Hunter

The muted lights pulsed through the narrow windows as the elevator sped on its ascension. The strobing light lit half her face with distorted shadows as the other half remained in the dark of the otherwise empty lift.

A focused scowl that darkened her face further matched her mood; had there not been a patch over her right eye, its fiery glare would have burnt a hole in the elevator's door.

Leather creaked as she squeezed her gloved fist at her hip, anger building up inside so that her entire body was flexing as the elevator neared its apex.

An alarm sounded as the roof of the lift irised open and the floor lifted her up the final few meters to come out standing level with the building's rooftop. With no pause, she strode across the roof toward the black metal vehicle that sat waiting amongst the flashing red lights that lined the building's edge.

Wind whipped her auburn hair in the night air as she walked unfazed to mount the hover craft and don her sleek helmet that matched the inky black of her jumpsuit perfectly, so that she blended into darkness like a shadow.

Instinctively, she reached to feel for the rings she had worn around her neck for so long she could not remember a time they hadn't been there. A quick stab of panic gave way to rage once more as she remembered that they were there no longer; stolen in the night.

Her five rings of power were taken from her by that devious little thief.

And now, she thought as she jerked her hand away from her neck to grip the handle of the hover cycle and thumbed the ignition angrily, a heavy, thudding hum was all there was to indicate the machine reacted; now she was going to do what she did best.

A blue glow grew under the cycle's hover pads and the shadowy machine floated up a meter or so off the rooftop.

The display of her helmet visor blinked on and the dull amber lights began to track all the unseen movement of the traffic in the skies above the vast cityscape. A red indicator dot appeared to the west, serpentining across the horizon, growing further away as she watched with malice at the indignant usurper the red dot represented.

Time for her to hunting.

With a movement of her wrist, the hover cycle jumped up into the air and dove down over the roof's edge, disappearing for a moment only to zoom back up into view again and tear off into the night sky; an almost invisible hunter pursuing her prey.