by Nolan Fury
"This guy says he'll only talk to you," the officer said, handing the radio to Surge.
"Me?" Surge flashed us a curious look as she took the radio. "This is Surge. How can I help you?"
A man's voice filtered through the small speaker. He was surprisingly casual and upbeat, considering the situation. ”So good to hear your voice."
Surge's face tensed, and her cheeks flushed. “What are you doing, Scar?"
"I always wanted to rob a bank." He made it sound like it was a glorious accomplishment. Something to be proud of.
"Let the hostages go,” Surge demanded.
"I'm more than willing, if certain demands are met."
"What demands?" Surge asked.
"I think perhaps we should discuss those face-to-face.” He paused a moment. “Tell the goon squad to back off. I'm coming out. If anything happens to me, the hostages will die. I've got MegaStrike and SuperFrost with me. You remember them, don't you? They are much less civilized than I am. I have to admit, I'm having a hard time keeping them from going overboard. If it was up to them, half the hostages would be dead already. No one wants that, do they?”
Surge looked to the officer in charge. He nodded and called to the other officers. "Stand down! One of the perps is coming out to negotiate."
There were subtle moans and groans from the officers. They would have preferred just to shoot it out.
Moments later, the lobby door opened, and Scar stepped out of the bank. I guess you could say he was a handsome man. He had long flowing blonde hair and chiseled features. But he just looked like a douche-bag to me. He had a smug grin on his face. He strolled down the bank steps and across the street like he owned the place.
"You used to date that guy?" I muttered.
"Don't remind me," Surge said.
"I'm seriously questioning your judgment in men."
"Doesn't say much for you, does it?" She quipped.
Scar strolled up to Surge, looking like he expected a warm welcome or a hug. "Look at you. You are even more stunning than I remember."
"What do you want, Scar?" Surge asked, tired of his nonsense.
"I see you're still hanging out with the same group of losers." His eyes flicked to me. "Plus some new ones."
I wanted to punch the guy in the face.
The douche-bag addressed the group. "I'd like a private word with Surge. So, if you children would run along and let the adults speak." He shooed us away with his hand.
This guy was really getting on my nerves.
Surge gave us a nod to back off.
I grumbled to myself and stepped a few feet back. I could hear everything that was said between them, and I was close enough to step back in if things got out of hand. I didn't know what this guy was capable of. I pulled up his stat screen.
[Name: Unknown.]
[Nickname: Scar.]
[Power: Shifter, Strength.]
[Level: 11.]
[Special Attribute: Unknown.]
Shit. This guy was dangerous. No doubt about it.
"I have to be honest, I had an ulterior motive,” Scar said.
"You mean, besides robbing the bank?" Surge asked.
"I was hoping you'd be the one to come. I knew you wouldn't see me otherwise."
"So, you robbed a bank and took hostages just so you could speak with me? Am I supposed to be flattered?”
"How many other guys would go to such lengths just to speak with the woman of their dreams."
"You had your chance."
"Perhaps you're the one who missed an opportunity?"
Surge sneered at him.
"I'm willing to give you another shot with me. If it will make you feel better, I'll release the hostages, provided you come away with me. It’s so much more fun on this side. I promise. No stuffy rules. Pure indulgence."
"No thanks."
Scar looked genuinely surprised. "You mean, you are willing to let all these hostages die when you could just come away with me and have the time of your life?”
"Is that really what this is about?"
Scar grinned. "Let's just say I wanted to kill two birds with one stone. I have my reasons for wanting to rob the bank, and maybe I can persuade you to switch teams. It’s a win/win.”
Surge rolled her eyes.
“Maybe if you saw what you were missing, you’d leave that silly academy. You’re on a losing team right now. Change is coming.“
"I don't know what you've been smoking, but you've clearly lost your mind."
Scar smiled. "I can't help it. I'm just crazy about you."
“It didn’t work out between us before, what makes you think it will now?”
“Hope springs eternal.” Scar smiled.
“Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I found somebody else.”
Scar scoffed. “Who? Ranger?” He dismissed the idea as soon as he said it. His eyes flicked to me. “Not the pathetic newbie?”
My jaw flexed, and my fists tightened.
Surge’s face tensed.
Scar chuckled, amused by the prospect of Surge and I together. “I’ll give you five minutes to decide. If you don’t leave with me, I'm going to go back in there and tear those hostages apart, one at a time."
Scar spun around and strutted back into the bank.
13
"Can you get inside the lobby?" Surge asked Zepha.
"Consider it done," Zepha replied.
She dissipated into the air, barely visible. Like mist, she floated with the breeze and drifted across the street. Her translucent smoke-like form vanished almost completely. She was nothing more than a barely perceptible distortion in the air. She slipped into the lobby through the cracks in the door.
Zepha moved around inside the bank in her mist-like state, unnoticed. My head soon filled with her voice. “The cop was right. There are three of them."
Surge heard her too. ”Do you think we can take them?"
“I think we should try.”
Surge glanced to me and Ranger. “Get up to the roof. See if there’s an access point.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’ll figure something out. Wait for my signal.”
Ranger leapt into the air. I followed suit. I launched into the sky like a rocket. With the wind in my face, I soared above the street. An instant later, I landed on top of the roof.
The bank was on the first floor of a 20 story building. HVAC units, piping, and conduit covered the roof. Ranger and I scaled the obstacles, moving toward an access door. Ranger grabbed the handle and ripped the locked door from its hinges. It tore away like tinfoil. I followed him into the stairwell, and we spiraled down.
“I’ll take the opposite stairwell, and we’ll flank them,” Ranger said after we had descended a few floors.
He pushed through the steel fire door and ran down the hallway to the opposite staircase.
I continued my descent, trying not to make a sound on the metal steps. I reached the bottom floor and moved to the door. I hovered there for a moment, waiting to hear from Surge. But patience had never been my strong suit. I twisted the door handle gently and eased the door open just a hair. I peered into the hallway.
SuperFrost stood in front of the vault, using his powers to freeze the heavy steel door. A cool blue beam flowed from his outstretched palm. Ice-cycles hung from the vault handle, and the door itself was frosted with a sheet of ice.
SuperFrost stood about 6 feet tall. He wore a shiny, silver suit, with dark blue accents. His muscles weren’t bulky, but were well defined. His formfitting suit displayed his ripped abs and sinewy muscles.
The vault door popped and crackled as ice formed and the metal cooled. Thin wisps of icy fog wafted from the frigid surface.
Once the door was cooled well below subzero temperatures, SuperFrost balled his hand into a fist and cocked his arm back. He swung at the door with all his might.
The heavy vault door shattered into a million particles, made rigid from the cold. Shards of metallic
crystals pinged across the floor like broken glass. Debris crunched under SuperFrost’s feet as he stormed into the vault. I heard him smash something—probably a safe deposit box.
A moment later, he marched from the vault “Got it!“
SuperFrost disappeared around the corner, moving back toward the lobby.
I pushed into the hallway and leaned around the corner. I could see the hostages huddled in an office adjacent to the lobby. Tears streamed from red puffy eyes. Tortured faces were bathed with fear and uncertainty. A scrawny guy in a suit begged for his life as MegaStrike approached.
"What are we going to do with them?" MegaStrike asked.
"Kill them," Scar said. “It's not like we need them.”
The hostages shrieked with terror. Moans and sobs filled the air. Desperate pleas for mercy spewed from terrified lips.
Zepha drifted around the lobby as a distorted swirl of air. The evil supers hadn't noticed her yet.
MegaStrike reared his hand back, and a ball of white energy formed in his palm. I didn't need to pull up my stats screen to know what his ability was. He wore a navy suit with lightning bolt accents. He was about to send a bolt of lightning into the crowd of hostages.
I saw Zepha streak across the lobby. She swirled into a furious funnel cloud, encircling MegaStrike. Before he could unleash his electric charge, Zepha's tornado-like winds threw him across the lobby. He crashed through a pane of glass, flopping into a neighboring office. Crystalline shards showered in all directions. MegaStrike slammed into a conference table, splintering the mahogany like balsa-wood. The table legs collapsed.
Having expended her energy, Zepha materialized in the lobby, taking a defensive posture.
SuperFrost was about to throw a freeze beam at her, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I charged at him. Just like my fight with Crusher in the cafeteria, I left the ground and flew across the lobby. I planned on ramming into the overgrown ice cube. But Frost spun in my direction and hit me with a freeze beam.
Ice encased my body, and I crashed to the ground. The thick block of ice enveloped me like a sarcophagus. The heavy slab slammed to the ground and slid a few feet from the momentum.
I couldn’t move or breathe. I had never considered myself claustrophobic, but this totally freaked me out. I summoned all of my strength and flexed my body, breaking free of the frozen tomb. Chunks of ice clattered across the floor, and I sprang to my feet.
SuperFrost threw another beam at me.
I held up my hand—an instinctual reaction to deflect the blow. What happened next surprised the hell out of me. A glowing blue energy shield formed in front of me. I absorbed the frigid beam. The energy shield was just like the one Surge had created. Had I somehow acquired her powers?
I didn't have time to check my stat screen. I formed a ball of energy in my hand and threw it like a baseball at SuperFrost. The glowing ball raced toward him, but he created a wall of ice. The ball of energy slammed the frozen wall, and chunks of ice toppled to the ground.
Scar morphed into a hulking behemoth. The vaulted ceilings of the bank lobby rose into the air 20 feet—Scar’s transformation took him almost to the ceiling. His grotesque orc-like features caused the lobby to fill with terrified screams from the hostages. Large fangs protruded from his lower lip. Razor-sharp claws extended from his massive hands. His bulky muscles were rippled and striated. He flexed like a bodybuilder and roared, rumbling the entire structure.
I could smell his foul breath across the room. A twinge of fear rumbled in my stomach. His cold gaze focused on me. I was going to be his next victim.
Ranger attacked SuperFrost from behind, tackling him. The two crashed to the ground, and the crystal launched from Frost’s hand. It scuttled across the lobby floor. I didn't know what it was, but I assumed it was valuable. I dashed for it, but the swipe of Scar’s fist sent me flying across the room.
I crashed through the teller window, shattering bulletproof glass and splintering the wood counter. Paper currency fluttered in the air as the cash drawers broke apart.
Scar scooped the crystal into his massive palm.
Surge stormed in through the front door, blocking the exit.
I crawled out of the wreckage and squared off against the green ogre. But a lightning bolt from MegaStrike knocked me back on my ass. Blinding light filled my eyes, and it took me a moment to regain my wits.
MegaStrike focused his attention on Surge, sending another jagged bolt in her direction.
Surge formed an energy shield, deflecting the charge.
I created an energy ball in my hand and hurled it at MegaStrike. It slammed into his torso, knocking him into the wall. He absorbed the energy. It didn’t kill him.
Chrome charged Scar. Her arm formed into a large broadsword with razor-sharp edges. The blade glimmered in the light. She let out a primal growl as she stabbed the blade into Scar’s back. But it didn’t penetrate his skin. Instead, the blade curled around his tough exterior.
Rage twisted on the ogre’s face. He roared and backhanded Chrome. But his fist passed through her liquid metallic body, separating it into two distinct blobs. Small particles of metal sprayed out upon impact. Like a magnet, Chrome pulled the parts back together and re-formed.
Chrome snarled and leapt through the air like she was going to tackle the ogre. As she wrapped her arms around the beast, her liquid metallic form enveloped his body like a mold. Then her metallic body hardened, encasing Scar inside.
My eyes widened with astonishment. I had never imagined such a thing possible, and it was amazing to see. But my joy didn’t last long.
Scar flexed his massive muscles, ripping through Chrome’s makeshift tomb. Metal twisted and warped, and the big beast pried himself free. Scar climbed out of the metallic sarcophagus and barreled toward the exit like a freight train.
He bowled over Surge and smashed through the glass doors. Shards scattered everywhere. The metal door frame twisted. Scar stomped across the sidewalk, leapt into the air, and sprang from the roof of a car, crunching it like a tin can. He vaulted into the sky, transforming back into his normal shape.
MegaStrike and SuperFrost followed, racing out of the lobby in a blur.
I staggered to my feet, still woozy from the bolt of lightning.
“Are you okay?” Surge asked.
I nodded.
Zepha materialized out of the air next to me. Ranger staggered to greet us. Chrome re-formed.
The terrified hostages huddled in the office, not quite believing the chaos was over.
Surge moved to reassure them. “You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I’m never going to be okay,” a woman said. “I’m traumatized for life. I wish all you supers would just go away.”
An emergency response team flooded into the lobby with their weapons in the firing position. They were a day late and a dollar short. Dressed in black tactical gear and helmets, they cleared the room with textbook precision. Shouts of “Clear” filled the room.
The officer in charge strolled in behind them with a disgruntled look on his face. He surveyed the demolished lobby and shook his head. “Think you could have made a bigger mess?”
“Hey!” Surge shouted, anger creasing her face. “The hostages are still alive.”
The officer in charge didn’t seem to care. “I can see the headlines now. Supers save day. Demolish bank.”
Surge looked to the rest of us. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You people never have to deal with the aftermath, do you?” the officer in charge muttered with disdain.
Surge ignored him.
I shot him a dirty look as I brushed by.
Reporters and camera crews swarmed the sidewalk. Red and blue lights from the patrol cars flickered. Crowds of onlookers had gathered.
“Do you know who perpetrated this crime?” the reporter asked, shoving a microphone in Surge’s face.
Cameras flashed.
“What were they after?”
&
nbsp; “Were they members of the Academy?”
“Crime by supers has skyrocketed. What do you plan to do about it?”
Surge ignored them all. We flew to the dropship, which still hovered in the sky above the bank. Chrome extended her metallic arm, gripping the side of the craft. She pulled herself up and climbed into the cargo bay.
Surge mashed the button on the bulkhead, and the side door slid shut. We all buckled into our safety harnesses and Zepha flew us back to the Academy.
The somber mood kept everyone silent for a few minutes. Then Ranger finally verbalized what everyone was thinking. "I can't believe we just got our asses kicked."
"At least we're all still alive, and none of the hostages were killed," Surge said.
"Amen to that, sister," Zepha said.
Surge’s eyes flicked to me, and she surveyed me curiously. "And you! How did you learn how to manipulate energy?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. It just happened."
Surge checked my stats screen. “Un-fucking-believable! You leveled up, and you gained energy manipulation."
"He's an Omni," Chrome said. "What did you expect? He takes on the attributes of those who have feelings for him. Just think how much of your power he’ll have once you start fucking him."
“Who said I'm going to fuck him?" Surge replied.
Chrome grinned lasciviously. "Well, if he's back on the market again, I'll put my hat in the ring."
Surge scowled at her.
"So will I," Zepha whispered into my head telepathically.
14
A lot of hot-button issues swirled around in the media on Vega Station. But one was always front and center.
Coverage of the bank robbery transmitted across every channel. I watched with Chrome, Surge, Zepha, and Ranger in Zyrco's office.
A large display screen showed a reporter standing in front of the bank building. "Supers terrorized hostages and demolished the Vega Bank Building today. Cash was left untouched in the vault, and the perpetrators appeared to be after a specific item contained within a safe deposit box. Fortunately, the Vega PD thwarted the robbers. But the incident has sparked an outcry among residents, with one council member proposing a ban on supers altogether.”