Trickster Wukong

It was as though the boy could read Spencer's mind as he continued shortly after.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to leave the city and head to Ember Forest after a while."

"I'd like to end it quietly and not amid blood-curdling screams." The boy chuckled slightly as he said this.

Hearing this, Spencer snapped his head to his officers, prepared to speak. 

However, one of his lieutenants, a bulky bald man, was quicker.

"Should I send all units to Ember Forest? I'm assuming we'll need as many firefighters and ambulances as we can get, too, right?" 

Before Spencer could agree to this somewhat logical take, he couldn't help but pause, seeming as though he was deep in thought.

"No…leave some officers in the station. I'll be right behind you." He declared. 

Though the lieutenant was confused, he didn't waste time, nodding as he started to assemble the officers.

"Hello? You still there?" Spencer heard the boy ask due to the prolonged silence.

"Yes. I appreciate your empathy. But before you do…why?" 

Spencer asked, his tone changing considerably from before to a more compassionate and father-like one.

"I'm just…tired."

The boy paused before finishing his sentence. 

As he did, one of the officers approached Spencer with hurried steps, handing him a file with a single sheet of paper within it.

Spencer quickly skimmed his eyes over the paper, placing it on the table and returning to his conversation shortly after.

"Moe Lester. That's your name, right?" Spencer asked, only to be met with laughter from the boy.

The boy's laughing confused Spencer, however, as the seconds passed, his face darkened as the realisation dawned on him.

"I'll let you answer that one for yourself. I just used that name to rub some salt in the wound."

"In the next few seconds, your officers will find a dozen fake names linked to me. Mike Oxlong, Ben Dover. I even tested my luck with Bruce Wayne."

The boy laughed hysterically, almost as if he were mocking the officers. 

Spencer looked to the side, seeing his officer put on a complicated expression as he stared at his screen, watching the same image of the boy with dozens of names being generated underneath him by the second.

Despite this and the mixed emotions the officers around him presented, Spencer took a second to calm himself.

"No birth certificate, no passport and not even a fingerprint. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you simply appeared from thin air, kid."

"I'm surprised you've been able to fly under the radar this whole time."

Though cases like these were rare and a spectacle in regular cases, the fact that it was a 15-year-old boy in question only made everything all the more spectacular.

Each of the officers had this same thought as they stared at the computer screen, temporarily stopping everything they were doing to listen to the boy.

"You don't know the half of it." The boy started.

"Remember that art gallery robbery from 6 months ago where the thief used a fake bomb as a distraction to steal some valuable art?" 

A cold silence enveloped the precinct as the officers looked at each other.

In regular circumstances, they'd simply laugh off a child claiming they were behind an intricate ploy. 

After all, this was a cold case known by everyone in the precinct. 

Especially Spencer. 

This failure reflected poorly on his precinct and, more prominently, himself as the Captain.

However, after today, they couldn't help but second guess themselves.

"What about the train heist where the robber got away by pretending to be a passenger." 

This time, Spencer interrupted.

"That's where you're wrong, kid. The thief behind the train heist used an escape route not revealed to the public…"

"Unscrewing the toilet and crawling through under it, right? I was an Amateur back then and I still got away."

All the officers present could feel their hearts leap as the boy said this. 

Other than the individuals in that precinct and on the case that day, there shouldn't be anyone else who should know of that detail.

Well, anyone but the thief.

"If what you say is true, you're a remarkable child."

"Are you sure this is how you want to end things?" Spencer asked, to which the boy paused.

"Life has no meaning anymore. Though it was fun at first, my love for these thefts and schemes slowly started to dwindle."

"With that being all I ever did, I quickly found out that I have nothing to live for."

Spencer could guess where this was going, remembering the day and how old the boy was.

"Then came today, January 1st. The day the new Inheritors would be born. And nothing. No lightning, no expected greatness…nothing."

"I wasn't a chosen one." A hint of sorrow could be sensed in the boy's voice as Spencer was quick to reply.

"My daughter is the same age as you. She too became an inheritor today."

"You have no idea how terrified I was upon waking to the sound of explosions and what felt like earthquakes coming from her room at midnight."

"I feel even more stressed knowing she is about to enter her scenario soon." Spencer let out a warm smile.

"But after everything, she was still my daughter. No matter what mythical princess or whatever took interest in her, she was no different."

"No matter whether you're an Inheritor or not, you're still you. That's more than some people get in this crazy world these days." 

After a few seconds of silence, the boy's laughter could be heard.

"You're a good man, Spencer. Or maybe it's an act part of your negotiation training."

"Either way, I think my Grandpa would like you."

Spencer raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"Grandpa?"

"Yeah, he isn't around anymore. He's not dead or anything, he's just gone away."

"Well, anyway, it's almost time. You might want to get here for the clean up."

Spencer heard the click of the boy's walkie-talkie as silence prevailed.

In the next second, he grabbed a second communication device as he spoke right after.

"What's the status on the chopper?"

"Captain Spencer, the boy's headed for the forest as we speak. Our men are already there as well as the fire brigade and a dozen EMTs…" 

As the officer on the other side spoke, he trailed off as Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Sir, it's the boy…he's stopping…no, he's landing in the city." 

Spencer widened his eyes as the uneasiness of everything made his heart race.

"Shit."

***

-RANG RANG RANG

"Damnit!" 

In a dark room with multiple screens, two large men wearing simple badges and suits sighed as loud alarms blared throughout the bank they guarded.

"Again?"

The other guard complained. In the next second, he reached for some controls before him.

"I'll call the Police to tell them it's a false alarm. Make sure you get that cat out this time. Shoot it if you have to." 

The guard's partner nodded with a yawn and he got up to exit the room.

"What's going on tonight, it's like someone is playing with us to get a laugh." The guard grumbled. 

Though, little did he know how right he was.