3 days since Nate and Roth met
The screen in the tower flickered with static before the feed cut in.
Some late-night news anchor tried to sound composed, but her voice betrayed tension.
"Just when things couldn't get darker," she said, "a new face from the Vex Gang has stepped into the spotlight."
Cellphone footage played. An bridge, lit by flames. Screams in the background. A mountain of a man stepped through smoke—armored, molten seams glowing in the dark.
Crucible.
I watched as he dragged a cop with SWAT gear across the pavement and tossed him like garbage. Steam hissed from his armor.
"Luna Wing… where are you hiding?" he said directly into the camera, like he was speaking to me. "You thought you could vanish? After what you did to us?"
He lit a scorched piece of SWAT gear on fire and let it burn.
"Redharbor is bleeding without you. I was given permission to tear it open. To see the red flow".
He stepped into the lens, eyes locked.
"Come home, Mothboy. Before there's nothing left to save."
I clenched my jaw.
"I have to go."
Wren didn't argue. She just nodded and tugged my hand, leading me to her workstation. My armor waited for me there, and it looked different. Cleaner. Stronger. The jade cocoon at its center pulsed with light, and bright green lines branched outward like veins across the suit.
"Hit it," she said.
I hit the emblem. The armor hummed, absorbing the force, glowing brighter.
"Kinetic absorption," Wren explained. "It takes in physical hits and redistributes the energy. Makes you hit harder. Stay up longer."
Then she handed me something small. A silver disc, no bigger than a coin.
"Shroud Darts. Attach to your belt. Throw 'em to create smoke, EMP bursts, or entangling nets. Crowd control, disarming—you name it."
I looked at her, heart racing.
"Why did you do all this?"
"Because if you're going to walk into hell… I'm going to make sure you walk out."
I kissed her.
"Kick his ass, Nate."
"I will."
⸻
I suited up, strapped the darts to my belt, and stepped out into the cold night.
"You got me, Nest?" I said into the comm.
Wren's voice came through. "Always, Echo. Crucible's on the Obsidian Span."
"On my way."
I dove off the tower and flew through the city.
People saw me. Phones lit up. I heard them yell my name.
Luna Wing was back.
⸻
The Obsidian Span was lit by streetlamps and rain.
Crucible stood dead center, flanked by nearly fifty soldiers. He looked like a statue carved out of fire and stone in his normal armor but his fists lit like lava and stone.
I landed hard, cape dragging behind me.
He stepped forward. "So. You finally show yourself."
"I'm not here for you," I said. "I'm here to send a message to your boss Roth vex and every gang in this city."
I took a breath.
"I am the last thing you see when the city turns its back. I am the shadow that hunts the wicked. I am Luna Wing. And I'm coming for all of you."
His soldiers laughed.
"You think you can take us all on?"
"I don't think," I said. "I know."
He gestured.
"Then die like a hero."
They rushed me. Thunder cracked.
A helicopter circled overhead. I sprang upward, launched a web, and threw down three Shroud Darts.
Smoke. Chaos. Screams.
I dropped into the haze like a hunter looking for prey.
One man tried to hit me with a pipe—I disarmed him, slammed him down, kicked another into the side rail. I moved like lightning, armor absorbing blows and redirecting them.
Twelve down. Twenty. Thirty.
I grabbed two thugs, slammed their heads together, flipped over a bat-swing, and landed on the other side. I moved between them like water.
EMP darts shorted out weapons. A net dart snagged three in a flash.
A few ran.
The rest didn't last much longer.
And then it was just me and Crucible.
He stepped forward. Rain hissed against his armor.
"Well, well," he said. "Look at you now. Hero in the spotlight."
"Stand down," I told him.
He chuckled. "Roth burned my life to ash. Then he remade me. Trained me. Gifted me with his power."
He slammed his fists together. The gauntlets glowed
"And now I burn for him."
He charged. We collided like thunder.
Fist met fist. Metal sang.
He hit hard—but I hit back. We traded blows. Ribs. Chin. Jaw. I used the smoke, the shadows, the armor.
I moved faster. Smarter.
A hit to his knee. A combo to his ribs. A rising strike to his chin.
He dropped to one knee, breathing ragged.
"Kill me," he said. "You've earned it."
I stared at him.
"No. You'll face justice. The people deserve to see you fall."
He grinned through blood. "Soft."
"Stronger than you'll ever be."
One last punch. He crumpled.
⸻
I stood on the bridge as cops arrived. Arrests. Applause. Sirens.
People on both ends of the span cheered. Phones lit me up.
I never wanted the spotlight.
But now I know what I have to be.
Not just a shadow.
A symbol.
A promise.
I am Luna Wing. And this city isn't done fighting yet.