The Angel

Downtown Killearn was arguably one of the safer parts of town. With heroes supposedly having their headquarters there, it was no surprise. The one place that stuck out was the S-Resort; a towering hotel with golden windows and other elegant decorations depicting superheroes of the past in all sorts of heroic poses. As Justin walked into the main hall, he could see the statue of Goldstreak, with his gold and blue angular armor that made him look like a cross between an insect and a lightning bolt. Justin only took a split second glance at it though as he continued to the elevator. Walking in the open doors, he hit the button for the top floor and waited as he felt the elevator rise up.

A few minutes later., he heard a ping as the doors opened, and he immediately heard the deep throb of loud music as he stepped out. Deciding that was the where the club might be, he went down the hallway, following the music. After a few turns and backtracks, he came to a set of large, silver double doors which had feathery, angel wings etched onto them. The sign above read: Angel's Perch.

"Guess this must be it." he said. He then opened the doors and walked in. As he looked around, he noticed that the club was very typical of any other nightclub: the black lights, DJ, loud pop music, people dancing and having fun, it didn't seem like a superhero was even here. Suddenly though, he heard what could only be identified as a fangirl's scream and looked too see a few overly excited teenage girls crowding something.

There she is, he thought, and he headed in that direction. Sure enough, as he got closer, he could see the tips of pure white wings from behind the crowd. The fangirls were crowding, admiring the wings and seemingly asking question after question.

Justin sighed. "Typical."

He waited for what felt like an hour (though it was more likely only a few minutes) before he lost his patience and attempted to push through.

"Excuse me!" he said over the music, "Police business."

Before the girls could shove him back, he held up his police badge. "Angel! We need to talk!"

The fangirls succeeded in pushing him back with shouts of "Wait your turn!", "I was here first!" among many other indiscernible shouts. Suddenly, they were silenced and parted as Angel herself walked through them and approached Justin. She was just as she had been described: around her early twenties with light brown skin, caramel-colored eyes, and yellow-blonde hair that flowed down past her shoulders. She wore a white and gold leotard that left her arms and legs bare aside from her silver forearm gauntlets and white thigh high boots laced with gold. Her two angelic wings were folded back, though Justin assumed they must be massive when extended.

Angel smiled at him as she extended her hand, speaking in a gentle voice. "Apologies. It's been known that my fans can be a bit…protective."

"Understandable" Justin said, "Anyways, I'm here about Aqua. I just have a few questions."

Angel pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay, but not here; I don't want to ruin the mood of the party. Meet me outside in an hour; I know a better place for us to talk."

Justin nodded. "Alright."

"In the meantime, please try to enjoy yourself."

With that, she walked back over to the fan group, Leaving Justin to walk around and mingle however he wanted for the next hour.

…

About an hour later, Justin and Angel sat on the terrace of her penthouse, on the other side of the resort. She had led him there once they met outside and the two now sat down across from each other at a small fire pit.

Angel began, "I was near distraught when I heard Aqua had been killed. She and I used to be really close friends."

"You have any idea what attacked her?" Justin asked.

Angel shook her head. "I didn't even know it happened until I saw it on the news. Have you learned anything?"

"Blood stain samples show that she was in a fight with something when she was killed. Something far more mutated than any hero. I also saw scorch marks on her body and her back had been broken. I had heard from a friend that there is a rumor you suffered similar burns recently."

Angel sighed, then nodded. "I didn't really want to tell anyone. I'm still recovering from it."

"What happened?"

"It was a few days ago, I was on a patrol and saw a gang smuggling some kind of drug in an alleyway. Naturally, I swooped down to attack. A few minutes into the fight, I felt this searing pain in my body, like if someone was shining the sun on me through a magnifying glass. It got so bad I had to fly off to save myself."

"Where did it burn?"

Angel gestured to a part of her side covered by her outfit. "What was weird was that my outfit wasn't even damaged."

Justin nodded in interest. "The same thing happened to Aqua. I believe it's a super-villain."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It would make sense. This same thing happening in two different places with a burn mark so accurate. It has to be a power of some kind. The commissioner told me not to tell anyone, but if anyone has to know about potential villains, it's heroes like you."

Angel nodded. "You may have a point. I'll have to look more into this. Now, did you mention something about mutated blood?"

"We did find a blood mark that was more mutated than a super's. My friend says the fisherman have been scared of some shark-thing in the harbor recently. I don't personally know what to make of it, but if something were to break Aqua's back…"

Angel held up her hand to quiet him before saying. "You cannot trust anyone with what I'm about to tell you."

"Ok?"

"You know how the first attempted tests of the S-Serum didn't work right?"

"Yeah, the subjects all died."

Angel's face looked grim as she shook her head. "No. Not all of them, at least. Some mutated far more that expected. They became almost mindless creatures, mutated to match their power. So much so that the government tasked the heroes with wiping them out or driving them away. Only other heroes know they exist; we call them Meta-Beasts. It's possible that one has made its way to the harbor."

"Then, we'll get rid of it."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "We?"

Justin looked back at her dead in the eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of it. These people need to be protected."

Angel smiled and chuckled. "I like that; a need for justice."

"So, how do you kill them?"

"Depends on what it is you're facing. It's a new battle every time. Remember though, don't tell anyone about them. Not yet. And thank you for telling me about this villain; I'll need to keep a better eye out."

Justin nodded. "I'll head down to the harbor after this and look around. Though if I see something, I'll be sure to tell you."

"I have a better idea" Angel said, "Let me see your phone."

Justin handed his phone to the hero, who then typed for a few moments, then handed it back to him. "If you see the Meta-Beast. Call me with that number."

Justin looked at the number for a few moments before nodding.

"Thank you for seeing me, Angel" Justin said, "I understand you can be busy at times."

"My pleasure" Angel replied, waving it aside, "Anything to help get Aqua justice. Though if I may ask, detective. What is it you want? Is it justice?"

Justin thought for a moment, then shrugged. "It's more like making sure the bad guys pay for what they've done. Powers or no powers."

"Vengeance, then" Angel said, "Interesting. You're a lot different than most cops I've spoken to. In a good way. I wish you luck at the docks."

Justin nodded his thanks before turning and leaving. Once Angel heard the door to her penthouse close, she walked over to a panel on the wall next to her TV and typed a few buttons on the screen. In a few moments, a deep man's voice came over. "What is it?"

"Razor, we got a possible Meta-Mute at the harbor. I just spoke with a detective; he's going down there now."

"Is he crazy?"

"Maybe, but he's driven. I see a lot of potential in him."

"What do you suggest?"

"Send Steeljaw. I'm sure he's been dying for a good fight."

"And the detective?"

"His drive is a good one, but it needs to be truly put to good use. I say bring him in."

"Does he have a power?"

Angel thought back to her conversation with Justin, 'It's more like making sure the bad guys pay…'.

"No," she replied, "but he has the heart. To me that's all that matters."