In this world of magic, superpowers, heroes, and villains, teams of heroes form to fight villains and injustice. The teams are either formed by the group themselves or assigned by the city or the Council of Heroes. There are strict rules and guidelines for each hero, and they are all expected to know and follow those rules. These rules were created and are maintained by the Council of Heroes, a group of 10 elected heroes who guide the rest. While it isn't required for the council members to be the strongest, each is undoubtedly at or near the top of their skill or power ranking in the city. Almost every hero in the city wants to become part of the council, but for Masuyo and the other rangers, that seems like a far-off dream.
The Magical Ranger Girls were founded almost nine years ago after the girls met a mysterious old woman who presented each of them with the artifacts they hold today. Since then, the Rangers have saved thousands of lives, stopped hundreds of villains, and have even been recognized and rewarded by the council a few times. The name "Magical Ranger Girls" comes from the fact that their outfits, while transformed, deeply resemble that of forest rangers, and each of their powers are based off of a magical creature.
Thea, the group leader, has The Phoenix as her power. She gains an incredible boost to her magic capacity with fire as her primary element. While transformed, her hair looks like fire. In this form, the others called her by the nickname "Nix".
Eda's creature is an ice dragon. She boasts considerable strength with Water Pillar. The attribute her transformation boosts the most is defense. She gains NRG to fortify herself, along with protections from Mind powers. The boosts also make her magic barriers and her special magical skill {Dragon Hide} nigh unbreakable. While transformed she goes by "Frosty".
The Fae creature Nephele has gives a huge boost to her wind element magic. That, along with her boosted NRG is used together with magic to increase her speed dramatically, making her, by far, the fastest Ranger. She can move fast enough to seem as though she disappears, like a 'gust of wind', so she goes by "Gus"
Lailah's Faun gives a moderate boost to all physical abilities and a massive boost to her earth magic. While not at the top end of physical abilities, she falls into a close second to the other Rangers on most abilities. She gains a proficiency in the 'Mind' principle but is often too cautious to use it. She chose the name "Hooves".
The muscle of the group is Alessia. The creature, a Yokai, not only boosts her raw physical NRG, making her the strongest of the group, but also elevates her connection to the Emotion Pillar, also called dark magic, allowing her to strike fear into those she uses her power on. She decided on the name "Kai"
Finally, Masuyo is connected to the Unicorn, powering her connection to the Healing Pillar, commonly called 'light magic'. Her ability to heal is amplified to an absurd degree. Unfortunately, this has come at the cost of her being the only member to not get an NRG boost while transformed. She's mostly taken a support roll, though even without a power up she still holds her own in a fight. The group had some debate on what her nickname should be, struggling to come up with something to do with "unicorn" or "light." Lialah had "hooves" so that was out, and "horn", or "horny" wouldn't go over well with the public relations group they work with. So, Masuyo finally landed on "UC", pronounced "you-see".
As the group arrived at the police barrier blocking the path to the financial district, they were met with an unpleasant surprise. A group of Sentai, or color coordinated uniformed heroes, approached.
"We've already got this one 'Magic Girls'," Their leader, Blue said dismissively, "so just go home."
Nix stepped up. "Sorry Blue, but we're part of this territory. And after last month's train fiasco, I'd rather we take this."
Territories are assigned by the Counsel. The popularity or standing of a group could heavily impact their territory, which would also affect their income. The M.R.G. had gotten lucky to have landed such a spot, but when a siren was called, other groups could join in, if the job demanded it.
"Hey!" Purple started towards the girls but was stopped by Silver and Red. "We were caught off guard! Anyway, the council already punished us for that, so we don't need your crap, 'princess'!"
The air around Nix heated up and her hair began to lift. Of all things someone shouldn't call her, 'princess' is right at the top. She was highly opposed to the given title "Princess of Flames" and only lets the 'pressers' call her that because she's obligated to. Others, especially people she doesn't know, don't get that courtesy. In fact, most villains who used that nickname didn't say much after that as she'd normally break their jaws. The others never really figured out why it bothered her but knew what could happen to those who used it.
Frosty put her hand on Nix's shoulder. As quickly as the air heated, it cooled again as Nix took a breath. "I'm sorry, but as I said, I'd rather we take this."
"Actually, we'd like to have assistance from both teams if we can get it." Interjected an officer.
Nix looked back at the Magical Ranger Girls for confirmation, and seeing the group nod, she turned back and smiled at the officer "Sounds fine."
"Whatever. Fine." Blue sighed.
UC looked around as the groups were led past the barricades into a police tent. They were in the downtown financial section of the city with towering skyscrapers. Though for all the massively tall buildings it seemed the officers were centered on one of the shortest banks, no more than seven stories tall. A runt, comparatively.
The 11 heroes and half a dozen officers fit into the tent. Their attention was directed to a large table with a map of a building. The police captain of the financial district of the city, Captain Straisa followed them in.
"Good afternoon, everyone, or… I wish it was, but we've got a problem on our hands."
Nix began. "What seems- "
"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Blue interrupted
UC patted Nix's back to calm her down and Kai glared at Blue, slightly emitting her {Aura of Fear}, turning a few of the nearby officers pale.
"About 40 minutes ago," the captain calmly responded, "a large group of villains took over the Viso Bank. Reports put their numbers between 25-40."
"That's a rather large discrepancy. Are there no more precise numbers?" Green asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Sensory officers in the unit say their power and magic levels seem pretty low overall, with a few mid-levels sprinkled in. However, these factors alone are not why we're asking for both groups to assist. The main problem we're faced with is that they have taken well over two dozen hostages."
"Geez, do we have locations on them?" Frosty asked.
"We believe we've found one location, but according to the reported call by a hostage, the villains split the hostages into multiple groups, and if one is compromised, they'll order a 'kill command' on the remaining groups."
"Probably a tactic to demoralize or prevent them from working together." Hooves suggested. "It also makes it harder for rescue teams to move in."
Silver asked, "Do they have any demands?"
"We've been unable to contact them, and besides the one call, we've received no word from any hostage."
Nix shared an observation, "That's gonna make it considerably more difficult to stop them or save the hostages, as we have no motives and very little reliable intelligence."
"So, what's the play?" Gus asked looking at Nix
As UC opened her mouth Blue responded smugly "We infiltrate, save the hostages, then once they're secured, subdue all villains. Oh, and my team can handle this one alone." He ended sounding insufferably condescending, aiming the last part at Nix.
"With all due respect," the captain began, "After the 'train incident' I'd really rather have both teams working on this."
"Also, those are goals, not plans." UC added.
Blue glared and grumbled under his breath, wanting to retort but not finding the words.
"In any case, how do you plan to infiltrate anywhere with those flashy colors?" Nix piled on, though in their clothing it was the pot calling the kettle 'black'.
"Well, I can meld into my environment and can also make a few others do the same." Silver commented.
"Maybe we send a small scouting party," UC Suggested, "2-3 heroes. They stay in contact, find the hostage groups. If possible, start extraction, otherwise be eyes and ears on the inside."
"Great plan!" Kai exclaimed
Red asked "Okay, then who will go in with Silver?"
"I'll go!" Blue shouted impatiently.
"Maybe leadership shouldn't go?" Nix rebuffed.
"Why? Scared, 'Princesses'?"
"No, but if something happens, having leaders on the outside will allow us to come up with solutions more efficiently." Nix gritted her teeth.
"'Efficiently'? If I'm in there I can come up with a solution right then! That's more 'efficient' than a committee lead by a scared little girl!"
"And you think your macho split-second decision wouldn't cause more issues?! I've seen the reports from your 'solutions'. You're the kind of hero that prefers brute force over any form of tactic and would rather smash your head through a wall than use a freaking door!"
The captain tried to get between the two to stop the argument. Amid the ruckus, UC approached Silver.
"We don't have time for this. I think it should be us two that go in. If any hostages are hurt, my healing should come in handy, and you can get us in and out undetected, right?"
"Sure. But aren't they gonna get mad if we sneak off like this?" She pointed at their leaders arguing.
"They know the plan. We'll keep coms on and report once we're in."
UC nodded over to Gus and Hooves, who acknowledged her. Frost and Kai were with the other Sentai and officers who were attempting to seperate Nix and Blue, who were having a, quite literally, heated debate.
Silver and UC snuck from the tent. As they pulled the flaps open, Silver grabbed UC's hand and UC felt an icy wave across her body. Looking down at their hands, she saw nothing.
"Probably best no one out here sees us escape, right?"
"Uh huh." UC responded, distracted by the icy feeling and translucency.
The pair made their way across the barricades into the area directly outside the bank.
"I don't recognize any of these villains" Silver whispered.
"Neither do I." UC replied. "Either they're just henchmen or goons. I'm guessing the bigger ones are inside? Or maybe they're just all this level. Which seriously would not require all of us."
"Maybe the cops are afraid of a 'Family Member' being involved?"
As far as the classifications went, the "Family Members" had a section all their own, well above Supervillains. There is no section on them in any rules book, and it is generally seen as self-preservation to flee if encountering one. In reality, they should be hunted by law enforcement, but no one is willing. A fair bit is known about the five families, but their raw physical and magical power puts them far above the law. It's been said the members aren't all evil, but any hero found attempting to take them down is not usually found again. Compared to even the weakest family member, these low-level villains would be a breeze.
Arriving at the perimeter of the building, the two surveyed the place for entrances.
"There!" Whispered UC, pointing at a second story window.
"Where? I can't see you pointing."
"Right. Second story. One . . . Two . . . Seven windows from the right. It only has a screen. I think we can jump through."
"Lead the way." Silver held on tight as the two jumped through the window, landing relative silence. UC let go of Silver's hand to place the screen back on the window.
"What are you . . .!?" Silver started then went quiet.
Right as UC placed the screen back, the door flew open and four armed men busted into the room and trained their weapons on UC, who put her hands up and started to act terrified.
"What have we got here?" One of the men asked. "A hero? She looks terrified."
"Maybe she's an escaped hostage playing pretend." Another chimed in.
"Oh? Not gonna speak up?" The first man walked up then struck the base of UC's neck with the butt of his gun. UC dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings have been cut. She was playing possum in hopes to either catch the villains off guard or maybe use them to find some hostages.
"Hey! We need them alive!" One of the villains shouted.
"I didn't hit her that hard. Girl must be made of paper or something."
One of the villains kicked UC's back. "You really think she's one of them heroes?"
"She looks like one of them Ranger chicks from the news but she's way too weak."
"How would she have even gotten in? We have a ton of guys outside who totally would have seen her."
"Whatever. Just take her back to the other hostages. I'll tell the boss."
With that, they picked up UC and carried her out the room through the bank. UC kept careful attention to the directions she was taken, to escape later. Soon enough, they arrived at their destination. The villains unceremoniously dropped UC with a thud and went to speak with the others in the room about their new discovery.
A few moments later, UC felt a soft warm hand on her shoulder as she was softly shaken.
"Are you okay?" A soft female voice asked.
Slowly opening her eyes, as if waking up, she saw a beautiful woman in a yellow sundress and a distressed look on her face.
"Hu? What's goin on?" UC mumbled, feigning grogginess.
"You're lucky to be alive!" The woman scolded. "'What's going on' is that you could have been killed. Why were you sneaking away like that?"
"So, you know her, then?" A brooding voice spoke. UC saw a bulky figure standing above the two of them. UC wasn't much for sensory magics or abilities, but this guy definitely looked like he could be the leader. Absolutely not what the reports indicated.
"Y-yes. S-she was in the b-bank when you took us all hostage, s-sir." The woman stuttered out.
"Why are you wearing that hero getup, then?" He asked suspiciously.
The woman seemed at a loss to explain the outfit. It definitely would have been noticed earlier.
"I had it under my clothes." UC lied, timidly. "I cosplay and was wearing it under my stuff. When you took the bank, I slipped away and switched because I was so scared by your intimidating presence."
The scowl on the man's face turned to a smug grin, and he beat his chest laughing. "Haha, and you should be scared, girl. So be a good hostage and listen to us, or you'll see that these" he bragged, showing off his gun and muscles, "are not just for show."
Satisfied with UC's answer, he returned to the guards to explain UC's story with audible laughter and smugness. UC sat up and looked around at the mid-size room. At least 12 others were in the room, hostages lying on the ground, plus another four guards, including the probable leader.
The woman continued their whispered conversation. "You never answered my question. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Are you and the other hostages alright?"
"Other hostages? Oh! You must actually be a hero! You're here to save us?" her face lit up with hope.
UC looked over at the guards, who seemed occupied with their own conversation, then glanced at the other hostages.
"I am. I'm Unicorn. I specialize in healing. Is there anyone who needs attention?"
A small smile flashed across the woman's face and quickly disappeared. "Wait, you can't. They took my child to another room with more hostages."
UC reassured the woman. "It's okay, I'm not here alone." Touching her hand to her ear, UC continued. "Isn't that right, Silver?"
[Damn straight. I also filled in leadership on our situation] Silver replied.
Nix's voice cut in [Nice 'oh no you've captured me' thing. We will keep you posted and instruct further when Silver locates the other hostages. Till then, stay put]
[Had I been there no one would have needed to be captured to find the hostages.]
[Not the time, Blue!]
Radio silence followed.
UC looked around the room again, then whispered to the woman "Is everyone here, okay?"
"Oh no, we're all okay. I'm just hoping my little girl is safe. I'm so worried."
"Don't be. We'll save her, and you."
About five minutes passed without any radio communication from the others. In this situation, five minutes was far too long for complete radio silence.
"Hey, is this channel working?" UC whispered, pressing her ear. No reply.
This was bad. Without communication, she wouldn't know when Silver found the others, and she couldn't tell the others if things escalated here. Her only option was to listen to Nix's last order to 'stay put' and hope the others would notice the silence.
"Miss hero, Unicorn, is everything okay?"
"Just a little communications error." UC admitted.
"Oh" the woman paused for a moment. "How many heroes do you have with you? Enough to fight all the bad guys?"
Verifying no one was eavesdropping, UC pulled the woman close. "In the building it's only me and Silver from the group S3. Outside the perimeter is the rest of both our groups, but we'd need to give a 'go' before the others show."
The woman's face flickered through several emotions – joy, irritation, finally stopping on concerned. Seeing the concern, UC continued, "it's okay, we'll make sure to rescue the others. Your child will be alright, I'm sure. Silver will get it figured out."
"But first, I've got to get you out of here so you can help" Silver whispered from behind UC. And although Silver was invisible, UC could tell she was standing less than a foot away.
"Did you scope out the place?"
"Pretty throughly, but there's no trace of another hostage group anywhere."
"Um, did you ask for reinforcements yet?" The woman asked timidly.
"Huh? Oh, no. After I did the deep sweep of the building, I reported to Phoenix, who told me to extract Unicorn and report when we made it out." Silver put her hands on UC's shoulders. "We lost communication so I'm here to get you."
UC felt the now familiar icy wave from her shoulders, and the woman's eyes grew wide. As UC disappeared, the woman lunged at UC in a tight hug.
"Thank you." she whispered
"You're welcome, but you have to let go or you'll be hugging air." UC smiled. "We'll be right back to save –"
The pressure on UC's shoulders suddenly increased drastically causing her to wince, then the icy feeling faded, and UC heard a thud behind her, as Silver slumped to the floor, quite visible.
UC tried to turn around, but the woman's grip tightened, and UC felt a sharp jab in her lower back. A flash of electricity shot through her whole body, causing pain and convulsions. Then as UC's vision faded, the last thing she saw was the woman looking over her with a wicked grin.
---
UC began to regain consciousness and her eyes fluttered a few times before shooting open in surprise. How long was I out?! What happened? She found herself bound, kneeling with her hands behind her back. The room was decently large, with very poor lighting, but she saw several desks and could assume they were in an office, probably still in the bank. As she struggled, she found that she wasn't connected to the floor, but something was still anchoring her from behind. She pulled to try to free herself, but as she started, a pained gasp erupted from behind her.
"Ahh-h…hh…!" Silver whimpered, "p-please don't pull that."
UC stopped pulling.
"Thanks"
Trying to turn her head, UC wasn't able to see Silver behind her, though it seemed pretty obvious that they were tied together. Looking to their side, UC was able to see a red wire that seemed to originate from between the two of them. There is no way that string is what's holding us in place. She thought. UC traced it to the floor where it was secured. It was glistening with something, and at it's base something was pooling…Blood… UC realized something had been done to Silver. She searched with her finger to find any part of Silver and eventually managed to find her hand. She connected the tip of her finger to Silver's hand and pored all the healing magic she could into her. After a few minuets she had to stop to catch her breath. She looking back over to the wire and, to her horror, a lot more of Silver's blood was pooling around the wire.
"P…please st-stop." Silver wheezed.
"What did they do to you?"
"We just made it so you couldn't heal her, and she couldn't go all 'see-through' or try to escape." The brooding voice from earlier explained as the brute from earlier walked in from the shadows. This time the woman in the sundress was beside him smiling.
"You!"
"Heroes can be so easy to fool." The man said, "You all think we are so simple minded that we can't make traps? Put a beautiful damsel in front of them to protect and they throw all common sense out the window." He laughed.
"Awe… You think I'm beautiful?" The woman blushed.
"Of course, I do, sweetness." He emphasized by smacking her butt.
"And here I thought I was just helping some old grandma find her grandkid." UC defiantly mocked.
The woman's smile turned to a sneer, and she walked over to UC. She kneed UC in the face hard causing a small stream of blood to trickle from her nose, though it healed up quickly.
"Healers are so annoying." The woman began rolling her eyes, "I mean yes you can keep beating them to within an inch of their lives, but the catharsis is lacking." She pulled UC's hair and looked her directly in the eyes. "That's why I have a fun way I discovered on how to deal with smartass healers who care way too much. Want to see?"
"Not really."
"Too bad. It's quite simple really. All I have to do is this..."
She released UC's hair and gently placed her hand on UC's shoulder. Slowly she pulled the bound UC towards herself. Though slightly uncomfortable, it wasn't anything too bad until...
"AGAHHH!!"
As UC's arms were pulled, Silver let out a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the room. The woman coldly looked into UC's eyes, tilting her more forward, inch by inch. Each movement echoed by Silver's screams. Suddenly, UC felt a rush of warm liquid rush under her as Silver went silent.
"Seems she lost consciousness." The woman gloated, then released UC, allowing her to rock back to where she started.
"Ha! Looks like she ran out of energy!" the woman laughed, "She wet herself too! Gross! Haha." She walked around behind UC to Silver, "So this is what Silver Sentai looks like? Kinda plain if you ask me."
Silver lost consciousness and all her energy had been depleted, and so reverted to her "non-hero" self. Even artifact transformations have limits, so, as part of training, most heroes learn those limits before "heroing". A hero's identity isn't public knowledge unless the hero consents to releasing that information or villains out them. Though if a hero ever outed another hero, the punishment describedin the 'Counsel Code of Hero Conduct', or CCHC, was merciless.
"She's nowhere near as gorgeous as you, sweetheart." The man replied.
The walkie on the man's belt called out [Boss, the cash is secure. Cops are none-the-wiser, and even though the 'capes' seem to be trying something, they are staying put for the moment. What's next?]
He picked up the walkie. "Take the underground passage to the safe house. We'll finish here and be there soon. Call all the outside units and have them ready to retreat."
[Got it Boss.]
There was a clicking sound behind UC. The woman walked back to UC, grabbed her hair roughly and forced her to look at her phone.
"Look at your little friend's secret identity." She flipped through photos she'd taken. Silver appeared to be a blond girl around UC's age, currently with a ghost pale complexion. The last one on her reel was a clear picture of the girl's Identification Card.
"Leia Stone? Geez, she's only 18?!" she started laughing, "Oh her address is listed too! HA!"
UC's world seemed to shake. UC's mistake had gotten her captured, tortured and her identity reveled to a group of messed up villains.
"I guess Ms. Stone's days of being a hero are over" the woman cackled, "I mean, unless she wants me and my man to visit her, right dear?"
The man was preoccupied, slapping the walkie, "Guys! Come in! I said to waste the hostages and escape!" Pacing back and forth, he added "Anyone hear me!?"
The woman's smile disappeared, and she rushed over.
"What's going on?"
"No one is responding." He paused, "You're not using your magic to block it, are you?"
"Of course not!" she pointed towards the girls, "I'm only blocking those two." She then looked towards the man nearest the door, "Reggie! Are you hearing our calls?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Are they responding?"
"N-no ma'am."
"Go check it out then!" the man bellowed.
"Yes sir!" the guard hurried out the door, locking it behind him.
"Let's kill the ranger now." The woman said, "we wanted to make a name for ourselves, and The Family would definitely be impressed with us killing a cape and giving them the identity of another."
"Sure, thing sweetness, but let's use em' as a shield first. The others wouldn't dare touch us if we leave with them."
"Darling, you're so smart, but I think we'll only need one for that." Her eyes were fixed on UC
"You really hate her, don't you, sweetness?"
"Goodie two-shoe bitches like her makes me think of some girls I absolutely hated in high school. Killing her here will just be therapeutic." She started towards UC.
Am I going to die here? UC thought.
The man picked up his radio, "Reggy, anything going on?"
[Sir, I don't see anyone, but it looks like the cops and capes are still out... Oh, Oh GOD!]
'SWISH', the transmission crackled, then ended.
"Reggy?!"
The woman now stood beside UC and was pointing a large, barreled weapon on her head.
"Rita!" the man shouted, "We need to leave now!"
"Of course, darling." She responded softly, "One moment..."
Time seemed to stand still for UC as her mind and heart raced a thousand miles a second. Watching as the woman's finger slowly reached for the trigger, she closed her eyes.
Someone, ANYONE, please help!
'BANG!' UC opened her eyes. The gun was still pointing as her, but the woman was looking past her to the door. 'BANG BANG!!' The door flew open revealing a figure in the hallway, lit from behind. The figure was tall, wearing a long cloak, and a large scarf. The woman lowered her gun in confusion, but the man ran towards the new arrival.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you came to the wrong…!"
In the blink of an eye, the figure swiftly moved towards the charging man, and before he'd finished his sentence, was struck down. The man fell to his knees, then forward, making no noise except the "thunk" as he hit the floor.
This definitely wasn't a hero from either the Sentai or the Rangers, but whomever it was, UC was happy to see them. Though, in the back of her mind something didn't seem right.
The woman, seeing her darling fall so easily, dropped the gun and started sobbing as she ran towards the figure. "Thank you, hero!" She cried, "That horrible man forced me to help him and almost made me kill that girl!"
As the woman ran past, UC noticed the devious woman pull the same tasing weapon from her side. She tried to warn him, but no words would come out, too emotionally drained from her near-death experience moments ago. Before the woman even got close enough to do anything, the arm of figure flew up and the woman stopped. The side of UC's face was splashed with something warm. The woman fell to her knees like the man before but toppled onto her back towards UC. As the woman's blood dripped from UC's face, all she could do was look into the terrified eyes of the dying woman who'd been cut hip to neck, as her sundress turned from yellow to a dark bloody orange.
UC could now see exactly who the cloaked figure was. The vigilante known as The Grey Knight stood in front of her with a plain grey cloak and long grey scarf, both freshly speckled with red, and underneath, she could see bits of a shining grey armor covering his whole body. He was holding a longsword in his hand, but as he released it, the weapon evaporated into nothing. He stood over UC and the unconscious Leia, tilted his head slightly, then walked over behind UC towards Leia.
"L-Leave her alone!" UC forced out her voice, but without a response she heard a blade swinging and her bonds slackened. She immediately attempted to stand, but between her fatigue from everything that had happened and the various fluids on the floor, she didn't make it all the way up before she was on her butt on the floor.
"ARE YOU OKAY?", the Knight asked in a distorted, but still concerned sounding voice.
"I-I'm…" UC took a breath and saw the knight was kneeled over 'Silver', attempting to free her and for the first time, UC saw what they'd done. She almost vomited at the sight of it. The wire she'd seen had been pierced through each of her fingers and a knife had been put through each leg, both the thigh and the calf. As the knight removed the ropes used to secure her, UC noticed the area around her neck had been reinforced by barbed wire, which the knight snapped with his hands. He set her down and looked at UC.
"SHE NEEDS HEALING. CAN YOU HANDLE THIS OR DO I NEED TO TAKE HER TO AN EMERGENCY ROOM." He said reaching this hand towards the girl.
"Don't touch her!" UC shouted, and, still on the ground, crawled to Leia. Making sure the wounds were clear; UC placed her palms on Leia and began to heal. '{Greater Healing}'. After about a minute, the color came back to Leia's face, and soon after that she was breathing regularly. While UC healed Leia, she kept an eye on the Knight as he walked around the room. UC saw him kneel at the now dead villainess, but she was exhausted and too preoccupied healing Leia to have any capacity to care what he was doing as long as he wasn't attacking them. As Leia stirred, UC was startled by a cracking sound from the knight, followed by a breaking noise from something he was holding.
Leia's eyes began to flutter. "Unicorn?" She started to try to get up.
"Relax." UC said softly, "You've lost a lot of blood. I've stabilized you, but you should still rest."
"Did… Did we escape?" she looked around, but when she saw the corpse of the woman, she forced herself to stand, despite UC's suggestion.
"What happened? What about the hostages?!"
"THEY ARE SAFE AND SOUND."
"What are… Who the hell are you?!" the girl reached to her side for her blaster, but upon not finding it, realized she was no longer in the Sentai outfit. Her face went paper-white, and her knees buckled. The Grey Knight smoothly caught her and set her back down on the floor. She wasn't out long, and almost as soon as she was laid back down, he had to move back to avoid her flailing.
Standing,The Knight remarked "IF YOU HAVE THE ENERGY TO BEHAVE LIKE THAT, I RECOMMEND TRANSFORMING BACK INTO SILVER, MS. STONE."
At his words, Leia stopped her flailing. UC could see the girl's face and it was filled with fear.
"How? How do you know who I am?" She whimpers, tears starting to form from her eyes.
He held up the destroyed remains of the woman's phone. "THAT VILLAINESS HAD TAKEN PHOTOS COMPROMISING YOUR IDENTITY. I WAS AWARE OF SILVER AND UC'S INFILTRATION. SO, I SIMPLY PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER."
UC wasn't a fan of being so casually called 'UC' by someone like him, but definitely didn't think this was the time to bring it up.
"But wait? Who are you? I've never seen a hero on any team like you."
"That's because he's not a hero. He's the vigilante called The Grey Knight." UC stated, ending it with more than a hint of disgust.
"The Grey… No, that's a myth. Something heroes tell newbies to scare them."
"Trust me, even if the public doesn't believe he exists. I can assure you he's real, and he's wanted."
"That would mean, the most infamous vigilante knows my… oh no…" she trailed off.
"PLEASE DON'T WORRY. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF USING THAT INFORMATION. HOWEVER," He looked towards one of the walls, "OTHERS FROM YOUR GROUPS AS WELL AS THE POLICE WILL BE HERE SOON, SO I'D REALLY RECOMMEND TRANSFORMING."
He began to walk towards the door leading out of the room, and UC promptly stood up, properly this time, rushed to the door and blocked him.
"You are a wanted vigilante and murderer, and even though you saved us, I can't just let you go. I'm placing you under arrest. So… Surender." UC was wobbling and barely staying awake as she made her intentions clear.
"SIGH" UC saw his shoulders visibly slump a bit, "I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO GAIN BY STRIKING DOWN AN ALREADY BATTERED HERO. PLEASE MOVE."
"No, I have to…" but before she could finish that sentence, he punched her in the gut, swept her legs, then pinned her to the ground. Her face was so close to his mask, she could hear his breathing beneath. He stood up, leaving her there in a daze, and as he left, she was almost certain she heard him say, "SORRY". Less than a minute later, the door busted back open, and Nix entered the room with a group of other heroes. EMTs took Silver, now transformed back, out on their shoulders. Nix looked over to UC who was still on the ground.
"Well, that didn't go as planed. Are you okay?"
"I will be."
"Glad to hear it, but you look like shit."