Super
By: Matthew Donnellon
Tags: Life Lessons, Short Story, Fiction, Life, Crime

This was it.

It was finally happening.

I was in the big leagues now.

Two years of fighting street level criminals had finally led to this moment.

A notorious super villain had been terrorizing the city for the last couple weeks. I’d gotten close to capturing him a few times but he always managed to slip away.

And now he’s taken over the city’s central bank. He released a video saying that a large bomb had been placed in the bank building and that he would blow it up as well as the surrounding city block.

The mayor evacuated most of the city.

The police set up a perimeter.

This was it.

It was my time to shine.

I jumped over the police barricade, near the news trucks of course, and was delighted to hear a few cheers a couple shouts wishing me luck.

I bounded through the bank’s front doors expecting a fight, but to my surprise it was empty.

I cautiously waked through the building to find my opponent but he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, I found an open door and heard someone speaking.

I peaked in and saw the purple and black uniform.

“Stop right there!” I yelled.

“Oh dear I’ve been caught,” he said sarcastically.

“Yes you must stop…what are you doing exactly?”

“I’ve having my man walk me through installing malware on these computers.”

“Well I order you to stop.”

“Just give me a second I’m almost done. Am I good Carl?” he said looking at the screen.

The tech nodded and then the villain turned the screen off.

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“So I can hack the bank and slowly steal millions of dollars.”

“So this terrorist attack was just an excuse to rob the bank?”

“First, the only people getting robbed are the citizens this bank’s interest rates are shy high. And what terrorist attack?’

“You threatened to blow up this city block.”

“Oh that? I just needed the bank clear.”

“So you were willing to put people in danger over money?”

“First of all, I gave the police chief and the mayor ample warning. Second, do you see a bomb?”

“So it was all a ruse?”

“Precisely.”

“Well I can’t let you leave knowing you’re stealing.”

“I’m hardly stealing. I’m righting wrongs. Do you even know what I do with the money?”

“No, this bank has ties to all kind of shady companies that exploit people. I’ve been setting up charitable trusts to help the homeless, and feed people in the city. As well as building an outreach center for LGBT teenagers as well as increasing mental health initiatives around the city. Oh and I personally fund the humane society.”

“But…well I can’t let you steal from the good citizens of this town.”

“Please I don’t steal from people. I’m accessing corporate accounts.”

“Well won’t those companies just give the money to their workers?”

“Hahaha, please trickle down economics has been proven over and over again to not work. It’s much more effective to take a direct approach haven’t you ever taken an economics class?”

“No.”

“Besides you’d probably do more good if you spent you trust fund buying dinner for people rather than beating people up one criminal at time.”

“You know my secret identity?”

“Please, there’s like people in this state that could afford all your gadgets. And the two others are in there seventies. They wouldn’t be much against my henchman.”

“See you have henchman you have to be bad.”

“You mean because I’m a small business owner? I’m providing jobs, and they get full coverage. Even dental.”

“I see you didn’t bring any here today.”

“Well yeah I knew the police would be here and it could get dangerous I didn’t want to put them in danger.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m beginning to wonder why I’m the bad guy here.”

“I…I don’t know. I think I’m just going to go.”

“You know we should probably talk about why you go around at night beating people up wearing spandex. It probably as something to do with your toxic masculine power fantasy.”

“Jeez, I get it I’m going.”

“Before you go, we’re having a fundraiser at the humane society I’d love to get a check.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll have it sent to your lair.”

As I was walking out he asked, “I didn’t mean to discourage you. Do you want to help?”

“Help a criminal?”

“If I do more good with the money is it really a crime?”

“Fine, what do you need me to do?”

“I need to get into the vault, there’s at least 200,000 grand in there. I figure you could help.”

“I might be able to. I really don’t how you’re the villain.”

He smiled, “That’s easy. It’s because I’m attacking the system.