Just Your Ordinary Invincible Bystander: Chapter 4
Jane was burning through her money too quickly. At this rate, it wasn’t even going to last her a full month, all just from repairs.
At least Scooter wasn’t bored, happily playing some mobile game on Jane’s phone. It’s the weekend, and Legacy was too sore to look after Scooter, so she had to bring him along this time.
“Hello Jane.” She’s been here enough times the last few weeks that she was recognised on site. “Another deposit today?”
The desk worker smiled softly. “Trouble resisting the urge to splurge now that you have the money?” Intended as just a lighthearted joke.
Jane didn’t laugh. “Repairs.” She also didn’t get into why. She just stood there blank while the worker’s humoured smile faded away to nothing. Neither of them noticed the group entering the bank.
“Bad luck, eh? Well I hope it picks up-”
Jane turned around at the sudden yelling, seeing a group of masked people with guns. She knew that logically she was under no threat, her instincts still gave her fear. But, more importantly, she – very gently – put her hands on Scooter’s shoulders, and guided him to the ground with her.
“What are you doing…?” Scooter complained, loudly enough that Jane can barely overhear her over the sounds of screaming. He pushed down the feeling of these strange people using guns in front of him, and the sudden spike in his heartbeat. “You’re a superhero, this is your big moment…!”
Jane turned straight to Scooter, glaring at him. “Not now.”
“Not now.” She replied, more stern. “I know you’re going to be upset, but right now I need you to listen to me. Your safety is the most important thing in the world.”
She watched one of the gunmen turn up to her and Scooter, and she can feel her fur stand on end – and her hand on Scooter’s shoulder could feel the same of his fur, too. “There’s a kid here.” She let out the breath she didn’t have at the stranger’s concern.
“So?” She snapped her gaze to one of the other shooters who stood atop the counter to see everything going on, the rest now behind the counter, getting cash filled up. She could feel the anger flaring up in her.
“That’s fucked up, we can’t hold him here-”
Scooter gave a dirty look at the burglar, as if he was being insulted. He’s 12! Practically a teenager!
“One hostage could be the difference between us getting through with this or not.” The one in charge was clear, with a paradoxically soft yet commanding voice. “I don’t like it, you don’t have to like it either, but we’re not taking any chances.”
“If we have to release hostages he can be the first one, but we cannot take any risks.”
They continued directing the theft, gathering up cash into their bags as they went.
Scooter squirmed out of his jumper to escape Jane’s ironclad grip, marching up to the gunner, who (hesitantly) raised their gun up at Scooter. “You’re not getting-”
“Scooter! Get back here!”
Jane immediately put a foot forward, hitting the ground hard enough to crater it on impact, grabbing the back of Scooter’s shirt. She dragged her brother back, her breath heavy and ragged.
“Let me go! They’re bad guys, you can kick their asses!”
“Brave child, hm?” The lead gunner turned away from directing the money to the potential hazard of a disobedient hostage. “Fancy yourself a hero?”
“Don’t you dare.” Both Jane and one of the gunners spoke in unison, their gaze on the leader.
“My sister’s a superhero!” Scooter called out defiantly even as he was being dragged back. “You better give up now!”
The leader snapped their fingers to the closest gunner. “And you’re not scared for your sister’s life?”
“Scooter, shut up!” Jane yelled out, wrapping her arms around Scooter – her old judo training now making a grip that someone so small and completely inexperienced can’t break out of, even ignoring her superhuman strength.
“No!” Scooter yelled out, still scrambling helplessly. “You’re bullet proof, you can take these guys!”
“Let’s test that.” The burglar’s leader snapped a finger before pointing at Jane, to which the gunman raised their weapon at Jane, grip shaking at Scooter being in the crossroads. “If you don’t want your brother shot, let go of him.”
Jane’s breath caught. It took her a moment to remember that she was, indeed, bullet proof, and so she quietly complied.
“Make an example out of wannabe heroes.”
The gunner hesitated, weapon shaking as they contemplated if they were really willing to shoot someone in front of a child.
“We’ve got one chance to make it big! Unless you want to spend your life in prison!”
She didn’t reel over in pain.
She- well, she did flinch, but only at the initial firing, the bullets themselves doing nothing but putting tiny holes in her clothes.
And it didn’t take long at all for this fact to become obvious.
And in the chaos, Scooter took the opportunity to leap forward, biting the gunner in the leg. “Grr!”
“AUGH!” They flailed their leg, easily kicking Scooter off – but the damage was done, a bleeding wound. “The fuck is wrong with you?!”
Jane’s gaze turned straight to the leader, her fear spiking. Her brother was about to be shot.
“Are you fucking crazy man?!”
“You want to go to the slammer?! Or you want to pay for our ma’s cancer surgery?!”
“I-” They raised their weapon at Scooter.
Scooter’s defiant rage was gone in an instant, all blood fading from his face as he – for the first time – directly stared the end of a barrel.
Jane’s fear started burning into rage, staring at the gunner.
The gunner took a deep breath, focusing on the pain in their leg, the pain this child caused.
Jane took a step forward, her fist clenching up.
This child… who was now staring mortality in the face. The gunner… Lowered their gun. “I can’t.”
Scooter was still paralysed in fear, the words not even going through his head.
But Jane did hear it, her anger starting to die down as she saw that they weren’t going to try to shoot him after all. Any longer, and she would’ve blindly charged at him.
“Fucking hell.” The leader pulled out their own weapon. “I told you that we can’t-”
They didn’t get to finish.
Their words were interrupted by a thundering boom, and before anyone could even process what was happening, there was a massive hole in the wall leading to the unlucky store that was right next to the bank.
Jane had charged across – in literally a single leap – and struck into the gunner that was about to shoot her brother. Both of them going through several walls without resistance.
Jane let out a hefty cough from all the dust her strike had gathered, reality slowly catching up to her as she got to her feet. She looked back to the bank she was in moments ago.
The gunners had all stopped what they were doing to see what had just happened, and – seeing the blood – wisely lowered their guns.
Jane didn’t even process any of that. Her arm was covered in blood. Panic initially overtook her as she checked herself from injury. When she realised it wasn’t her blood, she looked down to the floor.
The sight made her fur stand on end, her breath abruptly catching. She… She…
She awoke to the sounds of sirens, police officers and paramedics charging in. “She’s regained consciousness.”
“What?” Jane mumbled out in panicked confusion, looking about. She was on top of a metal sheet carefully placed in the middle of the street, several paramedics having seemingly been working around where she laid. There was a sheet over her, which it only took a look at her arm (and the remains of her sleeve) to guess what that sheet was for. “What’s going on-”
Scooter ducked underneath the paramedic trying to stop him and tackled Jane into a hug, sobbing loudly. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-” he tried to wrestle the paramedic dragging him back even as his face exploded into a new flood of tears.
Jane gently sat up, putting a hand on Scooter’s shoulder with one hand, while she held the sheet up with another. “Are you hurt?”
Scooter slowly shook his head, sobbing too hard to even make coherent speech.
Jane let out a heavy sigh, finally allowing a wave of relief to hit her. “Thank god…” She slowly looked over to the paramedic. “What happened?”
“Apparently, after you… did THAT,” they slowly turned to the corner building. Jane immediately looked down to her arm, stained in blood. She… That person… She couldn’t even see their- “You fainted.” She was snapped out of her trance by their words. “We’ve confirmed no bullet wounds, but are checking for blunt force trauma.”
Jane let out a slow sigh. She felt completely fine, and she knew why. “I won’t stop you, but that won’t be necessary.”
“That’s insane, what’s left of your clothes clearly have signs of bullet holes, but your body’s completely unharmed. And that metal thing at the back of your neck, too...”
Jane coughed awkwardly. “I’m… not allowed to talk about it. Legally. It’s government stuff.”
Scooter tried to speak up, but his bawling still kept him from cohesive words.
“Well consider yourself very lucky, then.”
“Yes. Lucky. Definitely the word I’d use…”
Scooter let out a big sniff in, holding back his tears enough to let out a soft, shaky voice. “Th-they were scary… A-and they were gonna… You…”
Jane held out an arm to let him hug her again. “You’re safe, that’s all that matters right now…”
Scooter nodded, pushing against Jane as he continued crying. “I’m sorry...”
“Earlier today, a bank robbery was attempted on 21st street, only to be foiled from within. A citizen, now identified as Jane Shawcross, was responsible for foiling the bank robbery. Witnesses claim that she and her younger brother, Scott Shawcross, happened to be among the hostages, and that she took a full load of bullets without harm before killing one of them in a single strike. While the security footage is still being recovered, these claims are likely the result of hysteria.
After the incident, the 3 surviving members, identified as Jack Jackson, Jackie Jackson, and Caesar Jackson, were arrested following their surrender. The one deceased member is identified as Eric Jackson, who has-”
Jane flicked off the television as soon as she found the remote, gently putting it down as she laid down on her bedroom floor (having long given up on trying to sleep in her bed). So much for keeping this under low wraps. Probably losing the rest of her money now.
Though she’d never choose the money over her own brother. Just the thought that he could’ve died… Even now it chilled her bones.
Meanwhile Scooter was laying in his own bed, now hours after he went to bed (which itself was later than his bedtime would usually be), just staring at the roof. “I was brave…” he whimpered to himself. “I’m a brave kid…” He was trying to convince himself. “She saved me…”
If Jane’s a superheroine, then that makes him the sidekick. And he was a reckless sidekick today.
He could tell Jane was mad at him. Even though she was being extra nice to him, extra careful around him. He could tell that she was mad. But why? She’s a superheroine, isn’t it a good thing to save people?
It didn’t change the guilt piling up in his gut. He rolled over, still trying to sleep.
Alone, in a formerly abandoned lab out in the middle of nowhere, a single bear was at work, connecting the wires to the one of many machines he had made this last month, all while the news blared out, static from poor reception.
In a way, it was nostalgic to him. Working on his newest machine. Part of him regrets accepting that promotion.
But he knew another part of him would’ve never been able to turn down the power that general would’ve entailed.
“-identified as Jane Shawcross, was responsible for-”
He paused in his work upon hearing the name. He turned over to the television, the face of that wolf unmistakable even with the static getting in the way.
“Didn’t even put her into witness protection?” He marched his way over to the television, his work briefly forgotten.
“After the incident, the 3 surviving members, identified as- [static] -were arrested following their surrender. The one deceased member is-”
General Thomas banged the TV – a bad habit he picked up back when he was a child himself.
Regardless, his confirmation bias was appeased at the TV briefly gaining clarity, the broadcast continuing with less static than usual.
“Miss Shawcross was previously missing for several months, and was presumed deceased – her time missing has drummed up speculation, especially amongst those who believe in the witness reports.”
Thomas snarled at the television, his fists clenching up. “Do they have so little respect for me that they’ll let her wander around without a concern for me?! I was their top general!”
This is a good thing. Now he doesn’t need to risk exposing himself searching for the tracker he had installed. He made his way back to the machine he was working on, retracing his last few steps before his attention had been drawn away so much. “My greatest weapon worked even greater than I imagined. Now you need to get it back for me.”
He gently caressed the ‘face’ of the machine he was working on, smiling as if it was his own son. “Not too high an expectation for you, right?”
It was midday already. Normally Scooter would never sleep in this late – at worst, Jane would wake up him hours ago.
But he just couldn’t sleep well last night. Even now he was tempted to just lay back down and sleep. But he was hungry, and so he trudged out of bed, still in yesterday’s clothes.
Jane was already in the lounge room, looking equally tired as she was on the phone. “Yes, Scooter’s safe. That’s why I called.” She was on the phone to… someone. Scooter couldn’t quite tell yet. But seeing Jane right in front of him, his chest tightened up once again, guilt twisting him to a pained degree. He backed away, ready to just lay back down hungry rather than face her.
“No, they charged in while we were at the bank- sorry, I’m not allowed to explain that, government secrets.” She turned as she spoke, happening to catch Scooter’s shoulder. “He’s awake now, can you give me a moment?”
Oops. With no choice, he walked out to the doorway so that he could be seen properly, arms and legs stiff as a board. “Hello.” He said in a flat voice, as what typically happens when he doesn’t want to talk.
Jane picked up on that, taking the phone with her as she wordlessly made her way to the kitchen. “He needs a moment to himself,” she briefly explained her lack of absence, all while making him a bowl of cereal. “Yes, if he needs a few days off I’m going to keep him home, but if he does come over, please…” She paused, her mind racing for the right words as she put Scooter’s breakfast on the kitchen table. “Please be understanding.”
Must be his special school he’s attending now. Scooter sat on the kitchen chair his cereal’s served at, eating up without another word. “Thank you so much. Oh, you don’t have to do that. You sure? Okay, okay, thank you so much.” Even though he can only hear half of the conversation, Scooter can piece together what it’s about.
“I’ll speak to you later,” Jane said softly as she sat down near Scooter, knees on the floor. “Thank you, I hope you have a much better day. Goodbye.” She finally hung up, letting out a heavy sigh.
Scooter avoided eye contact, rigorously staring at his cereal. What could he even say?
Jane, on the other hand, rubbed the back of her head- abruptly stopping the moment she felt cold metal where her spine should be. “We need to talk. About…” She knows opening the topic won’t help with the mood in the slightest, but she couldn’t leave things unsaid. What if- no, she wouldn’t even let herself think about what ifs.
“Am I grounded?” In truth, Scooter really couldn’t care less about being grounded right now, but it was the only reason that came to mind as to why Jane would be insisting on a conversation.
“No no no, you’re not in trouble.” Jane leaned in to – oh so carefully – hug Scooter. “I just want- need to make some things clear.”
“I tried to be brave…” His monotone voice abruptly broke mid-sentence, a small whimper finding it’s way in as he began shaking.
“Scooter…” This was going to go against the main point she wanted to bring up, but she needed to comfort him first and foremost. “You were brave – probably the bravest kid I ever known.”
Scooter finally looked away from his cereal, leaning his head against Jane’s shoulder as tears rolled down his eyes.
“I can’t think of any other kid who’d go so far as to bite them.” She wait a moment to let the comment sink in, and then shifted back – not much, just enough to make direct eye contact with Scooter. “But I need to make this clear – you can’t just ignore me.”
Scooter slowly nodded, his eyes catching the glimmer of fear in Jane’s.
“You’re the most important person in my life. We’re family. Keeping you safe comes first, before anything.”
“Even saving people?” Scooter asked softly.
“I-” Jane stopped herself. She needs to focus, she can’t just devolve into arguing about superheroes again. “Yes, even saving people. You’re my only family. I’d do anything to protect you.”
Scooter nodded slowly. “Okay…”
Jane let out a sigh. “That’s all. I know you don’t want to be talking about it, and truth be told I don’t either. I just need to make myself clear.”
Scooter nodded. “Right. I’ll be a smarter sidekick next time.”
Jane didn’t react, just continuing to give her awkward soft-hug to Scooter, for as long as his head stayed on her shoulder.
At least, that was the plan. “Seriously?” She slowly got up and made her way to the front door, opening it ajar to see who was on the other side.
Agent Brine and Agent Pepper again. Oh great. “Hello! What a welcome surprise!” Her voice was as sweet as it was insincere, but she didn’t want to be rude to government agents. “What brings you two here?”
Agent Pepper’s stern glare didn’t change in the slightest even as he was the first to respond. “We gave specific instructions to not draw attention to your… enhancements.” He ignored the scoff received at his choice of words. “So what are you doing on the news?” His voice was calm and controlled, and yet it only grew more stern.
“For the record, I wasn’t trying to get on the news-”
“Well you clearly did a fantastic job at that!”
Agent Brine cleared his throat, doing his best to ease the tension. “I know a bank robbery is a stressful experience, we’re just asking you to be careful.”
“Careful?” Jane gripped the door handle, tearing it open without resistance. She was dragged out of her anger by the damage she so effortlessly caused. That’s another payment to fix…
Agent Pepper raised an eyebrow. “Exactly like that.”
“My brother almost died!” Jane yelled out, making sure to keep her hands to herself despite the tensions. “I’m not going to stand by and let him get hurt just because of your problems!”
“Our- our problems are that a complete citizen got roped into military weapons from the moronic decision of a former superior, and now we’re forced to clean up the mess you’re in! So don’t go around thinking that you’re not involved with-”
Agent Brine got in-between Jane and his fellow agent. “You’re not seriously suggesting letting that kid die.” It was a rhetorical question, he knew his fellow agent enough to already know the answer.
“There would’ve been another option!” Agent Pepper avoided answering the question outright, pointing past Agent Brine right at Jane. “She’s got some martial arts experience, she could’ve focused on that!”
“Against guns? Seriously?”
Scooter peeked his head over the door, derailing Agent Pepper’s rant. “This isn’t your business, kid.”
“It’s my fault,” he gave softly, lowering his head a bit.
Jane gently shifted herself to encourage Scooter out of the way. “Scooter, it’s not your-”
“It is!” He turned to her. “You told me to stay down and keep quiet, but I ignored you! Then I told them you were a superheroine, and I bit one of them! Jane only punched that guy because he was gonna-…” He shrank back from the door, the imagery of that gun flashing in his mind again.
“You…” Agent Pepper glared at the child, even as he was out of sight.
Agent Brine gently put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, just let it go.”
Agent Pepper’s glare didn’t die down, silent for a good few seconds. “Fine.” He turned to leave, marching. As he got to the front gate, he turned back to Jane. “But I better not hear of this ‘superhero’ business again!”
Agent Brine let out an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. “Thank you for your time, ma’am…”
Jane turned to her brother as the 2nd of the agents left. “Scooter, you’re not supposed to listen in on us.”
“It is my fault though!” Scooter puffed up his chest. “They shouldn’t be yelling at you for something I did!”
Jane took a breath in, before shaking her head. “Just… Forget it.” She didn’t want to argue right now. “I’m going to try and get a replacement door today.” 3 doors just this August already. Well… at this rate, it’s at least less than last month so far.
With her usual bank now closed off for repairs, Jane had to travel out much further to get to the bank.
And today turned out to be a rest day for Legacy, so Jane was walking it on foot.
People were recognising her at a glance, and one person gathered up to start taking photos, while more tried to strike up a conversation with her.
“You were so brave, stopping that bank robbery!”
“Those were superpowers you had, wasn’t it?!”
“Are you on a patrol, miss?”
Jane tried to move around the growing crowd, trying to avoid eye contact while simultaneously taking care not to stop on anyone’s toes. “I’m just passing through, don’t mind me.”
One photo became multiple, and even some video cameras as it was clear she was getting swarmed by paparazzi.
“How does it feel knowing you’re the local hero?”
“Can you share the secret behind your incredible gifts?”
“Have you thought about lending your talents to the police?”
She couldn’t help but scoff at the last question, but that was the closest to an answer she gave to any of them, still trying to just get through the ever increasing crowd.
“We’d like to have you for an interview with the World News Network!”
“Please agree to an exclusive interview with Fang Magazine!”
“The Eric Walkman Show would like you for a live interview!”
Now the crowd was gathered up enough that Jane couldn’t get through without pushing through, and she was too afraid of hurting people to do that. In fact, when she merely had the thought she saw her arm covered in blood, like…
She took a deep breath in to calm herself down. Looking to the crowd that was now blocking her, she raised a hand. “No interviews! Move it, I need to go about my day!”
She tested the crowd’s willingness to part, only to see them not move. “I…” She let out a frustrated growl, frustration building up more. “Just move!”
At her growling and yelling, the crowd finally parted in fear. Her temper started to die down again, as she lowered her gaze to the ground. “… Thank you.” She continued walking now that she could. Though it was a bit more awkward even as the paparazzi (and what appeared to be fans?????) followed her, only now from some distance behind her.
Jane made her way back home to the sight of two works busy installing new hinges to place the front door on. She waited for them to give way before she walked in, giving a brief “thanks” as she passed by.
She made her way to the lounge room where Legacy was, on one end of the couch with her walking stick on the side, watching the mixed martial arts tournament with great interest. Jane sat down on the floor, letting out a sigh. “I’m sick of being famous.”
She got a small giggle in response, prompting her to look up to Legacy. “What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Legacy put up a hand as if to defend herself. “But the Jane I knew would love to be famous for getting into a fight.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jane scoffed, turning away to hide her involuntary smile. “There’s a big difference between our little sparring sessions at the dōjō and… Well, that.”
“I suppose,” Legacy said with a hum. “But you were crazy. Whenever they made a little tournament, nobody was as hungry for victory as you!”
“Except you!” Jane called out, turning to Legacy with a big smile. “And for what? The only time 1st place had a reward was when they had tickets to the carnival!”
Legacy giggled again, her focus on the TV already completely forgotten. “I think you already know why we did it.” And she was right. Jane didn’t care about the prize money, it was about the thrill of winning.
“Totally different from that robbery,” Jane re-insisted.
“I suppose so. You always were such a baby, after all. I mean, last time we sparred you were in tears.”
“That’s not fair!” Jane called out. “You broke your leg! I thought that I broke your leg!”
“Well-technically-you-did,” Legacy mumbled out, just loud enough for Jane to catch it. “We just didn’t know it was from… something else.” Her mood immediately soured as she thought back to the appointment that changed her life just 2 years ago. ‘It looks like early symptoms of osteoporosis.’
Jane could sense the shift in mood, and so she stood right up, gently putting a hand on Legacy’s head. “It was fun learning judo and getting into tournaments, but it’s less fun when lives are on the line.”
She still remembers the fury she got into when she saw that gun aimed at Scooter, and then…
Why was her arm covered in blood?!
She quickly pulled back to wipe it off, only for nothing to come off. She took a deep breath, and reality caught back up with her. Her hand was clean, with no blood to wipe away. She closed her eyes, letting out her tension with a heavy sigh.
“I wish we could just go back to those days.” Neither of them were too focused, so much so they couldn’t even tell who actually said it.
But they both agreed. They both slowly dropped down to the floor. It was just two years ago, but it felt like decades… Now Jane understood why Legacy was watching the tournament.
“What have you got planned for Scooter’s birthday?” Legacy asked the first question that came to mind, desperate to move the topic away.
“Huh?” Jane looked across to Legacy, one ear perking up. “That’s still months away?”
“What?!” Jane got up in a panic. Where did she miss several months?! “There’s-”
… Right. When she spent several months unconscious. “Oh fuck me, it’s a week away…”
Legacy held back another giggle at the sight. “We’ve still got time,” she insisted. “We can get something ready in time.” She tried to get back to her feet, but even using the couch for support she couldn’t manage. “Rnngh… A little help?”
With time, the brief window of fame did die down. People still recognised Jane on sight, but the days of paparazzi crowding her for a picture, or reporters swarming her with questions were behind her now, at most an odd one or two coming her way.
Indeed, today was an ordinary day, as Jane was at the comic book store, browsing. She knew Scooter’s favourite series, but she didn’t want to just give an ordinary issue. After all, his birthday was now on the horizon, and she needed to be ready for that.
Of course, all she knew about comic books was what her brother would tell her while reading them.
“Hey,” she spoke up softly to get the attention of the clerk.
“Hey- oh you’re that lady who saved the bank!”
“Yep, that’s me,” Jane said flatly – not out of annoyance, but just acceptance that she was known for this now. “I need some help for some comics.”
“It’s the least I can do for our local hero!” The clerk enthusiastically insists – probably sincere despite his job – making his way to the front row. “What is it I can help you with?”
“I need a gift for my younger brother, he’s a big fan, especially that Wild Wolf series. Something special.”
The clerk raised an eyebrow, but said no more. “Well, if your brother’s such a fan, then I’ve got the perfect collection for you.”
He brought out a collector’s book, one of those fancy ones. “This is a collector’s edition compact of the Oasis War story line, one of the better Wild Wolf stories you could get. Short and sweet, and takes the modern western angle into an interesting angle.”
Jane oh so gently picked up the collection, looking at the back of it. Issues #37 to #48… Let’s see… These were definitely before Scooter started reading Wild Wolf.
“For Miss Invincible, half off,” he insisted.
“The name’s Jane, please.” Of course a name had to take off.
“Right, right of course.”
With a new book purchased she left the comic book store, on her way back home. It was starting to get late, so she decided to take a shortcut through the alleyway. Previously she’d have never dared to do such a thing, but, well, she has no reason to fear for her life anymore.
“Are you Jane Shawcross?”
Of course. “Yes, that’s-”
As Jane turned around to see the fan, the sight of a gun in his hand told her that this wasn’t a fan. “…” She quietly put her bag to the side, to minimise the chance it’d get damaged.
He raised his weapon up, taking aim at Jane. “That’s right.”
“If you know who I am then you know what I can do, right?” Jane asked aloud.
“Shut up!” He aimed his gun, steadying the nerves so that his aim would stop being so jittery. “You killed my brother!”
Wait, what? She hasn’t hurt anyone, she made sure of it. Unless…
She looked down, her breath getting heavy as her hand was stained in blood again. She blinked, and the blood was gone.
“No you aren’t!” he yelled out, taking a step closer to her. “We’ve all seen the tapes, you jumped him!”
“He was robbing a bank.” Jane was a bit more defensive than she needed to be, given she was bulletproof. “Waving a gun at people and everything. Shot me.”
“So? You’re bulletproof!” He wiped tears from his face. “You could’ve let him live!”
Jane’s focus was on him, but as he blinked, in the brief moment where there should have been darkness… She instead saw Scooter petrified on the spot. “He was going to shoot my brother.”
His grip got shaky once again, trying to wipe away the tears. Until he collapsed, gun forgotten about as he began sobbing. “I know. I know!”
Jane gently picked her bag up, but she didn’t leave yet. Making her way closer to him. “I’m sorry. I really am. But I couldn’t let my brother get hurt.”
“It’s not fair!” he was sobbing out loudly, his surroundings blurring into nothing in his mind. “He’s supposed to be here! I’m supposed to tell him he’s an idiot for deciding to turn to robbery! He’s supposed to look after us…”
Jane slowly took a seat on the floor. Unjustified guilt eating away at her as she listened to his misery.
They were like that for several minutes, until finally the stranger had gained enough composure to look at her again.
“… I know it wouldn’t have worked…” He picked up his gun, turning on the safety and taking out the clip. “I-”
He wiped away some more tears from his eyes.
“I just wanted to avenge him. I know it’s stupid.”
Jane looked down to the ground. “I’d want the same thing if something happened to my brother.” After all, this all happened because her brother was in danger.
The stranger got to his feet. “I-” he froze upon making eye contact with Jane, tensing up. “I’m sorry.” Then, without any warning, he began running.
Jane held up a hand for him, before stopping herself. What would she even say? What could she even say? She slowly lowered her hand back down, now all alone in the alleyway.
… She can’t stand here all night. She continued walking home with her gift in hand, but her mind was elsewhere now. At least things couldn’t get any worse.
His lab had come back to life once more. The 7 machines were now finished, all loosely resembling eagles with their wings for stability, and jet engines for thrust, each sporting a single pair of claws – optimised for grip strength. Each with a singular red eye with the best targeting system money could buy.
Thomas made his way to the back of his lab, flicking on a switch. Nothing.
His smile faded more the longer he had to wait. Until finally, the booting sequence of his machines was completed, their eyes lighting up with an inhuman glare. “My darlings, you’re finally finished!” He spoke with glee as if they were just begging for some praise. He made his way to a terminal, booting up a screen as the seven visuals all came on screen at once, alongside some additional information. “I have a very important job for you, but first we need to test that your mechanisms are in place properly.”
As he settled into the controls, the machines each began flying up, jet engines roaring to life as they each slowly lifted into the air, wings keeping them separate from each other. “Mild abnormality in #6. I’ll have to make sure it can maintain stability while carrying 1,500 kilograms.” An over-judgement of what will be required, but every bit of strength he can optimise into them is a boon to the upcoming task.
At his direct control, the machines hovered over to the nearby room, where a series of cars were all lined up – each weighing at 1.5k kilograms. One by one each of the machines began lifting them. “#2’s hydraulics are capping out at 1,200 kilograms.” Thomas’s voice was one of disappointment this time. But it’ll have to do, he’s racing against time before he’s inevitably found here, he needs to disappear soon with every last trace of that metal-
An alert signalled on his screen, forcing him out of his meticulous planning. “#6 is out of control.” He set #2 to drop the car it was failing to lift, using it as a camera to gain a 2nd perspective on drone 6. As he predicted from the first test, the imbalance in stability has led to it careening wildly with the car, all control rapidly lost. He set that one to drop its load, ignoring the loud crash of a destroyed car as he did everything he could to regain stability.
But it was in vain as it crashed a wing into one of the walls, their fragility on display as it was torn apart effortlessly, crashing into the ground.
He said nothing as he turned off drone 6, and directed the other 6 drones back to where they were before his test, landing as if nothing had happened. He powered them off before finally getting out of his seat. “You won’t disappoint me,” he said in a sweeter voice, implicitly rejecting drone 6. He dragged out 6 hoses, connecting them to the drones.
It should take about 12 hours to fuel up. Then he’s going to take back what’s his.
Vote on the next story here!
