Rise of the Heroes by Andy Briggs Read Free Book Online Page A

couple of years studying satellite images on the Web meant that he was accustomed to navigation.
    Next to him, Toby spotted the town hall and pointed it out. He opened his mouth to speak, but a rush of air swept the sentence away. He barely heard Pete’s excited screams, as he wildly pointed toward the ground. But their meaning was clear enough. The bank was below them.
    As they slowed to descend Toby managed, at last, to speak. “We can’t just land in the middle of the street!”
    â€œWhy not?” asked Pete.
    â€œDon’t you think that’d be a little odd? There are people everywhere!”
    Lorna nodded. “Very good point. Over there, there’s an alley. We can land there.”
    â€œSame problem! Anybody in the street could look up and see us, even if we land somewhere out of the way.”
    â€œThen we better do it quickly.”
    â€œAnyway,” said Pete, “who looks up in this city?”
    After landing they stepped out into the street and were pleased to find that nobody gave them a second glance. They headed toward the bank at the end of the road. The bank was old, with pillars holding up a porch on which was mounted an elegant clock.
    Pete eagerly led the way but Toby caught up with him and tugged on his arm.
    â€œWe can’t just go in there and start leaping around.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œTwo reasons. One, people might recognize us. We should have worn disguises. That’s why superheroes wear masks! And two, we downloaded the powers roughly half an hour ago.”
    â€œMore like forty minutes,” said Pete, glancing at his watch.
    â€œSo unless the Web site can predict the future, we’ve probably missed the robbery altogether!”
    â€œWhat do you suggest? We all just go home?” said Pete angrily.
    Before Toby could reply a mighty boom rattled the street, and he saw a black cloud billowing from the bank. They ran for cover as windows exploded in a shower of lethal shards, smoke rolling through. Pedestrians in the street screamed and fled for safety.
    The robbery was happening
right now
!

Doc Tempest
    Four silhouettes walked through the smoke, leaving the bank with an air of confidence, despite the chaos around them. Toby risked a glance from behind the hood of a Ford minivan that now had a football-sized lump of masonry poking through the windshield. It had been the nearest place to hide. Everybody in the street had fled in panic, although the swirling smoke made it difficult to see very far.
    â€œLook!” Toby whispered in awe.
    The others peered cautiously from their refuge. As the smoke parted the figures formed into muscular men, all wearing the same gunmetal gray and black jumpsuits, with a tornado motif on their chests. They surveyed the street, eyes protected by deep-red-tinged shades. Sleek combat rifles swept around the deserted street.
    â€œThey have guns,” observed Pete. “What do we do?” In the rush to exercise their powers, the thought hadn’t occurred to any of them that the bank thieves would be armed. Guns meant there was a very real danger of getting killed.
    â€œStay here!” said Emily. “Let the police handle it.”
    As if on cue, the wailing sirens of a pair of police cars could be heard. The vehicles screeched around the corner, the drivers jamming on their brakes as they tried to avoid the lumps of concrete that now dotted the street. The two cars slid sidelong, rubber from their tires leaving black tracks on the road before they came to a halt. The cops inside didn’t even have a chance to leave the vehicles before the four thugs turned their weapons on them.
    Toby blinked. Instead of the lethal hail of bullets he expected, the guns shot football-sized globs of black resin. The glue rapidly expanded as it came into contact with the police cars, swelling and effectively sealing the doors shut and blocking the windows. In seconds the two police cars were covered in