by Simon Archer
“So, how did you know we were getting called out?” I asked.
“Police scanner,” she answered easily with a coy little smile.
I chuckled and quirked my brow. “That’s actually pretty clever.”
“I know. It gives heroes… or villains… an introspective of what the situation is,” Kristen explained.
“Are you saying that you have some insight, then?” Judgment inquired.
Kristen nodded, then realized that Judgment, as much as we joked about it, did not, in fact, have eyes in the back of his head.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
Judgment hummed. “Very well. You may brief Mr. Gateon and me once we reach the car.”
I paused mid-step as every thought process in my mind altered its course and honed in on one specific detail of that sentence. A grin spread across my features as a realization hit me. I don’t know why I hadn’t ever given it any thought before. Of course, heroes had to find a way to get to crime scenes. I bounced on my heels, suddenly giddy with excitement.
“Nick?” Kristen looked over her shoulder when she realized I was no longer beside her and stopped. “What’s gotten into you?”
My grin only widened as I answered her simply. “I get to ride in Judgment’s hero-mobile.”
A heavy pause lingered in the air after my statement before Kristen barked out what could have either been a laugh or a scoff. “What?”
“If you are quite through with making goo-goo eyes over the fantasy of riding in my hero-mobile, Mr. Gateon, then let us be on our way,” Judgment huffed indignantly, “the citizens of Alexandria are expecting us unless you are going to sit this one out?”
“No, sir,” I answered immediately and trotted past Kristen to catch up with him. She followed until we were side-by-side again, and she shot me an amused little grin that simply lit up her beautiful green eyes. We stifled our giggles quietly behind our hands.
It had been a long time since I had been able to make her laugh like that, and even longer since we had spent any time alone together. Hell, it was probably over a decade ago, when we were still just kids.
I recalled a time around Christmas when we were playing in the snow outside of Kara’s house. Kara and Matt were making snow angels, but on the other side of the driveway, Kristen and I had been crafting the best snowman ever. I don’t remember some of the more specific details, but I did recall that the snowman who we named Jingle Jolly-Drawers, was missing a nose. I’d run back into the house to grab a carrot from the fridge, but when I returned and stuck it into its face, it immediately fell off. It didn’t matter how I positioned it, the carrot was too heavy for Jingle.
My genius child self then came up with a brilliant idea. I grabbed the carrot and bit a giant chunk out of the tip before I jammed it back into its face with all my little might, which wasn’t a lot at the time since I hadn’t come into my powers. With all of the force that I’d put into it, the nose finally stayed, but the rest of his face dropped piece by piece to the ground. I had looked to Kristen and expected her to be upset that I had ruined our creation. Instead, she tipped her head back and giggled. Then, after a short second, her giggles turned to full-on laughter.
Even back then, her laugh brought me immense delight. It was music to my ears, and it brought a blush to my cheeks when I realized that it still brought me joy to hear it.
I’d been so caught up in my thoughts that when I came back to it, I didn’t recognize where we were at all. The hallway seemed a bit dimmer, and the walls were stark white. Nothing surrounded us but more hallways, and none of them even had any doors that lead to anywhere, at least not in my immediate line of sight.
“Where are we?” I asked Kristen who shrugged in response. She apparently didn’t know either.
Without a word, Judgment reached into his cloak and pulled out a small remote. I heard the soft click of a button press, followed by the sound of a mechanical whir. In front of us, an elevator door slid open. The inside was enveloped in a white-blue light, giving it the same high tech appearance that the computer lab had. My jaw dropped in awe as I stared into it. There had been nothing there to indicate that an elevator could be there. It was practically invisible to the untrained eye.
Judgment stepped inside and beckoned us forward, and it was then that I was able to see the faintest hint of an outline that looked to be a door. Kristen followed suit, and soon, we were standing on either side of the hero and plummeting at a rapid speed to what I could only assume was where he kept his famed vehicle.
I couldn’t keep my silly grin to myself as the doors slid open and revealed a slick, silver car that had all kinds of bells and whistles. On the side of it was Judgment’s emblem, a stone hammer that cracked down the center of a balance scale.
“So cool! Definitely a hero-mobile,” I whispered to myself as I nearly leapt out of the elevator.
There were several other vehicles in what I assumed was a garage. There were a couple of motorcycles and other cars, but what caught my eye was the chopper that was parked above us on its own large platform. It was jet black, and I couldn’t see anything identifying it, but it looked like it meant business. In all my years following heroes, I couldn’t recall ever seeing or hearing of a chopper being used. Then again, Judgment had a customized, symbol-emblazoned car, so I supposed it was likely that other heroes had vehicles as well. I knew that Amazoness had a motorcycle, though I didn’t see it amongst the lineup. Maybe she had taken it with her to Inferno Island somehow?
There was no more time to ogle, though. There was work to be done and citizens to save. I could fawn over Judgment’s hero car later. For now, it was time to put on my game face.
We climbed into the back of the hero-mobile, and I tried to keep my fangirling to a minimum as I took in the spotless, deep purple leather interior and old-timey radio. I wasn’t sure it even worked anymore with how much technology had evolved over the years, but it was a nice aesthetic, regardless.
Judgment situated himself in the passenger seat and started the engine. She purred like a kitten, and I was nearly drooling over how smooth she navigated the streets of Alexandria.
“Kristen, please tell us what you’ve learned about the situation,” he requested politely, something I didn’t think happened too often without other company around. I watched as Kristen leaned forward in her seat however and launched into what intel she had been able to glean from the scanner.
“I don’t think it’s much,” she started, “but from what I understand, the bank robbery is still in progress, only they’ve now acquired a hostage.”
Judgment frowned, and I understood why. Hostage situations were always risky. Usually, when a villain took a hostage, they had gone completely off the other end, and even if there was a way to reach them on a level that they could relate to, they were still a time bomb. At any moment that could decide the hostage was no longer worth keeping around. This was going to be a handful of a first mission.
“I see,” he replied finally. “Do we know anything about the hostage?”
“She’s one of the reporters that arrived on the scene,” Kristen informed, “but that’s all anyone had said in the time I was able to listen.”
“What about the police positions?” Judgment probed, hopeful that there would be something to give us an upper hand in this scenario.
“There are cops lined up outside of the front doors and several units stationed around the back and sides of the building,” she continued. “No one has come in or out since it was first called in.”
“What do we do in a situation like this?” Judgment asked me as we sped through the streets.
I thought about my lessons and everything that I had learned so far this year. It wasn’t a hard question. “We assure the safety of the hostage.”
Judgment hummed and kept his eyes on the road in front of us. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do we assure the safety of the hostage over stopping the villains at large?” he pressed.<
br />
“Because it’s a human life,” I countered defensively. I felt as though my morals were being brought into question. I supposed they were. This was the part of the teaching that showed mentors where their students stood.
“You would save a human life over capturing someone likely to commit another crime?” Judgment continued to push, and the look on my face made it no secret that it aggravated me.
Suddenly, I was reminded of the discussion we had the very first day of classes when we were stating who our favorite heroes were. When Judgment’s name came up, Gemma had given an example that was just like this scenario, a bank robbery and the life of a human on the line. It rushed back to me all at once, but I remember what she had said about Judgment’s own morals. Though he stood for law and order, a life was a life, even if it was a criminal one.
“Of course. Human lives aren’t replaceable. If the villain does manage to escape, then at least we’ll be given another chance to capture them. If someone loses a life, you can’t bring them back.” My small speech shocked me, and judging from the way Kristen and Judgment had locked eyes for a brief second in the mirror, it had shocked them, too.
I turned to Kristen then. “I’m sorry about your mom.”
I didn’t know why I felt as though I needed to apologize to her. I knew it wasn't my fault, but my father was the one responsible for her death, and the reason why their father left to spend his days in solitude. I felt I owed her another apology, even if I’d done it before. She deserved that at least, her and Matt both.
Kristen blinked in surprise, and she opened her mouth to respond. A siren and a series of flashing red and blue lights cut her off, however. We had arrived. Whatever moment we were about to have would have to wait until this was over.
8
No sooner did Judgment throw his fancy car into park did he vanish into the shadows and appear amid all the commotion. Kristen and I followed him as quickly as we could. As we approached the cops, they attempted to stand in our way.
“I’m sorry, but no civilians are allowed to be here,” the cop told us. He was darker skinned and freshly shaven, given the stench of aftershave on his jaw.
“Understood,” I replied hastily, “but we aren’t civilians.”
“They are with me, Christopher,” Judgment intervened. “These are star students from Valcav Academy, and they will be assisting in this matter.”
The policeman, Christopher, stepped back and nodded as he took in our uniform suits. “You picked one hell of a mission to bring them along.”
He let us be after that but kept a close eye on us as though we would only jeopardize their operation. Kristen sneered at him over her shoulder, clearly displeased that we had been treated like nuisances.
“Christopher is only doing his job,” Judgment commented as he stood by. His eyes scanned the building, and then he turned to another cop who was bent over some sort of schematic laid out on the hood of the car. They were likely trying to get the lay of the land before we burst in there, guns blazing. It wouldn’t do us any good to tip the robbers off, especially if they had taken hostages.
Kristen and I had only just stepped up to look at the layout of the building when I heard a man shouting in the crowd that had gathered outside of the bank. Even though it was the middle of the night, quite a few people had gathered to witness the spectacle of what was going on.
“Why aren’t you doing anything?” the bystander shouted as he waved his notepad around in the air, and it was then that I realized that he was with one of the local news teams.
Powered folk and the media had a mixed relationship. On the one hand, the men and women of the press were excellent promoters and sometimes a great help in getting the scoop on villains to give heroes the upper hand. On the other, however, they could tear anyone’s life and reputation apart on a whim. They were like vultures in that regard, and they would pick someone clean if they could get a story out of them. Unfortunately, I knew that all too well, seeing as my dear old pops was the world’s most vile villain on the planet. Being his kid, I was paparazzi fodder.
“Hey! Is anyone listening?” the reporter asked louder this time. “One of our own is in there!”
“Gateon, take care of him, would you?” Judgment requested without glancing up from the blueprints of the bank.
“Sir, I don’t know if that’s a great decision,” I countered without a second thought. It wasn’t that I wanted to be unruly, but the press had a tendency of making a big deal if I was involved.
“I said for you to handle it,” Judgment repeated.
Kristen frowned and shot me an apologetic look. I could tell that she had caught on to my concerns, but for the sake of the mission, she kept her mouth shut. It was probably better that way for now.
I stalked off and trotted over to the small mass of people who had pressed themselves against the barricades the police had set up. Immediately, someone recognized me as Lord Inferno’s son and started the barrage of questions.
“Nick Gateon, can you tell us anything about what’s going on inside?” A tall woman shoved a microphone in my face as she waited for an answer. She looked like she had downed five cups of coffee before she had arrived on the scene. “Do you have any confirmation that the girl that was taken is okay?”
“Why are the cops just sitting around?” a different reporter asked. He was of shorter stature with thick red glasses and a thin mustache.
“Does this have anything to do with your father, Lord Inferno?” the initial man questioned, and that was the one that set me off.
“One question at a time,” I commanded calmly and clearly. To my surprise, most of the commotion quieted, but I knew that wasn’t going to last long. I had to make my statement now. “We’ve only just arrived on the scene, so our knowledge of the situation inside is minimal. Rest assured, we are aware that there is a hostage involved, and we will do whatever it takes to assure her safe return. We heroes are working closely with the police force as we speak to ensure that.”
“But what about…?” the initial man started again, but I cut him off before he could finish.
“As for this incident involving Lord Inferno, that is highly unlikely. That is all I can say on the matter for now.” I concluded my press statement and ignored the following questions as I walked back to where Judgment and Kristen awaited. They looked like they had formulated a plan while I was dealing with the press.
“Impressive, Mr. Gateon,” Judgment complimented, though his tone was as dry as jerky. “If being a hero falls through, you’d be an excellent politician.”
I wasn’t sure if that part was supposed to be a compliment, but I nodded all the same.
“Is there a plan of action?” I asked, ignoring that last bit.
Judgment nodded. “I’ll be going in alone initially to spook them. Hopefully, they scatter like the rodents they are, which is where the two of you will come in. I don’t expect you to apprehend all of them, as I am told there are more than a handful of perpetrators involved, but I do expect you to handle them as they come flooding out. While they flee, I will make a break for the hostage and swoop her to safety.”
I nodded. That sounded like an easy enough plan. Not all heroics involved flashy displays of power, after all.
“When will we begin?” Kristen questioned. Her eyes were hard. Despite her fallout with Judgment at the beginning of the year, she wanted to impress him, if only because he would be the determining factor of whether or not she passed this semester. She was a top student, after all, and wouldn’t let her grudge against him stop her from her academic goals.
“As soon as you are in position,” he replied. “You will wait by the back door with a squad unit in place while Nick holds down the front. His brute strength should be enough damage control.”
I sighed a little. Of course, I was going to be used as a tank. I supposed it was better than being benched entirely, but I was more of a leader. Judgment knew that, but still, he was using me as a human wall.
/> “Yes, sir,” Kristen and I replied together. She turned to me then and clapped a quick hand on my shoulder.
“Good luck,” she wished with a hint of a smile on her lips before she ran to join Chris and the police squad that he had assembled outback.
“Thanks.” I smiled at her retreating back, then turned my eyes back to Judgment. “Let’s get this over with.”
Judgment grunted something in response, though I doubted it was anything intelligible, then lead me to the squad I was supposed to be working with. We stopped just short of them before he cleared his throat and glowered at me.
“Your instructions are simple and clear, are they not?” he asked. “I don’t want to have to babysit you.”
I was a bit taken aback by the sudden abrasiveness but summed it up to how he felt about me generally on top of being on a mission.
“I’m clear on what my part is,” I answered pretty gruffly myself and puffed out my chest. This wasn’t the time or the place to have this sort of altercation. I needed to get my head in the right space if I was going to be of any use.
All Judgment offered me in response was a chuffed nod before there was nothing left of him but a puff of shadows.
With that, I rushed to the nearest officer’s side, a shield-wielding skinny man who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but on the scene of a bank robbery, and took a battle stance. He cast a wary glance at me, but otherwise made no indication he wanted to chat, which was fine with me. We both had jobs to do.
Within seconds, gunfire rang out from inside the building, followed by several screams and muffled shouting. The front doors burst open, and a whole gang of men, lackeys or henchmen at best judging from their basic clothes and gear, scattered as they made their escapes. From what I could tell, they were armed with a motley assortment of weapons, guns, knives, and clubs.
God, who even used clubs anymore?
I had to think fast as I analyzed the situation. If I spared my power, I could reasonable only take out a few of the thugs myself, which would leave more than plenty for the police to handle. I grimaced at that. It wasn’t that I doubted their capabilities, but this was a chance to prove that I wasn’t like my dad. I wanted to save people, and if I powered up, I could take all of them on right here and now without any risk of harm to the police or the innocent bystanders.
