Twelve years ago I worked as a cop, pounding the beat in downtown Miami before Millenia was built in its place. I've been promoted since - got me a desk job with slightly more pay. There's the same amount of stress as before but now it's from getting all the paper work done on time rather than worrying if you're about to be knifed or shot. I was shot once so I know how stressful that can be - and that's also when my new life started.
It was a chilly New Year's Eve and me and my partner had cornered a couple of small time thieves down an alleyway. It was late and the moon was already high, casting shadows as thick as treacle. One of the thugs, obviously not wanting to spend the night behind bars, got twitchy. He pulled a piece and shot my buddy twice before I'd managed to get a warning out, let alone my gun. Having downed one of us, and with nothing else to lose, the creep then levelled his pistol at me. I managed to do the same to him but I guess I wasn't quite fast enough 'cause he got his shot off first. The bullet ripped into my gut and threw me onto the floor. Seeing me fallen, and not wanting to waste any more time, the thieves sprinted off leaving me to bleed in the alley.
To be honest, I thought I was done for. I was bleeding heavily from the stomach wound and no-one was around to help. The pain was too much for me to even consider moving. I just lay there watching the shadows deepen as my life dripped away into the gutter.
Then I felt something touch me. At first I thought it was a dog or rat or something but the feeling covered my entire body. And the shadows that were just at the corner of my vision a minute before now seemed to be right in front of my eyes. I looked around but all I could see was shadows. Suddenly, I swear those shadows flowed into me. They were incredibly cold and the pain in my gut sharpened in intensity so much that I let out a muffled gasp. But, moments later, the pain started to subside. I looked down at my wound and saw it starting to heal up!
Slowly but surely, feeling came back to my body and I was able to move my arms and legs. What seemed like an hour later I managed to sit up. The wound in my stomach had almost healed to an ugly scar. At that point, I was overcome with emotion and sat there thanking all that was holy - and some not so holy - for saving me from that final journey to see my maker.
Eventually I could stand. I checked on my buddy but it looked like he'd had a quick send off. So I called for help on my radio and stumbled out of the alley, not realising at the time that the passageway was now completely devoid of shadows.
Later I discovered I had... 'unusual' abilities. Or cosmic powers, if that's what ya want to call 'em. Not only did I heal real quick, I seemed to be able to control the night. I could increase the shadows in an area making it incredibly dark around me. Yet I could see through these thick shadows as if it were a clear summer's day. Even more unusual was my ability to enter the shadows and move from one spot to another without passing through the intervening space.
After a month of leave, I was given my desk job. It was supposed to be for my own good, a promotion away from the dangerous streets due to my sterling service. Still, the idea of doing nothing but sitting at a desk bored me. That's when I remembered good ol' Uncle Don. He was the one that got me interested in the police force in the first place.
Y'see, years ago when he 'retired', Uncle Don let his family know that he was the original Twilight Man, a costumed vigilante who had helped fight crime in the '80s. This was whilst I was still a teenager, before I'd even thought of becoming a cop. But Don's belief in using the abilities you had to help others always stuck with me.
So, that's really where this story should start - with Don's time as the original Twilight Man. I say original because, well, I decided to take over the job and carry on the legend. After explaining everything to him and convincing him of my desire to continue fighting crime he agreed to help me.
Anyway, after a few modifications to the suit and its little gadgets, I put on the Twilight Man costume and started patrolling the streets as Millenia's new dark defender.
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