Violence & Variations

by Thomas Shaw

  David sat on the edge of the coffee table, facing him, "So, I'm going to guess you saw me do something strange last night?" David asked. John nodded, "Ok. Well, yes. I somehow have this ability to create electricity from my body"

  John took a deep breath, "Should I be worried?"

  "Why? I'm not going to hurt you. Just please, don't tell anyone"

  John relaxed a bit, he started asking questions like how he could actually shoot lightning. David smiled. He couldn't explain where it had come from, he'd been able to do it since he was very young. How was just a matter of willing it. He never used it unless he had to...or was too drunk to think. David pulled out a small portable battery for charging phones from us back pocket, "It's handy for this sort of stuff" He stuck his little finger in the charging port and John saw on the side, the LED lights that indicated the power level shot straight up, "See fully charged"

  "So, you don't have a constant discharge of energy?" John asked, becoming more and more intrigued.

  "No, I have control over it" David said, he looked down at his watch which was still dead. He flicked his fingers out on the same hand and the watch turned back on. The battery indicator flashed up and it went from 20% to 100% in seconds, "Unless I lose focus or my temper"

  "Like The Hulk"

  David smiled, "Yeah, like him"

  "Ever want to do anything with it?"

  "Job wise? No I don't really want-"

  John stopped him, "No, like superhero wise!"

  David tried to hold back laughter, "John, we're not living in a comic, or one of those films. This is real life. We don't have super villains trying to take over the world"

  "Real life yes, coming from the guy who can shoot lighting from his fingers" John said raising his eyebrows, "You know anyone else like you"

  David hesitated. Yes he did. But the others had asked him not to say anything to anyone. Funny that he had three friends, all who knew each other, yet didn't know the other ones had powers just like him. Seems everyone liked confiding in him, he often wondered if that was part of his powers. "No, just me" he sighed as he stood up, "And I don't think there is anyone else like me"

  "Then why aren't you on TV? Or the internet?"

  He laughed, "Yeah ok, I post a video of me online doing some of the stuff I can do and you think people will believe me? Come on, even I can put simple special effects in a video and post it. And the other side of it? I get hunted down by some shady government agency and torn apart for studying?"

  "I don't think that-"

  "-would happen to me? Have you seen the news? They're after a guy who's gone missing, and they think he's been killed, merely because he's very intelligent and as an advanced knowledge of robotics. A guy comes out who is able to manipulate electronic devices and you really think they'd let me live a normal life?" David had stood up now and was really raising his voice. He was echoing someone else now.

  A few moments of silence passed. In the distance, there was a faint bong of a clock tower. David heard this and looked at his watch. Ten O'clock. John did the same and stood up, "Right, erm, I have to go to the bank, need to discuss a loan"

  David felt bad, he hadn't meant to have a go at John. He didn't often discus his ability that much anymore. He had a thought and dug in his pocket for his wallet, "Seems I withdraw too much" he said as he pulled out a few £20 notes counting them as he tucked them back in his pockets, "Think I'll join you"

  Whilst waiting in line at the bank, David checked his phone messages from Amy.

  'David, you left your key card here, come back!'

  'Oi Sparky answer your phone!'

  'Dropped your key off on the way to Uni. Noticed you managed to get in the old-fashioned way lol. Call me when you're up and about'

  Smiling, he put the phone back in his pocket and took out his wallet. He was next in line, John was in a room speaking to an advisor about his loan.

  On the way to the bank, he had explained that him and his Fiancée had been together now for fourteen years, so it was about time they got married. He proposed a few weeks ago, but realizing they didn't have a lot of money, they both had started working longer hours. He worked at a car dealership and she worked in a care home. But with all the extra hours and shifts, there wasn't much time left to see each other so it seemed like the only other option was to take out a loan.

  The bank was quiet but not empty. Behind David stood a line of four other people. As usual with his bank, although there were six counters, there was only two people serving. Luckily, David was very patient. He wondered why he had withdrawn the money when he usually pays by card for everything. Then he remembered. He started having stupid thoughts about manipulating the machine to not charge his card, but: 1. He knew it was wrong and illegal, and 2. Knowing the state he was in, it probably would've backfired on him. To be sensible he had left the bar and withdrawn a handful of money. He rubbed his tired eyes and as he did, his watch started to vibrate. He checked the screen, 'Sam Calling'. He was about to get his phone but he was called to the counter so he ignored it, he'd call him back as this shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes.

  As he approached the counter, the woman at the other side jumped and stared behind David. He spun round and watched as six men, wearing dark brown baggy clothing and hoods marched through the large doors. Their faces were hidden by the hoods. David ducked down and watched as a seventh man, this one in black, walked in behind them. He closed the large bank doors and locked them using the bolts on the door.

  "Everyone on the ground now!" The man in black called out in a calm tone. He had black cargo pants on, covered in pockets; they seemed pretty baggy as well. His black hoodie was torn and ragged at the ends of the sleeves. The hood was up and had a dark grey bit of metal at the top. David noticed he was wearing silver gloves which he noted as odd, they almost looked like they were metal. He stepped further into the bank. His footsteps sounded heavy as he walked further and further up to the counter. He was stood beside David now, "Don't even think about pressing the alarm, or even the silent alarm. We've deactivated both" He said softly to the teller. He turned and looked at David who was crouched down on the floor. David looked back at him, but was unable to see through the hood to his face. He could tell he was looking directly in his eyes but he said nothing. David turned to face the other hooded figures.

  They were stood holding what looked like rifles. David was no gun expert, he had all his firearm knowledge from playing games on his PC, but he could tell a gun when he saw one. Their cloaks looked handmade, they were made of old woven bags that had been sewn together. They were tall; the man dressed in black looked to be the same size as David but when he had walked past the other figures a few moments ago they seemed a lot taller. He could see no faces due to the large hoods keeping them in darkness, but he could make out little green lights under the hood. "Night vision goggles?" David said to himself under his breath, "Why? It's not night".

  "Cash. Now" He heard the man order the teller in a very quiet but demanding tone.

  David looked at the guns again but was distracted by their hands. They were all metal, robotic in nature. He was about to grab his phone when he was distracted by a cough. A familiar sounding cough. He looked to the other side of the bank to see John, crouched down in the doorway to one of the little rooms used for meetings. He was signaling to him to use his powers, although his signal looked like he was playing the piano, David could work out what he was trying to say and shook his head in disagreement. David saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw a man crawling away to the main entrance. One of the armed guards also saw him and stomped over. It bent down and grabbed the man by his collar. He lifted him up and the man managed to put his feet on the ground.

  The black hooded figure spun round, "Stay on the ground!" He shouted over to him. The man struggled to get free of the guard’s grip, but he was soon thrown back to the ground. The black hooded man turned back to the teller, "Hurry up. I haven't got all day" he said calmly.
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br />   David looked back at John who was still sat in the doorway. But then his eyes drew him to a man walking out of a corridor next to the room, holding out a small pistol. He was wearing a security uniform and a badge dangled from his neck as he walked out in to the room, gun raised. The six guards all raised their guns at him. The man next to David tuned his head towards the standoff but focused his attention on the money that was being placed into bags by the two staff members behind the counter.

  "Nobody move! Place your weapons on the ground!" the security guard shouted. His voice was breaking, it was clearly the first time something like this had happened to him.

  The black hooded figure didn't even say anything. Without even facing them, he raised his hand slowly and snapped his fingers. His six henchmen took aim and started firing. David leapt into action.

  It all happened so fast that David didn't even have time to think properly. Guns were fired on both sides. They missed the security guard and he missed them. David stood up, faced the six hooded figures, raised his hands and extended his fingers. An arc of electricity shot out of all four fingers on both hands and hit the closest guard. His clothing was set alight. David, keeping one hand aimed on the first one, moved his aim with his left hand to the second enemy. He missed and the lightning bolt shot past and set a potted plant behind it on fire. David stopped firing lightning and turned to face their leader. He jumped in shock to find him stood right against him. He was punched powerfully in the stomach, knocking him back and down to the ground. He was winded and in pain, his chest felt like it had been hit by a large mallet. The black hooded man stood over him and cocked his head. He turned, grabbed three bags of money from the counter and ran out of the building, followed by the five remaining guards. The one David hat set ablaze was still stood in its place but it wasn't firing anymore or moving. The smoke set the sprinklers off and the flames were extinguished, along with the plant David had ruined. The bank customers all stood and huddled together. Staff members started leaving the room, and started getting everyone together. David ignored them and as the smoke cleared, he walked up to the still standing henchman. But it wasn't a man, or even human. Stood, covered in black burn marks was a slim, very advanced robot. It looked professionally made and it reminded him of the robots that he had seen a few years ago on the news that the army was supposedly going to be using. It looked like it had had further modifications to its base design as some of the metal was different to the rest of its main body. Its head didn't resemble a human face. It was cylindrical with a green strip going all the way around, supposedly a visual device so it could 'see'.

  David heard talk around him, he could hear discussion of him using his powers and in the distance, the sound of sirens. David darted out of the bank and started running.

  As he was halfway down the street he could hear fast footsteps coming up from behind him. He spun round to see John chasing after him. He waited a few moments for him to catch up and they ran together.

  "We going back to yours?" John asked.

  "No. I've got a better idea"

  A waitress handed David two pints of beer over the bar and smiled at him. David nervously smiled back and went to sit down. John took his drink from him and they both downed a large mouthful.

  "What just happened?" John asked, still taking deep breaths from all the running.

  "I don't know myself, but I think running away may have been a bad idea. They're gonna have us on CCTV as well"

  John shook his head whilst taking another drink, "No, they guy I was in the room with said, just before they all walked in, that the security systems, including the live feed from the CCTV had gone offline. He preemptively called the police, just in case. Shame they took so long" David nodded in agreement and was going to say something but John carried on, "But it looks like we didn't need them! You did great!"

  "I stopped one and then got knocked down" David replied quietly. He was torn between unhappy that he did something and happy that he was actually able to do something.

  "You potentially saved all of our lives. If you hadn't have jumped in when you did, who knows what would've happened. David, think about it. Practice your abilities, do something amazing"

  David downed the rest of his pint and slammed the glass on the table, "I..." he started and then thought for a moment. He needed to make a call, "…I'll be back". He stood up and walked through the doors into the plaza the restaurant/bar was situated on. He pulled out his phone and started going through his contacts. He noticed the missed call from Sam, but he thought that was less important than this. He started calling.

  "David, you're awake" Amy said quietly, "I'm in a lecture right now, I what's up?"

  He took a deep breath, "I think we need to talk about something. Come out of the classroom. Make sure you're alone"

  Amy said nothing, but he heard rustling like she was gathering her things together. Minutes later she was back on and talking in her usual tone, "What's up? What did you do last night? Oh please say that you didn't do the thing with the lamp post again"

  David was too stressed to smile (although it was pretty funny when he did that prank), "Amy. I've just had to use my ability. In public" Amy didn't respond, she was still there, he could hear her breathing increase in the background. David continued, "John was with me too"

  "Your neighbor?" Amy asked.

  David confirmed and started explaining everything. He started from when he got home to Johns over enthusiastic plan to become a super hero.

  Amy laughed, "Yes! Let's do it!"

  "Amy! What have I told you? You're as bad as he is, you read those bloody comic books and-"

  "I read graphic novels, actually"

  "Same difference. Anyway, the point is, you've already been chased down once because you showed off your powers, you really don't want that happening again do you?"

  David was referring to an incident four years ago, which saw Amy being chased down after using her powers to blow up a car to win a bet. She was apprehended but got out by acting like she had played a trick and that it was all staged.

  "Come on, when are you going to drop that?" Amy asked, "And anyway, if this guy has a group of robots he's hardly your run of the mill bank robber, is he? Look, let me finish my lecture, then I'll head to yours"

  They said goodbye to each other and David hung up. Placing the phone in his pocket, he walked back inside and sat next to John. He had ordered him another drink. A coke this time though. It was only one in the afternoon after all. John was looking at an article on his phone, "Have you heard this, there's been at least three other bank heists in the last few months with the culprits descriptions matching the ones you just faced"

  "I wasn't telling the truth earlier when I said I hadn't met anyone else I with powers" David said as he raised the glass to his mouth, ignoring what John had just said.

  John looked at him and slowly put his phone back in his pockets. He was astonished that there were more people with powers, "How many?"

  "Three. I've just been speaking to one of them. I need to go talk to another one, but I haven't spoken to her in a very long time"

  From the way he was talking, it was obvious to John that something had happened between them. He didn't press, instead he stayed quiet and took a drink, finishing half of it in a few mouthfuls.

  "Want to come?" David asked, not taking his eyes off the bottles behind the bar.

  "You sure? Isn't this something that you-"

  "Excuse me!" David called over to the waitress. He looked back at John, "This was all your idea" the waitress came over and stood in front of David smiling, "Whiskey, double please. I'm going to need it"

  1.3

  David stood in front of the dark brown door. A dented door with a missing number, instead just a feint mark on the paint where a 12 once was. Stood behind him in the corridor was John, hands in pockets and head looking up and down the corridor. The flats they were stood in weren't situated in the best neighborhood and John was very nervous, even with David by
his side, "You going to knock or what?" He asked him. David had been stood in front of the door for nearly five minutes now. Finally, taking a deep breath, he knocked twice. The sound of clattering of plates came from the inside and then footsteps drew closer. The lock clicked twice, then the door swung open.

  A woman answered. She had long dark hair, thick rimmed glasses. She pursed her lips when she saw David and, without a word, went to close the door. David pushed on the door, keeping it open.

  "Laura. We need to talk"

  "We needed to talk months ago David. Now fuck off" Came a very upset voice from the other side of the door.

  "Hear me out" David replied, "It's important" after a moment the door went loose. Laura had let go and David pushed his way in, followed by John who closed the door gently behind him.

  Laura's home was a small two roomed flat. It was sparsely furnished; small, cheap coffee table, two seater sofa, plain white curtains. Her bed was to his right, double bed but with a single duvet. There were no pictures or prints on the wall, just a digital clock above the kitchen sink. David was shocked. Laura was very good with her money. The fact she was in this place was surprising. He had only found out that she'd moved, thanks to Amy. The room was cold, probably why Laura was wearing a thick blue jumper. She walked over to the kitchen counter and leant against the side.

  David stood by the door. His heart was racing, he hadn't seen her in a long time. And the last time he did is when he had walked out. She looked as good as she always had. Long, dark hair. Mostly straight but it hadn't been straightened. Thick rimmed rectangular glasses rested on the top of her head but she now put them in place. He was trying to work out if she was upset or angry, her usual deadpan expression, with her pout and her stern stare, never helping in these moments.

  "Are you going to spit it out or what?" She demanded. She fixed her eyes directly on David. John didn't know if she'd even seen him stood by the door.

  After a few seconds of silence, David sighed, looked her in the eyes and started, "I know what you can do"