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

masses of black glue. He felt Lorna grab his arm in a steel grip.
    â€œSomeone else is coming out!” she said.
    Toby’s attention was forced back to the bank. The newcomer was slightly taller than the gun-toting men. His head was deformed, shaped like a large soda cup from any fast-food joint, exposing a tall, broad forehead on which blue veins visibly writhed like worms under the milky-white skin. His cranium was crowned in lank black hair, with streaks of white through it. He too wore the unusual red shades, and the same uniform as the others with the addition of a flowing cape that trailed on the floor behind him. Tight musclesflexed underneath the material, making him appear powerful and dangerous. In each black-gloved hand he clutched a metal impact-resistant case. They looked heavy and Toby doubted all four of them together could lift the cases. Bundles of banknotes were trapped in the case lids, obviously having been quickly pushed in. The man’s mouth was twisted into a playful grin.
    â€œBet he’s the boss,” whispered Pete.
    â€œWhat’re we going to do?” asked Lorna, her voice tight with fear. “The police can’t even get near them.”
    â€œWe’ve got to stop him. That’s why we’re here, right?”
    Emily shook her head. “Pete, this is dangerous. I thought it’d be some kind of game or something.”
    Pete seemed to be panicking, his voice only just a harsh whisper. “Game? Em, we just
flew
here. You’re teleporting through the air and Lorna’s firing laser beams from her eyes. How much more real do you think this is?”
    â€œBut we could die!”
    â€œCome on. We’re superheroes!” Pete was angry. Why had they gone through all of this, if not to confront the villain? Pete’s daily life usually consisted of avoiding the bullies at school, and the walk home was always perilous. He was smart, which made him a target. He often fantasized that he could have super-strength to pound his tormentors into pulp, and now he had the means.
    â€œGuys,” said Toby, who was still watching the bank robbers. “We’d better do something fast. I think they’re about to leave.”
    The lead thug was staring into the sky expectantly. His accomplices had now formed a protective cordon around him, eyeing the streets for trouble.
    Lorna took a deep breath to calm down and laid a reassuring hand on Emily’s arm. “If we do this, we do it together. And if things go wrong, we leave in a hurry. Right?”
    Toby’s heart was pounding with excitement. Pete’s eyes were as wide as saucers; an expression Toby had last seen when they had ridden the county’s tallest roller coaster together. Emily was terrified, her forehead beaded with sweat, but she nodded vigorously.
    Highbrow tapped one of several buttons mounted on an oblong wrist pad strapped to his left arm. He did a double take when he noticed the four kids walking bravely down the street. They spread out at arm’s length from one another, and struggling shafts of sunlight poking through the dust lent an ethereal effect to the scene. All that was missing was a theme song and slow-motion walk. His henchmen whirled round, resinrifles raised. But they faltered when they saw the defenseless children.
    Toby could hardly hear his footsteps crunching the glass and brick debris underfoot, and his heart wasdrumming so loudly that when he spoke his voice sounded distant.
    â€œRobbery’s over! Put the money down!” he heard himself shout.
    The snarl that crossed the villain’s face slowly transformed into a deep laugh that echoed spookily between the deserted buildings. He dropped the cases and pushed his hands together, offering them forward as though wanting to be handcuffed. When he spoke his voice was gravelly, sounding like an old chain-smoker.
    â€œOh, please don’t kill me! Arrest me now! You’re just too clever for me,