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**
(On the dimly lit streets of Horizon City)
Quick breaths flowed from the wolfess as she ducked into a building under construction. The distant sounds of sirens tickled her hearing and betrayed the cops position moving away from her. She steadied her breathing and calmed her nerves a moment before the sound of new footsteps caught her attention. She turned to see another canine stepping into the open floor, a male.
Quickly she moved to conceal herself, and peeked to get a better look at him. Average build. He wore a purple shirt with a logo that seemed lightly familiar. Shoulder and knee pads made it clear he was ready for a scrap. His visor glowed dimly in the darkness as he looked around the room.
"I thought my klockwerks were distracting the cops." she called. Her voice caused the male to stop suddenly as he tried to locate the source.
"Oh is that what those robot things were? Yeah the cops are chasing them as we speak, but I'm not a cop. I've had my eye on you from the moment you slipped out the back-door of the facility." he replied.
"You're not a cop? Then who are you? You don't look familiar." she asked curiously.
"Names Shadowlight. I dabble in hero work part time, but I mostly follow the money. I work for who pays me, and I'm pretty sure the cops will have a bounty out for you by now." he answered.
"I ran a search on the term 'klockwerk', and cross referenced it with the chatter coming from the police scanner. You're dealing with The Amazing Artificer." came a female voice seemingly in the males head as the face of a calico feline appeared in the bottom left of his field of view through the visor on his face.
"Thanks Maneki." he replied quietly as a few stats of compiled information from the HCPD database flowed past the right side of his view.
The wolfess watched him move through the room and gripped her staff a little tighter. Seemed she wasn't going to get away so cleanly.
"So given that I've cornered you here; what say you give up and we make this easy Artifacter?" asked Shadowlight with a slight chuckle.
"Like hell I'll give up!" came the voice he'd been following as he leapt backwards to avoid a swipe from her staff. One of the sharp edges on the tip nearly clipped him.
"Heh. Didn't think so. Nice to formally meet you." he said as he got a full look at the older wolfess in her tight black body suit. A soft growl laced the sneer she directed at him as she stood in a ready position.
"And it's The Amazing Artificer to you." she corrected him.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to offend. I may be spending too much time with Dr. A.” he mused.
“Who?” asked the female confused.
“One of my regulars. Never you mind. You seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. One sec." he noted of her weapon. Without taking his eyes off of her he bent to the pile of construction debris at his feet. Rebar, wood, and stone began to shift and move as a slight glow came from one of the pages in the notebook tucked into the fedora on his head. He gripped the debris as it formed a staff in his hand and stood to move into a ready position of his own. "That's better." he noted with a smirk. Seemed he was ready now.
"What kind of magic was that? Are you some kind of junk-mancer?" asked the wolfess.
"Not exactly. Lets just say that reality is susceptible to being...edited by me." he replied. On the first page of the notebook in his hat the words 'The debris takes on the shape I'm thinking of and is reinforced.' stops glowing.
"Do you actually know how to use that, or are you just copying? Because you underestimate me at your own peril." she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Oh don't worry. I can handle my staff just fine.” he responded with a smirk. “And as for your threat...I can say the same to you. Try not to break a hip keeping up with me." he taunted in return.
"You're a cheeky one aren't you?" she near chuckled. "Well then Shadowlight was it? Shall we start?"
"Ladies first." he offered.
*
The building echoed with the sound of clashing metal. Both The Artificer, and Shadowlight traded blows evenly against each other and moved here and there through the building as they went. Both had received glancing blows and scrapes and near serious hits as well. Before long they ended up on the roof of the building illuminated by the light of the full moon as they came to a stop in a standoff pressing their weapons against each other panting breaths flowing from both parties.
"I have to admit you're more skilled than I gave you credit for." complimented The Artificer.
"Thanks. You're not bad yourself." replied Shadowlight in kind.
"Having said that you still underestimated me." said the wolfess with a smirk as she twisted her two handed grip on her staff in opposite directions suddenly.
"Energy spike detected from The Artificer's staff!" came the warning from the calico's face on Shadowlight's visor suddenly.
"I’m sorry what?" asked the wolfox as he noted the ominous green glow on the end of his opponent’s staff. He gasped and dove out of the way just as an energy blast was emited from the weapon and fired off into the sky. He kept moving as she fired a few more blasts his way in quick succession. "Now who's being cheeky?" he asked more to himself as he went. When he came to a stop he looked up to see The Artificer running full speed toward the edge of the rooftop.
The older wolfess leapt from the roof and fell two stories before crashing into the large pane window of the office building across the street. Shadowlight followed to the edge of the roof and stared down at the hole where the window once stood with a shake of his head.
**
The sound of shards of glass clinking on the hardwood floor of the office was accented by a slightly pained groan as The Artificer stood to check herself after her escape. "Nothing broken. Maybe a bruise here or there though. I'm definitely going to be sore in the morning." the wolfess mused as she looked herself over. Despite the battle damage the force dampening properties of her outfit were still intact, and had cushioned the impact of her landing.
She looked back up at where she'd just leapt from to see the wolfox she was just fighting leaning over the rail watching her. Was he going to follow suit? Could he? He took something out of his pocket and looked to be writing something on it. A gentle flick of his wrist after and the flat object fluttered and spun through the air down, in through the hole in the window she'd made and landed right at her feet.
The gray wolfess raised an eyebrow at the card before her as she bent to pick it up. A glowing message was written on it. "This card flies to The Artificer." The message faded as the glow dimmed; its purpose fulfilled. The card itself seemed to be of the business variety. "No Hard Feelings" was printed across the top. "We found ourselves on opposite sides this time, but tomorrow is a new day. Whichever of us came out on top today I hope you'll consider hiring me tomorrow. Or you know, whenever you get out of jail. Shadowlight" read the card above a phone number for Zen Cab.
The Artificer looked back up to see the wolfox still looking at her. He tipped his hat lightly before he turned to exit the rooftop. Seemed he was ceding the win to her and wasn't going to give chase anymore if he could. A sigh of relief crossed the older wolfess' muzzle. The fight had taken more out of her than she would readily admit. She picked up her staff and turned to navigate to the office buildings exit, but not before slipping that business card into her own pocket. Who knows? Could come in handy sometime.
**
Been a while since I last posted something, so I figured why not take a little look in on Sly's superhero AU counterpart Shadowlight. Seems his first encounter with The Amazing Artificer ended with her getting away, but I'm sure he left quite a first impression on her too.
I'd like to thank
Voriof1 for allowing me to get this piece with her villainess. The Amazing Artificer belongs to them.
And of course thank you to
shana for bringing this piece to life.
Shadowlight is mine.
(On the dimly lit streets of Horizon City)
Quick breaths flowed from the wolfess as she ducked into a building under construction. The distant sounds of sirens tickled her hearing and betrayed the cops position moving away from her. She steadied her breathing and calmed her nerves a moment before the sound of new footsteps caught her attention. She turned to see another canine stepping into the open floor, a male.
Quickly she moved to conceal herself, and peeked to get a better look at him. Average build. He wore a purple shirt with a logo that seemed lightly familiar. Shoulder and knee pads made it clear he was ready for a scrap. His visor glowed dimly in the darkness as he looked around the room.
"I thought my klockwerks were distracting the cops." she called. Her voice caused the male to stop suddenly as he tried to locate the source.
"Oh is that what those robot things were? Yeah the cops are chasing them as we speak, but I'm not a cop. I've had my eye on you from the moment you slipped out the back-door of the facility." he replied.
"You're not a cop? Then who are you? You don't look familiar." she asked curiously.
"Names Shadowlight. I dabble in hero work part time, but I mostly follow the money. I work for who pays me, and I'm pretty sure the cops will have a bounty out for you by now." he answered.
"I ran a search on the term 'klockwerk', and cross referenced it with the chatter coming from the police scanner. You're dealing with The Amazing Artificer." came a female voice seemingly in the males head as the face of a calico feline appeared in the bottom left of his field of view through the visor on his face.
"Thanks Maneki." he replied quietly as a few stats of compiled information from the HCPD database flowed past the right side of his view.
The wolfess watched him move through the room and gripped her staff a little tighter. Seemed she wasn't going to get away so cleanly.
"So given that I've cornered you here; what say you give up and we make this easy Artifacter?" asked Shadowlight with a slight chuckle.
"Like hell I'll give up!" came the voice he'd been following as he leapt backwards to avoid a swipe from her staff. One of the sharp edges on the tip nearly clipped him.
"Heh. Didn't think so. Nice to formally meet you." he said as he got a full look at the older wolfess in her tight black body suit. A soft growl laced the sneer she directed at him as she stood in a ready position.
"And it's The Amazing Artificer to you." she corrected him.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to offend. I may be spending too much time with Dr. A.” he mused.
“Who?” asked the female confused.
“One of my regulars. Never you mind. You seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. One sec." he noted of her weapon. Without taking his eyes off of her he bent to the pile of construction debris at his feet. Rebar, wood, and stone began to shift and move as a slight glow came from one of the pages in the notebook tucked into the fedora on his head. He gripped the debris as it formed a staff in his hand and stood to move into a ready position of his own. "That's better." he noted with a smirk. Seemed he was ready now.
"What kind of magic was that? Are you some kind of junk-mancer?" asked the wolfess.
"Not exactly. Lets just say that reality is susceptible to being...edited by me." he replied. On the first page of the notebook in his hat the words 'The debris takes on the shape I'm thinking of and is reinforced.' stops glowing.
"Do you actually know how to use that, or are you just copying? Because you underestimate me at your own peril." she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Oh don't worry. I can handle my staff just fine.” he responded with a smirk. “And as for your threat...I can say the same to you. Try not to break a hip keeping up with me." he taunted in return.
"You're a cheeky one aren't you?" she near chuckled. "Well then Shadowlight was it? Shall we start?"
"Ladies first." he offered.
*
The building echoed with the sound of clashing metal. Both The Artificer, and Shadowlight traded blows evenly against each other and moved here and there through the building as they went. Both had received glancing blows and scrapes and near serious hits as well. Before long they ended up on the roof of the building illuminated by the light of the full moon as they came to a stop in a standoff pressing their weapons against each other panting breaths flowing from both parties.
"I have to admit you're more skilled than I gave you credit for." complimented The Artificer.
"Thanks. You're not bad yourself." replied Shadowlight in kind.
"Having said that you still underestimated me." said the wolfess with a smirk as she twisted her two handed grip on her staff in opposite directions suddenly.
"Energy spike detected from The Artificer's staff!" came the warning from the calico's face on Shadowlight's visor suddenly.
"I’m sorry what?" asked the wolfox as he noted the ominous green glow on the end of his opponent’s staff. He gasped and dove out of the way just as an energy blast was emited from the weapon and fired off into the sky. He kept moving as she fired a few more blasts his way in quick succession. "Now who's being cheeky?" he asked more to himself as he went. When he came to a stop he looked up to see The Artificer running full speed toward the edge of the rooftop.
The older wolfess leapt from the roof and fell two stories before crashing into the large pane window of the office building across the street. Shadowlight followed to the edge of the roof and stared down at the hole where the window once stood with a shake of his head.
**
The sound of shards of glass clinking on the hardwood floor of the office was accented by a slightly pained groan as The Artificer stood to check herself after her escape. "Nothing broken. Maybe a bruise here or there though. I'm definitely going to be sore in the morning." the wolfess mused as she looked herself over. Despite the battle damage the force dampening properties of her outfit were still intact, and had cushioned the impact of her landing.
She looked back up at where she'd just leapt from to see the wolfox she was just fighting leaning over the rail watching her. Was he going to follow suit? Could he? He took something out of his pocket and looked to be writing something on it. A gentle flick of his wrist after and the flat object fluttered and spun through the air down, in through the hole in the window she'd made and landed right at her feet.
The gray wolfess raised an eyebrow at the card before her as she bent to pick it up. A glowing message was written on it. "This card flies to The Artificer." The message faded as the glow dimmed; its purpose fulfilled. The card itself seemed to be of the business variety. "No Hard Feelings" was printed across the top. "We found ourselves on opposite sides this time, but tomorrow is a new day. Whichever of us came out on top today I hope you'll consider hiring me tomorrow. Or you know, whenever you get out of jail. Shadowlight" read the card above a phone number for Zen Cab.
The Artificer looked back up to see the wolfox still looking at her. He tipped his hat lightly before he turned to exit the rooftop. Seemed he was ceding the win to her and wasn't going to give chase anymore if he could. A sigh of relief crossed the older wolfess' muzzle. The fight had taken more out of her than she would readily admit. She picked up her staff and turned to navigate to the office buildings exit, but not before slipping that business card into her own pocket. Who knows? Could come in handy sometime.
**
Been a while since I last posted something, so I figured why not take a little look in on Sly's superhero AU counterpart Shadowlight. Seems his first encounter with The Amazing Artificer ended with her getting away, but I'm sure he left quite a first impression on her too.
I'd like to thank
Voriof1 for allowing me to get this piece with her villainess. The Amazing Artificer belongs to them.And of course thank you to
shana for bringing this piece to life.Shadowlight is mine.
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Interesting start, I personally like when it starts like this, interesting way he use his power of writing to make random stuff become specific shapes also Zen cab, will make sure to write that on the café chapter now that I know which company he drives for.
Sly is only a cab driver in this setting. In the normal Canon he's a writer that writes articles for a travel magazine called "Paw Prints", and an author on the side.