[center][img]http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i374/bensundeitestutho/raptor-man2_zpsbzrk09ho.png[/img][/center]
[center][b]Zac Wilson[/b][/center]
	Sean Abbott found himself standing in the Greyhound station right of of I-787 in Albany, New York. It had been a long journey coming down south from Lost Haven. He even had to make a transfer stop in Boston just to make his way to the state capital of New York. Sean had planned this little trip as a surprise for one of his old high school friends, Brooke McFadden. Sure, most guys would not bother spending an entire day on a bus to see an ex-girlfriend, but Sean thought she needed to see a friendly face after she had moved away from home.

	While Sean was waiting for a taxi, he felt his phone buzz inside the back pocket of his pants. Once he had pulled out the device, his phone displayed a local news alert. Apparently, there was a hostage situation at the Citizens Bank on the corner of South Pearl and State, which was weird because it was way past banker’s hours.

	Sean paused for a moment. He had come to Albany to see his friend, not to fight crime. When the news report revealed that a metahuman was likely to have been the cause of this situation, there was even a greater temptation to rush into action.

	“Who am I kidding? I drag this costume around with me everywhere I go,” Sean muttered to himself. At first, he turned and calmly walked away, trying not to draw attention to himself. But once Sean was ought of sight, he dashed off, stripping off his clothes and revealing a green colored costume as he went.

[hr]

	It was late in the evening when Zac was exiting the Times Union Center, along with hundreds of other individuals. An all-purpose entertainment venue, particularly outfitted for sporting events, the Times Union Center was located in the heart of Downtown Albany. Because the girls (and Darren) were out of town for the day, Zac decided he deserved a little quality time with the guys. Therefore, Zac and a few of his football teammates decided to catch a game of their local arena football team, the Albany Empire. 

	Or at least Zac thought it would have been his day off. He had received a text from Kyle Porter that explained how Sammy made a surprise visit earlier that day. Zac was not really surprised, especially since Kyle had given Sammy, who had been crushing hard on the cat-themed hero, a freaking ring. Sure, the tiny piece of jewelry could hide Sammy’s feline features, but did he really have to give her such a device in a shape of a ring? If Lyger did not see this coming, it was his own fault for Sammy showing up in his room half naked. All Zac responded with was that he would deal with the situation once the girls get home, but until then, he should keep one eye out for Kelly. Although Zac knew Kelly would not do anything to Lyger, as both Zac and Kelly knew something was off about Sammy (she’s a freaking snake girl!), Zac just wanted to make Lyger a little nervous that Kelly would show up and go nuclear with her magical powers.

	“I can’t believe we lost even though we were up by 12 with one-minute left in the game!” Victor complained to Zac and another of Zac’s football teammates. Victor was built like a lineman, maybe a little on the heavy side, although that’s what a good guard needs to be a bruiser in the trenches.

	[color=peru]“That’s what happen when you miss so many extra points. Was it something like five kicks?”[/color] Zac answered back, although it did little to talk the big man down

	“What they [b]really[/b] had to have done was defend against an onside kick! It wasn’t like the 2010 Super Bowl where the Saints unexpectedly onside kicked. Albany knew this kick was coming. Just such a frustrating way to lose a game.”

	Zac then felt his pocket buzz. When he pulled out his cell phone, he noticed a news alert concerning a metahuman incident at the Citizens Bank. After a quick check of the map app on his phone, Zac realized that the Citizens Bank was not that far away. The report mentioned that whoever was holding up the bank was demanding that Raptor needed to show up, unless the police wanted things to get ugly. Normally, Zac would have checked the situation out anyways, but the villains called him out by name and innocent bystanders were counting on him, Zac really needed to show up tonight.

	“Hey, Zac. We’re going to crash at Victor’s place with a few of the other guys. We’re getting an Uber, so do you need a lift?” Anthony asked. He was the second teammate who accompanied Zac to the arena football game. He played starting cornerback on defense.

	[color=peru]“Unfortunately, I better get back home. Kelly probably will return by the time I find my way home.”[/color]

	“Then we’ll see you at summer training in the morning,” Victor said before giving Zac a big bear hug. The strength of the offensive guard almost squeezed the breath out of Zac.

	“I look forward to knocking you on your ass tomorrow,” Anthony promised with a smile on his face.

	“[color=peru]“You’ll have to catch me first,”[/color] Zac answered back with a laugh.

	“Say ‘hi’ to Kelly for us,” Victor requested, “and if she makes those cookies again, please send some my way!”

	[color=peru]“Sure thing, on both accounts.”[/color]

	After Victor and Anthony had piled into the Uber, which they had ordered, and the Uber had driven away, Zac began walking up South Pearl Street. He needed to find a dark alley or something along those lines in order to change into his Raptor costume. Thanks to his power nullifier, it only took a press of a button to change. Once Zac was outfitted for what he hoped would be a short evening of superheroics, he dashed down South Pearl Street, running at a speed well above the posted 30 MPH speed limit.

	Once Zac was approaching the Citizens Bank, he saw that the Albany police had already set up a perimeter around the building. Men and cars surrounded the building, blocking any escape route other than through the air. One of the city buses was parked right by the entrance of the bank, its emergency lights flashing in the evening darkness. That must be where the hostages had come from, since it was way too late for a bank to be open at this point at night.

	When one of the police officers noticed that Zac, wearing his Raptor costume, had arrived, he waved the young metahuman through the police line and pointed him towards the hostage negotiator. The plan was simple. The police would send Zac in first in the hopes that he could dissolve the situation peacefully. However, if he had not come out within fifteen minutes, the SWAT team was coming in.

	Given an Albany Police Department vest, just in case, Zac entered through the front door of the bank. There, he found a handful of citizens huddled on the floor. When they saw Zac walk through the door, some of the hostages’ eyes glowed with hope. After Zac confirmed that the perpetrator was not nearby at the moment, which he found strange, he gestured to the hostages to make their way out through the entrance. He made sure to remind them to identify themselves as they exited. The police were on high alert because of the metahuman threat and no one wanted to get shot for no reason.

	After all of the hostages had shuffled out through the front doors, Zac swept through the first floor one last time. Before he gave up and left the rest of the search to the police, Zac noticed faint weeping coming from behind the tellers table. When he peered around the corner, he found an insectoid metahuman woman hiding beneath the desk. She had tears gushing down from her eyes. In fact, Zac recalled that this was one of Diplodoc’s metahumans who for some strange reason saved Zac and his friends from the Hounds. It took Zac a moment to realize this because he did not recognize the mantis girl with her mask off. The antennae and compound eyes that she possessed reminded Zac of Kelly.

	[color=peru]“Don’t worry, nobody is going to hurt you,”[/color] Zac told the young woman to calm her down.

	“No one is going to believe that I didn’t cause this,” she answered Zac back. “And I can’t be outed as a metahuman. People will see me as a freak.”

	[color=peru]“Then explain it to me so I can at least help you out.”[/color]

	“I didn’t realize I had gotten involved with the wrong crowd until it was way too late. When I refused to go along with one of their plans, they dumped me here as a decoy for their real plan.”

	[color=peru]“And what would that be?”[/color]

	“They found the location of a long-retired S.T.R.I.K.E. agent. They never told me why they were going after him, but they were desperate enough to set up a decoy, it has to be important.”

	[color=peru]“Interesting. What could Diplodoc be up to now?”[/color]

	Zac started to help the mantis girl up onto her feet when he heard a stir within the room. When he turned to see if anyone was there, he saw no one. He turned his attention back to the woman, who had now placed her mask back on her face, which only left her curly red hair visible in a ponytail. But Zac would soon learn that there was in fact a third person in the room.

	“Really?” A voice said from behind Zac and the mantis metahuman. “Just because I themed myself after a praying mantis doesn’t mean you Looney Tunes have to be animal people, too! Villains need to get more original these days. Zoology isn’t the only field you can find inspiration from!”