Harvey was bored. He'd just gotten off of work and was waiting for Laura to pick him outside the precinct. [color=6ecff6]"Come on, come on, come on. Where is she?"[/color] Harvey repeated under his breathe as he tapped his foot rapidly against the sidewalk beneath his feet. He could have ran home and gotten there in a second, but this whole secret identity thing didn't allow it. People would start to wonder how Harvey moved around so fast without a car. They'd ask questions; and when all of your co-workers are detectives and police officers, acting suspicious isn't recommended. So here Harvey was, stuck sitting on a bench outside the police department, waiting for his sister. She probably stayed late again working on another story. She was always doing that. Which was fine, Harvey guessed, but Laura could have at least called. Was that so hard? Picking up her cell phone and telling her older brother 'Hey, I'm going to be working late. You should just walk home.' Sergeant Smith sighed as he slumped in his seat, nearly dozing off despite the biting cold of the February air. Couldn't it be summer already? Harvey felt so...Sluggish during winter. The speedster considered just walking home when his ear buzzed. He reached up and touched the small bluetooth device, activating it.

[color=6ecff6]"Go ahead, Eric."[/color]

Finally, some action! With all the other metahumans running around, you'd think Thunderbolt would be busier. Yet, it seemed all the crime across the city was being dealt by other heroes most of the time. Harvey pulled his coat tighter around himself as his best friend started talking.

"Alright. We've got a robbery in progress on the corner of Roe and Beacon. Somebody's trying to rob Clarie's Jewelry. They've got a meta with 'em, too. A brick by the sounds of it. Bulletproof, tearing steel apart with ease. Sounds like your kind of gig." Harvey looked around. He didn't want anyone to see him race off at mach 300. Once Thunderbolt was sure the close was clear, Harvey took off. He kept his speed low, about mach 50, so that the Lightning Effect kept his clothes intact. He needed to reach his house and change into costume. He dodged around people, cars, and buildings as he reached his house in the span of a single sentence. Harvey unlocked his door and raced into his room, opening a locked chest where he kept his Thunderbolt costume. Harvey changed in a flash before disappearing out the fire escape and racing down the side of his apartment building. The speedster cranked his speed up to max and reached the site of the robbery in seconds.

"Where's my sister, by the way?" Harvey wondered as he observed the situation. Five gunmen, all armed with automatic weapons. They wouldn't be an issue. The real problem was the metahuman. The guy stood at a massive eight foot tall and was covered in stone, head to foot. [color=6ecff6][i]Oh boy.[/i][/color]  Thunderbolt thought. [color=6ecff6][i]He'll be trouble.[/i][/color] "Laura's still working on a report. Something about more and more of Lost Haven's biggest companies falling under the influence of mobsters. Really interesting piece, actually." Harvey sighed as the gunmen exited the jewelry store carrying bags full of loot. [color=6ecff6]"Really? What's Gold think?"[/color] Thunderbolt asked as he pursued the gunmen to their getaway vehicle. They had yet to spot the hero, who was moving too fast for the human eye to follow. "Gary? Gary's skeptical. Not enough hard facts about these mobsters to start publishing front page stories about 'em. He wants her to keep pursuing the angle, though." The metahuman hopped into the back of the car as the gunmen all filed inside with the loot and started to drive away. "You should probably-" Eric began. [color=6ecff6]"Yeah, yeah. I got it."[/color] Thunderbolt disappeared in a flash of light as he reached the vehicle. Harvey began popping the tires, rapidly vibrating his fingers to turn them sharp. The vehicle swerved as the driver lost control of the car, and they crashed into the side of a building.

Thunderbolt stood atop the car, looking down at the stunned thugs. [color=6ecff6]"So you should surrender, because we all know how this is going to go down."[/color] Not wanting to go down without a fight, the masked criminals opened fire. They sprayed holes through the roof of their car as they tried to kill the hero attempting to stop them in their tracks. Harvey hummed a tune as he casually grabbed the bullets out from the air. The thugs and their metahuman comrade all exited the car and spread out. Thunderbolt just smiled as they continued to fire until they were out of ammo. [color=6ecff6]"My turn."[/color] He announced, launching the bullets at super speed into the thugs. The bullets were moving too slowly to pierce a human's skin, but fast enough to knock out all of the gunmen in a hail of gunfire. The metahuman growled, leaping over to the car an grabbing at the speedster. Thunderbolt jumped over his head and landed a good few yards away. [color=6ecff6]"So what do they call you? Brickhead? Mister Stone?"[/color] Harvey quipped as the frustrated meta grabbed the getaway car and tossed it in the speedster's direction. "Name's Concrete!" He growled as Thunderbolt grabbed a pair of the unconscious criminals before the car could land on them. "Your name'll be Con-VICT when we're done here!" Thunderbolt joked with a smirk as he charged the metahuman. "Stop. Stop please." Eric begged over the comms as he watched the fight through the camera built in to Thunderbolt's goggles. "That physically hurt."

[color=6ecff6]"Whatever, you're just jealous of my quick wit."[/color]

The speedster unleashed a barrage of punches onto Concrete's abdomen. The Hundred Speeding Fists, Harvey liked to call it. Thunderbolt dashed backwards as Concrete tried to grab his attacker. [color=6ecff6]"Ow. Ow. Ow."[/color] Thunderbolt complained as he rubbed his fists together. Concrete laughed as the speedster danced around in discomfort. "Ya can't hurt me, little punk! I've fought with the big leagues! You ain't nothin'." Thunderbolt growled as he considered his options. "Any ideas on how to take this guy down, big man?" Eric asked. Harvey spent a microsecond thinking it over before he thought of another plan. [color=6ecff6]"Yeah. Let's see if he has to breathe."[/color] Thunderbolt began rotating his arms at the speed of lightning, creating a vacuum around Concrete as he sucked the air out of the immediate area and the meta's lungs. Concrete fell to his knees on the street, clutching his throat as he struggled to breathe air that wasn't there. It took nearly three minutes before the guy collapsed, unconscious. [color=6ecff6]"Score one for team Thunderbolt!"[/color] Harvey cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

[color=f26522]"We are [i]so[/i] not team Thunderbolt."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Oh, hey! Shortstack has finally decided to pick up."[/color]

[color=f26522]"Been busy. I assume you have it handled?"[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"'Course I do. I'll have Concrete and his lackies in police custody soon as Eric gives the call."[/color]

"Already done, bud."

[color=6ecff6]"Cool. How's the reportin' coming, Laura? Catch any big scoops?"[/color]

[color=f26522]"First, nobody says scoop."[/color] Laura started. [color=f26522]"Second, Gary shot me down. We need more information on the guys buying out the financial district before he'll even consider running the story."[/color]

"Well, where do we start?"

[color=f26522]"All I have is a name. The Cowl."[/color]