________
ISAAC
________

It was obvious, they were bad news. Two masked men led by a burly looking jack, all wearing dusters. At first, I stood frozen, not knowing what to do. We were outnumbered here. With my jacket flicked back, my dragoon pistol was within reach.
That would only end in disaster. We're still alive having come so far and I'd like it to stay that way. There's no completing our quest if we get killed. I've been in situations like this before. One thing I can remember is that I never allowed my fear to take over.
Be calm.
My jacket fell back in place as I braved up and stood defiant, masking my emotions.
I glanced to my left and saw the troubled visage of the young girl under my protection. Her chest rose and fell under that loose blue dress of hers, her poncho. Still she looked cautious, ready to move at moment's notive. Those born into this world were raised to be cautious or they weren't raised for long. I though of Jazmyn's mum, I haven't been the best dad.
What sort of father gives their daughter a bow and doesn't teach her to use it?
I leaned closer to her and kept my voice low, but firm. "It's okay." Relief washed over her face, she nodded slightly.
The burly man stepped forward, glancing around. "Nice morning for a stroll, don't ya think?" His voice was deep, southern and almost friendly. He was clearly the one in charge as the other two Dusters waited silently as he spoke.
I remained motionless. The calm before the storm. Don't answer, nothing to say.
The burly man decided to come straight. "How many tubes you carrying?" The dusters all had full tubes. This is how bad the world has made us. Each of us selfish in our own right.
My head tilted backward. "Enough for us to get where we're going," I blurted out.
The burly man was stunned, suprised I was no longer apprehensive. "Well...that's a crying shame." He paused, leaving a beat that tensed the air up. "I'll tell you what. We'll only take half and you can decide which one of you. Gets where you're going. Sound good?"
My daughter didn't need to see what was about to happen. "Jazmyn close your eyes."
She was terrified now, her eyes quickly squeezed shut. The burly man and the other dusters flicked back their coats revealing a weapon I've always dreaded.
It was shiny and chrome with the built of a short barreled shotgun. The technology was like that of the injectors, polished. The barrel of the gun was solid, built for something more than bullets. Unlike my Colt, it didn't require compressed oxygen to fire. Therse were propulsion rifles, known as Peacemakers.
A bitter lump formed in my throat. Peacemakers could do a lot of damage, a peacemaker blast could cut the the windmill in half. They only had one drawback, they had to power up before firing. That second it took could make the difference between life and death. I tried my best to swallow my fear.
"You really care about the girl don't you," asked the burly man.
"More than you'll ever know," I replied.
The burly man's vicious eyes glared. He gritted his teeth. His voice boomed with a tinge of finality. "Last chance." Their hands drifted closer to their Peacemakers. It was about to happen. The draw, a gunslinger's nightmare. The silence only intensified Jazmyn's horror.
This would not have a happy ending so I decided I'd rather not be the unhappiest at the end. I followed them, reaching for my pistol. My hand felt the Colt's grip.
Like statues, we all wait for the other to make their move. Eyes dart from one person to another. I trained my eyes on them. The tension went high, becoming unbearable. Until we all drew at the same time.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The burly man's jaw dropped in astonishment and shock. A big hole smoked in his forehead. There were similiar holes in the forehead of his men. Hot gases escaped the barrel of my pistol. My gun left the men dead where they stood. Quick and lethal.
The burly man managed to raise his Peacemaker before he went down.
It winds before firing. There was a boom as it fired a narrow sonic wave. It went wide, exploding into the windmill. Sends it crashing to the ground, causing dust to rise.
It was over. We were surely alone now with these bodies. My eyes never left them even though the threat was gone. "It's okay Jazmyn, it's safe."
She didn't answer. The only thing I heard was the sound of a Peacemaker winding up. I quickly turned around.
What I saw made me go cold.
Jazmyn was there in the hands of another thief. One hand, strangely black and metal covered her mouth. The other directed a Peacemaker towards her head.

--------
Was trying to post somerhing only to be rewarded with a ban. More to come

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1
This was the place that made freshmen wet their pants. South bay High School. The three storeyed building seemed to stare back at Tyler Pittman as the 14 yr old scrawny and nerdy kid took it all in. He was struck with awe. The joy of finally being a highschooler. He began wallking towards the building.

"High school, the place where young men and women graduate and become working members of society, the place where adolescents learn the value of responsibility, social skills and hard work, the place where we are expected to give it our best because this is where it counts the most, this is the moment I've been waiting for my whole 14 years of living. I'll be spending the next 4 years here. So I might as well make the most of it!"

He reached the door and paused to take a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing." He said before finally opening the door.
He stepped into the building only to discover that it was in total chaos.

It was a warzone. All the freshmen were seeking shelter from the seniors. They ran in every direction. The seniors were just catching them. They were dumping the fresh men in garbage cans, beating them up, stuffing them in lockers, and whatnot. The horrifying screams of fresh men could be heard everywhere.

Tyler felt terrified, he could get caught right now and that would be the end. He decided to make a run for the exit. But he couldn't move his legs to turn around. He felt a familiar setback which usually ocurred in his dreams. His legs became heavier than the heaviest log of wood. But that didn't stop him.

One of the seniors noticed him struggling and they made eye contact. "Oh shit," said Tyler.

He mustered all the strength he had left before snailing it towards his homeroom class. Sweat rolled off his forehead. He felt so weak, he was the epitome of wonkines$. He managed to enter the class before collapsing into a desk.

He was about to breath some relief when he looked around the class. He noticed he was the only one without injuries or bruises.

The class teacher kept rambling on about some sort of punishment.

He looked up at the teacher. A chill ran down Tyler's spine. It was the same Senior that was chasing him. How?

The senior was adressing the class. "Welcome class to Freshmen As* Whopping 101. I'm your teacher. I'll like to give you all an example of my exquisite fresh men kerplunking skills. Make sure to take notes kids. Do we have any volunteers for an example?"

Tyler sank in his seat, petrified. With his hardluck he knew what was going to come next. He wanted to open his eyes very badly.

The senior faced Tyler, pointing at him. "How about you, fresh meat."

Tyler could feel his heart in his hands.

"You look short, scrawny, and fragile. Easy to bend, bruise and break. How about it?" the senior's voice came once more.

"No," said Tyler, rebuffing the senior.

The senior wasn't going to let him off that easy. "Get up here right now!"

"No!"

The senior dashed to Tyler's desk angrily. He grabbed Tyler, dragging him in front of the classroom.

Tyler screamed and struggled. "Help me!"

Everyone in the class was laughing at him, including some adults who were teachers.

The senior rolled up his sleeves. "This is what happens when you don't obey the teacher!" The senior said, pulling back his fist. He was going to punch Tyler.

Tyler tried to struggle but to no avail. He screamed, "NOOOOOOO!!!"

An alarm went off, thundering through his world.

Tyler frantically woke up. He realised he had been dreaming. He's gasping for air. His body is bedraggled with sweat.
His mum, Valerie Pittman, a 38 year old lady stormed into the room in her nightgown. She switched the lights on to reveal Tyler looking sp0rked. What was wrong? Was it the allergies? Maybe she should add darkness to Tyler's list of allergies. Oh the fever-
"Tyler are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine mom, just had another nightmare. That's all."

Valerie heaved a sigh of relief. "You scared me again."

"I'm sorry, I'm fine now, have a good night mom."

"Goodnight."

Valerie turned the lights off and closed the door.
Tyler rested back on the bed, going to sleep.

¤¤¤

Today's the D'day, thought Tyler. His mum drove the car, taking them to their various schools. Tyler rode shotgun with his eight year old brother, Dylan Pittman in the backseat.

The prospect of walking into South bay made Tyler think things. He was absorbed in his own thoughts with a nervous look on his face. Couldn't help fidgeting.

"You know, once upon a time, I was really excited for my first day of high school. Now I don't know how to feel. So many people told me the horrendous things seniors do to fresh men..."

Tyler began to remember the things people told him.
"The seniors eat the fresh men for lunch!" said a random person.

Another random person passed. "Don't try to hide from them, they have a sixth sense for detecting fresh men, they can smell you from a 50 yard radius!"

One screamed his face. "You gone get your as$ whooped."

Tyler disapproved his idea of choosing South bay. He even wished to ditch highschool. Become a hob0 or something. He looked at his little brother.

Even with Tyler's desolate appearence. Dylan was pretty chipper.
"So you're going to high school?"

Tyler resigned himself to his fate. "Yes."

Dylan looked excited for him. "Cool! You're going to see a lot of big kids!"

"Yep."

An evil grin suddenly appeared on Dylan's face. "They're going to be giants! They're going to squash you and make your guts o0ze out like Gusher$!"

"Thanks."

Valerie quickly cut in. "Hush Dylan, you're making it worse," she said, pulling the car to a stop in front of South Bay High School.

No mum, you made it worst. You couldn't even drop Dylan first and delay my fate. You just had to get to South Bay at lightspeed.

Tyler decided to air himself. "I think I'm going to be sick. Mom, can we go back home? I feel a fever coming."

Valerie was giggling. "Oh lighten up, it's supposed to be the best years of your life. After high school you go to college, find a career, get married, have kids, get fat, and work until you die."

There was silence.

"Just go out there and enjoy your youth, okay?" Valerie finished.

Tyler knew better than to stay behind and hear more. He gave his mum a slight smile and opened the car door. "I'll try my best. Good luck in the third grade, Dylan. Bye mom." Tyler said before exiting the car.

"Bye sweetie!" replied Valerie.

Dylan came to the window. "In case you die can I have your computer?"

"Since I'm about 2,563 percent sure I'm going to die as soon as I step inside it's all yours," said Tyler.

Dylan was excited. Tyler was going to die and he would get the computer. "Awesome!"

Valerie sighed. "Tyler is not going to die! Bye Tyler see you later tonight, love you, and think optimistic thoughts!"

"I'll try," replied Tyler.

The shotgun window rolled down. Valerie stared at Tyler with pride in her smile.

Tyler didn't understand. Why was his mum staring at him like she just accomplished something everybody said would be impossible. "What?" said Tyler.

"My baby is finally in high school!"

Tyler looked at his mum sardon!cally, "Bye mom."

Valerie gave him one more big smile.

The door wasn't properly closed. So Tyler struggled with closing it before walking away. He heard the cry of a dying engine in the background as Valerie drove off.

There it was, the three storeyed asylum called South Bay Highschool stood before him. Tyler began walking to the front doors. He took a pause, steeling himself for danger before entering. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming again.

"Okay, this is actual life, had to make sure. Well, here it goes, my first day at high school, the place where young men and woman graduate and become working members of society. The place where-"

"Get out the damn way!" barked a flo0zy looking girl thumping her way. She tore Tyler out of his reverie.

Tyler quickly scooted out of her way letting the fl0ozy walk into the school.

It was his turn now. "Well here goes nothing."

Tyler nervously opened the door and entered the school. It looked like a typical day of school. Tyler felt cool, it wasn't like his dream.

Students were hanging around in their seperate groups, talking and chitchatting.

Tyler pulled out his schedule and began searchimg for his class. He suddenly lost the coolness. There were seniors around the hall who were laughing at him, knowing he's a fresh man.

"I guess they're laughing because I'm obviously a fresh man. I'm holding on to my schedule for dear life, looking around the school like I'm a tourist, the only thing that's missing is my cheap Hawaiian shirt and my Polaroid camera and I also have a 175 pound book bag, I couldn't blend in even if I tried."

Tyler didn't let that bother him. He just kept walking to. His homeroom class was in Room 207. From his schedule, he could find that by himself. He was on his way to his class when he spotted a lost fresh man approaching a group of seniors.
Tyler wanted to scream. He figured that would be a bad idea.

The fresh man met the seniors. "Excuse me, but can you please show me where Room 207 is?"

One of the seniors snatched the schedule from his hand and began scrutinizing it. They were smiling villainously.
"Yeah we'll show you, follow us," said senior number one.

The seniors began walking. The lost fresh man smiled, grateful to be saved before bouncing after them like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Tyler knew it was already hopeless. The seniors were taking the lost fresh man in the wrong direction. Tyler needed to get to his class. He took a look at his watch. He was late. He began running to the class.

[quote author=DaVinci24] let's go.

He has been banned

The Embraer jet touched down at exactly 5pm. Nat could see a couple of black jeeps driving towards the aircraft on the tarmac. He smiled before proceeding to walk down the hatch steps. He knew the jeeps carried his teammates Wanjala, Sammy and the new agent. Wanjala had mentioned that there was an addition to the team but refused to squeal. Right now, the only person Nat wanted on the team was Sabella.

The door of the jeeps were flung open as his teammates disembarked. Nat could see a new face among them. It was a lady. She wore a leather jacket and had this air of elegance around her. Nat instantly blotted her out. He felt angry that they tried to replace Sabella with a lady but he didn't show his emotions. He was becoming a master at that.

"Look who's back" said Wanjala proceeding to hug him. Sammy rolled his eyes before holding out his hand to Nat. They were rivals for the short time they knew each other. Nat believed Sammy saw him as a Django. They shook hands.

"Guess who's team leader?" asked Sammy.

"You," replied Nat. Sammy was capable enough.

"It's nice to have you back, Django"

"Do I have to guess who the new girl is?" asked Nat gesturing at the classy lady. A smile ran across her face revealing her perfect set of dentition. She probably thought Nathan was funny. Nat didn't want to like her. He turned his face away the sooner they made eye contact.

"Oh, The name's Emma. Emma Gabricks. Former Military Communications Technician. The best among Madiba's army," said Wanjala.

"I'm a hacker, You must be Nathaniel Obadike," said the lady before trying to shake hands with Nat. Nat simply refused, keeping his hand to himself.

"No shaking, I just rubbed my hand sanitizer and I don't want to get germs. Sammy and Wanjala are sanitised too so you are the only one not fitting in" Emma quickly withdrew her hand. Wanjala knew something was wrong, he just hung his head in ambiguity. There was silence until Sammy broke it.

"Bygones be bygones. As captain I will be briefing you on the situation. As we all know Apostasy has been onto Facade for now. We know more. We know he has a lot of faces. Sometimes he's Carl Lennon, recently he's Raines Luther. He can't escape Pretoria. Airport security has been boosted. Same for land, navy and train."

"Where is he actually?" asked Nathan. This guy needed to get what was coming to him fast.

"He's in the country, That good enough for you? " said Sammy. He moved to face Nat squarely.

"I thought you guys had something concrete!" Nat said. His voice was loud at this moment. He was clearly losing his control. He just managed to cap the lid. Sammy had been playing it cool as captain. He tried to set things by coming in when Nat took a strike at Gabricks. But now he couldn't take it any longer.

"Get a grip of yourself, man!"

Raines Luther did his best to blend into the crowd. His efforts were good enough too. He was wearing a beanie cap over his head to shade his eyes. It was angled in such a way that the CCTV cameras positioned across the street wouldn't be able to facially recognise him nor extrapulate his features. His fingers moved in his coat pockets.

He was going to rendezvous with the master handler today. The thought of that kept him focused. He had gone under for a while ever since they took on Apostasy. Luther was the type of person who always found people before they could find him. He had made himself known to Apostasy and they had taken his bait. He walked calmly with the crowd until he got to a turning.

A black non-descript sedan with tinted windows was waiting for him. He opened the door and took a seat before closing it.

"Welcome monsieur Luther," said the man who was next to him. Luther simply nodded. The man had blonde hair and wore shades. He was no other than the Master handler. Luther knew he had to compose. The master handler didn't tolerate insolence.

"How's the team?"

"They await you but not until you complete your new assignment, Agent Facade." The Master handler's voice was a raspy whisper, very soulless. He paused to make sure that sunk in before continuing.

"Well done Agent, You've made yourself popular. Our enemies, Apostasy are onto you at this moment."

"That was always the plan. I kind of like getting credit for my work" replied Luther with a smile.

"They have eyes and ears among us. That's how General Madiba maintains control over the sub regions."

"Well, but not the West Africa, my master."

"My point is that we need to find the identity of these inside agents that Apostasy has among us. They have a NOC list. We must obtain this non-official cover list," said the master handler before passing a holopad to Luther. Luther switched it on.

The holographic 2D representation of a building appeared.

"This is the location."

Luther pulled the imagery from the 2D presentation ontop of the table, making it sit on the table in a 3D format. The building looked like an Opera for theatric acts.

"We need you to be the blackjack. Get Apostasy off the team's scent. We also need you as an eyeball," said the Master handler before giving Luther a pair of contacts. The contacts served as spy cameras. Luther seemed very satisfied as raised his eyelids to put them on.

"As of this moment, we know of everything that goes on in Apostasy. Prove yourself Facade. Disappoint us and pay the price."

"I won't master," said Facade, feeling for his face before opening the door. The Master Handler didn't care. If Facade failed it would only be a mere discomfort. They had B plans for every scenario. Agent Facade was the one who had something to lose. And he knew it. He loved how they made their moves and always won.

Luther watched with a smile as the sedan took off, driving down the street.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Nathan's shots went through the center of the bullseye. Everyone of them. He was clearly displeased at the Supreme Commander's sudden appearance. But he dared not show it. Nathan thought the General surely had great timing. He was about to unmask a mystery when the General's chopper showed up. That mystery would have to wait till later. Nathan still got updates from Apostasy, something big was about to go down. He already knew why General Madiba was here and he wasn't into it.

"Trying to get me back into the real world?"

"No far from that. I'm not trying, I want you to come back into the real world," said the General. He sipped a little of the water Nathaniel offered him before sitting up from the couch. His presence seemed to fill the pristine room.

"We need you to come in, Nat"

"What if I say no?" said Nathan, backing the General as he dismantled his Executioner pistol. Maybe the General would have him arrested for treason if he said no. On the other hand, He was going to try beating his previous record and reassemble the Executioner in twenty five seconds. The General smiled at Nathan's words like a monkey at a banana. Nat was surely a piece of work.

"I can be very persuasive. No one has ever said no to me."

"There's a first time for everything," said Nathan as began assembling the gun. The General smiled again. He clearly wasn't taking this as hard as Nat. Nat was plagued by tragic memories as he tried to put the Executioner together before the time elapsed.

"I like your guts son, you remind me of your father. He was always the brave. Always getting in my face when I made the wrong move. Do you know what he would say if he were here?"

There was just one last piece of the Executioner left. Nat quickly locked it in, he cocked the gun before holstering it. He had done it broke his record at twenty three seconds. At least something was working out for him.

"No, I don't" said Nathan. But Nathan actually knew. He could remember how his dad made him complete all his work when he was young.

"He would tell you to finish what you started," Madiba brought out a tablet, did some swipes before handing it to Nathan. He wanted Nathan to see things through Apostasy's eyes.

The tablet displaced pictures of different men. But Nathaniel could see that it was the same person wearing different disguises. A slight contrast in complexion at the neckline gave it away that the man was wearing a face mask, a facade. It was inconspicuous except to the trained eye. Nat raised an eyebrow.

"His codename is Facade."

"Never heard of him."

"He's like you, He belongs on a team that doesn't exist. A ripoff of Apostasy, one that is loyal to Mensah."

Nat began swiping the tablet. He could see so many incidents this agent had been involved in. Car bombings, smash and grabs, even recon missions. He stopped at a familiar one. It was the attack of Apostasy's base. This one rang a lot of bells. It was the attack that ruined his dreams of a romance. Madiba confirmed his suspicions.

"Yes, he was there when Sabella.. died." That revelation touched a nerve in Nathaniel's body. He closed his eyes and thought for a while.

Sabella.

His face was bold with new found conviction when he opened them. Sabella didn't die for nothing. He was going to get this guy no matter what it takes.

"So what's the mission?"

"We have eyes and ears on Colonel Mensah's forces and they've assisted us in tracking Facade. Apostasy have been busy searching for him all this time. Now we have his coordinates. He's the key to finding his other teammates. They were the ones who attacked our base in New Mojave. You will be brought up to speed of the situation if you accept. We need you to come in Agent Nathaniel Obadike."

Nathaniel paused to make a decision before showing Madiba the screen of his smartphone. It displayed the logo of Apostasy, a crown along with records. It showed that he had been in touch with Sammy and Wanjala.

"You don't have to ask, I never really left." General Madiba couldn't help grinning.

"Good let's move. My people will take care of your apartment and other things for this is urgent business."

Nat grabbed a black suitcase where he kept the tools of his occupation. He always knew it would come in handy. They were met by a somewhat large crowd on climbing down the stairs of the beach house. People were waving flags and cheering for General Madiba. It was glorious. People in the neighborhood and elsewhere were here. Nathan thought he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. But he was too busy basking in glory to register it. It was great to be back in the service of his continent.

A group of secret agents quickly escorted them into the waiting helicopter.

---
The much awaited update is here at last. Sorry to make you guys wait so long.

.

.

Chapter One

Hero (plural heroes): a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; figuratively, a metahuman who has chosen to go into heroics. Synonyms: super, superhero, mask, cape.

Jolson's Superhuman Enchiridion

-NOAH

I rode into the war party on the Ashland Expressway like a bat out of hell. An armored bus carrying armed men had its doors open and the men were discharging their weapons on a paddywagon escorted by a police car. Two squad cars, one lying on 21st Abbey and the other on East Hoover, both burning brightly served as evidence to the havoc of the men. I only managed to save the officers inside. It was a bad time to be one of those cops.

My night actually started on a high note . I was having coffee and scorched for dinner with a beautiful lady I hoped to start something with. We were at the homely confines of the CC Legolas. The fresh scent of cappuccino filled the air.

I was making my moves on the racy brunette when the call came. It was about Ulfrich Blake, a mobster who agreed to testify against his crime boss, Arkadin Lyakhov. The so called 'Big Head of crime' now wanted him silenced. The mob enforcers were sent to intercept his transport paddywagon.

"Okay, I'm on my way," I pocketed my phone and stood up. My date had a scared look on her face.

"I gotta go, Nancy."

"Noah, you're ditching me on a first date?" My eyes turned to meet her sad ones. She held my hand while we made eye contact.

"It's an emergency, I need to be on the crime scene," I wasn't lying, being a Private Eye for a day job made sure of that.

I still can't recall the number of times and women I've used this excuse on. Nancy let go of my hand, I dipped my the hand into my coat and dropped a wad of dollar bills on the table. I started making my way out of the brightly lit cafe. Deep down, I knew lovely Nancy would never give me a second chance. It was a price I had to pay. It's a shame how superheroes don't often end half of their dates. This was my responsibility as the Totem. Although the city had a couple of emergency teams with supers on them, My identity name was always the first to pop up when there was a crisis.

The September chill nipped around the edges of my coat the sooner I got out. The coat went flying off, into a garbage can where I would pick up it up. If a homeless person didn't take it as a parting gift. That was a nice coat, Bernini. I broke into a run headed for my parking spot. My uniform was exposed. A couple of people caught sight of the sleek looking two piece supersuit. The black top was a body fitting Kevlar top suit on which an outstretched brown 'T' sat, it was attached to a pair of brown spandex shorts by a silver utility belt. My impressive physique added a powerful tone to it. They simply awed, I was the man they recognized as Totem.

What possesses a person, already a freak to begin with, to put on a special suit and mask and let people give him a funny name? Alright, I will agree that there are good reasons for the mask. And the codename. But the rest? What are we, ten?

I jumped on my gear laden motorcycle, put on my black mask before disappearing into the night.

"Totem, I have eyes on the armored bus and paddywagon, what's your status?" A female voice asked through the comm on my mask. I christened her Eyeball. She was my guide, monitoring me through a series of screens from our supposedly secret base. I learned the hard way that it wasn't wisdom to blindly rush into danger.

"I'm in their midst, Eyeball. Gimme the breakdown," I replied as I maneuvred my bike in between the two warring parties. Saturday traffic gave us some well needed space. I don't want to worry about motorists. Not when I try to stop the enforcers.

"The cops have completely surrounded the end of the tunnel. You have to hold off the enforcers while the paddy gets there. Oh, there's a speeding truck on your twelve."

"Get out of the way!" I was so focused on gaining head way. I almost missed the honking of a dump truck. I swerved out of the way at the last second. My cat-like reflexes saving me. The gaps between the buildings narrowed. The highway quickly descended into a tunnel supported by many pillars. The night sky disappeared as we went under concrete.

The Enforcers didn't seem to be getting any headway of their own in killing Ulfrich. The men fired concussive blasts from advanced weapons. I knew the Big Head's men always get cutting edge equipment but how did they get those? The paddywagon didn't bulge though, it was too well built for that. At this rate, stopping the enforcers would be easy. I was forced to eat my thoughts when the leader of the gang, a man wearing a blank face mask grabbed a rocket launcher and aimed it at the wagon. I instantly recognized the mask and knew who he was. He was Solomon Faust, one of the Big Head's main men. He chuckled wickedly and fired a missile past me.

Bang.

The paddywagon immediately slowed down to create a gap and the missile sizzled pass it by mere inches. The missile crashed against a pillar and took out that section of the tunnel. These hoodlums were going to bring the roof down on us like the pharoahs of olden. The escort had been lucky to escape unhurt. I wasn't going to let the luck run out.

Solomon Faust regained his posture and steadied his aim. The armored bus changed lanes before I could get aboard. Solomon picked his spot and I knew he was going to hit home this time. For a man with the ability to summon the abilities of any animal, I couldn't think of anything in the animal kingdom to handle the stunt I was about to pull.

The African Elephant.

There was a loud trumpeting and the brown outline of a mammoth could be seen around me as I mimicked the heavy land creature. Mr Solomon fired the launcher. I was about to get blasted to thy kingdom come. I jumped off my bike before my weight could crush it and threw myself in front of the bus to meet the missile in mid air.

I've never felt so much pain.

The explosion swallowed me and the thirty kiloton force sent me flying across the highway. I would have gotten smashed to bits on the tunnel walls if I hadn't reacted fast.

The Peruvian Jaguar.

I growled like a big cat and quickly used my imaginary claws to catch the Paddywagon before I was flung unto the walls. The wagon wobbled as my weight gave it trouble. I struggled blindly to stay on the wagon, almost upsetting it. I couldn't bear to open my eyes because of the heat. The abilities I summoned were mostly exaggerated when I used them 'cause I didn't see how an elephant would be able to take a thirty pound missile to the chest and live to tell the tale.

"We got shot at with a bazooka. We should be dead Marko," said the officer who was riding shotgun in between gasps.

"Man in black and brown jumped and took our missile to the chest. Should be Totem, he saved us," said the driver.

I felt dizzy and was losing my grip on the paddywagon. I have to stay on but my strength was failing me. I wanted to return to my human state, that would actually kill me but it would take the pain away. You are better this, Noah.

Pieces of shrapnel ripped into my skin, I had multiple cuts, broken bones, sixth degree burns and a badly torn body suit, my mask was also broken. It's a miracle I survived. I let go of the wagon and hit the ground. The wagon was too fast for me to hold onto. It gained some speed on the armored bus. They were almost out of the tunnels now.

The cars plying the lane where I laid mostly came to a stop. Motorists gathered round me to take a look. Some medics arrived in an ambulance. I was seeing three and six of them at the same time and I couldn't move. They placed an oxygen mask over my mouth and pumped. The crowd started clapping and rejoicing on hearing that I was still alive.

It felt good. I began to drift into unconsciousness but I wasn't afraid. I summoned the healing powers of the Australian Blue Tongued Lizard with the last atom of energy I could muster. I wasn't afraid of losing my motorcycle, it was mechanically rigged to come get me from the press of a button on my suit. I wasn't afraid of being cut up or the doctors discovering who I am. I trust these people and they love me. For me, these are the moments that make a hero.


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Hello guys, this is my new story. The picture below is not actually mine, but I believe it gives a feeling for what to come. More updates on the way. Lemme mention Donkross1, he has been a helping hand.