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Okay! I just finished up the first chapter of an original story I'm working on called Heroics! After this, I plan on getting to those requests. I tried to avoid breaking the fourth wall with this, but enjoy it anyway!


There were a dozen APD vehicles parked outside the First Bank of Aardvark, each and every one of them with bright lights that flashed red and blue. There were around a hundred men surrounding the bank from all angles, above AND below. “Alright, Boss Guy Smith! We know you’re in there with your gang of men! Come out with your hands up and we won’t kill you!” The policeman said into the megaphone, behind an army of SWAT soldiers. “You won’t escape alive unless you do!” He was in a blue uniform, his balding head not covered by a hat. A man was standing next to him in a brown coat, holding a clip board full of papers. He was wearing glasses and had short black hair, flipping through the pages.

They stayed still for a few moments before a single man, revolver in hand, stepped out of the doors. He was around average height, slightly muscular, with slightly tanned skin and black clothing on. His hands weren’t up, and he had a hostage in front of him. It was a pregnant female, who was trying her hardest not to scream, visibly sweating and in a state of panic. The man lifted the revolver to the woman’s head, while the other arm, the one lacking the revolver, was around her neck tightly. “We are not a gang!” The man hollered to the cops, who had their guns raised at the man. “We are superheroes! We demand payment for keeping this city from being taken over by gangs and thugs!” The man cocked the gun, finger on the trigger, and then the woman began screaming. She cried for help, unable to speak the words she wanted, undecipherable to the policeman and to the man holding her hostage. He began losing his grip, and before she could get away, he fired the gun. The SWAT team almost jumped forward, but the man in front of them, the chief, quickly raised his hand to halt their progress. The woman fell over, blood spurting out of her head and onto the concrete, her stomach visibly flattened from the fall. Most of her torso landed on the stairs, and her body began tumbling downward, spinning onto one side and then another, her blood staining the steps leading into the bank. When she landed, there was blood coming out of her mouth, nose and the hole in her head from the bullet. Her skirt had blood stains, as well. The man with the megaphone stared at the body, and then immediately back at the man in front of the bank.

“She was one of the three dozen we have in here! If you take one step onto those stairs or touch that body, we will kill each and every one of them!” The man was practically screaming, making sure everyone could hear him. “Our demands are for one trillion bling , no cops to chase us down and two getaway SWAT vans! We will give you 12 hours to comply with our demands, and we kill all of them, including your precious Foreign Planetary Counselor, William Grant Blackburn!” The man immediately slipped back inside when he was finished with his demands, while a few policemen stared at the woman’s body. She wasn’t breathing.

“What the HELL is going on here!?” Someone asked, crossing the police barrier. The man with the megaphone turned around, looking over at the person. He had grey receding hair, a brown suit on and a thermo at his side.

“Aardvark Police Chief Ryan Trasnin, sir!” The megaphone wielding man stated, giving a salute. “At zero six hundred hours, six men managed to take over this bank and everyone inside of it. Most of the hostages are people who are employed at the bank, while a few are people who came early in the morning and were unfortunate in their timing.” He stopped saluting, dropping his arms and shaking his head. “They claim to be superheroes, but they will not tell us who they are or any information pertaining to powers.”

“Not more of these crazies…” The chief sighed, bringing out the small thermo of coffee he brought with him. “These bastards are getting more and more impossible to deal with. Considering none of them ever say ‘supervillian’ makes this much harder.” He drank some of the coffee, then wiped his lips and sealed the thermo. “I assume the body there is from one of them?”

“Yes, sir.” The man with the megaphone replied. “They brought her out, shot her in the head, and she fell down the stairs, and then they made their demands for a trillion bling, two SWAT vans and the assurance that we won’t go after them. We can’t touch her or else they shoot the hostages.” He sighed and looked over at the body. “She was pregnant.”

“Bastards!” Ryan muttered, looking up at the bank. “Do we have anyone that can sneak in?”

“No. One hour has passed since they took the bank, so this is probably on the news by now, which means Crystal should arrive soon.” He stated, looking out over the crowd. “Well, speak of the she-devil…”

A 7’00 tall woman towered over the crowd, making her way past the people staring at her. She wore a pair of dark colored forest camo cargo pants, a dark colored desert camo long sleeved shirt and a dark colored arctic camo vest that left her front open. Each piece of clothing had many pockets strewn about, and each and every one seemed like it contained something. At her sides were two katana swords that were sheathed and two Magnum Revolvers. A news crew immediately approached her from the front, stopping her progress. A lady in blue business attire was followed by a woman behind a camera tape recording her.

“Crystal! Do you have anything to say on the matter?” The newswoman asked, raising her microphone up to Crystal’s mouth with some effort. Crystal looked down, revealing her face. She was bald, and had an eyepatch on her right eye with a diamond shaped crystal embedded into it. Her left eye was pitch black, with no iris or pupil.

“Well, I have something to ask.” Crystal said, looking at the newswoman. “Are you single?”

The newswoman’s jaw dropped for a split second, than she immediately regained her posture. “Yes, but I’m asking about this bank robbery. Do you have anything to say on the bank robbery?”

“Yes. You’re in my way of saving these people.” She stated this plainly, staring down at them.

“Oh, uh, right…” The women stepped out of the way, and then Crystal strolled by. They immediately began reporting again, the newswoman blushing brightly. Crystal stepped over the police barriers and made her way towards Ryan.

“I’m here to save the day, or something.” Crystal sighed, staring at the dead body on the steps. “I guess she’s a victim.”

“Yup.” The man with the megaphone said. “These guys claim to be superheroes.”

Crystal let out a slight chuckle, a slight smirk across her lips. “Unbelievable. Those fakes.” She shook her head, eyes closed for a moment, before the man with the megaphone spoke up.

“Crystal, there is ONE confirmed man in there who we can positively I.D. It’s Boss Guy Smith.”

Crystal had to stiffle a laugh, as the man with the megaphone raised an eyebrow. “Smith isn’t a criminal.” She stated, her voice filled with assurance. “He doesn’t even claim to be a superhero, even though he’s ranked as one. Besides, knowing him, he could do far better than this.” Crystal decided to take a step towards the body before getting pulled back by Ryan. “Can’t touch the body?” Crystal asked, slightly confused.

Ryan nodded.

“What are the stakes?” Crystal asked, her hand over her eyepatch.

“They want one trillion bling and two SWAT vans in 11 hours from now. We can get it, but these people might kill the hostages anyway.” The man with the megaphone said, while Crystal tapped the diamond in her eyepatch, looking at the bank. “They have 36 hostages, including Foreign Planetary Counselor William Grant Blackburn.”

“They won’t kill the hostages. I assure you.” Crystal stated, walking past the SWAT team and towards the bank. “I’m going in.”

“WHAT!? Stop right there!” Ryan hollered out to her, the SWAT team immediately raising their guns. Crystal stopped, her hands resting on the hilts of her blades. “This is an EXTREMELY delicate situation. You’re NOT jeopardizing it! Now get back here!”

Crystal did not turn around, but her head was lowered. “I am a superheroine. They claim to be superheroes. I refuse to take that standing down, even if I KNOW they’re lying.” Crystal’s hands were tightened into a fist. “Besides, you guys can’t catch me and you know it.”

Ryan gasped, and quickly raised his hand. “Open fire!” He hollered to his men. Immediately, the SWAT team began firing their guns at Crystal. Smoke began to surround her body, which fell forward from the bullets. The team stopped firing, waiting for some of the smoke to clear. When the smoke dissipated, Crystal was missing. There was no blood on the ground, and any evidence of hitting the target didn’t exist.

“Did you get her?” Ryan asked, looking past the SWAT team.

“Doubt it, sir. I think she used her power.” One of the men stated, lowering his weapon.

“Dammit!” Ryan cussed, knowing this would not end well. “Get every man you can to surround the building. The moment I say to, everyone runs inside. Standard procedure.” The SWAT team instantly ran about to the sides of the bank, a few staying where they were. They were preparing for the onslaught.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the bank, Crystal was making her way inside. She opened the door on the roof and walked into the building, not drawing her weapons. She made her way down slowly, in a relaxing manner, with her hands in her pockets, as if she were just walking down the street. When she made it to the hallway, she looked both ways. No one. She tapped on the crystal inside her eyepatch, and then looked around. After a moment, she tapped the crystal and went into the door in front of her, opening it slowly. Sitting in a chair was a man with a white hoodie and black jeans, sitting on a stool with a handgun pointed at a male hostage’s head. The man on the stool had black hair that reached to the bottom of his neck, with black eyes and a slightly broken nose with blood stains near the nostrils. The man he held the gun against was bald, and he was wearing a white shirt, an unbuttoned black Hawaii print and blue baggy jeans. They both looked at Crystal when she came in.

“Who are you?” The man on the stool asked, gun still pointed at the hostage. “Don’t move, or I blow his brains out onto the wall.” The man had the gun touching the hostage’s head.

“Let’s not get hasty.” Crystal stated, hands still in her pockets. “I wanted to join you superheroes in your quest for recognition. You see, I’m---“

“Crystal. Your name is Crystal.” The man stated, attentively staring at her. “Your name and face have been all over the news since you publicly revealed yourself. You’re practically an idol in this city.”

“Right. So imagine if I joined your cause. Everyone would listen. Or, at the least, there would be some resistance to stopping us.” Crystal reasoned. “Take me to Boss Guy Smith, the man in charge.”

The man thought for a few moments, staring over at the hostage. “I’m Boss Guy Smith. It makes sense that you would want to join us. I guess I can let you in. However…” He lowered his gun and smirked at Crystal. “This b*****d punched me in the nose when I put a gun to his head. This made me angry, so I got my men to drag him up here. Use one of your guns and---“

A bullet pierced the air. Crystal had one of her revolvers in her right hand, smoke coming out of it. The hostage’s head was forced against the wall, blood splattering around it. There was a hole in his forehead the size of a bullet and his mouth was agape.

“Didn’t even have to ask.” Crystal chuckled, opening the chamber. “I can tell when someone is trouble, and he was most certainly a pain in the a**.” She put in another bullet as she spoke, making sure the weapon was full of ammo. She spun the chamber and then flicked the gun, sending the chamber back in.

The man was still thinking through what just happened. She didn’t have the power to read minds, he knew that much. He stood up and kicked the stool back a bit with the bottom of his foot, making it go against the wall. “Well, I can see that you’re serious about all this. I’m going to check on the other hostages and my men. Call the person in charge over your phone or radio or whatever and tell him that the hostages have been rounded up. Don’t tell them you’re working with us, though.” He opened the door, taking a step out. “Put the body on the roof. Make them know that it wasn’t a one-time decision to kill a hostage.” He closed the door, leaving Crystal alone with the body.

Crystal looked downward at the body, kneeling on one knee so she could get closer. “You alright?” She asked, lightly slapping his cheek with the back of her hand. “Sorry I had to shoot you. He wasn’t giving me much choice.” She stated, reaching into a large pocket inside her vest. She pulled out both a large white hoodie and baggy black pants. “I brought you extra clothing, though, because I knew you’d show up.” She laid the clothes out on the flat top of the stool, and then looked back at the man. “Get up, Miracle.”

The man blinked his eyes a few times, the blood behind him beginning to swirl around. The blood practically leapt off the wall and reentered the hole in his head, filling the hole and causing it to close. The front of his head sucked in the blood as well, and his forehead healed. He slowly lifted his head, staring at Crystal in the face. “How sweet. You wasted a bullet for me.” He sighed, slowly standing up. He almost fell over to the side before Crystal helped him up, holding him up slightly.

“Not FOR you. ON you.” She stated, helping him lean against the wall. “I didn’t HAVE to shoot you, so the bullet was wasted.”

“Well, it was wasted in my head. Damn, always the head…” He shook his head, beginning to stand on his own two feet. “Whatever. Did you use your eye to see me?” He asked, beginning to remove his black Hawaii print.

“Yup.” Crystal said, tapping the crystal in her eyepatch. “I saw you, and I counted six hostages on this floor, each in a different room and tied up. I didn’t see the Foreign Planet Counselor. He’s probably in the basement so he can easily be used as a human shield.” She looked around the room, examining the area. “One man is beginning to round up the hostages on this floor. I‘ll take care of him when he reaches here.” She turned around, facing the door.

Miracle put his hand on her shoulder, pulling his hood over his head, hiding his face, arms and legs. “Promise me you won’t kill anyone.” He asked, hoping that she would say no.

She silently turned her head at him. After a moment, she opened her mouth to say something, but the doorknob turned. A white man came in, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. He had a slight buzz cut, but it was still about half an inch off his head. He had an Uzi in his right hand as he walked through the door. He had blue eyes. He had to look up to see Crystal’s face, but he didn’t seem surprised. “Boss said you were with us now?” He asked, his arm with the Uzi resting on his shoulder, the gun pointed behind him.

Crystal could see a few hostages in the hallway, but not the six she counted. Only two or three were out there. Each one was tied up with rope, their eyes and mouths covered so they could not speak or see. The rope they were all tied with was connected so they could be guided through the building without bumping into the walls. Crystal looked down at the man. “Yeah. I’m Crystal. Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, ready for him to shake it. However, he turned around, ready to walk out of the small room.

“Yeah, just take the hostage in there and—“ He paused for a moment, turning his head back to the hand on Crystal’s shoulder. “Wait. I thought Boss said he kill—“

Crystal grabbed his right arm and face, causing him to drop his Uzi. The front of his face was entirely covered by Crystal’s hand. Crystal lifted him off the ground, the man hanging onto her arm, hoping his head would not detach from his body. She held onto him for a few moments, and then quickly slammed him onto the floor, causing the hostages and Miracle to jump back a bit. The man was instantly knocked out from the blow.

“I’ll do my best.” Crystal stated, finally giving an answer to Miracle. “I’ll handle the men and you handle the hostages. I’ll try and avoid using any weapons.” Crystal tossed Miracle a knife and took off down the hallway, while Miracle made sure his arms, hands, legs and feet remained unseen. After that, he began untying the hostages.

The first thing he did was to remove the ropes around their mouths. “Is anyone hurt?” He quickly asked before beginning to untie the rope around their bodies.

“Wh-who’re you?” A little girl asked near the front of the line. She was wearing a light red dress and knee-high socks, with small blue shoes and her blonde hair coming down to slightly above the neck. Her eyes were dark green. “Where’s my mommy?”

“I’m Miracle.” He responded, unwrapping the two other hostages before reaching her. “What does she look like? Is she with anyone else?”

“Sh-she was with my brother. She was sending Daddy money and let me play in the children’s room before those men came. She thought it would be a while because she would need to look at all the papers and stuff because he’s fighting in a war…” Miracle managed to unwrap the rope around her, and she removed the cloth around her eyes. “Hey! You’re the one who started all this!”

“Nononono, I’m not.” Miracle quickly stated, backing away before they attacked him. “I’m trying to save you guys. Crystal is taking care of the people who started all this. She would have killed me if I were associated with these men.” He said before turning around. “Free all the other hostages on this floor. I have to save the others.” He quickly ran to the stairs, trying to catch up to Crystal.

He was halfway down the stairs before he found the next person to fall victim to Crystal. He quickly ran over to see if he was dead. Thankfully, he wasn’t. He was wearing black denim jeans and a black hoodie. He had slightly tan skin and a revolver in his hand. “So that’s two…” He thought to himself before trying to find the next few hostages on the floor.

A floor below, Crystal had taken out another man. This one had dark skin and a blonde mohawk, with brown eyes and a black business suit and pants. He had carried two Uzi’s, but not a bullet was fired. She quickly made her way to the next floor, knowing Miracle would handle the hostages.

The next floor down, a man was already waiting for her. He pointed two handgun’s at her, fully loaded. His blue eyes focused only on her, while his blue jeans covered his legs and his black hoodie covered his head. “End of the line.” He calmly stated, inching closer to Crystal. She only stayed in one place while he slowly made his way over. “You ain’t using your super powers to fool me.” He smirked, stopping a foot away from her. He slowly slipped his gun into his pocket, and instead pulled out a knife. “A bullet might not pierce your clothing, but a knife probably could.” He lifted the knife up slightly, placing it in front of her face. “You’re illusions won’t work on someone who’s totally concentrating, and you can’t create a copy because I can shoot you before you finish making it. Even if you ARE a copy, though, I can just shoot you and wait for the real one to come along.” He kept smiling, thinking he had the upper hand. “A bullet might not pierce your clothing, but a knife probably could.”

Crystal let out a slight chuckle as she looked down at him. The man looked slightly puzzled and lowered his knife. “I don’t need to use my super powers to defeat a weakling.” She said, her face turning back into a serious look.

The man became enraged and pulled the knife back, preparing to thrust. The moment he did, however, she grabbed his arm and forced her knee into the elbow, dislocating the arm. She then grabbed the hoodie’s neckline and flipped the man over her and onto his back. He could barely let out a sound before he lost consciousness.

Crystal quickly ran to the next flight of stairs, ignoring the man she just beat up. She wasn’t the type of person to say a one liner unless it had a purpose. The purpose of the one liner she said to the man was to rile him into attacking, not to be superior. Once her goal was accomplished, she moved onto the next one. The next goal for her was to defeat the next man who would stand in her way.

The next floor was the basement. That meant that there would be two men on the bottom floor. As she went down the stairs, it got darker and darker. After she reached the bottom, she couldn’t see anything. She lifted her right hand up to her eyepatch, tapping the crystal a few times. She looked around the floor, and then took two steps forward. “I see you.” She said, looking right in front of her. “You can’t hide in the darkness, especially when you hide in the same spot as before.”

“Whoever said I was hiding?” A voice asked out of the darkness. A muffled yelp could be heard, but no words could be made out. “I just don’t want the lights on because this bank has outside security. They can tell everything from the outside, so if I leave the lights off, they will less likely think I’m down here.” Footsteps were heard, and then a man appeared with a hostage in his grip. The man was the one Crystal encountered earlier, and the man he had hostage was wearing a white business suit and pants. He had black eyes and tan skin with graying hair. “It also helps that I have the most valuable hostage, Foreign Planetary Counselor William Grant Blackburn.” The man in his grip looked like he was in a state of panic, almost suffering. “You didn’t fool me for a second. You always help the police and have unwavering loyalty. You’d never turn your back on the police or someone in need except to reach the criminal.”

“So you’re hiding behind your hostage. That’s more cowardly than just using the darkness.” Crystal stated, looking around a little more. “Where’s your sixth man?”

“Why do you ask?” Smith asked, his grin becoming slightly wider.

“There are five floors and six men, including you. There must be two on this floor.” Crystal replied.

“Or you missed one.” Smith gave off a slight chuckle as he spoke.

“I couldn’t have.” Crystal said, thinking over the last five minutes. “There was no one else except me, Miracle and---“ Crystal went wide eyed for a moment, realizing what he was implying. “… b*****d.”

“It’s not nice calling me names.” Smith grinned, his handgun against Grant’s head. “I might get angry and tighten my fist just ever so slightly…”

“If you want to risk me doing everything in my power to hurt you, go ahead and shoot him.” Crystal said, visibly agitated. “Or…” Crystal slowly reached her hand into her vest pocket, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “You could get the hostage to put these cuffs on me, thus giving you no reason to aim a gun at his head.”

Smith stared at Crystal for a moment, then at the cuffs. “How do I know they’re not going to break on you?” He asked, slightly calmer then he was before. “All cuffs nowadays are ID-tagged, so they won’t work on policemen, the owners of the cuffs or anyone else programmed into ‘em. You could have your DNA implanted in it, making it easy to escape from.”

“These were made using crystals. Not even my katana can break them, and any large movement could cut my wrists.” She slowly put the cuffs on the floor and used her boot to kick them over. “To prove it, untie the rope around him with the inside of the cuffs. It’ll cut ‘em open real quick.”

Smith raised his eyebrow in interest, and began cutting the rope with the handcuffs. Seconds later, he was free from the rope, but not the arm around his neck. “These will do fine.” Smith smirked, turning Grant around and put the cuffs in his coat pocket. The gun Smith had was aimed at Grant’s head once again. “Now, put these around her wrists. Don’t remove the bandana in your mouth or you get a bullet through the skull.” Grant did not even hesitate, taking the handcuffs and making his way over to Crystal. She turned around, and he slipped the cuffs on her wrists behind her back.

“Now get back here. SLOWLY.” Smith demanded. Grant made his way back over, keeping his hands raised so Smith would not be suspicious. Crystal stood silently. “Now, I’m going to tie you up again, and you will sit against a column on the other side of Crystal so she can’t cut the ropes. Any funny movements and I’ll kill you.” Grant made his way over to the pillar nearby, sitting facing Smith and Crystal. “Now, Crystal, slowly make your way over to the opposite side of the pillar. Now.” Crystal followed his commands, and reached the other side. Smith took out more rope and wrapped it around both of them, tying them to the pillar and each other, unable to see each other.

Smith wrapped a piece of rope around Crystal’s mouth, making it impossible for her to speak. “Now, to await the cavalry…” He smirked, leaning his shoulder against the pillar and facing the stairs.

Miracle was on the fourth floor, untying the last hostage. She was a female, with blonde hair that reached slightly below her neck and green eyes. She had on tan khaki pants and a button down light blue shirt with white shoes. “Are you alright, ma’am?” Miracle asked, removing the ropes.

“Where’s my daughter!?” She asked immediately, removing the bandana around her eyes.

Miracle examined her face, thinking for a quick second. “Top floor. All the other hostages are hiding. I suggest you stay here.” He stated before leaving the room. He ran down the stairs nearby, looking back for a second to see the lady he saved running into another room. Maybe she was looking for her son? He removed the thought from his head, halfway down the stairs. He noticed that it got darker the more he went down. The lights weren’t on. “I know you’re down there!” Miracle hollered down before taking the step into the basement. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just want to know that Blackburn is safe.”

“Goodie.” A man said from the darkness, taking a few steps forward. He was the same man who beat up Miracle before. Of course, now he couldn’t see Miracle’s face. His gun was pointed directly at Miracle. “You can be target practi—“ He paused, observing Miracle’s clothing. “Ah, the REAL one appears. I need you dead, you know.”

“Shoot me as much as you want, but I need to know that Blackburn is alright.” Miracle stated, slipping his arms upward but keeping his hands within the sleeves. “If he was hurt even slightly, I can’t assure your safety.”

“Why are you worried about him instead of your fellow superhero?” Smith asked with a slight grin on his face. “I mean, do you even know where she is?”

“I don’t have to worry about her.” Miracle responded. “She would never get scratched by someone as pathetic as you.”

Smith got closer, putting the gun up to Miracle’s heart. “Well, I can tell you he’s safe. You, on the other hand, are not.” He fired the gun, knocking Miracle back. Blood spurted from the bullet hole, turning the white of his hoodie into red. The floor around him changed to red as well, and Miracle twitched slightly before stopping. He was no longer moving.

Smith let out a small laugh, turning around and walking towards Grant and Crystal. “Seem’s as though you two don’t have much longer to live. As soon as the SWAT Team comes down, I can shoot you two and lie on the floor. They can’t shoot someone who’s giving in.” He walked in front of Crystal and lowered the gun at her head, pointing it directly at her milky white eye. “Super hero my—“

He was tackled from the side, his head hitting the concrete hard. Blood came out of his mouth and nose, and he mumbled incoherently for a few seconds, but he quickly lost consciousness. Miracle kept him down for a few moments, and then stood up. He looked down at his own hoodie, noticing the bullet hole was gone. Crystal went high quality with the material. He quickly freed them, cutting the ropes with the knife. “Are you two alright?” He asked, giving the knife back to Crystal.

“I have a key in my shoulder pocket for my cuffs! Get it out!” Crystal demanded, practically forcing Miracle to obey. He got out the key and unlocked the cuffs, and Crystal immediately took off to the stairs, running up them at a blistering speed. Miracle could barely see her as she passed by him, but he decided to help Grant instead of follow Crystal.

“Sir, are you hurt? Do you need medical attention?” Miracle asked, helping Grant up. However, Grant pulled his arm away from Miracle.

“Bloody Hell, I hate you guys.” Grant stated, finally able to speak again. “Those superheroes taking me and everyone else in the building hostage. They don’t deserve any mercy or justice!” Grant looked down at Smith, then at Miracle. “You aren’t much better. You came to save me last.”

“Sir, I will publically apologize for this later. Right now, please follow me to the stairs.” Miracle slowly made his way over to the stairs, hoping Grant would follow. However, when Miracle took the first step, Grant was not behind him. “Sir, facing against one of the walls upstairs will likely not get you hurt. I suggest not staying down here because they might fire at you.”

“I’m not following you.” Grant stated, staying near the column. “You bastards are all the same.”

Miracle stared at him for a moment, and then looked up the stairs. “Suit yourself, sir, but I need to check on the other hostages.” Miracle ran up the stairs, following Crystal’s lead. When he reached the first floor, however, there was blood splattered against the wall opposite of one of the offices. Miracle immediately ran over and looked inside the office, seeing a dead body under the desk. “How… How!?”

Miracle checked the other rooms on the floor, seeing 9 dead bodies. That was all except the one that ran upstairs. He paused for a moment, the girl he freed passing through his mind. “She was only looking for her son and daughter, right?” He thought to himself before running up the stairs. When he reached the next floor, 7 SWAT men surrounded him. The instantly shot at him, thinking he was a terrorist.

“Dammit, guys, he’s with me!” Crystal stated, pushing three of them out of the way. “The only one alive is the Planetary Counselor in the basement. All the gang punks are unconscious. Get moving!” The SWAT team practically flew down the stairs, while Crystal head Miracle in her arms, picking him up. “This is the third time you’ve died today. Is that bad?”

Miracle mumbled for a few moments before speaking out loud. “Is he… Is he really the only one alive?” He asked, looking up at Crystal as she carried him up the stairs.

“Yes. All other hostages were killed.” Crystal responded in a low tone.

“Dammit… Dammit! DAMMIT!” Miracle forced his hand into his forehead, a forcing his head backward. “I let that woman get away when I should have gone back to force her to stay in that room. She killed them! DAMMIT!” Crystal could tell Miracle was getting angry, so she let him down onto the floor. He walked over to the wall, slamming his head into it as hard as he could. “Dammit…” He stood there limply, his body holding him up against the wall.

Crystal was about to say something, but a SWAT member ran down the stairs. “Crystal!” He hollered for her. “We found one survivor! She doesn’t look like she’s going to live! Come quick!” The man ran up the stairs, as did Crystal and Miracle. Miracle actually made it their first, passing by both Crystal and the SWAT member. It was the little girl that asked him who he was. She was bleeding from the stomach, a visible hole from her shirt revealing the wound. She looked up at him slowly, blood dripping from the side of her mouth.

“You… did you… find… my mommy?” She asked, her eyes slowly closing. Miracle quickly looked over at Crystal, who looked to the side.

“We found her. She’s… She’s safe.” Miracle looked down at the child, petting her hair with his sleeve. “She and your brother will live.”

“I hope… so… Mommy said… he was arriving… soon…” She uttered those last words with faint breath before her eyes closed completely. Her mouth stayed open, and Miracle shook his head. Her stood up and looked at Crystal.

“Were any of the hostages pregnant?” He asked, a slightly angry tone in his voice.

Crystal thought for a moment before looking over at Miracle. “She was the first one killed. They shot her in front of the building and she tumbled down the stairs.”

Miracle looked down at the girl lying before him and then turned and left the room. Crystal followed behind him, causing the SWAT team to move out of the way. They made it outside to a huge crowd and dozens of policemen running up to Crystal. “You got the b*****d! Yes!” The man with the megaphone said in a celebratory tone.

“He’s the one who SAVED us, idiot.” Crystal stated, pushing him away from Miracle slightly. “Like I said, the man inside wasn’t the real Boss Guy Smith. THIS man is the real Boss Guy Smith.”

The policemen backed away for a moment, Crystal giving them an angry glare. “I’ll handle the press. Just take care of the Counselor and the victims.” Crystal took a few steps forward before Miracle jumped in front of her.

“I need to talk to them, too.” He stated, making sure his clothing hid his body. “I have to speak of this as well.”

Crystal walked past him, looking at the news crew who interviewed her earlier. “Fine. I won’t tell you what to say, but remember that none of this was your fault. You did your best, and these people didn’t.” They made their way towards the edge of the police barrier, the outer rim becoming clogged with newsmen and women.

“Who was behind this event!?” One person asked.

“A fake who imitated my friend here, Miracle.” Crystal responded before Miracle jumped in.

“That’s a superhero name. I’m not a superhero. I’m Boss Guy Smith.” He stated, folding his arms. “Crystal is a superhero. Not me.”

“How many survived!?” Another person asked.

“… One.” Miracle responded, somewhat solemnly. “The Foreign Planetary Counselor William Grant Blackburn.”

“Didn’t you try and save the others!?” Another one asked.

Miracle was about to respond, but Crystal took the initiative. “Yes, we did. However, we had to take action, and so did they.”

“Why should we let superheroes help if they can’t do anything!?” Someone asked.

Crystal was visibly angry, and pointed her finger at the man. “You go in there and risk your worthless life to save people who want you dead! Tell me that it’s worthwhile to you!” Crystal turned around and made her way to Ryan. She wasn’t in any mood to answer any questions. Miracle, on the other hand, stood behind.

Ryan had a large vein coming out of his forehead as he saw Crystal. “35! Not counting the body on the stairs! Because YOU didn’t follow OUR orders!” He was practically screaming at her, spit flying out of his mouth. “You should be put in prison for this! God Dammit!”

“Sir, I used the scanner in my eye and saw the Planetary Counselor in the basement. He was the objective.” Crystal stated, looking down at Ryan.

“No, he was not the ‘objective!’ He was one of the people we were trying to save, but he became the ONLY one he could save!” Ryan replied loudly, the vein growing larger. “And now we’re going to be ridiculed by the news, people won’t trust us and we’ll have to talk to each and every family member of the victims! How do you expect me to be even remotely positive about any of this!?”

“Thirty six people die for the one most important person to live.” Crystal stated plainly, looking to the side slightly as she spoke. “If the SWAT team ran in, he would have died and a few unimportant people live. I’d rather do what would benefit everyone rather than benefit a few.”

“The families won’t believe you! They’ll demand you be fired, or to be thrown in prison, or to be killed on the spot!” Ryan’s vein began shrinking. “Do you WANT people to hate you, Crystal!?”

“If that’s what it takes to help them live another day, then yes!” Crystal finally stated, causing Ryan to back up. “I’m not in this for any recognition or praise! If I did, I’d have never revealed my identity when I decided to join the Police force!”

Ryan was silent for a few moments before finally speaking again. “I… I know you did your best. We did too. I’ll make sure you keep your job. It may be tough, but I know you tried. And so did he.” Ryan said, pointing at Miracle.

“Are you a part of the police force now!?” Someone asked.

“No, I am not. I was just unlucky when I decided to withdraw money today.” Miracle stated plainly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Do you use this bank!?” Another one asked.

“I DID. Now I likely won’t.” Miracle answered another question, letting out a slight chuckle.

“Why aren’t you a superhero!?” A question was fired.

“Because a hero is righteous. I make far too many mistakes to be a hero.” Miracle responded, looking to the side slightly in grief.

“What do you think about this whole situation? Any regrets?”

Miracle looked down for a moment, thinking back on the last fifteen or so minutes. He looked back up at the person who asked the question.

“I regret all of it.”

That story? I read over it. Someone else did to. It SUCKS.

Read it because you want to humor me. Don't expect much excellence out of it.

Dammit. -_-

Will get back to requests now. Too many to do. >_>;

It's more of a rough draft now then anything else.

I know I do. I like trying new writing styles. -_-;

Haha!!~ That was really funny! Poor little Leif... he's so bad with english. xp

Hmmm... Good idea. xD

Sweet!!~ Thank you!!~ heart