The Knight Hawk

The Glass Menagerie

Perched atop Metro Towers, the Knight Hawk reminisced on all that he had experienced since his arrival only a few months ago.  He remembered his most maniacal adversary, the Jackal.  He still wondered exactly what happened to the Jackal.  The apparent disappearance of his nemesis had baffled him.  He didn’t understand how the Jackal could so easily disappear without a trace.  He was secure in the fact that he had Gizmo tightly put away.  He also felt that the Arsonist had been soundly handled.  He was glad, he didn’t know if he was ready for another hot time in the city.  He felt, however, that with each experience he better toned his mind and body.  He was beginning to feel more and more comfortable with his abilities.  His timing and recovery skills, he felt, had improved immensely.  He also felt that the city had calmed down a lot since he had been there.  Through all of this, he dreaded the fact that he would have to soon leave Metro City for a couple of days.  He left the top of the tower and returned to the Midnight Racer.  He returned home to get some rest.  Vivica was waiting for him there.

“Hello, Hero,” she said as she brought him a glass of juice.

“Thank you,” Tony said as he started to remove his armor. 

“Im guessing it was a slow night?” she started to help him remove his armor.

“Yeah,” he said a little uninspired.

“You know, I don’t understand you.  You want to rid the city of crime, but you seem almost depressed when it is quiet.”

“Quiet is never a good thing.  It’s like they say, there is always a calm before the storm.”

“Yeah,” she said sarcastically, “You are just worried about leaving for New York in a couple of days.  I’m sure your precious city won’t fall apart in the week that you are gone.”

“Maybe, but I can’t help but feel that something is going to come up.”

“Relax, hero,” she began massaging his shoulders, “Just let Thompson know that you will be gone, and everything will be ok.”

“I hope so.”

That same night, a small, disfigured shape moved through the streets of Hell’s Alley.  It quickly moved through the shadows, peeking in and out of the alleys.  It made its way to the roof of one of the old buildings and sat himself down.  From atop the building, he could see over into the more livable areas of Metro City.  He mourned for himself, because he was supposed to be there too.  He was born, Rupert Emerson, first-born son of the Metro City Emerson’s, a prominent name in Metro.    The Emerson family owned various companies in Metro City, and was a very wealthy and respectable family.  Rupert will never see any of that wealth, nor will he feel any of the respect that the name Emerson had brought.  His family disowned him at the mere age of six.  Rupert was a strange looking child, even from birth.  His body was short and squat-like.  He had an immensely overdeveloped over bite and an unusually long and pointy nose.  His parents couldn’t except an imperfect child and left Rupert to fend for himself in Hell’s Alley.  Rupert quickly became a thief to get food to eat, and money to get clothing.  He at times ate out of garbage cans throughout the alleys. 

After a couple of years of taking care of himself, he came across a well-known criminal in Metro.  The man was impressed with Rupert’s skill in thievery and his quickness.  He took Rupert under his wing at the age of twelve.  He taught Rupert everything about his criminal organization.  He also taught Rupert how to manage himself in a more respectable manner, but after living on the street for so long, Rupert kept a lot of his abrasive mannerisms.  The man dubbed Rupert, the RatFink, a name suitable for a flashy street rat.  Rupert served the man well, and quickly moved through the ranks of the man’s criminal organization.  Now, twenty-five years later, Rupert still goes by the name, RatFink.  He worked on his own now, controlling his own small crime ring.  He had one goal though, to make the remaining members of his family pay for leaving him behind, and to control Metro City.