Now:
This is crazy! Spectrum thought to himself as he and Bala hurtled through the streets in Doctor Jasper’s old van.
Three days ago I was a kid on the verge of a fantastic education and a great life… now I’m a super hero, rushing to stop a bank robbery in an old beat up van… wearing tights. Absolutely crazy!“We’re here,” Bala announced as she rolled the van to a stop in an alleyway around the corner from the police standoff. Spectrum’s heart was racing; his palms were sweaty beneath the spandex-like flex-fiber gloves.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
Bala shrugged. “Whatever we have to. I’m more of a… play it by ear kinda girl myself.”
Spectrum grinned. “Personally, I like plans.”
She nodded. “You would. Our first obstacle is getting pass the cops surrounding the place. Any ideas?”
He shrugged. “I suppose I could try and talk to them.”
She rolled her eyes. “And when that doesn’t work?”
He grinned again. “Play it by ear.”
The two exited the van and slinked their way around the edge of the building. Bala waited, staying as hidden as possible, as Spectrum walked out openly. He made his way towards the police line and picked out the one he believed to be in charge. No one stopped him. Most were too stunned by his appearance to do anything but stare. A few reporters snapped some pictures and one or two people had the presence of mind to actually chuckle but most just stepped aside.
The officer in charge eyed him from boot to hair with a quizzical gleam. “This ain’t Halloween, boy. Get lost.”
Spectrum swallowed hard. “Sir, no disrespect, but perhaps we could be of help.”
“Kid, get lost before I have you arrested.” The officer’s thick mustache bristled with his frustration.
“Sir, I must insist. I am Spectrum and my partner and I have…”
“That is IT!” the officer roared. He reached to his belt for his handcuffs. Spectrum had to think fast. His eyes turned white, then dark and a glaring burst of whitish blue light blinded the officer and every other person nearby. The officer groaned and blinked, rubbing his eyes. By the time he could see again, he saw only the black and red clad man going into the door of the bank followed by a blonde haired woman also in tights.
Spectrum was operating on pure instinct at the moment as adrenaline coursed through his body. The moment they entered the bank, all hell broke loose. He dove left behind an information stand and Bala went right. Shotgun blasts tore holes through the wood grain above Spectrum’s head as pistol shots rang out against the
walls.
Spectrum sat huddled behind the rapidly disintegrating wooden stand. He breathed hard trying to collect himself. He closes his eyes for a moment then takes one last deep breath.
It’s now or never, he thought, then he was in motion.
Spectrum rolled out the other side from the stand releasing another burst of blinding light from his eyes. Bala came out swinging then too, she had been hiding behind a small cubicle and desk. Her chain-whip in hand, she yanked the shotgun from one of the criminals and tossed it to the side. She then went low and yanked his feet out from under him with it. His head smacked hard against the polished tan marble of the banks floor.
Spectrum leapt high, vaulting over the roped off path in the lobby. He had his arms to both sides and came crashing down into two of the robbers, forcing them to the ground. He grabbed their pistols and tossed them away then landed a heavy punch into the face of one of the robbers. The other had regained his feet, however, and picked up one of the heavy rope poles from the ground. He smashed it down hard on Spectrum’s back. He rolled away to the side, groaning.
Bala cart-wheeled over the barely conscious body of the first robber she dropped and kicked the gun from the hand of the next one. Two quick punches to his midsection bent him low then an uppercut sent him flying back over the teller’s counter.
Spectrum’s head and back throbbed. Through dazed vision he saw the robber raising the pole up high again to smash him with it. Instinctively, he reached down deep inside himself and let loose a blast of force energy from his eyes. The robber went flying across the room to smash into the wall behind Bala.
Bala went to Spectrum and helped him to his feet. He rubbed his head and muttered “Thanks.” She then went and collected the guns in one place and the two gathered the four robbers together in the center of the room and tied them with the fuzzy ropes from the banks queue path.
The hostages made their way quickly from the front of the building. As one was on her way out, however, she stopped in front of Bala. “Wait, miss… there was another robber.” She looked to Spectrum then both began glancing around the room.
“Back exit,” Spectrum said and vaulted over the teller’s counter, Bala right behind him.
As they stepped out into the back street they saw a dark colored older SUV in need of some repairs speeding away. A man leaned out of the passenger window and fired off several shots from his pistol towards the pair. He continued firing wildly as they went down the congested roads.
“If we don’t stop him, he’s going to kill someone,” Spectrum said grimly.
Bala was already in motion and rushed to the Doc’s van. Spectrum hopped in the passenger side and they were off in pursuit. Luckily for Spectrum and Bala, the police took several minutes to even realize what was going on, and even longer to mobilize themselves.
The robbers crashed through signs on the sidewalks, nearly running down several pedestrians. They careened around a sharp corner and headed the wrong way down a one-way street. Horns blaring, vehicles dodged around them. Several wrecked into walls or other vehicles. It took all of Bala’s enhanced reaction speed to maneuver around the chaos. The gunman continued to fire haphazardly behind him. A few bullets ricocheted off the old van’s grill. One struck the windshield, sending a ripple of cracks across the passenger side.
“He’s out of his mind,” Spectrum commented.
“Who’s more out of their mind, him for doing this or us for chasing him?” was Bala’s response.
Spectrum nodded. “Good point.”
“Look!” she pointed. The gunman had begun opening fire on the vehicles they darted around. He blasted out tires and sent the drivers into even more of a frenzied state. More cars crashed all around them.
“I’ve got to get off this road!” Bala said as she turned the wheel and took them down another side street. A sharp right at the next road and she floored the gas. Spectrum looked up each alleyway to the other road, noting the carnage.
“There!” he pointed as they passed the other vehicle.
“Hold on!” Bala demanded as she spun the wheel into a sharp right.
They passed just in front of the robbers’ vehicle. Spectrum timed a blinding flash perfectly just as they passed. The robbers barely missed clipping the van’s rear bumper by inches. The now blinded robbers slammed on their brakes and went sliding out from the road across an intersection with a major road and crashed through a protective fence surrounding a construction site. The old SUV slammed hard into some cement blocks and went flipping through the air then smashed into the upright steel girder of the building under construction.
Bala and Spectrum looked at one another, faces white as sheets. Sirens blared in the distance. “We better go,” she said. Spectrum nodded and they sped away from the scene.
X
