bike skidding across the pavement. It's omentum tore the leader from the seat, hurling him back-first into a brick wall with a bone-crushing thud.
"Yes! Bullsey—"
Before the masked man could celebrate, Lady Impulse slammed into him midair, driving him into the side of a building with bone-crushing force that shattered its edge in two.
Debris rained down from above, tumbling through the air like a stony downpour. Below, a couple strolled past, hands clasped together.
Lady Impulse's eyes widened in disbelief as the couple strolled along the pavement, completely unaware of the danger looming above.
"Watch out!" Before she could react, the vigilante launched himself from the building's side, yanking hard on the rope latched on tightly to another building.
At the last second, he swooped beneath the couple, seized them by the waist, and shoved them to the ground just as the chunks of rock smashed into the pavement.
"What..." Lady Impulse couldn't believe her eyes. Despite having no powers, despite the high possibilities of being crushed beneath those massive rocks, the masked man didn't hesitated to throw himself into danger to save the couple.
"Marlo... isn't that, the vigilante!?" As the couple gathered themselves, they couldn't believe their eyes. They didn't know whether to be scared or grateful that he had just saved their lifes.
"Get out of here." The masked man spoke in a deep voice, prompting the couple to scramble to their feet and vanish into the night.
The masked man groaned, despite saving them, he hadn't escaped unscathed. Just before he could push them clear, a chunk of debris had slammed hard into his left shoulder.
"Y-you saved them... Despite having any powers... You didn't hesitate to put yourself in danger... Why?" From above, Lady Impulse called down to him, unable to shake the question from her mind, why would an ordinary man risk his life for strangers he didn't even know?
"So we finally meet... Vigilante, that's what you told me earlier is it not? Allow me to return the favor, so we finally meet. The only difference is, I can never call you a hero, heroes save lives, not take them away."
As he finally spoke, police sirens wailed from every direction. Still stunned by the vigilante's words, Lady Impulse slowly drifted into the sky, she knew getting caught in a mess like this would only hurt her contract with Titan's heroic faction.
As she disappeared into the clouds, the masked man managed to rise to his feet, but by then, two squad cars had already surrounded him, and the police men came down quickly, pointing their guns at the injured vigilante.
"Freeze! Don't move."
"Ah, shit."