June 24th, 10:03 PM
"I just can't believe this guy," Erin said, pushing her mask across the bridge of her nose. "I just really can't believe he'd be this stupid."
The girls were sitting in Margot's car, parked across the road and down the street from Zilch's house. It was the beginning of summer and the sun had only recently set, revealing a gorgeous night in its wake. The air was crisp and cool-- the perfect weather for fighting crime. Which the had to do tonight, because this ugly little writer dweeb had decided to push their buttons.
Margot had checked in on his blog each hour, waiting to see if he'd be dumb enough to make a move. They went home, had dinner, and had even believed for a brief moment that the Blue Lynx's scare tactics had worked. Then, just after nine, a short piece with a simple message appeared at the top of the blog.
AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, I WILL REVEAL TO THE WORLD THE SECRET IDENTITY OF THE BLUE LYNX. PLEASE TUNE IN LATER TO GET THE STORY OF THE YEAR!
Minutes later, the girls were out the door, again on the road toward the house of this guy, Zilch, who was proving to be quite a thorn in their sides.
"This'll be fun," Erin insisted as they drove over. "You could probably do this on your own, babe."
Margot smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. There something about this that seems... fishy."
Erin laughed. "Come on, Margot. You saw him earlier. This isn't, like, Steve the Ninja here. This is just a little nerd. What's he gonna do? Flick you in the boob? That would probably make him..."
"I'm just saying," Margot said, cutting her friend off. "Why would he do this? Why would he put his life in danger, and make it so obvious to us?"
"Because he's a moron."
Margot sighed. It couldn't be that simple, could it? Nothing about being a superheroine was ever that simple. Unless this was the one night where the girls were allowed to just not worry and beat up a goon.
They were in the car now, getting ready. Margot slid her fingers into the purple gloves of the Black Bobcat outfit, watching Erin click her belt on from the corner of her eye. Erin wasn't worried, not at all. So why should Margot be? The Blue Lynx was right: this guy, Zilch, was a pushover. Margot had absolutely had his way with him earlier in the day. Why should tonight be any different?
"Okay, girl," Erin said. "You ready?"
Margot nodded.
"Alright, then. Let's go get this punk."
The two superheroines got out of the car and dashed down the street, two dark, silent figures in the warm summer night. Margot could already feel her heart starting to race. It was like this every time they went on a mission together-- she could never train herself to be as fearless as Erin. And even if sometimes that seemed like a good thing, she still couldn't help but feel in awe of her intrepid partner. She watched the Blue Lynx climb the porch of Zilch's house and slink up against the wall next to the front door.
"Front door?" Erin whispered, looking at Margot.
Margot half-sighed. Why hadn't they discussed the entry before? She didn't have the guts to tell Erin "no," now. So she nodded.
Erin grinned, turned toward the door, and kicked it in with one powerful motion. The girls ran inside the house, as they had this morning, and once more found the writer, still dressed in a white tee and sweatpants, still standing awkwardly near the kitchen table.
"Oh shit!" Zilch cried.
"We're backkkk," Erin cooed. She folded her arms and stood with her legs wide, clearly satisfied with Zilch's petrified expression. The writer backed away from the table now, still facing the superheroines.
"I... I'm sorry... I just..."
"Sorry's not good enough," Margot barked. "We gave you a chance, and you blew it."
"And now, you pay the price, Zilch," Erin said.
Zilch spun around and ran, dashing through the kitchen and into a hallway. Erin scoffed and followed, taking strong but slow steps. Margot imitated her friend's gait and smiled. It was great to see the Blue Lynx back to being a superheroine-- she'd spent way too long feeling sorry for herself.
The girls turned into the hall, where in the dim light they saw the entrance to what looked like the bathroom and, at the other end of the corridor, maybe twenty feet away, a staircase. They heard Zilch's feet clambering up the steps.
"You gonna make us chase you?" Erin bellowed, pacing toward the stairs.
"Every ten seconds we do this is another punch to the face," Margot said, with a small laugh. She liked that.
Erin climbed the steep, creaky stairs with quiet intensity. The pathway was narrow, with one space for one woman at a time, forcing Margot behind her friend. She looked up into the dark path, around Erin's perfectly sculpted ass, and saw it open up near the top. "It's a loft," she whispered to Erin.
"I can see that," Erin said, her eyes now peeking over the level's wooden floors. She had stopped moving, and was standing about five steps from the top.
"I don't see him, though," she murmured. "An old couch, an air hockey table, some bookcases. Where is he?"
Margot stood on the step directly behind Erin, her body almost pressing against her partner's. She could now scan the room like Erin, and she didn't see Zilch, either.
"Okay, Zilch!" Erin yelled, suddenly. "We're coming up. Make this easy on us, and we'll make it easy on you."
Erin darted up the remaining portion of the staircase. Margot followed, and gasped-- three men leapt out of the sky! Erin looked up, but it was too late-- the dark net came down, smothering the Blue Lynx's outstretched arms, blanketing the superheroine's whole body in thick, black webbing. Margot charged up the stairs, watching the trio of goons sweep Erin's encased body off its feet. They threw her to the floor, and she let out a cry of pain. Margot jumped toward them and threw a wild punch at one of the men, but before it could reach its target a pair of hands grabbed it out of the air!
"Not so fast, girly," a voice hissed in her ear. She felt her arm pulled out and around her back. She cried out, and a pair of bodies barreled into her back, pushing her across the room. She hit the wall hard, lost her breath, and felt still more hands turning her around. She was facing into the room now, where she saw for the first time her attackers. Two men in dark clothes-- black in the unlit environment of the loft-- of medium height and build, both wearing black ski masks. She could smell their hot breath and hear their deep chuckles as they grabbed her gloved wrists and pinned them against the wall.
"Status report?" a familiar voice called out.
"She keeps kicking around!" another voice yelled. "But we got her!"
Margot twisted her neck to look beyond the two men holding her in place. She saw three men, all darkly clothed, also with masks, crouched down around a squirming black blob of fabric. They were grunting, trying to get a grip on their target, occasionally throwing haphazard punches and kicks at the mass... at Erin, grunting and crying out...still fighting but... for how long?
"I've got to help her!" Margot thought. "Come on, Black Bobcat!"
"What about the sidekick?" the voice from before asked.
"Got her!" the man holding her left wrist yelled. He looked hard into Margot's eyes and smiled. "And she's not going anywhere."
"We'll see about that," Margot snapped.
The man leaned toward her, dropping a hand from the Black Bobcat's wrist. "What are you gonna do, babe?" he cackled, letting his free hand fall onto Margot's hip. He fingered the space between her black spandex and purple utility belt. "God, I've always wanted to say that..."
He was horny and distracted, so Margot made her move, slamming her forehead into the goon's. The man screamed as he flew backward and released Margot's arm, which she immediately brought across the face of her other assailant. That man stumbled to his right; Margot pushed herself from the wall and plowed into him, hitting his body hard and knocking him to the floor. She quickly pivoted to re-face the first man, who was stumbling around in a daze.
"Help, guys!" he muttered, just before Margot connected her fist to his jaw. She looked across the room at the three other thugs. Two of them were leaping to their feet while the other straddled the netted, struggling heap that was Erin. She quickly scanned her side of the loft-- the two thugs she had dispatched were still floored, still collecting themselves-- and then advanced. She had moved past the air hockey table, her fists raised in anticipation of the next fight, when she felt a CLANG against the back of her neck.
The Black Bobcat stumbled back and fell into the arms of Zilch.
Unconscious.
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