4 months later
“Some things don’t change,” Kathryn sighed as she looked at the familiar 1980’s-era architecture of the North Las Vegas Police Department. She puffed her breath in resignation which pushed a flock of hair to the side and strode toward the front doors. People on both sides of the street paused to watch her walk across the five lane road. Kathryn ignored all of them and nervously pulled on her dark khaki gloves as she reached the other side of the street.
She entered the main entrance and relished the air conditioned environment then took note that the noise level dropped considerably. Kathryn looked around the lobby and every eye was on her, from punk to parent to officer. She invisibly cleared her throat and strode confidently to the main reception window. The young officer gulped as she walked up to him, then weakly said, “How may I help you?”
She placed both arms on the shelf and shifted her weight to one leg. “Thank you, I’d like to see someone in the Crime Stoppers Bureau.” She tapped her booted foot lightly. Kathryn attempted to keep her eye focused on the officer as she spoke. Her sense of authority was growing and it helped that she was looking down at him even though he was standing behind the desk. Trying not to be conspicuous, Kathryn left her tactical visor in her jacket, but she still wore her simple costume. Kathryn may as well have been wearing the visor from the looks of everyone in the room.
“Um … what’s your name ma’am?”
“A concerned citizen. If you would humor me and direct me to the Bureau offices, I’m sure I can handle myself.” She started to tap her fingernails on the window shelf. The officer looked down and shuffled some papers at his desk nervously.
“I’m sorry ma’am. If you will have a seat, someone will be with you in a moment.”
“I’ll stand if you don’t mind.”
He nodded and picked up the phone. Kathryn turned and faced the lobby. The younger part of the crowd simply stared while the older crowd looked away.
A few moments later, a female officer with her blonde hair pulled back in a pony-tail appeared. She was middle-aged and athletic but the wrinkles around her eyes and lips projected experience and a ‘no-nonsense’ attitude. The bars on her collar meant she was high-ranking. Only a few inches shorter than Kathryn, yet she seethed with authority. She walked up to Kathryn as if she had seen someone like her before and extended her hand. “Lieutenant Nikki Johanson. I hear a superhero wants to see me?”
A little surprised Kathryn paused before accepting the gesture and returned a firm handshake. “More like a concerned citizen.”
The officer looked at Kathryn from the feet up before responding. “Of course. Follow me.” Nikki turned on her heels, opened the door to the back offices. Briefly stunned, Kathryn quickly matched Nikki’s pace behind her.
As they entered Nikki’s office, Kathryn was impressed with the awards and diplomas that littered the wall to the side. She noted how Nikki was humble enough to not have them crowd the wall behind the desk. By being hidden until someone entered the room, the guest was trapped into a false sense that Nikki Johanson, rank notwithstanding, was not as accomplished as she looked. She motioned for Kathryn to sit and took her own seat. “So, what is a concerned citizen like you doing here? It’s rare for someone with 'super-powers' to seek out the police. It’s rarer for one to look for a specific office if nothing has happened.”
Kathryn shuffled in her seat from the social attack but kept staring at Nikki. “The police can’t be everywhere. I am offering my abilities as an extra pair of eyes, so to speak.” She pointed to her eye patch.
“You can’t be everywhere either.”
“True, but I can also handle more than … most people.” Kathryn had to choose her words carefully.
Nikki leaned back and steepled her fingers in thought. After a few seconds, “Why do you want to help the police if you can do super-things on your own?”
“It’s better than vigilantism.” Kathryn knew she was on the defensive but she felt restless just waiting to be at the right place at the right time. Depending on luck was never her style. She needed to be proactive. If she was gifted with her sonic powers, increased strength and resilience then it is being wasted while waiting for chance or fate.
A few more seconds, “Alright, what compensation are you considering?”
“The law is already on my side, I just don’t want a badge for it. Honestly, I don’t want to sound greedy, but I was hoping I could look at your bounty files and go from there. I think the reward and the satisfaction of arresting a criminal is compensation enough.”
One of Nikki’s eyebrows perked. “Bounty Hunter?”
Kathryn’s good eyebrow rose at the retort. “There are things I can do that makes the job a little easier.”
A smile crawled along Nikki's rich lips revealing the wrinkles clearly. “Mind if I get a demonstration?”
Kathryn sat forward and clapped her hands. The slap of the gloves was louder than Nikki expected and she twitched in surprise. Kathryn slowly separated her hands and a swirling ball of air, like a gyroscope, grew between her hands. She slowly carried the swirling air close to the desk and items started to vibrate the closer she got. Lt. Johanson’s name plate danced away from Kathryn and the pencil holder rattled until it tipped over. She brought her hands together and the desk items became still. “I can manipulate sound waves. Imagine a man’s bones vibrate to the point where he cannot move. Or imagine them shattering from the inside out.”
“The Citizen Crime Fighting Act prevents you from doing harm.”
“Unless necessary as a means of self defense,” Kathryn shot back.
Lieutenant Nikki Johanson looked at her desk and nodded. “Alright. You have a chance. Captain Indomitable walked through those same doors 15 years ago and now he’s famous. Have not heard from him since he moved to Paragon, come to think of it.” She opened a drawer, pulled out a file, then walked around her desk and handed it to Kathryn. “Regardless, I don’t recall seeing you around. What is your 'name'?
Kathryn removed her eye patch, pulled out her tactical visor and clipped it in place, then looked up to Nikki and smirked. “The Scarlet Scorpion. But you can call me Scarlet.”
“Some things don’t change,” Kathryn sighed as she looked at the familiar 1980’s-era architecture of the North Las Vegas Police Department. She puffed her breath in resignation which pushed a flock of hair to the side and strode toward the front doors. People on both sides of the street paused to watch her walk across the five lane road. Kathryn ignored all of them and nervously pulled on her dark khaki gloves as she reached the other side of the street.
She entered the main entrance and relished the air conditioned environment then took note that the noise level dropped considerably. Kathryn looked around the lobby and every eye was on her, from punk to parent to officer. She invisibly cleared her throat and strode confidently to the main reception window. The young officer gulped as she walked up to him, then weakly said, “How may I help you?”
She placed both arms on the shelf and shifted her weight to one leg. “Thank you, I’d like to see someone in the Crime Stoppers Bureau.” She tapped her booted foot lightly. Kathryn attempted to keep her eye focused on the officer as she spoke. Her sense of authority was growing and it helped that she was looking down at him even though he was standing behind the desk. Trying not to be conspicuous, Kathryn left her tactical visor in her jacket, but she still wore her simple costume. Kathryn may as well have been wearing the visor from the looks of everyone in the room.
“Um … what’s your name ma’am?”
“A concerned citizen. If you would humor me and direct me to the Bureau offices, I’m sure I can handle myself.” She started to tap her fingernails on the window shelf. The officer looked down and shuffled some papers at his desk nervously.
“I’m sorry ma’am. If you will have a seat, someone will be with you in a moment.”
“I’ll stand if you don’t mind.”
He nodded and picked up the phone. Kathryn turned and faced the lobby. The younger part of the crowd simply stared while the older crowd looked away.
A few moments later, a female officer with her blonde hair pulled back in a pony-tail appeared. She was middle-aged and athletic but the wrinkles around her eyes and lips projected experience and a ‘no-nonsense’ attitude. The bars on her collar meant she was high-ranking. Only a few inches shorter than Kathryn, yet she seethed with authority. She walked up to Kathryn as if she had seen someone like her before and extended her hand. “Lieutenant Nikki Johanson. I hear a superhero wants to see me?”
A little surprised Kathryn paused before accepting the gesture and returned a firm handshake. “More like a concerned citizen.”
The officer looked at Kathryn from the feet up before responding. “Of course. Follow me.” Nikki turned on her heels, opened the door to the back offices. Briefly stunned, Kathryn quickly matched Nikki’s pace behind her.
As they entered Nikki’s office, Kathryn was impressed with the awards and diplomas that littered the wall to the side. She noted how Nikki was humble enough to not have them crowd the wall behind the desk. By being hidden until someone entered the room, the guest was trapped into a false sense that Nikki Johanson, rank notwithstanding, was not as accomplished as she looked. She motioned for Kathryn to sit and took her own seat. “So, what is a concerned citizen like you doing here? It’s rare for someone with 'super-powers' to seek out the police. It’s rarer for one to look for a specific office if nothing has happened.”
Kathryn shuffled in her seat from the social attack but kept staring at Nikki. “The police can’t be everywhere. I am offering my abilities as an extra pair of eyes, so to speak.” She pointed to her eye patch.
“You can’t be everywhere either.”
“True, but I can also handle more than … most people.” Kathryn had to choose her words carefully.
Nikki leaned back and steepled her fingers in thought. After a few seconds, “Why do you want to help the police if you can do super-things on your own?”
“It’s better than vigilantism.” Kathryn knew she was on the defensive but she felt restless just waiting to be at the right place at the right time. Depending on luck was never her style. She needed to be proactive. If she was gifted with her sonic powers, increased strength and resilience then it is being wasted while waiting for chance or fate.
A few more seconds, “Alright, what compensation are you considering?”
“The law is already on my side, I just don’t want a badge for it. Honestly, I don’t want to sound greedy, but I was hoping I could look at your bounty files and go from there. I think the reward and the satisfaction of arresting a criminal is compensation enough.”
One of Nikki’s eyebrows perked. “Bounty Hunter?”
Kathryn’s good eyebrow rose at the retort. “There are things I can do that makes the job a little easier.”
A smile crawled along Nikki's rich lips revealing the wrinkles clearly. “Mind if I get a demonstration?”
Kathryn sat forward and clapped her hands. The slap of the gloves was louder than Nikki expected and she twitched in surprise. Kathryn slowly separated her hands and a swirling ball of air, like a gyroscope, grew between her hands. She slowly carried the swirling air close to the desk and items started to vibrate the closer she got. Lt. Johanson’s name plate danced away from Kathryn and the pencil holder rattled until it tipped over. She brought her hands together and the desk items became still. “I can manipulate sound waves. Imagine a man’s bones vibrate to the point where he cannot move. Or imagine them shattering from the inside out.”
“The Citizen Crime Fighting Act prevents you from doing harm.”
“Unless necessary as a means of self defense,” Kathryn shot back.
Lieutenant Nikki Johanson looked at her desk and nodded. “Alright. You have a chance. Captain Indomitable walked through those same doors 15 years ago and now he’s famous. Have not heard from him since he moved to Paragon, come to think of it.” She opened a drawer, pulled out a file, then walked around her desk and handed it to Kathryn. “Regardless, I don’t recall seeing you around. What is your 'name'?
Kathryn removed her eye patch, pulled out her tactical visor and clipped it in place, then looked up to Nikki and smirked. “The Scarlet Scorpion. But you can call me Scarlet.”
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