First Encounter

Jay had it figured out. The woman before him was a true professional—efficient, skilled, autonomous, and possessing what seemed like the Bat-family's trademark need for control. With not a moment's discussion, she practically dragged Jay into the ventilation ducts—a Bat-family favorite.

Crawling through the ducts, Huntress led the way. She moved with a professional's swiftness and the grace of a creature accustomed to such confines. Jay followed begrudgingly, unable to ignore the sway of her ample curves beneath the purple cape.

He thought it prudent to inform her that stealth might not be necessary, but before he could utter a sound, Huntress shot him an irritated glare and hissed, "Quiet! It might hear us!"

She hated dealing with clueless civilians during a mission.

"But—"

And he didn't take orders well! Huntress turned again, her voice low but tone rising, "What part of 'quiet' don't you understand?"

Jay sighed, "Because, that creature found us."

"Huh?"

As soon as he spoke, the metal above was savagely torn open by sharp claws. The white beast, ripping through the duct like paper, tried to bite down with its saw-toothed maw. Huntress flipped onto her back, choking the beast with both hands to keep it at bay, the stench of its breath overwhelming her.

Huntress commanded sternly, "Don't freeze, get back the way we came! I can only hold it off for a moment."

Jay admired her prioritizing the safety of a stranger over her own, but he had no intentions of fleeing.

Before Huntress could process what happened next, a shadowy blur was all she saw before the weight on her hands vanished. The creature had been plucked away, followed by a series of metallic clangs in the distance.

She was bewildered, only realizing moments later that the civilian behind her had widened the breach in the duct and ventured out with an air of arrogance.

Jay stood defiantly before the white beast, now seeing stars from his punch that left it tangled in a heap of pipes. It shook its head, regaining focus, and roared as it charged again.

Its claws sliced through the air, but Jay grasped its wrist with a swift motion, his grip immobilizing its lethal digits. With a twist, the creature's bones snapped audibly.

The beast howled in pain, snapping its jaws towards Jay's head. Dodging the stench-filled bite, Jay's knee slammed into the creature's abdomen with the force of an anti-tank round, shaking its very core through the scales.

Another agonized howl, but the creature couldn't break free from Jay's iron hold. With a heave, Jay lifted the massive form and tossed it effortlessly, sending it crashing into a heavy machine, denting the metal upon impact.

Jay flexed his hand, "All bark and no bite. Just warming up here."

Whether the creature understood the taunt or not, it staggered up, its red eyes burning with fury. Snapping off a thick pipe, it brandished the broken end spewing white smoke like a javelin, launching it at Jay.

The metal pipe, tearing through the air with a whistling sound, was caught in Jay's hand, crumpling like paper under his grip. The whole pipe vibrated ominously, echoing like an unsteady tuning fork.

The beast roared, lunging in a last desperate attempt to attack. Jay held the pipe steady, breaking it in two over his knee. As the creature pounced, Jay struck its cheek with one half, sending a trail of saliva flying. A swift hit to the forehead with the other half left the beast staggering and dazed, its ferocity extinguished.

Stumbling back, the creature looked as if it were nursing a hangover. Focusing blurry eyes on Jay, it growled weakly and charged again. But Jay simply lifted off the ground, hovering effortlessly above as the beast's charge met only the wall, slumping down in defeat.

After ensuring the beast was no longer a threat, Jay turned to find Huntress speechless, grappling with what she had just witnessed.

"That's taken care of," Jay shrugged and added, "I suppose the clean-up should be left to the 'professional' since, you know, I don't have much experience with this."

Huntress finally found her voice, "Are you—are you one of them?"

"Who?"

"A metahuman. How did you do that? Are you Kryptonian? Like Superman?"

Jay spread his hands, "That's a good question. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Don't look at me like that; I really don't know."

Jay pondered for a moment, then offered, "Well, as you've seen, I do have some... special talents that others don't. But I don't spend all my time fighting monsters—this is actually my first time, and I'm still a bit nervous. You see, I have a regular life too."

Scratching his head, he elaborated with difficulty, "What I mean is, I understand you probably have a superior to report to, but can you leave out the part about me?"

"Okay, I understand."

Her abrupt agreement left Jay stunned by its simplicity.

"Just to confirm, you get what I just said, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I will handle the creature myself and report that."

"Thanks?" Jay waved awkwardly, backing towards the door, "Then I'll leave it to you. I should get going, or my mother might actually kill me. Take care."

With that, he vanished as if carried by the wind.

Huntress exhaled deeply—a Kryptonian, or at least a suspected one—had been a while since she'd encountered such a being, and her mind was still trying to catch up.

The earpiece crackled to life again, "Huntress, are you there? Respond."

"I'm here," she pressed the earpiece.

"How's the target? Any abnormalities?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary. The target is down. Send in the clean-up crew; I'm preparing to exit."

"Copy that. You're clear to proceed."

The communication ended, and Huntress took a moment to compose herself before tapping into a highly encrypted line she hadn't used in a long time. Her message traveled deep underground, encrypted layers deep, until it reached a concealed frequency.

After a long silence, a raspy, deep voice spoke, "I thought you'd never ask to use this channel again."

"Believe me, if it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't," Huntress replied coldly, "But I believe I've encountered a Kryptonian."