The roar of whirling blades pierced the usual ambiance of Archer City as a sleek, red and black helicopter dropped into view of one of the tallest skyscrapers, hovering ominously between it and the rooftop of a nearby, lesser skyscraper. Suddenly, with a bang and an explosion of glass, a motorcycle driven by a mysterious figure clad in black protective gear erupted from the side of the building, inches ahead of a deadly plume of fire and broken glass. Trailing flame and soot as it went, the motorcycle arced gracefully over the blades of the helicopter and landed hard on the opposite roof as the helicopter tilted away from the conflagration. The shock of the landing flung the rider from her seat directly into another glass skylight over a twenty story drop, only to grab hold of one end of a banner strung across the empty area and swing on it like a rope onto the balcony and landing upside down in a conveniently placed recliner.

"CUT!" the director barked out as the scene drew to a close. Slightly dazed but mostly euphoric, the black-clad Rider removed her helmet, letting her wild brown locks flop out as she sat upside down in the recliner, breathing heavily.

"God, I love my job," Skye Ryder said blissfully, catching her breath as she relived the dangerous and deadly stunt in her head. 

"Ryder, excellent as usual," interjected the director, a man by the name of Marty Melberg. A tall lanky figure in a polo shirt and khakis, Melberg looked more like a golf instructor then a director, much less the man in the chair behind the action-packed thrill ride that was [i]Maximum Vengeance 3: Resurrection of Revenge[/i]. Still, the guy knew his stuff, and he knew exactly how to get the best out of everyone on his watch. "The producers are going to flip when they see the test footage of that maneuver," Marty continued excitedly. "If this doesn't become a smash hit I'll eat my shirt. You alright down there?" Ryder, who just realized the position she was in, quickly did a backwards somersault out of the chair and rose gracefully to her feet, dusting herself off in the process.

"Couldn't be better," she said cheerfully. "What's the next scene then? The rooftop chase?"

"Eventually yes, but we need to get some of the slower scenes shot before we can knock out the rest of the action scenes," Marty explained, flipping through the notes on his clipboard. "Schedule says the next scene we need you for will start shooting in two weeks, but I think if we can get a lot done I can meet with you and the coordinators to plan the next chase sequence by the end of the week. Unless you need some time to recover of course, that was one hell of a fall you just took."

Skye repressed a devious little giggle at Marty's concern for her safety. A few years ago she would have probably broken several bones after a stunt like that, even if she had pulled off the complicated stunt routine perfectly. But now? She would have been surprised if she even got a bruise afterwards, thanks to the egotistical alien scientist who so desperately needed a rival to vanquish. Sure she may have looked the same as she did before her devastating accident and "miraculous recovery", but she was so much stronger and faster then she was after the alien played Tetris with her DNA that she was surprised that she had fooled people into thinking otherwise. It had certainly made Skye's day job a lot more fun, to the point where she had almost forgotten how much she had to take a trip to the hospital after nearly every stunt she performed for the cameras.

"So, next week we'll meet with the coordinators, then?" Marty finally asked her.

"Make it so," Skye said with a friendly wink and double finger-pistols in his direction as she spun on her heel to leave.

"Excellent, I'll pencil it in. That's a wrap, people, we're done for the day!" Marty directed his last words at the filming crew, who all began the slow routine of packing up and heading out. Skye grabbed her gear and backpack and headed towards the elevators, where she found herself riding down with a couple of the camera men, who talked at length about the amazing stunt she just performed. Glowing, Skye took in all the praise with her usual charm and grace, even signing an autograph for one starstruck young man.

"Aw, nuts!" Skye exclaimed, feigning exasperation like the professional she was. "I left my keys back upstairs!"

"I can call someone to bring them down," the cameraman who she gave an autograph to suggested helpfully.

"No no, I'd better go and get it myself," Skye responded with a smile, stopping the elevator at the empty twelfth floor of the building. "See you guys, around, hope you're here for the big chase sequence!" The cameramen said their goodbyes and immediately began discussing with excited whispers what the amazing chase scene could be as the doors closed between them and Skye. Glancing left and right, Skye walked briskly towards an under-construction area of the building, exposed to the open air of the city via a partially built wall, and chucked her backpack on the ground in preparation. After a day of filming, the old Skye would have headed home and collapsed from exhaustion, mesmerized by all the excitement she had that day. But to the new and improved Skye Ryder, she was hungry for more action and excitement then ever.

And she couldn't just get it as Skye Ryder.

Discarding her jacket, boots, and gloves, she deposited them all in her backpack and reached inside her bag, taking out a different pair of gloves and pulling them on. She flexed her fingers as the sleek metallic alien alloy in the gauntlets tensed and fight more securely around her fingers. She tapped a control knob on the side of them, which beeped in response. "[i]Hypercomet[/i], rendezvous at my coordinates, just outside of the Baxter Complex," she said clearly and confidently. An electronic series of tones and beeps sounded in response as Skye pulled a pair of boots made from the same alloy and stepped into them. With a shudder, the alien alloy began to expand mechanically from her boots and gauntlets, extending up her arms and legs and fusing together at the torso, creating a purple and dark-blue armored suit slowly reaching her neck. Reaching into the bag one last time, Skye pulled out a purple scarf and a helmet, wrapping the scarf around her neck and finally putting on her helmet, which fused to the expanding armor and sealed her inside. She stood confidently with her hands on her hips as purple lights blinked to life on the black face mask of the shield.

[b][color=662d91]"Captain Hyperdrive, here to save the day!"[/color][/b]