NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11: Reactions
After stopping the robbery, Ash stood outside the ATM room, ready to leave when Zoe's voice chimed through his helmet.
"Ash, I've detected security cameras inside the ATM room," Zoe informed him. "Should I delete the footage?"
Ash paused for a moment, considering it. "Nah, it's fine," he said, shrugging. "Let them see it. I want the city to know there's a new protector in town."
"As you wish," Zoe responded.
With that, Ash decided to continue his patrol for the night. The thrill of stopping his first crime was still rushing through him, and he wasn't quite ready to call it a night yet. Flying above the city in his new suit, he felt like nothing could stop him. He scanned the streets below, looking for any signs of trouble. Soon enough, he spotted another incident—a couple of guys trying to steal a car. Ash swooped down, landing quietly behind them.
"Hey, fellas. How about you leave the car and walk away?" Ash said, crossing his arms.
The two thieves jumped in surprise, turning around to see the armored figure standing in the shadows. They didn't even have a chance to reply before Ash disarmed them in a flash, knocking them out cold with a few swift moves. He tied them up and sent another anonymous tip to the police.
"Second one down," Ash muttered to himself with a grin. "Let's see what else the night has in store."
For the next couple of hours, Ash flew through the streets, stopping a few more small crimes—nothing major, just some petty thefts and break-ins. Each time, he dealt with the criminals quickly and efficiently, leaving them for the police to pick up. His confidence grew with each encounter. The suit was working perfectly, and he was starting to feel more and more like a real superhero.
After his last stop, Ash glanced at the time. It was getting late, and the streets were finally quiet. He decided it was time to head back to his apartment. "Zoe, teleport me home."
"Teleporting now."
In a blink, Ash was back in his apartment. The suit retracted smoothly, shrinking back into the form of a bracelet on his wrist. He stretched his arms, feeling the exhaustion starting to hit him.
"Man, I'm starving," he muttered, heading to his kitchen. He took out the special gadget he'd been saving for moments like this: the gourmet tablecloth. He laid it out on the table and said, "Pizza."
Instantly, a hot, fresh pizza appeared in front of him. Ash smiled and grabbed a slice, sinking into his chair. "This is the life."
After devouring the pizza and feeling satisfied, he cleaned up and headed to bed. It had been a long night, but it was one of the best he'd had in a long time. As he lay down, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. His first night as a superhero had gone better than he could have imagined. With a content smile, he drifted off to sleep.
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Meanwhile, across the city, the New York Police Department was buzzing with activity. They had received several anonymous tips throughout the night, leading them to capture criminals who were already taken down before they arrived. The unusual nature of these reports had everyone talking, and word quickly reached Captain George Stacy.
In his office, Captain Stacy was pacing back and forth, thinking about the strange events. His top detective, Harvey, knocked on the door and entered.
"Harvey, what's going on with all these reports tonight?" George asked, sounding frustrated. "We've got criminals tied up and handed to us on a silver platter, but no one knows who's behind it."
"I'm looking into it, Captain," Harvey replied. "But we don't have much to go on right now. Whoever's doing this is staying anonymous."
As they were talking, another officer knocked and entered the office, holding a small USB stick. "Sir, we managed to recover footage from one of the ATM locations. You might want to see this."
George nodded, motioning for him to plug it into the computer. They all gathered around the screen as the recording started to play. At first, it was just three robbers trying to break into an ATM machine, using tools to pry it open. But then, a figure appeared on the screen, entering the room.
"What the hell?" Harvey muttered, leaning in closer to the screen.
The figure, dressed in a strange black and red suit, calmly walked up to the robbers. One of the men fired a gun at him, but the bullets seemed to bounce off like they were nothing. Then, in a flash, the figure moved—so fast that it was hard to see what was happening. In just a few seconds, all three robbers were on the ground, knocked out cold.
George and the others in the room watched in stunned silence.
"Is this guy some kind of mutant?" one of the officers asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know," George replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But whoever he is, he's no ordinary person."
Harvey nodded, still staring at the screen. "This is insane. I've never seen anything like this."
George shook his head. "We need to keep this under wraps for now. We don't know if this guy is a friend or a threat. We can't let the media get hold of this until we figure out what's going on."
But little did they know, some media outlets had already caught wind of the strange happenings that night. One of the camera operators had leaked the footage, and the story was already spreading. By morning, the news would break: a new vigilante was on the streets of New York.
As George and his team continued to discuss the mysterious figure, outside their office, the city was about to wake up to a new hero. And Ash, sleeping soundly in his apartment, had no idea that his quiet night of crime-fighting was about to make headlines.
A/N: Thanks for reading and check out my patreon for advanced chapters: Patreon.com/AncestorX
I know I haven't posted in a while, I was working on a big chapter with about 5k words but my dumbass lost it all 😭, so I lost some motivation but I'm back with this book.
Anyways Enjoy the story ✌️.