He fired a beam of energy directly into the smoke, and he wasn't off target, it went straight for Night Hunter.
"What!?"
At the last second, he managed to dodge the beam, shooting a grappling hook that retracted, pulling him towards the railings of the balcony in the office. It wasn't just an office, it was a laboratory.
"Cybernetic arms? What the fuck!?" Night Hunter knew then, these guys weren't joking around.
The dust of smoke cleared, and it revealed the kidnappers and their leader who smiled like a maniac at the Shadow Vigilante. "Come down and play Vigilante!"
"Who do you work for?" It was obvious that these kidnappers were work for higher, what would they gain by kidnapping a scientist from Nex Industries if not wealth?
"Who knows? But that shouldn't be your concern, your concerns are right in front of you, the man who will bring an end to the legacy of the shadow!" The man raised his cybernetic arm cannon and fired a blast of plasma at the railing where Night Hunter crouched.
Night Hunter jumped off the railing, swinging around the office with a grappling hook.
"You're not getting away!" The man followed through with his movements, and directed the beam that shot continuously at him.
"Tch!" With a final swing, Night Hunter twisted his body in midair as the beam barely passed right under him, then immediately, he stretched out his hand, activating the pulse wave feature of the Dual Specter.
And as usual, a sharp hum burst from Night Hunter's glove as concentric rings of blue energy surged outward from his palm, a focused pulse wave that slammed into the man's chest with brutal force.
The impact launched him like a ragdoll across the room, putting him through tables and computers as he crashed on the ground.
The other two men had already left as their boss kept the Vigilante distracted long enough for them to complete their mission.
Night Hunter seized the chance and leapt through the window, and as he dropped toward the ground, he spotted the two men shoving the scientist into a car.
"Found you."
He stretched his hand out and fired off another grappling hook at the side of the building, he yanked hard, pulling himself towards the car down below.
"What's with this guy!? I thought boss was taking care of him!?" The two men pulled out their sidearms — dual pair of plasma blasters and began firing rounds of plasma beams at Night Hunter.
They weren't as powerful as their boss's cybernetic arm blaster, so it bounced off his suit like metal being deflected.
"Hm, how primitive."
[Master, behind you.]
"Hm?" As he fell closer to the ground, Night Hunter looked back and saw the boss at the shattered window, his cybernetic arm cannon aimed at his back.
"You thought that would be enough to stop me!? Die!" He unleashed another powerful beam, and Night Hunter's eyes widened as the grappling hook retracted and pulled him towards the building fast, leaving him little chance to fire again.
"Shit!" He pulled on the titanium rope with all his might, and at the last second, changed his trajectory away from the car. The plasma beam shot down like a bolt of lightning, striking one of his men at his chest.
"Carlos!!" The other man screamed as the victim of the blast — Carlos, dropped to the ground, his upper body scorched and smoking as everything upwards was disintegrated into particles of dust.
"Carlos!!" He pulled his mask off, rushed over to his body, and shaked on him, as if expecting him to miraculously regenerate his disintegrated heart and lungs. "Stay with me Carlos!" Tears streamed down his eyes, and by the time Carlos's body stopped moving completely, he glanced over at Night Hunter who stood still.
His body trembled at the weight of what he had done, although indirectly, he killed a man.
"I...I." He stuttered.
"Fuck you!!!" The other man aimed his plasma blaster at him, but even still, Night Hunter couldn't move.
BANG!
The man fell to the ground, knocked unconscious by the scientist who took the opportunity to escape the car and smacked him with the plasma gun of Carlos.
"Eyes up kid, there's still one more left." The Scientist — Dr Reginald, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and released a soft sigh before staring at the plasma blaster in his hands.
"Good grief, I never thought my own creations would one day be used against me. Oh well, I guess that's what I get for working for a heroic faction."
"CAAAARRRRLOSSSS!" A loud voice screamed from the 6th floor of the building, pulling the two attention towards Nex Industries, and they saw the boss of the kidnappers jump off from the sixth floor, aiming his cannon at the two of them.
"Vigilante!" The scientist called out to him, and Night Hunter snapped back to his senses. He held Dr Reginald almost immediately, shot a grappling hook at the roof of a building and it quickly retracted, pulling them towards the roof.
As the boss landed to the ground, unharmed as it seemed, the sounds of sirens filled the air as the police finally responded to the triggered silent alarm.
He aimed his cannon at the roof, but by then, they had already disappeared out of sight.
"NIGHT HUNTER!! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Despite swinging several buildings away, they could hear his voice loudly, and he was pissed and pained.
They landed on the sidewalk far away from Nex Industries, and Night Hunter dropped him off. He felt uneasy, blaming himself for the death of Carlos.
"Hey kid." Dr Reginald called out to him.
"Kid?" He replied with a low voice.
"Yes, I can tell from your reaction, it's the first time you watched someone die isn't it? Any adult entering into this line of work knows what's at stake and are prepared for the consequences. Don't blame yourself for his death, it was either you, me or him, and you chose wisely."
Dr Reginald brought out a pack of cigarettes from his lab coat and lighted it up with lighter he had in his pockets. He knew the health implications of smoking as a scientist, but it was his way of dealing with stress.
"Aren't you going to call the cops on me?"
"What would I gain from such childish chores, honestly to me, you're more of a hero than most of these corporate backed superhumans out there. In the last few days scientists from all over the city has been declared missing, and most turned up dead. If it wasn't for you, I'd join them, so why would I repay your favor with wickedness?" He exhaled, puffing out a cloud of smoke from his mouth.
"Scientists are being kidnapped and killed? Why?"
"Who knows? This city is changing, and not for the better."
"Despite almost being captured yourself, you look awfully calm about it, why?" Night Hunter asked as the Dual Specter in his hands dissipated into thin air.
Dr Reginald sighed, his tone changing almost immediately. "I made... A mistake."