5.04

Michael arrived at the scene where he had watched Steamblast brutally attack Copter.

After asking around, he learnt that it had happened less than an hour before. Copter had been taken away to a hospital, but Steamblast hadn’t been captured.

“I know who you are,” said a random on the street. “You’re Excelsior. Wow, you look old.”

“Thank you.” Michael headed into one of the shops.

“You’re going after Steamblast are you? Don’t you think you’re getting too old for doing things like this? You look older than my grandmother.”

“Please stop pestering me.” Michael turned to the worker behind the counter of the jewellery shop. “Did you happen to see what happened between Steamblast and Copter?”

“I certainly did. It was my footage they used on the news.”

“What happened?”

“Look around you.” Michael looked around and realised the shop had been ransacked. He had been so distracted by the bystander and thoughts on Steamblast, he hadn’t noticed the state of the shop.

“I’m sorry about this. But what happened?”

“Steamblast had come in here and demanded what they usually demand. We complied of course; it keeps things easier that way. He destroyed my shop and took lots of expensive stuff.”

“And Copter?”

“Copter showed up during the robbery. He confronted Steamblast, saying it was his target. He had wanted to rob this shop for months and today was finally the day. You can imagine how worried I was, learning this shop was the target of two criminals.”

“What happened next?”

“The two of them went outside. That was when I followed with my phone. I had always wanted to be a journalist, but you know what its like with dreams. Most people barely get to fulfill them.”

“Yep.” The bystander that had been following Michael since he arrived was still standing by his side.

“They exchanged a few words. Mostly insulting each other’s age and stuff like that. Steamblast was definitely the more aggressive one of the two.”

“That sounds about right,” said the bystander.

“Anyway, it turned into a quick fight between the two. Copter started it but Steamblast ended it, and quickly. He made quick work of Copter and knocked him out hard.”

“Did you happen to see what direction Steamblast went in afterward?”

“Oh I think…” she furrowed her brow. “No. I was too busy filming the state of Copter that I never noticed which way Steamblast went. Sorry.”

“I know which way he went,” said the bystander.

“Which way?” snarled Michael.

“That way. Yep, for sure.” The bystander pointed down the street toward another shop. This one sold expensive artwork.

Michael hurried on down toward his next destination and the bystander followed.

“I understand you’re curious. But this could be dangerous. Maybe you should stay back there?” said Michael.

“And miss my favourite hero in action? I don’t think so. I’m gonna film it all and make money on the internet. Almost everybody still knows who you are.”

“I can’t be held responsible if you do get hurt. I warned you.”

“I understand and that’s okay. If I get hurt in the video, it’ll only help me get more views. My name’s Dirk by the way. Nice to meet you.” Michael stopped and turned to shake hands, only to see Dirk was already filming with his camera.

“People these days,” Michael mumbled.

Michael made it to the next shop and caught sight of a police officer exiting the shop. They turned and saw Michael.

“It’s already been sorted, thanks.”

“I just want to talk to them.”

“I can’t stop you from doing that, but we’ve already got everything we need. You heroes need to let us do our jobs. You can’t take all the credit for everything.”

“No, I know. I understand. If you can just tell me what they said?”

“Nope. You just have to help they tell you the truth, and just so you know, they didn’t like talking.” The officer rolled their eyes and walked off. Michael was sure he heard the officer mumble an insult about heroes under their breath as they walked away.

“Ohh, a bitter rivalry between heroes and police officers. Are heroes just showboating, egotistical people? Is that why they wear such outlandish costumes instead of a matching uniform? What do the police actually think of heroes?” Dirk narrated as he filmed.

Michael entered the micro art gallery. It too had been destroyed, just like the jewellery shop. It looked like only one art piece had been taken though. Michael approached the worker.

“This is Excelsior, and he wants to know what happened here and where Steamblast went.” Michael went to open his mouth but closed it again.

The worker was a man that looked to be in his early fifties. He was balding on top and had an earring. He wore a white shirt and tie.

“My name is Deacon. I’ve already told the police what happened.”

“Yeah, but this is Excelsior and I’m streaming this on the net.” At the mention of it being streamed, Deacon suddenly stood up straight and put a smile on his face.

“Oh well, if you’d just opened with that, I would’ve been helpful right away. How do I look?” Dirk gave a thumbs up at Deacon.

“Well, I watched the confrontation unfold on the street between Copter and Steamblast. It was pretty violent. Once Steamblast had knocked out Copter, I ran back inside. I just had this feeling you know?” Deacon kept looking directly at the phone. “I started to lock away some of the art pieces. Its like I’ve got the gift or something. Because sure enough, Steamblast came here next.”

“What happened?” Michael asked.

“We’ve got a hundred and fifty thousand people watching right now.” The excitement in Dirk’s voice was laid on thick. Deacon quickly ran his hand over his head.

“Well Steamblast came in here, wielding his gun. He demanded the most expensive piece of art we owned. Of course, that was the first thing I locked up.”

“So what did you do?”

“Two hundred thousand.”

“Look, I don’t care that you’re filming. But please don’t keep interrupting me.” Michael’s patience was running thin.

“I gave him a nice piece of art and said it was the most expensive. However, it was one of our cheapest pieces of art in this building.”

“Then what happened?”

“The sirens started, and he ran out.”

“In what direction?” Deacon stepped out of the shop and pointed further down the street.

“He turned right at that intersection.”

“Did you tell the police that?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“They weren’t filming.”