Chapter 22

Michael

The shot rang out, a deep bang, echoing off the concrete walls. The world slowed down. My powers surged. I could see the bullet! A slug that spread into a dozen tiny metal pellets moving toward me in the air. They were moving fast, too fast for me to dodge at this close of range. I tried to move but got hit by nearly every pellet right in the chest.

I hit the ground hard, looking up at the concrete ceiling through the helmet’s visor, hyperventilating. My mind was racing, deep in panic. I just got shot! I thought. He shot me! What was I thinking, coming here? I could feel pain in the chest area, right where the slug hit me. Right near my heart. I’m dying….

I could hear Mary screaming again. More footsteps rushed over to me.

“Michael!” It was Sarah’s voice through my headphones. “Michael, that sounded like a gunshot! Are you okay?”

“Who is he?” one of the Scorpions said. “Is he one of ours?”

“I don’t know, man!” said the gangster who shot me. “I couldn’t tell with his helmet on. He just jumped out from behind the bed and…”

I lifted my head off the ground. If this is what it feels like to die… it’s not all that bad. I inspected my chest with my hand. It stung, but the pain was bearable. I could feel dozens of pellets roll off my skin as I sat up. They had imprinted in my skin without penetrating. I gave a huge sigh of relief. I’m alive!

I picked myself off the ground and stood on my feet, reigniting my powers. The tingling sensation was especially strong in my chest, right where I got shot. The Scorpions gazed at me, all of their jaws dropped. Mary’s too. The guy with the shotgun finally came to his senses and aimed the shotgun at me again. “Who are you?” he asked, his shaky finger on the trigger.

“I’m…” I caught myself. I’d almost told them my name. I quickly thought of the first superhero name that came to mind. “I’m Orion.”

All the gangsters leaned forward. “What did he say?”

“I’m Orion!” I repeated, louder this time.

They looked at each other in confusion, as if they couldn’t hear me. Mary was leaning forward too, eyebrows furrowed, concentrating to hear me. Communicating through a motorcycle helmet was a pain. The guy with the shotgun leaned in farther. “Huh?”

“I said! I AM ORI... oh forget it.” I surged my powers, feeling invincible. I ran toward the four Scorpions faster than their eyes could compute. I had to be careful; I didn’t want to kill anyone. Maybe I can intimidate them into leaving, I thought. I grabbed the mustachioed guy’s shotgun and effortlessly yanked it out of his hands, and then returned to my spot.

It took them all a few seconds to realize what’d happened. Suddenly the Scorpion’s gun was in my hands. Their eyes widened in alarm.

“Run!” I said, trying to sound threatening.

Either they couldn’t hear me, or they weren’t intimidated enough because the other three Scorpions aimed pistols at me. Note to self, I thought. Next time you try to steal guns from gangsters, make sure you steal all of them.

The three gangsters fired their guns repeatedly. This time I was ready. I spotted the bullets flying swiftly toward me. Each bullet flew just about as fast as… as a soccer ball shot. My goalie muscle memory kicked into gear. As each bullet approached, I swatted it hard, deflecting it toward the concrete walls. I was a blur of motion, blocking every bullet that came near me. My hands stung, but no worse than they would from blocking a soccer ball. The sound of gunshots and deflected bullets was deafening.

They finally stopped firing their rounds, their guns empty. They stared at me in disbelief, unsure of what to do. I sped toward them, suddenly appearing only a foot in front of them. They flinched in fear. “Run!” I said again.

This time I think they heard me because they turned tail and ran out of the Scorpion hideout, screaming and swearing as they left. I couldn’t help but smile in amusement—and in gratitude for surviving the encounter.

“Who are you?” Mary asked, her voice trembling. I turned toward her. She looked mystified by what I’d done but kept her distance. She still sat on the bed even though she was no longer handcuffed to it. I could see insecurity and anxiety in her eyes. She looked horrible. Well, don’t get me wrong, she was a pretty girl, but it looked like she hadn’t had a shower or a decent meal for a while. I shivered at the thought of what the Scorpions did to her over the past few days.

“I’m Orion,” I said loud enough for her to hear. I took a small step toward her.

She reeled away from me, getting off the bed. “Stay away from me!”

“I won’t harm you,” I said, my arms raised. She looked unconvinced. I pulled up my visor, revealing my non-glowing eyes only. “I’m here to rescue you. Take you back to your family.”

She didn’t say anything, just looked at my eyes, still unsure.

“You’re Mary Sanchez, right?”

She remained silent, but I could tell she recognized her own name. I pulled out her picture from my pocket and showed it to her. “You’ve been missing for a few days,” I stated. “Your family has been looking for you. They made these missing-person papers.” I inched closer to her as I spoke. She didn’t back away from me this time, looking between my eyes and her picture. I handed her the paper. She gazed at it for a while.

“How did you do that?” she asked, looking up at me. “Stop the bullets?”

“Well, I uh… I’m a superhuman.” It sounded weird, saying something like that without any sarcasm, but it was the easiest explanation. She looked like she believed me. “Come with me,” I said. “I’ll take you back to your family.”

She looked me in the eyes a little longer and then agreed with a nod. I instructed her to hold on tight while I carried her in my arms. I lowered my visor. With a surge of power, I bolted out of the Trotting Park and sped toward the city. She yelped in surprise by how fast we were moving but held firm.

I could get used to this, I thought. This is textbook heroism, right here. I saved the damsel in distress and I’m returning her in my arms to safety. Classic!

“I got the girl!” I said.

“Awesome, Michael!” Sarah said, sounding relieved.

“Mission accomplished,” Zack added. “Now bring her here to my house, so we can return her to her family.”

“No, I’m just going to take her to the Tucson Police Department,” I said. “They’ll contact her family and take care of her from there.”

“But, I thought it would be better for us to bring her in together. As a team, you know.”

“And reveal to her the bat cave?” Sarah said. “Michael can only do what he does if his identity remains a secret.”

“Yeah, but…” Zack went silent, unable to finish his thoughts. I could sense anger in his tone. “What about the $5000 reward?”

“I don’t care about the reward,” I said. “Especially if it would mean risking my identity.”

“Seriously? C’mon, Michael! Stop being such a wimp! You’ve got a helmet to hide your identity!”

“I’m almost to the police department. I’m just going to drop her off there.”

I could hear Zack grumbling over the line.

I ran around pedestrians and cars, nothing more than a streak of color and a gust of wind. Mary bravely looked around as I ran, trying to take in her surroundings. It had to be disorienting for her.

A moment later, we stopped at the corner of the police department building. I lowered Mary to the ground and she took a few seconds to walk off the dizziness. She looked at the police department, at her missing-person paper in her hand, and then back at me.

I pulled up my visor. “You’re safe now. Go find your family.”

She nodded, but remained in place, tilting her head. My eyes must still be glowing. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. She didn’t smile when she said it. Her face was emotionless. I could only imagine what being kidnapped for a few days by gangsters and being rescued by a super human can do to the psyche of a teenage girl.

“Happy to help.” I lowered my visor and burst into a sprint, leaving her in a gust of wind.