Sparrowhawk and All-Star: Love, American Style

Alex Harper, aka the heroine Sparrowhawk, groggily opened her eyes from a nice, peaceful night of sleeping. Well, as peaceful as sleeping next to Nate Carter, the pistol wielding, patriotic agent known as All-Star could be, anyways. Her arm glided over to touch him, only to feel that his side of the large bed was currently unoccupied. Alex rolled over as her fingers felt a small piece of paper upon the currently unused pillow, which was in fact a hastily scribbled note addressed to her.

"Stepped out for a few. Looked like you needed the extra sleep. Don't get into any trouble without me. Love, Nate," she read out loud, allowing herself a faint smile.

Alex yawned and sat up, taking time to admire the beautiful historic hotel room they were occupying. Four days in Prague was a nice getaway for the both of them, even if it was really just business. She was glad that Nate agreed to accompany her to Europe in order to take down crime boss Bednar Prochazka, also known in underworld circles as 'Major Mangalica'. The mission wasn't as easy as she initially thought, and the extra manpower was helpful. Now that Bednar was finally taken down and out of the picture, Alex and Nate decided to spend an extra day in Prague in order to celebrate.

As she stood up, she stretched and went to the bathroom. She pushed back her blonde hair and adjusted her shorts, which actually were a pair of Nate's boxers. A hot shower was in order to start the day, or at least until Nate decided to show up. She set the scribbled note he left her on an ornate table as she passed it, and a smile again passed her lips. Nate...

It was interesting how far they had come, she mused. Their initial meeting was etched firmly in her mind, like most things with her exceptional memory. His jokes and flirting were actually off-putting to her at first, his asking her for dates and his insistence at even getting her real name. When it came down to it, he was a professional, through and through. It's really what intrigued her in the first place. It was definitely not the cocky attitude or irrelevant (and sometimes annoying) humor he displayed that won her over. It was the things others didn't always see. Nate had a huge heart and always defended the underdog, probably moreso than any other hero she had encountered. He was caring to a fault (even if he had trouble at times relaying it properly). His ability to live life to the fullest impressed her. Still, he hid a lot of things from others, most notably his pain, but eventually he opened himself to her to share even that. It allowed her to see more than just the brash, mouthy gunslinger so many knew him as. In the end, you love someone for all that they are, rather than merely picking and choosing their best qualities. Nate had a lot to love.

As she entered the bathroom a knock came from the door. She was just about to start the shower and her brow furrowed. The knock upon the door was repeated and, smoothing out her rumpled white tank top she slept in, Alex exited the elegant looking bathroom to return to the living room area of the hotel suite. Nate probably forgot the keys to the room... again. She shook her head a bit. No matter where on the planet they were, that man was bound to leave something behind.

"Comi..." Alex began to say, crossing over posh nineteenth century rugs to answer the knocking. All of a sudden, the door literally exploded with a thunderous noise, sending shards of wood splintering in all directions. With less than a second to react, Alex dove down to the ground as smoke poured in through the door opening.

Armed men ran through the now large opening where the door had been at only moments before, each garbed in black military attire. Black matching ski masks and goggles adorned their faces. Alex quickly noted there were six men, four of them carrying Skorpion vz. 61 sub machine guns. A seventh stepped into the room as the other men surrounded her in a semi circle. He was a bald, severe looking man with an eyepatch and black leather coat. His face was rugged and worn, probably displaying an age far older than his actual chronological birth date. One of his hands was gloved; the other fitted with a sword as some sort of prosthetic. As he approached he looked at Alex with obvious disdain. She stood up cautiously into a semi crouch, her hands raised.

"I will speak to you in English, so you may better understand me: I am Wütender Nachtkrapp, although to you I would be known as the Angry Night Raven. I have been told that this is where I might find Nathan Carter, also known as 'Agent All-Star'? As you can see, I don't have much time... so where is he?" the man said, his voice carrying a thick accent as he spoke.

"I'm sorry. What tragic, tragic Ian Fleming knock off novel did you come from?" Alex said, taking the time to quickly observe her surroundings and the men in front of her. "The eyepatch is charming. It honestly pulls the entire look together."

"We can make this easy or we can make this painful. I am fine with either chioice," Wütender Nachtkrapp asked with a bored sigh, raising his sword- hand at her from behind his armed bodyguards. "Speak up."

Alex paused, her arms still in the air. "Seven of you against me. That's hardly fair."

Wütender Nachtkrapp offered her a smile back, exposing teeth that had obviously never seen the touch of an orthodontist. "Then you'll just have to answer my question."

Alex's brow lowered. "I meant it wasn't fair to do to you."

With that, Alex flipped in the air, both of her feet connecting directly into the chests of two of the armed men in front of her. Their guns went off as they stumbled back, one of them riddling the man next to him with bullets. With her kick she pushed herself back with the flip, landing on the other side of the room. The men with guns opened fire, and she managed to grab one of her bio electric batons, thankfully laying on the floor by the antique bed, before she was forced to jump from the oncoming bullets. The bed was pummeled with a hail of gunfire from their weapons, stuffing and feathers going up in a cloud.

Alex's bio electric baton hummed as she held onto it, and a surge of electrical energy danced from its tip. A crackle of blue lightning surged forth, embracing two of the men carrying guns. They were hurled with such force it literally knocked them through a wall and out of the room. Pressing forward, she jumped directly at the remaining guards. Her eyes took in that one of them, a man wielding a gun who she had just kicked was picking himself up. Alex grabbed one of the unarmed men by the shoulder, swinging him around just in time to be used as a shield for the path of bullets. As he took the barrage of bullets, she pushed the body at Wütender Nachtkrapp to momentarily distract him. Upon doing that, she hurled her baton at the shooter, knocking him squarely in the face with the Questionite made weapon.

One of the henchman poised himself behind Alex, a long knife drawn from his belt. He lunged at Alex as she hurled the baton, and with only catching him for a brief second in her peripheral vision was grazed in her arm. Still, the cut stung her. Only momentarily startled, she extended her fingers on her hand, jutting them outward and striking the man in his throat. He went down quickly, making a gagging noise as he attempted to get air. The last knife wielder and Wütender Nachtkrapp were then on Alex. She dodged the thrust of the hand sword and focused her chi, kicking the knife wielder with such strength she heard something audibly snap.

"Underestimated you..." the eye patched man said, swinging again at Alex as she ducked under him. She could tell he was well versed in using his sword. He was fast... but she was slightly faster.

"I get that a lot, it seems," Alex said curtly, tossing a table at him to get some distance from his weapon.

He filleted the centuries old furniture with his sharp blade as he moved closer. Alex saw her other bio electric baton on the floor and dove for it. As her hand grabbed it, she lifted it overhead, just in time to meet yet another swing of the madman's sword. The clang of metal on metal filled the room instead of the previous gunfire as Alex and Wütender Nachtkrapp began to duel with their chosen weaponry. He was quicker than what she thought just moments ago, and as he continued to engage her she realized he actually was growing faster in his attacks. For every strike, the other seemed to counter it. Alex grimaced. He obviously had some sort of super human power... though her annoyance soon turned to perseverance.

Wütender Nachtkrapp slashed at her, and as she tumbled he cut through a seventeenth century tapestry hanging on a wall. Alex tried to maintain her focus by observing her opponent's movements and body language, though at his current speed he was making it hard to do. His strength was also growing exponentially, she noted, thinking his powers must be channeled through his adrenaline levels. The impacts were increasing in severity. One strike from him passed her defensive stance, tagging her in the thigh.

"Damn you, American whore, will you just die already!" he cursed through clenched teeth.

Alex decided she was completely over this battle, and it needed to end, now. She saw an opening as he spoke, just the briefest of missteps... but it was all she had. Feeling her chi rising within her, she lifted herself up off the ground in a spin, her baton sparking electricity. The metal baton connected directly with his forehead, sending him sprawling onto the remnants of the battered bed. He coughed once, his entire body shivered from the conductivity of the baton's charge, then passed out.

"That was lovely," Alex said, rolling her eyes as she went to check on Wütender Nachtkrapp.

As Alex leaned over Nachtkrapp to check his vitals, she failed to notice the man she struck in the throat slowly get up. He quietly attempted to move towards a nearby gun amongst the wreckage that was just minutes before a gorgeous room. As his fingers touched it, the bodyguard was struck in the head by a flying box of chocolates. Blood splurted from the sheer force of the velocity of the small, heart shaped container. As he crumpled, another figure, the one who had used the candy as a weapon, walked through the gaping, still smoking hole of a doorway.

"Al!" the man said. Alex looked up to see Nate Carter, aka All-Star, standing over the unconscious bodyguard. He lowered his trademark sunglasses, first to stare at the wrecked state of the hotel suite and then to meet her gaze. "What the hell? I leave for just a few minutes and I come back to find you in just your underwear surrounded by a bunch of guys. Well, actually my underwear, but whatever."

Alex smirked at Nate's comment, then pointed to Wütender Nachtkrapp. "Old friend of yours, I take it?"

"Aw, jeez," Nate noted, rubbing his Van Dyke as he saw the man on the floor. "Yeah. Had a run in a few years back while on assignment. Typical loser of the week. Piss poor poker playing skills, too. Long story on that one. Anyways, you okay, Al?"

"When am I not?" she responded, cracking her neck as she stood to approach him.

"Maybe now's not the best time to point it out, but I just possibly saved your life," he said jokingly with a smile, thumbing to the assailant he knocked out. "I think you kind of owe me."

Alex heard the sirens of the Policie České Republiky as they were finally arriving at the hotel. "I always seem to be owing you." She leaned in to kiss him softly, and as she did he pulled her closer.

"So. Al?" Nate whispered.

"Yes, Nate?" she answered, backing up to look at him in the eyes.

"I hope they aren't going to be charging us for the room being trashed," he said with a bit of a nervous laugh thrown in. "Because if they are, I should let you know right now I only have twenty bucks on me."

Alex leaned her head into his chest lovingly, allowing herself a small chuckle.