Page 8 of The Not So Super Hero

Zane sighed heavily, as if the weight of the world was resting upon his shoulders. He pushed himself onto his feet, then dusted off his close. Scowling, Zane spoke more to himself than Bailey, “Bad Luck Bailey indeed.”

Bailey flushed, getting up with every intention to tell Zane off until he glimpsed what was happening outside the store.

People screamed. Tires screeched. Sirens pierced the air.

Dozens of people ran by. A building across the street spit black smoke and billowing flames.

Fire shot out of every window, engulfing the building and moments away from destroying another.

Bailey couldn’t take his eyes off it. Fire and smoke.

The outside world was utter chaos. Bailey’s legs shook so violently that he had to clutch Zane’s arm to keep steady.

Zane cocked a brow. He almost brushed off the hold, then noticed the fear in Bailey’s eyes.

The time at the café, the burn scars on Bailey’s hands.

It was no surprise he couldn’t move at the sight of the flames.

Hell, he didn’t even appear to be breathing.

Zane snapped. The distraction broke Bailey’s trance.

His gaze shifted to Zane, and he took a deep breath.

“We need to leave,” Zane stated. He mentally cursed the universe for putting them in this situation.

He couldn’t leave Bailey behind. The boy barely nodded at being spoken to.

Grumbling, Zane grabbed Bailey’s shirt to tug him towards the exit.

Bailey stumbled over his feet. Zane clutched his shoulder to keep him upright until they finally reached the crumbled street.

They had to get away as soon as possible.

Zane suspected there was a villain nearby.

If that were the case, they could end up getting quarantined depending on how much damage was done.

From his quick look at the street, it wasn’t just the bank that was hit.

Buildings burned to the left and right. The entire block, likely even a few, had been hit.

Though sirens blared, they were distant.

Zane wasn’t sure how long it would take for anyone to arrive.

The cause of the explosion was unknown. Zane’s eyes lingered on the bank. Likely an important target, if not the most important one of the attack. Before he pushed Bailey towards safety, a voice spoke from above that made escaping rather difficult; “Hello, hello down there!”

A girl stood atop the bank building along the edge where the flames had yet to reach. A smile spread across the girl’s face, cheerful as if she had won a game rather than blown up a block. Her short blue hair was easily recognizable even beneath her baseball cap.

Zane recognized her from the news; a villain that recently broke out of prison or received help in breaking out.

He wasn’t paying enough attention to remember correctly.

Regardless, a villain was trouble, and he had a bad luck charm attached to his side.

He considered relocating to Alaska. Nothing too crazy happened in Alaska.

“My name’s Boomer!” She introduced herself with a flamboyant bow. “And I’m here to have some fun with you guys.”

With her smile still on, she focused her gaze on a trembling couple in the street corner.

She snapped her fingers that caused a minor explosion directly at the couple’s feet.

The two screamed and jumped back just as she snapped again and again, until they displayed a tortuous dance for her amusement.

It wasn’t until the woman dropped to her knees in exhaustion and fear that Boomer finally stopped.

“Tired already?” Boomer frowned. “But we just started!”

Bailey slowly returned to his senses. He noted Zane inching them away from the scene.

A street corner grew close. He assumed they would turn and run for it once they reached the corner.

However, he didn’t like the idea of leaving others behind when it was clear Boomer would not let them leave with their lives.

Although his heart raced from the proximity of the fire, he finally had control of his trembling limbs.

Much to Zane’s immense displeasure, Bailey chose to be stupid.

He slipped from Zane’s grasp to run for the couple.

The woman laid on the ground, practically hyperventilating while her partner shielded her.

Zane stood, gaping; a few feet away while he questioned how an idiot like Bailey had survived so long.

The dumbass had literally thrown himself in front of trouble like it wasn’t even something that deserved thought.

Zane, on the other hand, had no desire to die, nor was he interested in playing the hero.

With Bailey’s distraction, Zane disappeared around the corner without any noticing.

Boomer stared wide-eyed at Bailey; the one who had the bravery, or stupidity, to put himself in harm’s way. Her smile turned from amused to impressed when she put her hands on her hips.

“And who might you be?” she asked, leaning forward.

“My name is Bailey,” Bailey replied with a tremor in his voice that nearly made it break.

He cleared his throat and stood his ground even when Boomer jumped from the building. She landed gracefully on the sidewalk, as if she didn’t fall over four stories before standing straight and actually skipped towards them.

Bailey wasn’t sure if he was breathing any longer.

Boomer was so close that she could reach out and touch him.

There was a brief moment where Bailey actually thought he saw his life flashing before his eyes.

A second felt like an eternity; sweat formed on his brow. The very air in his lungs turned cold.

“I like you, Bailey,” Boomer said. “You’re fun.”

Bailey’s stomach knotted. Vomiting sounded like a good idea, but he doubted Boomer would appreciate that. If anything, she would probably kill him quicker. He wasn’t sure what Boomer had in store, but whatever it was, she put it on hold.

A car came hurtling down the street to ram Boomer’s side.

Bailey slammed his eyes shut at the sound of glass shattering and Bommer screaming.

It happened so fast. One moment, Boomer stood in front of him.

The next, a car had shot her down the street.

Bailey moved instinctually. He grabbed the couple-se arms and ran.

He didn’t know who drove that car, but they likely didn’t survive.

The impact of Boomer’s body against the windshield was likely more than enough damage, but her anger afterwards? That would be catastrophic.

Bailey wasn’t sure how far the car had gone, but it was far enough to give him, along with the couple, time to run.

Sirens rang in the distance, likely they set a blockade up hoping to keep Boomer confined to one area.

If they could make it close enough, they would get out, so the three of them ran like their lives depended on it because it did.

Another explosion rattled behind them. Bailey chanced a peek over his shoulder.

Fire and explosive shocks shot into the sky.

A loud scream followed. More smoke rose, the earth shook, and all their paces picked up since it was clear Boomer was not happy with being hit.

It was more obvious when she came speeding around the street corner, clothes torn and mouth bleeding, that someone was going to pay for hitting her with a damn car.

“Get back here!” She screamed.

Luckily, before she used her mutation again, a hero arrived.

Down from the sky came Seraph. Her huge black wings carried her with immense speed as she swooped in to scoop Boomer from the ground.

Boomer snapped her fingers, successfully hitting a nearby trash can with an explosive shot that sent the can over Bailey’s head.

He ducked and peered back to watch Seraph carry Boomer into the sky.

There was a tussle before the girl dropped to the ground.

By then, there was a battle between them and no one wanted to stick around for that, especially since Seraph could be heard screaming about her ruined snapback.

It was during his curious look back that Bailey’s eyes peered past the battle scene to notice something peculiar, literally etched onto a building. Though the boy felt his arm being tugged at by someone to get away, it didn’t bring his gaze away from the very obvious R lit up by flames.

“We have to go!” The woman from earlier shouted, pulling Bailey so forcefully that he stumbled to his side.

He cursed as he caught himself, looked back once more to make sure he saw correctly, then allowed the woman to continue tugging him towards the police blockade at the end of the street.

They had reached safety, though Bailey wasn’t sure how long that safety would last.

Officers shuffled through the loud precinct. Every phone rang, police shouted about the ongoing fight between Boomer and Seraph, and those who witnessed the explosion sputtered over their stories. Bailey was one of those people.

One of the TVs played the news coverage of the ongoing battle. Though the area had been quarantined and the civilians evacuated, the damage was catastrophic and got worse from the continued battle. The crumbled city said enough; countless bodies would be discovered afterwards.

“Sorry about the wait.” A voice broke Bailey of his concentration on the news, a smidge thankful for a distraction.

The Mutant Detective taking his statement sat at his desk offering a kind smile that contradicted his intimidating statue. The officer held out his hand and introduced himself. “I’m Detective Christopher Walker, but please, call me Chris.”

“Chris, nice to meet you,” Bailey said as he took Chris’ hand for a firm handshake. “I’m Bailey Schaefer.”

“Nice to meet you, Bailey. Are you feeling alright? Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” Chris inquired, giving Bailey a swift once over.