Darkhawk was flying fast. Jack had to push the suit to full power just to keep up, staying invisible the whole ti.
After a few minutes he noticed sothing strange.
Darkhawk veered left — sharp.
Then suddenly shot straight up.
Then dropped back down like he'd missed a step in mid-air.
Jack squinted, still tailing him.
"…Okay, what is this guy doing?"
Darkhawk banked again — hard right — then dipped, then climbed, then zig-zagged like he was drawing sothing in the sky.
Jack slowed slightly, watching.
"…Is he lost?"
Darkhawk looped upward again.
Jack blinked.
"Wait. No way." He leaned forward a little mid-flight. "Is this guy practicing tricks?"
Another sharp turn. A sudden drop.
"…Oh my god. He's doing aerial warmups."
Darkhawk cut left again.
Jack groaned.
"Bro. This is not the ti for air yoga."
Darkhawk spun halfway, corrected, then boosted upward again.
Jack stared.
"…You've got to be kidding ."
He tilted his head, still following.
"Is this like superhero cardio? Do you have a routine? 'Three spiral dives, two near-death drops, one dramatic hover'?"
Darkhawk slowed — hovered — then darted forward again.
Jack sighed.
"Cool. Cool, cool, cool. I'm out here burning a hundred percent power just to keep up, and this guy's doing sky doodles."
Another zig-zag.
Jack deadpanned.
"He's absolutely drawing sothing. If I look down and it spells 'Hi' on Google Maps, I'm done."
Darkhawk dipped again — fast.
Jack flinched.
"Okay — nope — who flies like that on purpose?! Pick a direction, man. You're stressing out."
Darkhawk climbed again — higher this ti.
Jack followed, struggling to keep pace.
"I swear, if he says this is just how he flies, I'm quitting. Going back to running. Running never betrayed like this."
Darkhawk cut left again.
Jack groaned.
"…This dude flies like he's got lag."
He paused.
"…Wait."
Darkhawk slowed.
Then stopped.
Mid-air.
Jack froze.
"…Oh."
A beat.
"…Oh no."
Darkhawk turned — right toward him.
Jack went completely still.
He wasn't doing stunts.
He was checking for a tail.
Jack exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. That makes way more sense."
Darkhawk hovered in place, scanning the surrounding air carefully. Not certain — but suspicious. Sothing had caught his attention and he wasn't letting it go.
"I know you're there." Darkhawk dropped into a defensive stance. "Show yourself."
Jack hesitated for a second. Then he cut the invisibility.
Darkhawk's eyes sharpened — genuinely caught off guard that soone had actually been there.
"Alright — who are you?" Still guarded. "And why are you following ?"
Jack raised a hand slightly, keeping it calm.
"Hey — relax. It's ." He paused. "The guy you pulled out of that ss a while back."
Darkhawk watched him without responding.
"…The one the dia's been calling the Blur," Jack added, a little awkward about it.
A beat.
Darkhawk's posture eased — just slightly.
"Oh. Yeah. I rember."
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "I didn't really get a chance to say it before, but… thanks. For that day. You saved ."
Darkhawk shrugged like it wasn't worth ntioning.
"Don't worry about it. Anyone would've done the sa."
Not really. Jack almost smiled but kept it to himself.
A brief silence settled between them. Then Darkhawk looked him over again — more curious now than defensive.
"So what's your deal?" he asked. "I've seen you around. Different forms, different powers… what are you? So kind of lab experint?"
"No. Nothing like that."
Darkhawk waited.
Jack hesitated half a second, then said it straight.
"I'm an alien."
"…Wait — what?"
"Yeah." Jack kept his voice even. "Alien. Sa as you."
"Okay — no." Darkhawk shook his head and stepped back. "No, no, no. I'm human. Completely human. So whatever you are — don't lump in with it."
"You don't have to pretend," Jack said. "I've seen records on your unit. The Raptors. Ancient enforcent group."
He watched Darkhawk carefully.
"You're one of those, aren't you?"
Darkhawk went quiet.
Yeah. That landed.
He's wondering right now whether his powers are actually alien.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Darkhawk said finally. "And stop following ."
He turned and flew off without another word.
Jack watched him shrink into the dark sky.
He'll need my help eventually. And now there's a seed of doubt planted — about his power, about where it really ca from. That doubt will grow.
If I play this right… I gain a real ally.
He checked the suit's power reading.
[Very low.]
The chase had drained almost everything.
"Great," he muttered. "Perfect timing."
If I get the chance, I'll study how Darkhawk's suit works.
The next day.
He was halfway through the classroom door when a voice called out behind him.
"Hey — Extrely Straight."
Jack stopped.
Didn't turn around.
He already knew exactly who it was.
"Gwen," he said, turning slowly as he walked toward her. "Can you please let that go."
She had the smile on.
"Oh, co on," she said. "It fits."
"I don't like it," Jack replied, dropping his voice. "And now everyone's staring."
He glanced around. Yeah. People were definitely looking.
Gwen followed his gaze for a second — then shrugged.
"Relax," she said. "It stays between us."
A small pause.
"No new leaks."
Another tiny pause.
"Probably."
Jack stared at her.
"That 'probably' is really not helping."
He was about to say more —
Then sothing flashed across his vision.
[New DNA signature detected — range: 100 ters]
[Add to database?]
Jack froze.
…What?
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 10 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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