Chasing the Swordswoman

"Blackhawk! Transform!" In a flash of light, 22-year-old Tommy Driscoll, an American studying abroad in Munich, transformed into the henshin hero "Blackhawk". As soon as he transformed into his costume he broke into a run. In a red, black and white flash, he ran up the wall of a building, jumped onto the rooftop and started to run again.

His HUD flashed and beeped off to the left of his visor. He pivoted and jumped off the roof, landing on another one in a swift action. His shirttail billowed, kept in place by a red belt that blended in with the top of his sleek suit. "Where are you?" he said to himself. His quarry was moving in all directions. Or at least that's how it appeared to be, there was no street grid here in Munich.

As he approached the edge of one building, he ran faster. He could see that his quarry was getting closer. Now he had them. He ran faster and leaped off the edge of the building. For a moment, he simply sailed through the air without anything to use. Then he pressed a button on his belt and a pack teleported onto his back. He pressed the same button and massive wings spread out and he glided down to the street.

As his boots touched the ground in the park, the pack disappeared. Now he was in Englisher Garden. There was no place for his quarry to hide now. His HUD beeped again and he found them trying to run. Immediately he broke into a run again. He pressed the button, summoning the wings again and he took off, propelled by small jets.

As soon as he found his quarry, he began to land. He could see them looking up at him as he came down right in front of them. As soon as his boots touched the ground he put his arm out to hinder their progress. "We need to talk, Schwertkampferin."

"About what?" asked the swordswoman. Her armor shone in the moonlight with an ethereal air about it. it was Elvish armor, but she was purported to be human. Bits and pieces decorated her armor and a visor covered her eyes, but her mouth could be seen. And she did not look happy.

"Your Elvish friends came after me," he said. "Why?"

"Because you interfered," she replied.

That answer was not good enough. He slammed his gloved hand against a tree, causing it to shake. "Is that all?" he asked with anger bubbling to the surface. "If this is about how I tried to help, that's utter bull****. You know as well as I do they didn't mention you one bit."

"My battle has been with the Elves," she replied. "No one else is to interfere, not even Der Hauptmann. And you of all people should know Der Hauptmann is not to be trifled with."

"I was trying to help," he said. "We're still very much alike."

"I am nothing like you," she said.

"Bull****," he replied. "We're more alike than you're willing to admit. Rumor has it your civilian form has no powers and transforms into you. It's the same with me. The only difference between us is that you  use magic, I use technology. You're a swordswoman and I'm a martial artist. In the long run, we're both superheroes. Might as well help each other out, right?"

"At least I did not steal the name, coloring and stripes on my costume from an ice hockey team," she said.

"Shut it," he replied. "But if you want to play that game, fine. You're just a grown-up version of Sailor Moon,  a little girl's fantasy brought to life."

"I have fought the Elves for 1,000 years," she said. "If anything, they wish to be me."

"Who, the girls? Because I can clearly see that."

"Your attempt at humor is not funny," she said. "And another thing, you claim that you are a better superhero because you never attack first? You broke your own rules when you fired your laser at the Elves. Do not tell me it was because I had already been attacked. Your attacks were unprovoked. You truly did bring this upon yourself."

Blackhawk opened his mouth (which she could see under his black helmet and visor)  but he closed his mouth. He had no response. Instead he pushed off and glared at her from under his visor. "Tell them to leave me alone," he said.

"It is too late," she said. "Now that you have provoked them, they will attack all of the superheroes in Germany." She grabbed something from her armor and threw it to the ground. A large cloud erupted and Blackhawk was consumed by it. He activated his faceplate so he did not breathe it in.

When the smoke cleared, Schertkampferin was gone. He groaned in anger, silently cursing her.