[h1][center][color=8493ca]Carl Snyder, Storm Trooper[/color][/center][/h1]

	"[color=a2d39c]How long we gotta wait up here anyway,[/color]" asked Steve as he peered over the edge of the rooftop to catch a glimpse of the crowd below.  He lifted his rifle and used the scope to get a better look.  Cops glared intently at the lobby's entrance while pedestrians and onlookers gasped any time a shot rang out.

	"[color=fff79a]Til the boss gives the signal,[/color]" Carl reminded stoically, holding his own rifle securely in his arms while the rain splashed off his Storm Trooper jacket in a sporadic rhythm.  With the current downpour, Carl could understand why his associate was eager to get back inside.  Nevertheless, orders were orders and Thundercloud would not take insubordination lightly.  Their jobs were simple: they were the eyes in the sky, the lookouts in case something were headed their way that could wreck the boss' plan.  Truth be told, Carl thought it was as much a waste of time as Steve did.  The heroes were gone and the cops were a joke.  This score was going to be cake.

	That's when both of the uniformed men heard the sound and, in unison, looked up toward the sky.

	A hulking shadow cut through the air, appearing out of nowhere and descending fast.  In what seemed like a split second, Carl looked on as the figure, cloaked in rain and darkness, kicked its foot out and planted it in Steve's chest, launching the stormtrooper airborne before he fell into a tumble several yards back.

	"[color=fff79a]What the...[/color]" Carl whispered, a tinge of fear in his voice.  "[color=fff79a]Who the fuck are you?!  Are you- are you one of [i]them[/i]?[/color]" He fumbled to get his rifle into firing position, his nervousness getting in the way of his effectiveness.  "[color=fff79a]Did you just... Can you [i]fly[/i]?![/color]"  Just as the last word was spoke, the large, dark figure moved with a speed that seemed uncommon of something that big.  He... [i]It?[/i]... charged right at Carl.  Just as the stormtrooper was about to pull the trigger, his rifle was seized by the muzzle and pointed upward.  The bullet shot out but all it had any chance of hitting at this point was a cloud above.

	"[color=899499]No,[/color]" the dark figure whispered, answering Carl's question.  He then ripped the gun from Carl's grasp and tossed it aside.  The stormtrooper was physically trembling at this point.  He looked back over to Steve who was still lying on the ground.  Was he dead? Unconscious?  Carl couldn't tell.

	"[color=fff79a]D-do you have super strength or something?  Is that your power?[/color]" he stammered, half paralyzed with horror.

	Carl could see hints of his teeth as his face contorted in a snarl.

	"[color=899499]No.[/color]" The answer was sharp, void of all emotion. The dark figure grabbed Carl by the collar and pulled him very close.  Carl could finally see the contours of his face.  [url=https://i.ibb.co/HzRcY7S/Domino-Eyes.jpg]His eyes[/url] were like two brilliant orbs in a twin sea of blackness, his mouth a thin line across a very square jaw.  

	With a violent push and an equally abrupt pull back, the figure rammed his forehead into Carl's.  A sickening crack rang out into the night as the figure allowed Carl's limp body to fall to the ground.  Silently and with purpose, he left the two fallen guards and headed toward the rooftop accessway before finding his way to an elevator that would take him to the lobby.

[hr]


[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/FnTdfhk/Kane.jpg[/img]
[color=8b0000][b]Lafayette Financial Tower[/b][/color][/center]

[i][b]15 Minutes Before...[/b][/i]


	[color=899499][i]This is stupid[/i][/color], Kane told himself as he looked over the rooftop's ledge. He had made his way to the top of the Downtown Sheridan Hotel which sat adjacent to Lafayette Financial Tower, but was just a bit taller.  Down below, shots were being fired, police were on the scene already and Kane couldn't help but think that this was a place he simply didn't belong.  When he heard of the situation playing out on the car radio, he immediately turned around and headed toward the scene but now that he was actually here, he couldn't help but wonder why.

	He didn't even have a proper mask to hide his identity.  In a scramble, he was able to find some leather polish in his glove box and used that to create a sort of painted domino mask on his face.  As he reviewed it in the mirror earlier, he couldn't help but think he looked like some punk putting on a [i]Crow [/i]Halloween costume.  He didn't even have his handcuffs or any weapons of which to speak and now here he was trying to figure out how to make his way to the center of a showdown with a notorious supervillain.  [color=899499][i]I'm such an idiot[/i][/color], he thought again.

	There was no route that he could see that would enable him to enter the building from the ground.  Kane was nearly six and a half feet tall... He could hardly be described as inconspicuous in a crowd.  Out of options, Kane had noticed the Sheridan and decided to take the elevator up to the roof to see if he could gauge a better point of access.  Now that he was up here and could confirm that, no, there way no great way to sneak a huge, goth, Tarzan looking man into a heavily observed building, he stood there stumped.

	Just then, the roof access door of the Financial Tower opened up and out came two armed cronies in their Storm Trooper jackets.  Kane squinted, trying to see passed the falling rain to accurately size each of them up.  Physically, they didn't appear too intimidating, but their weapons certainly did.  [color=899499][i]I bet if I went through that door and took the elevator down, I'd hit almost no resistance,[/i][/color] he silently mused.  [color=899499][i]But how the hell am I going to get over there and passed those guys?[/i][/color]  He looked at the palm of his hands and just shook his head.  His powers were useless for this sort of thing.

	He peered over the rooftop edge again and a stupid thought crossed his mind.  A stupid, dumb, never-going-to-work-in-a-million-years thought.  [color=899499][i]Stop it[/i][/color], he mentally scolded himself.  [color=899499][i]That only works in the movies.  You can't possibly jump this thing.  You'll miss and you'll die!  It's out of the question.[/i][/color]  As he continued to analyze the distance, his head slowly cocked to the side.  [color=899499][i]I am perched a little higher, though...  If I get a good running start and make sure to roll when I land, I might be okay...[/i][/color]

	He could hear the stormtroopers murmuring something to eachother, but couldn't pick up on the words they were speaking through the sound of the rainfall.  Instead, he just started taking long, backward strides, shaking his head in disbelief at this own impending stupidity. [color=899499][i] I can't believe I'm about to do this.  You're an idiot, you're stupid, this isn't going to work, YOU'RE. GOING. TO. DIE![/i][/color]  As his back hit the Hotel's roof access doorway, he was forced to stop.  This is as much of a running start as the building would allow.  He took in some deep breaths and let them out very slow.  His thoughts were panicked, screaming at him to reconsider with images and imaginings about the many ways this could fail.  He bit his lip.  This was a bad idea and it was time to grow up and abandon these fantastical dreams of being a superhero.

	Or...

	[color=899499][i]Fuck it.[/i][/color] Kane's entire body dropped as all of the physical force he could muster bust out of his legs and sent him torpedoing forward in a sprint.  Each step hit the ground with a hard thud and a massive splash.  His velocity was increasing, his adrenaline pumping.  Finally, he vaulted up upon the hotel roof's ledge and just as he was about to make his final leap... he slipped!

	[color=899499][i]FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK![/i][/color]

	After a dog-like yelp, Kane was airborne, his arms flailing wildly. It wasn't long before his feet were above his head in a mid-air tumble. He kicked out his leg to try and brace for any sort of impact, as if reaching out for a landing.  Kane forced his eyes shut in a clench and silently accepted his doom.

	Suddenly, he felt his foot's impact with an infirm object.  He opened his eyes just as his own tumble ended, timed perfectly for him to land in a roll.  Meanwile, his wild kick had managed to collide with one of the storm troopers. [color=899499][i]You've got to be shitting me[/i][/color], he thought with the excitement of a child. [color=899499][i]I did it! I'm alive![/i][/color]  He wanted to squeal and jump for joy!

	"[color=fff79a]Who the fuck are you?![/color]" Kane's sobriety immediately took back over as his eyes darted to the Storm Trooper that remained standing.  "[color=fff79a]Are you- are you one of [i]them[/i]?  Did you just... Can you [i]fly[/i]?![/color]"  The trooper began readying his rifle. The hairs on Kane's arms would have stood on end had they not been soaked.

	[color=899499][i]Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I can't get shot now, not after all this![/i][/color]  He had a light Kevlar vest on, but that rifle looked powerful enough to cut right through it.  He knew he'd have to react and he'd have to do it now or he was dead.  Kane mustered everything he could and charged forward.  With almost no time to spare, he grabbed the muzzle of the rifle and pointed it upward.  The trooper pulled the trigger and a shot blasted forth.

	An immediate sense of tinnitus rang out in Kane's head. The shot was [i]loud[/i].  Slightly disoriented, Kane answered the Trooper's question with a simple, "[color=899499]No.[/color]"  However, with the ringing in his ears, he could only manage a throaty whisper through the pain.  Frustrated, he ripped the rifle out of the troopers hand and threw it aside angrily as if his current discomfort was the gun's own fault.

	"[color=fff79a]D-do you have super strength or something?  Is that your power?[/color]" the trooper stammered.  Kane could barely hear him passed the ringing.  

	[color=899499][i]Did he say super strength[/i][/color], Kane asked himself.  He was still unsure, but decided to assume as much.

	"[color=899499]No,[/color]" Kane answered again, trying to focus passed fog of tinnitus.  [color=899499][i]Well, at least I don't think so[/i][/color], he began to muse.  [color=899499][i]Maybe I do?  Huh.  Maybe I need to force it out just like last time...[/i][/color]

	Kane then grabbed the stormtrooper by the collar.  [color=899499][i]You have to focus if this is going to work.  Embrace yourself.  Embrace your super strength.  You can do this...[/i][/color]  With that, Kane delivered a particularly violent headbutt.

	[color=899499][i]FUCK NO YOU DON'T HAVE SUPER STRENGTH[/i][/color], he mentally shouted at himself as the pain seared through his entire head.  Kane immediately dropped the now unconscious man and stumbled toward the Financial Tower's roof access door.[color=899499][i] Oh my god, I might have a concussion!  Why are you so stupid?! Also, why are these stairs spinning?  Don't trip down these stairs or so help me...[/i][/color]

	Clumsily, he made his way over to the elevator and threw himself inside before hitting the button for the lobby.  The initial descent only added to his dizziness.  He squeezed his head with both of his hands, trying to get everything to settle, trying to regroup.  He hadn't even gotten to the hardest part of this operation, yet.  

	As soft, nondescript music was playing overhead, Kane rolled his shoulders to loosen up and punched his fists together, resulting in a chorus of cracked knuckles.  [color=899499][i]It's game time[/i][/color], he reminded himself.  [color=899499][i]Put your war face on and let's finish this[/i][/color].  Just then, the iconic [i]Ding [/i]rang out and the metal elevator doors slid open to reveal none other than a gluttonous Thundercloud as well as some other faces that were far less familiar to him.  Kane had obviously been noticed and the second of silence felt like an eternity.  Slightly nervous and feeling like he was being put on the spot, he finally blurted out...

	"[color=899499]It's time for justice, and his name is MidKnight.[/color]"

[color=899499][i]that.doesn't.even.make.SENSE.GAH.DAMMIT![/i][/color]