Free Web NovelChapter 8: A Hero Arrives
[Outside The School’s Building]
It had been over thirty minutes since the school was held hostage by the Splinters.
A police cordon had been established just outside the front of the building, and since there was no gate, the officers had stretched yellow tape across the area to keep people from crossing.
The people standing on the other side of the tapes ranged from family members of the hostages to people who were simply curious or actually just here for an autograph.
The final group was the media, but if there was one thing everyone here had in common, it was the fact that they were waiting for the HA to send a hero.
And they didn’t have to wait long.
The next second, a powerful gust of wind swept through the area, forcing most people to shield their faces.
As the wind died down, they slowly lowered their hands and turned toward the police officers, where the source of the sudden gust now stood.
Standing among the officers was a man in a midnight blue skin-tight bodysuit that seemed to cling perfectly to his athletic frame.
On the suit were thin silver lines that ran across his arms, torso, and legs, and in the center of his chest was a silver V formed from two lightning bolts.
Finally, on his face was a transparent blue visor that wrapped around his head.
The man was a hero the crowd immediately recognized at first glance.
"It’s Volt!" Someone let out and the people immediately went rowdy.
Some immediately started asking for autographs, others, for an interview and finally, families begged him to save the hostages.
The scene was chaotic as the officers tried to ensure no one crossed the yellow tape.
Volt, ever the showman, ran a hand through his dyed-blue hair before turning toward the crowd.
He smiled, mostly for the cameras pointed in his direction, before starting, "Do not worry."
"Your children, husbands, and even grandmothers currently being held hostage will be just fine," Volt’s smile got wider as he pointed to himself, "after all, I’m finally here."
The crowd ate it up immediately and the camera flashed seemed almost unending after his words.
Volt soaked in all the attention as he opened his arms wide, naturally posing for more pictures.
The officer standing by him seemed to have something to say but his partner placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
She had long learnt that it was better to just let the heroes have their moment, trying to rush them only made it longer.
Her partner let out a sigh and crossed his arms, he was annoyed but at the same time, he had no choice but to stay silent.
"Alright then," Volt said, finally satisfied with all the attention, "I’ll wrap this up in a Volt..."
"...."
"I really need to work on that catch phrase," he said with a chuckle before turning towards the building and crouching low.
The silver lines running along his costume started glowing and the next second,
BOOM!
A sonic boom was left in his wake as Volt disappeared or rather moved so fast that the crowd’s eyes couldn’t register.
***
It took less than thirty seconds for Volt to go through the entire building, the only evidence of his presence was the silver trail he was leaving behind.
"Emily?" Volt placed a finger on the side of his visor as he came to a stop in the middle of the ground-floor corridor.
{Go ahead, Volt,} a female’s voice came from the other end of his earpiece.
"Did the HA send anyone else?" He asked with a frown on his face.
{Negative,} Emily answered, {you were the first responder dispatched. Why?}
"Because," he said, slowly glancing around, "someone beat me here."
Before him were three unconscious men and from what they wore, it was clear that they were part of the Splinters.
{That’s impossible,} Emily replied, {the HA didn’t send anyone else.}
"You might want to see this," he tapped his visor again and it glowed a bit as Emily was connected to it, letting her see whatever he did. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
There was silence on the other end for a while before Emily’s voice came again, Could one of them have turned against the rest?}
"That’s unlikely," Volt shook his head, "I’ve run through the entire building and all the Splinters currently involved in this operation are unconscious."
{All of them?} Emily asked, sounding uncertain.
"All twenty," Volt confirmed, "including Titan."
The silence that followed was considerably longer than the previous ones.
{Titan?} Emily asked, {the Delta class Villain with a passive hardening Factor?}
"That’s the one."
{And he’s currently unconscious.}
"Very much so," Volt responded, "though it seems whoever did this left only a few minutes ago, I might be able to catch them."
{Don’t,} Emily responded, {for now, ensure the safety of the hostages and lead them out of the school.... I’ll investigate the unknown operator separately, that’s not your priority right now.}
"Understood," Volt said before turning towards the direction of the Gymnasium and running towards it.
He opened the double doors and noticed that the hostages were huddled together, warily looking in his direction.
The moment they realized who it was, they let out collective sighs of relief.
Volt grinned at their reactions before saying, "Alright! Who wants to get out of here?"
***
While Volt was busy evacuating the hostages and basking in the glory of ’saving’ them, the maintenance door at the back of the school opened again.
Out walked Liam who finally removed the cloth wrapped around his face and took in a proper breath of fresh air.
His white hair slowly regained its previous black color starting from the roots.
Liam was taking off his disguise here because he had scouted the place earlier and there were no cameras around.
"That was exhausting," he muttered but before he could take a step forward, a voice came from behind him, causing his eyes to widen.
"I’m sure it was."
