Light and Darkness clash together

Keira had tried on multiple designs of her costume before settling for the final one. Mostly white but with black in all the right places. A yellow cape with stripes over her waist and down her thigh's actuates it nicely. And although the bracers also look metallic & could pass as real gold, they aren't. Same with the collar around her neck. Normally, white and yellow would look tacky but when Paragon uses her powers, she gives off an ever so slight glow which makes her costume shine, making the overall look of the costume so much better because it goes perfectly with her light based power set.

On Paragon's official debut, she stops a number of bank robberies and she closes off the day by apprehending an escaped prisoner from the Meta-Human prison from what used to be Brooklyn. The police thank her for a job well done even though they give her a somewhat wary look since she, herself, is a meta-human. The heroine is forced to remind herself to obey the law and not break it, then everything will be fine. The news media is all over the debut of NYC's newest heroine.

Just days following Paragon's successful debut as a heroine, she receives an ominous package in the mail. It's a sketch of Paragon herself with a small knife stabbed into her heart. The words are written, 'I know who you are. You are an abomination. I'm coming for you.'

At first, Keira almost calls the police but decides against it. That would require revealing who she really is. As she begins pacing the room, thinking on who has sent this threat, she knows she's alone in the world. Her parents can't help sand she doesn't want them involved. Worse still, Keira has no outside contacts within the super-hero community that can help as she doesn't know anyone who could help. As a rookie hero herself, she has never had the chance to become friends with any other hero.

Biting her lip nervously, Keira racks her brain on who could have sent that letter and how could they have found out she's Keira Hawke so quickly. She comes up with no one. But something nags at her from the back of her mind. A familiarity of that hand writing. She's seen it before, but where? But then it hits her like a thunderbolt from the heavens. She rushes to put in a documentary she once saw a number of years ago. The program is about a serial killer that has been known to target meta-humans and anyone who has powers. She fast forwards through it, hoping she's wrong about her assumption earlier. But then she stops and rewinds it before hitting play. The letters shown on the screen are an exact match for the hand writing on the letter sent to Keira.

The world spins as Keira drops the letter and puts her hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness..." She croaks out. Never did she imagine she'd be the killer's next victim when she saw that documentary. She knows she has only days left to live because this guy, whoever he is, loves to stalk his victim. Fear runs through Keira's body like an endless torrential river, but then she clenches her hands and grits her teeth, "Get a grip!" She takes a long deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She's a hero! Act like it. Nevertheless, it isn't easy to swallow her fear. Especially since she has the eerie feeling of being watched.

Keira knows what to do next. If she is to survive, she must find this killer and apprehend him before she becomes another chalky outline on the sidewalk. Putting on her costume, Keira puts it on once again and flies out into the evening air. The sun is low on the horizon, perhaps the last she'll ever see but if she has her way then it'll be many more before she sees her last sundown.

But then Paragon immediately runs into the next problem. Where to start looking first. She sigh's because she knows she might just have to use herself as bait. It's time to set a trap, but what kind? She has no idea what this killer can do. No one does, although he has been known to use a dagger in his killings. But little else is known. As she thinks, she flies over the buildings of New York, wondering how she is going to solve this conundrum.

“Of course, anytime!” Sam called out, waving his hand over his head.

The old lady waved back, holding a cat to her chest, smiling as if the day had given her the winning lotto ticket. It was a sweet smile, but her voice tired and scratchy, "You too, Mr. Odd! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Same time next week!"

"Heavens, I hope not!"

Helping Old Lady Doris with getting her cat out of the nearby tree was always Sam’s favorite part of the week. Though, still, it was a bit of a surprise that it happened weekly. He figured that such things were better left alone. He wasn’t a pet owner and he didn’t know the complexities that came with owning a pet. If she just happened to leave the window open one day and it got out and onto a branch then that was that.

It wasn’t a hard job. Just reaching through a portal, trying not to get scratched, and pull out. Most jobs seemed like that lately. Nothing over the top, just easy, in and out jobs. Save a cat from a tree, help blank and blank cross the street, settle disputes over dinged up cars, and maybe, if he was lucky, stop a purse snatcher or car thief. Things were slow, which were good, but also boring.
But what place did he have to complain? He was still earning a decent bit of money to send home and people weren’t getting hurt. That was his goal as a hero after all. Money and safety. Both of his standards were being met. But still…there was something off about it all. It was a city after all and things were rarely quiet, in all meanings of the word. He knew other heroes were at work, Melody, Wyatt, Poe, and a handful of others. He hadn’t really met any of the others yet, but a few names he managed to catch.

He stared down at a puddle for a few moments, just looking at his reflection and listening to the chatter and life of the city. He rarely looked at himself in this form. His skin was pitch black, he was like a walking shadow minus his eyes which glowed white. His gazed shifted from the puddle to his hands and arms. He just clothed in regular street clothes. He never had the need to get a fancy costume. He could never actually afford it. But people knew him to some extent. He did enough work with people to get a few people call him out. Being Mel’s sidekick also helped a bunch.

He shook his head. There was a time and place for this, and he was on patrol. He had to continue on with his duty and ensure the safety of those around him.

His watchful eyes shifted around and…caught something? An odd sight. An old parking garage, one of the big ones owned by a business so people around the city had a place to park (for a small fee). It was closed, yet that wasn’t the strange part. The garage door was slightly ajar and in the opening he saw two legs, big boots, and…some kind of blade? That was far from normal. It wasn’t something a construction work or renovator would have.

It was probably nothing, but…on the other hand…his curiosity was getting the better of him. With a slight eagerness to his step, Sam proceeded forward towards the door. A shadowy figure amongst the moving crowd. Surely he stuck out, but it was New York City. Strange people, odd situations…they were all bound to happen. Even amongst those, Sam still stuck out and his bright, passionate expression surely caught a few glances.

It was time to be a hero! Sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.

To say that Starlight is worried would ordinarily be an understatement. But she has powers and isn't helpless so while she is worried about a serial killer targeting her, she isn't as much as she would be prior to gaining them. However, with the diminished fear comes with a weakened survival instinct. She takes things for granted and isn't as alert as she should be.

It is when Starlight lands in a lone alley to help someone being mugged that things take a dark turn. The would be muggers are taken care of easily, but the supposed victim is in a fetal position with his back to Starlight. Even in this state, the man rocking back and forth and muttering things under his breath appears to have a massively muscular build. Keira approaches him cautiously, "Sir?" She asks, "Are you alright?"

The unknown man mutters a few more things and something seems 'wrong' about this. Unfortunately, it's too late to do anything about it. The man says two words that Starlight finally understands, "I'm fine." And in a flash of movement, he's up on his feet and shoves a tranquilizer dart into Keira's neck. With a gasp, the heroine feels the sting of the dart puncture her skin before injecting the sleep inducing liquid into her. She grabs the dart with one hand, taking it out before stumbling backwards. Already she can feel herself going under against her will. The big 6'5" tall man is asmed so Starlight cannot see his face but she has a feeling he is smiling. She tries to use her self-healing to purge the tranq's effects but she isn't fast enough. Starlight falls on her back as her vision clouds over with darkness. She tries her best to fight it, but she can't. It's getting progressively harder to keep her eyes open. The last thing she sees is this unknown man stepping into view and looking down at her.  Then...darkness...

The next thing Starlight is aware of is waking up inside some kind of...garage? The tranq's effects are still making their mark on her body, making her groggy. But she opens her eyes enough to have a look around. The place is a mess with broken pieces of furniture, paper and junk everywhere. Some of the windows are broken and have been boarded up. Night has fallen and that means Starlight is without the power of the sun to keep her charged. She needs to be careful.

The next thing Starlight notices is that she is tied to a chair with chains. Some kind of metal collar is around her neck with a strange device attached to her chest. It has flashing lights and buttons. A figure is in the shadows with the door of the garage slightly ajar, casting him in the light of the moon. It's him, the masked man who tranqed her. He speaks in a guttural voice, "Ah, you awake. Good." The accent sounds Russian.

The man steps forward, brandishing a blade in his hand. It looks like a large hunting knife. It's like the one Crocodile Dundee has in that movie. Instantly, Starlight knows who he is. He's the serial killer that's been going around killing anyone with powers. She struggles in her chair, but is unable to free herself. The fear within her climbs and threatens to choke her. The next thing she tries is using her powers but she instantly feels a powerful electrical shock from the metal collar when she tries it. She screams out in pain as her body convulses.

When the shock ends, the Serial Killer shakes his finger before admonishing her in broken English, "Dumb move. You no use powers. Made sure you helpless." He says as he comes closer, tossing his blade between each hand and Starlight looking up at him in fear. Heart hammering in her chest like a jackhammer. She doesn't want to die!

It's then Starlight sees a movement from the corner of her eyes as she glances in that direction, she sees another figure standing in the doorway of the garage that is still slightly open. It looks like just a shadow of a person, but someone is definitely there. She needs help, but what if this person is this serial killer's partner? However, on the other side of the coin, what if he isn't?

Starlight decides to make a gamble and to stall for time as she looks at the serial killer, who by now looks like he's ready to do his work, "Why are you doing this?"

The man remains silent for a few moments, wondering if he should answer. But since he's going to kill her anyway, he might as well. People like you are like plague. Me cure." And as he raises his massive knife in his hand, a single tear slips down Keira's cheek as she knows she's about to die. Her life flashes before her of a life that she has been generally happy with. But she also mourns for all the things that are about to be taken from her. No husband, no children, a successful life and every moment that goes with it.

He had only heard part of it, the conversation between the two inside, but it was enough to know that his instincts were right. There was some sort of sketchy business going down inside and if that wasn't an excuse to be a hero than Sam wasn't sure what was. The question, however, was how to address the situation. From what he heard from the doorway the man must've been some kind of lunatic, taking some innocent girl hostage, but the problem was that...if the girl was a meta then she should be able to overpower the man somehow. Because she wasn't that meant the man had some kind of power over her. Whether that was a meta ability in itself, a new drug, or...something, was unclear and charging headfirst into an ordeal like that could get them both killed.

The situation was too dire though to waste on figuring out if it was clear to go in or find another route. The girl needed help now and there was no doubt in his head that time was limited. So...with a deep breath, Sam began to move into action.

It started with a portal, one just to the other side of the door so that the man wouldn't hear him coming. Sam would cling to the shadows, his darkened form blending in well with the darkness. Scooting down, sliding foot by foot towards the sound of their talking. Then, he spotted them. The girl bound, the man waving a weapon about. It was a full on hostage situation, though the man had not quite yet put the knife in a dangerous position relative to the girl. That was good, that meant he still had the element of surprise.

Phase two, now, was the attack. Quietly, Sam opened a portal above the man's head, just out of sight. He reached for his wooden staff and carefully aimed it in the portal. He inhaled sharply and then with a quick and strong thrust he jammed it forward into his connecting side of the portal, the staff aimed for the back of the man's head. Normal people, without any sort of resistances, when they get hit in the back of the head would normally get knocked out. The motion would also probably send the man stagger forward, so to make sure he didn't land on the girl and accidentally stab her a second portal opened between the two of them, the connecting portal leading to the corner of the room and away from the girl. The man, if he was knocked out and had fallen through the portal would land on his side with a thump, and if he did fall through Sam would once more close the portal, making sure he had no quick way back to the girl.