FSE

Furry search engine

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The Wind rushes up to meet my face as I begin my perilous descent. My screams are carried away on the wind, scattering in all directions. I flail my arms as I fall faster, bandages flapping wildly behind me. As gravity takes control, I only just remember to start chanting again, "I can do this." I tightly close my eyes, wind and debris stinging like bugs on a windshield. Tear drops emerge cautiously from my eyes, dancing ragged lines of a tango before free falling behind me.

I continue to fall the impressive twenty stories of the hospital building. Every so often my feet would greet the wall of the building for a few fleeting seconds. The white aura now begins to grow stronger, answering my call to flight. My adrenaline glands burst free of their confinement, rushing violently all over me like a flood of water out of a dam. A full rush of excitement courses through my veins, jump-starting my brain to reveal a horde of knowledge long forgotten.

I feel an incessant urge burning behind my eyeballs, increasing in pressure steadily over the next few seconds. I snap open my eyes to relieve the pressure, pupils changing to slits like a reptilians yet still retaining the color of my emerald green eyes. My once erratic fall is now corrected; hands and legs splayed out like a skydiver slowing his descent. A new world of sounds and feelings hit me. Faint, almost imperceptible strings of energy flow up to meet me, riding the wind.

My seemingly inevitable collision with the ground is slowed, as time seems to stop. My mind now runs like a supercomputer, calculating numerous variables in an equation. Choices and decisions are made in split seconds as the still growing white aura reacts with my thoughts, my dreams, and my wishes. It changes into the body of a dragon, molded into shape by will and boundless heaps of energy.

I lean back slightly, inching closer to the wall. Every movement feeling natural as predatory instincts burst forth. As my feet scrap at the wall with time slowed down and the ground rushing at me ever present, I bend my knees and coil my muscles, sliding down the wall fast enough to create smoke trailing from my shoes. Before they can ignite into flames, I push, jumping off the wall as one would off the ground.

The result is a loud crash as mortar and bricks cave in on the colossal impact. Shock waves roll off the side of the building, shattering glass all along the wall. Thankfully, the rooms that I had just destroyed were vacant, had been for five years.

My push carries me like a jet plane on takeoff, flying away from the building and towards my destiny. Streams of adrenaline and energy course off me in vast quantities. The shattered glass falls to the ground below, hitting cars and scattering what few civilians are out at night. To anyone else watching, it would seem as if an explosion was set up; time to blame the terrorists.

My fall turns into a glide as I race over the city, dodging and weaving through buildings, trying to control my flight. Buildings come at me like a speeding train, my mind making those split second calculations to prevent my body from crashing.

I regain focus as quickly as I had lost it at the beginning of my fall. I lift my head up with concentration; eyes widening a little to catch and retain the last rays of sunshine. My heart soars with happiness as my face shapes into a big smile of satisfaction, the blackening sky putting the city into temporary darkness. In the back of my head I feel a strange presence not unlike Quin Shun, but of surprised watchful eyes. I push the thought out of my head, worrying about it later.

As I level out my flight, I look around to take in the sights. My bandages had fallen off when I propelled myself off the hospital; some lone pedestrian wondering what had hit him as soggy chest bandages suddenly block his view of the night sky.

The wind whips past my face as I head to my destination: New York. My hair is like a zoo, wild and untamed. I take in the city sights as I slowly and carefully rise higher into the air, steadying my flight as I regain my breath. The once obtrusive buildings are now the size of build-a-blocks. I look up, the clouds greeting me, offering me freedom, a chance to live. Streaks of sunshine pass through pockets of clouds, illuminating the city below. The dark blue and red hues of a fading sun glance fleetingly off the night sky, giving it a serene look. The fading sun turns into a gorgeous sunset the color of a fading rainbow as the last rays of sun bounce of the sounding hills and terrain.

A big grin forms on my face as I realize that I am flying. I may not notice the dragon, but I am flying, heading towards the start of my fate, to protect the good, and fight against evil. I shout at the top of my lungs to announce to the world my tremendous joy, of a long dreamt up dream coming true.

"YEEEAAAHHHOOO!!!" laughing with joy, I am too giddy to notice the various shocked looks of a group of birds as I pass by them, much less the astonishment of the people on the ground.

"YEAH!!!! I FEEL SO ALIVE!" I yell, adrenaline still pumping through my veins; the white aura in the shape of a dragon flaps its wings every so often rising and falling as I do.

I turn right jerkily to begin exploring my newfound freedom, the wind brushing past my bare skin. I dip down shakily, learning to control my movements like learning how to drive a car for the first time. I twist and turn, rise and fall with my hands by my side while laughing as the wind kisses my face, urging me on. As time progresses, so too does my confidence as it continues to grow. I am sure I can do a lot more, but not without the proper training.

As if reading my thoughts, that incessant buzzing returns in a different pitch than before. It is lower, a bass sound, like the hum of a truck. It slowly rises in pitch, forestalling my flight in the air, making me put my brakes on before a crash. I tip my head back and raise my legs to stop my forward momentum. Momentarily stunned, I start to descend straight down, not fast, but at a gentle pace.

The buzz turns in my head, moving to the left side of my mind. Looking around, I notice I had flown off course. I was still some distance away from the bank where I was supposed to be, a narrow lazy river flowing casually to my right. My eyes then go as wide as saucers as I look down, starting to fall more rapidly. The white aura flickers; the shape of the dragon growing dimmer, flapping less often as I drift lower. Calmly, I concentrate on staying afloat. I stop sinking while the dragon grows brighter and stronger than before, wings scooping the air away steadily to stay in a hover.

I move to my left, surprised to see a faint green/white trail heading in the direction towards the bank. The buzzing eases up to a faint whine, but does not disappear.

Damn this thing could get annoying every time there is trouble.

I fly like the arrow, straight and true with my hands at my sides, eyes still in slits to enable better detail of the landscape below. Every mile I go, the energy I felt in the hospital slowly returns. With my adrenaline still going, I head to the bank. The landscape rushes by as the moon slowly starts to emerge. Buildings, skyscrapers, houses, markets, and restaurants whirl by in the blink of an eye as I speed my way towards the heist.

About fifteen minutes later, I spot the bank, police cars surrounding the premise while I watch from slightly below cloud cover; my reptilian eyes giving me the sight I need. Going through the front doors would do me no good. They would only arrest me on sight after seeing me land in the front of the bank out of nowhere.

I then remember my vision of the robbers, a mysterious feminine figure cloaked in black with two medium intelligent minions. I think of that cop I had seen get murdered before my very eyes and I knew I had to stop them.

With even more determination and courage than when I left, I fly horizontally at the section of the roof where I thought the safe to be, planning on dropping down fast enough so I would not be seen by the cops. Without meaning to, I mentally tell my mind to mold my aura into a shield around me, air tight against my skin.

With the intention of dropping fast upon the roof, I prepare myself. Instead, the white dragon aura turns into a body shield around me as I unconsciously think about protection. Harder and heavier than diamond, I suddenly drop straight down towards the bank as I fly over it.

Once again, the fear from my first time falling not too long ago comes back, but something pushes it away, a base instinct telling me now is not a good time to be afraid. Agreeing whole heartily that now would be a bad time to panic, I narrow my eyes, pupils turning to tiny slits as I plummet towards earth.

About five hundred feet from the ground, I twist my body, turning vertically into an upright position, ready to smash down on the robber's parade. Seconds later, as I get ready to crash down, halfway into a cannonball form, my right foot catches the edge of a decoration on the top of the bank.

Instead of crashing down like superman, my momentum changes to the front, my arms flail out in front as my face impacts the surface of the roof to that of a runaway train. The ceiling and me with it crash down violently to the ground.

I flip end over end, coming to a sliding stop on my left side on the floor as I let out a slightly strained OW. As I carefully rise up, I cough and wave my hand around, clearing the smoke. I blink my eyes, clearing them of any dust and debris as I rest my other hand on my face. WOW, was that some impact! Not at all as I had planned; and my face!! It stings like the debris on my fall off the hospital's balcony rail. I am surprised my glasses did not fall off or break.

I slightly wonder how I survived that crash as I vaguely think about my white aura body shield as it slowly dissipates, but not completely. Although the energy inside me reaches an all-time high, it remains ready and rearing to go as I look around the room I fell in.

"Ok, that was...fun. Need to work on my landing though. Now where would a thief be, and more importantly, where would the vault be?" I say to myself in a thoughtful tone.

The room, now littered with remains of the roof, appears to be where you deposit your money, or is this the staff quarters. That must be it because I find myself at the attention of a dozen or so hostages tied up with hands behind their backs but not gagged. I study their amazed faces, blinking in surprise. I straighten myself unconsciously while I stutter a response.

"U...Um...Uh... Hello?" I ask, unsure of what to say. Fearful yet hopeful eyes stare at me bewildered. A tall, slender man speaks out, probably the head teller as he is clad in a black vest with vertical white stripes. Tan pants hang around his waist as if recently ironed. He shuffles around in his sitting position as the other employees look at him. His black hair is cut tight to his scalp, combed to the left with gel.

"Who are you?" he asks warily in a soprano voice, unsure of how to act after a twenty-one year old teen crashes like a meteor through you're bank.

"I... My name is Colby Daniels. I am here to save you, if I can," I reply warily, not doubting my power but not sure of what I can do.

"Well," a voice speaks out to the left of the group. A young woman, around the age of thirty, dressed in a light pink shirt with a grass green skirt sits near the back of the group. Her long hair is a black beige color, falling unrestrained down her back. We all turn towards her, the straight, chiseled face of the teller pulling into a grimace.

"Well..." she says again a little nervous this time, turning her head slightly down and to the left before looking up with determination. "If you're going to save us, you better watch out for a gun. The robber that is here killed an off duty police officer a while ago," she finishes, looking down in confused wonder, her hair coming down to cover her face. The teller turns back to me, eager to talk again.

"If you are here to save us, whoever you might be, we wish you luck," he says with his soprano voice held strong without fear. Looking into his eyes, I see a hint of something he knows, as if he knows who I really am. I quickly ask for directions, remembering my vision of where the vault could be, and the teller, Greg, responds politely, telling me to watch out for traps.

I walk out of the debris filled room, heading towards a door to my left. As I leave, I look back, reminding myself to find this place again.

I stride confidently down a hall decorated with pictures of banks and various staff members. The floor is a checkerboard of black and white with whitewashed walls. Up ahead is a cross road, a right and a left turn. Looking back on the directions I was given, I head towards the left.

Feeling slightly cold, I look down to find I have no shirt or bandages on. I press my hands onto my chest in a searching manner; no scars or signs of the toxin can be seen on my body. Thinking about the surge of color and energy in the hospital room, I come to the conclusion it healed all my scars and let me survive that crash. As I am thinking about this, a mysterious figure cloaked in black rounds the corner and stops in surprise. Jerking me back from my reverie, the figure yells.

"Hey! You! Are you the one who crashed into the bank? If you are, I cannot allow you to leave here," the robber says in a feminine sounding voice again.

A rush of fear rolls over me as I stare into her motionless eyes. A very faint presence reappears in the back of my head, almost reassuring me. Not sure who it is but glad for the assistance, I take a step forward with determination, hands clenched into tight fists, nervous with bravery.

"Yes, my name is Colby Daniels; I have come here to stop you." I say defiantly, pointing my finger while twisting my body so my right foot is in front and my left hand is still clenched in a fist at my left side.

The figure in black then starts to laugh maniacally, bending down to keep from falling over. Her black cape follows her as she leans forward from the force of her laugh. After a few tense moments, she straightens back out; pulling out a gun as she simultaneously aims it straight at me.

"Then I would like to see you try," she sneers, lips reaching the corner of her ears in a big, smug grin. Her midnight black hood covers the feature of her face, but I can still guess what she is doing.

I lower my hand slowly into a fist again. Trembling with fear, but also with adrenaline and the thrill and heat of battle, I regain my composition slowly as I ready myself for combat. The white aura re-materializes; my reptilian eyes focusing on the gun and her subtle movements.

With a flash, she pulls the trigger. I blink instinctively, leaning slightly to the left. The black ball of whatever the hell it is skins my right cheek, close to my healed scar. The pain and burning of the wound re-ignites my mind; thousands of old battles bursting to the front of my head to aid me in battle.

In the split second after the bullet hits and I reopen my eyes, I gather my will and unconsciously shape the white aura into big metal gloves around my hands. Leaning into a run, I launch myself into a sprint, heading for the robber.

The white aura reforms again, gathering and reshaping to resemble fireballs blazing in my palms. As I run forth, the fear gone from my eyes to be replaced with battle hardened instincts, the figure in black fires again. I duck into a crouching run, moving at a relatively fast pace to avoid the black ball of death before I leap up to attack.

I raise my right hand as she re-aims for my heart. My hand comes down scant inches from the gun. The figure moves the gun away a little, but my left hand comes up and impacts it anyways, shattering it into tiny pieces that are sent flying over and hit her left shoulder. She flinches back from the biting pain of the shrapnel, but quickly pulls in the arm that held that gun and thrusts at my stomach, palm open with slightly bent fingers while her left arm is bent across her face while she crouches lower.

The impact rattles my body as she thrusts out, hitting me fully in the stomach; my fireballs in my hand go out and my aura vanishes as I fly back and impact the ground hard, winded. My glasses fly off my face and clack onto the ground, sliding a good four feet further back and to the side of the hallway. My breath escapes my lungs as I come to a stop. I roll to my left wheezing, trying to get enough air into my lungs while weakly pushing myself back away from the robber, suddenly terrified.

Undeterred and a little pissed off, the cloaked figure walks haughtily towards me, face pulled into a twisted smile. "Did you really think you could kill me so easily? Ha! You are just a fool come to die. Or are we playing hero. No, I would think not; my gun does not shatter so easily, you see? I had put spells on it to strengthen the frame," she says smugly, continuing to walk towards me as I creep back, face glancing up at her every once in a while.

She crouches down when she nears me, stopping me in my tracks. She grabs my neck, pulling me up, hanging me off the ground. I quickly grasp her wrists to try and lift my weight off my neck as much as I can.

"Now, let us see who you really are," she inquires questioningly. Her unnerving orange purple/black eyes scan my body, making small notes of the faintly visible white aura, flashing lightly in protest against her touch. As she searches me, my fear begins to grow as I look into her demonic eyes.

"Hmm, seems like your one of those stupid protectors, well, not for long," she says in disgust, chuckling in a sinister tone.

My mind races as I continue to fear for my life, but my battle instincts overpower my fear. Thinking quickly and concentrating on looking away from her eyes, hands still on her wrists, I start to concentrate to gather my energy again.

Her right hand slowly starts to suffocate me and after a few nervous moments, I finally gather enough energy as I start to go white from lack of air. I start to swing my feet with what limited range I have. On the third swing, I bunch my muscles up, pulling my knees towards my chest then quickly push out, hitting the robber straight in the chest.

The blow stuns her out of the dream like state she had been in. She had also been sucking my energy, my life, out of me as I dangled helplessly from her grasp. I pull back my head, landing on my hands once I am free of her grip. I bend my elbows and continue my back spring, landing a good few feet away and sliding a couple more. I regain my breath as the robber stands in a dazed trance.

"Wha-What!" she shouts in complete shock, eyes widening into discs. "That should have killed you," she yells in outrage, hands in clenched fists at her side.

"I survived a violent car crash," I respond nonchalantly while kneeling on the ground, "Why not this?" as I raise my hands up in a simple gesture of shrug.

She blinks in surprise, hands unclenching as recognition flashes through her eyes, looking slightly down while bringing her arms up in thought.

"So that is where the supply went. No matter, guess we will just have to get some mo-"

She does not get to finish her train of thought as I charge up and run full sprint back at her while she thinks, catching her on the face as she lifts it back up. I land a solid punch straight between her eyes. My momentum is great enough so that she flies backwards into the wall, a good fifteen feet from the start of our fight. A loud crash sounds as she is implanted into the wall, making a sizable impression. Bits of concrete fall down to the floor, drops of blood cover her surprised face; nose broken, face indented in a few centimeters.

I look at my right hand, bewildered to say the least. I close and open my fingers into a fist a couple of times. No pain, no blood, just a little sore. My amazement transfers to my face as it turns into a big wide smile of victory.

"YES!" I shout, hands turning into fists up into the air, hair bouncing back and forth with my jubilee. Not wondering about what exactly happened and how that punch did not hurt, I walk forward to round the corner feeling more determined than before; the white aura fading to a slight dim, at the ready for another confrontation. I do not feel tired, only slightly out of breathe at the intense encounter. I still had those two goons to deal with too.

The female robber gradually slumps to the ground in a crumpled heap of mortar and blood as I continue walking to the vault. I pause momentarily as a thought strikes me. Turning around to look back at the female in question, I mutter,

"If you are not Lira...Then who are you?" I wait a few more seconds before turning around to continue on my way.

As I near the vault door which is half open, two things happen at the same time. First, two men walk out said door, over laden with heavy bags stuffed full with money. One with blond hair in a brown sweatshirt and black pants speaks to his companion who is attired in the same outfit but with white hair.

"Come on, Larry, we better get this money to safe point D in Virginia quickly or she will be very mad." Larry nods in agreement but halts after turning to close the vault door and shouts in surprise.

My smile at the location of their rendezvous point fades as my eyes widen at the sound of being detected. "Garry! Intruder!" Larry shouts as Garry's head flies in my direction. I had stopped and moved off to the left of the wall, vainly trying to stay out of sight when I arrived.

The second thing that happened was the door straight across from the vault bolts open with police pouring in.

"Police! Put your hands up!!" Three police in black/blue uniform, helmets, and guns barge through the door. Two of the cops are wielding standard issue rifles while the other had an automatic; all make of the guns unknown at the time. They rush in in a triangle formation, spreading out as they rush through the door.

Upon entry, the two thugs whip around to face the cops, determined looks on their faces. Unbeknownst to me, the second they turn their heads, as I was partly in a shadow, I turn Invisible. I watch silently on the sideline as the confrontation continues on before me.

"Do not worry," Larry answers in a calm voice. "We are just leaving. We are going to safe point D in virgin-" Whack!

"Shut up, you oaf!" Garry yells in a rage, slapping Larry on the back of the head, suddenly full of intelligence. "You just gave away where we are going, you idiot!"

Momentarily stunned, the police lower their weapons, but the moment the two thugs look back at them they raise the guns in warning.

"Remove the bags of money! Surrender now or we will have to use force!" The lead policeman says as the two others move in a wide circle, attempting to flank them. I move cautiously back, keeping a wide distance from the cop coming towards me.

Seeing the move, the thugs do drop the bags, but seemingly out of nowhere, weapons materialize. A nice black shining long sword is expertly held by Larry while Garry wields a menacing looking hammer/axe.

The cops take a hesitant step back, unsure of where they got their weapons. That half-second of indecision is all Larry and Garry need. They both rush at the officers at their flanks, splitting up. Larry slices diagonally down to his left, slicing the officer's gun in half and taking his right hand with it. The officer stumbles back, holding his bleeding hand in futility. Larry takes this moment to raise the sword above his head and plunge it into the officer's heart. He dies instantly, and as Larry pulls out the bloody sword, blood gushes forth from the wound.

When this is happening, the lead officer steps a few more paces back, then aims at Garry. While Larry is otherwise engaged, Garry had impaled the second officer with his hammer/axe, crushing the skull in an instant. As Garry turns towards the lead officer, holding his club with one hand, the officer fires his full clip of ammo. Bullets pour into Garry, making him stagger back. He crashes into the wall, slightly denting it with his heavy weight.

Astonishingly, Garry gets back up, bullet holes riddling his stomach. The lead police officer drops his weapon in fright as Garry's wounds visibly start smoking as they slowly close one by one. Now I stare in disbelief. He must have been exposed to the same toxin I was covered in!

My thoughts are cut short as I hear a gurgling noise then a thump. I turn my head to the right to see that the third officer is down, strangled from behind as he tried to flee but got run through at the heart with a sword, a nasty way to die. The two thugs reconvene near the vault door to gather the money. Their weapons vanish as they reach down to pick up their haul.

I was still invisible, but that did not keep them from finding me again, because suddenly Larry stands straight back up and shouts. "Garry! The other one is still here. We have to get rid of him before he can escape or the boss will be really angry." With that, they both turn and stare intently at where I crouch in the shadows unseen.

Sweat pours down my face in an avalanche as they begin to move steadily towards me like a predator to prey, waiting, watching. My skin becomes hot and itchy as they steadily approach. They stop a few feet from where I am, looking rather confused all of a sudden. I look down at myself when they stop. I jump slightly, seeing as I had somehow turned invisible. I take that opportunity to power up, turning both my hands into metal gloves with spikes on the front.

"Where did he go Larry?"

"I do not know, Garry. How should I know? He was here a few second ag-"

I interrupt him as I uppercut both of them into oblivion from where I crouch. They both go flying through the air, launching a good five feet off the ground from where they stand. With heavy thuds they smack the ground hard, leaving good sized cracks where they land, unconscious, for now.

Mind a buzz of activity, I quickly think of numerous ways to save the hostages, recover the money, and put all three thieves under arrest. Thinking back to the materialized weapons Larry and Garry had, I get a great idea. I close my hands together as if in a prayer, and then open them slightly, concentrating on what I want, assisted by the unending knowledge in my mind. I channel the unseen aura into my palms; shaping and re-organizing it to my will. I create a small plasma ball, sweat cascading down my face in rivers by the drain in energy and required concentration.

Like a flash, I lean forward, legs spread, putting my left foot out and my hands with the plasma ball at my waist. Then I push upwards, forcing the ball of plasma through the roof. I cover my face immediately and close my eyes as dust, debris and concrete rain down on me. I unconsciously create a white transparent shield around me, protecting me from the falling cement. Once the dust settles, I open my eyes and uncover my face. I stare stunned as a white aura shield slowly dissipates around me. Weird, I do not remember that being there, but I am grateful nonetheless.

Pulling my head back straight from looking at my hands then at where the shield used to be, I hear another bang, and in the distance, "Police, surrender now!" My eyes widen, but my brain complies as I sprint straight ahead from the vault, heading for a back entrance that the teller told me about before I left. As I round a corner, I spot five cops down the right side of the hallway I enter. They see me and shout, "FREEZE!" They look a little perplexed as they catch sight of me; no shirt and a few bumps and bruises as I take off into the opposite direction in a full out sprint.

This is not good! Not what I need if I want to become a hero! I scream inside my mind as I lower my head and cross my arms, ready to plow through the window. The cops shout and yell for me to stop, but I just keep going. They do not fire seeing as I am unarmed, but never stop running to get me to stop. I crash through the window, expecting to land on the ground, but continue to fall through open air.

Crap! I forgot I climbed the stairs a few times to get to the vault! My mind races as I plummet, almost forgetting how I got here. Already tired and over exhausted from the fights I was in, I gather up the last of my strength to fly.

Shaping the white aura once again, I touch the ground hands first in a barrel role. Coming out of the role, I crouch as I slide down a slight decline, bunching up my muscles; my reptilian eyes still aglow, but only barely, I push off, just managing to fly a few feet before I stagger from exhaustion. With sheer willpower and the fear of falling again, I continue to fly up and through the clouds to a safe place to land.

Meanwhile, the police next to the window and outside the bank look up in amazement and wonder at what just happened.

_ ~~~~~Police- at the vault~~~~~ _

"Great work Ken, now that we have these two in cuffs, we can go look for their leader."

"But-but boss?! How are we supposed to find that kid?" I say in apprehension. "He did help us, but what are the chances of a real like superhero coming to thwart the robber's plans? I mean, we all know about the famous Protectors, but come one! He is just a kid!"

"He is off the hook for now Ken, let him go. We have more pressing matters to attend to. First, we have to send these miscreants to a secure jail, and then we have to do the same for their leader. Face it ken, if that kid was able to knock out their leader AND her bodyguards, then we must take all the help we can get. I mean, these two took down three good officers in just a few seconds; the only clip I found empty was the squad leaders. For now we stay off his trail, see what he does. It is not our problem if he wants to play hero and risk his life," my boss replies in finality.

I stand down as the chief police officer, Robert Olario (O-la-rio) walks off to file out the necessary police report. If there was anybody who could do a better job than the initial search team, it was Robert. He is a legend among our force; seventeen years in the military, five in the secret service, and three in the air force. After twenty-five years of service to the country, he decided to retire and become a chief police officer, not what I would say as a good retirement plan.

Along with his job, he has the body type to go with it, 6'3" and full of muscle. He has brown red hair with a mix of hazel and gray eyes. His build is muscular but lean with a slightly flabby six-pack of abs. His skin is the color of light chocolate with a hint of freckles splattered all over his skin. His chiseled face carries two well-busheled and trimmed eyebrows with a nicely shaved mustache to boot, all in all a handsome man for one lucky woman. Unfortunately, no one knows if he has ever had a wife, or if he does, if they have had a child. It would not do to let his genes go to waste.

To think of letting a potential subject get away from a bank heist; I do not know what it would do to his reputation. Even in our most trying times with Dinosaurs coming to life, Oh My! It does not make the world a better place by far.

Rumor, or if I should call it that, anyway. Rumor has it that an evil figure is building a force of Dinosaurs to take over the world. Not my idea of an army, but the scary part is that they are bigger and more heavily armored than way back then. It just goes to show tha-

"Ken! Stop looking constipated and go with team six to secure the lead robber!" Robert snaps hastily.

"Sir yes sir!" I answer without pause, snapping to attention out of routine. I quickly grab my gun and jog over to inform the team. In less than three minutes, we move out to secure the leader.

_ ~~~~~Mysterious Figure~~~~~ _

Darkness engulfs my vision. Lines swirl and twist making dizzying patterns. I try to shake it off but my body does not comply. The swirls grow longer, as if captured by a time lapse photo. I spiral down into a black hole, my body screaming in protest as bones strain against the weight.

Oomph!

I land on solid ground, not sure where I am. That blow I took really knocked me out. I knew I should not have played with him. He could possibly be my downfall if I let him get stronger and I am not going to let that happen. Next time I meet him, he is going dow-

"Mang...You disappoint me." A deep booming bass voice seemingly out of nowhere startles me slightly. I get up, looking around. Nothing but a pitch-black night sky surrounds me.

"Ma-Master?" I stutter, hastily standing up and looking around uselessly, my black robes twisting to motion. "What do you mean, I disappoint you?"

A deep booming laugh resonates within my head like an earthquake. I flinch, still not used to that. No sooner had it started than it stopped.

"What do you mean? What do I mean?" The voice says in a rise in tone as it mocks me. Silence permeates the air for a few seconds.

"YOU KNOW WHY I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! You failed to steal the money! You failed to kill that boy! You failed to kill your BROTHER!" He yells at the top of his deep bass voice, the seemingly infinite space around me shakes angrily to the sound of his voice.

I think carefully over my reply. One false move and the Darkness could end my life and find another vessel. "Master, I tried to steal the money. When he crashed in, I went to deal with him. I had no idea he was that skilled. I know him, he has dreamed for years of being a dragon or being a superhero. He has no training! I could see it in his eyes as I was TRYING to kill him!" I say calmly, hands moving in increased motion over my speech.

"Hmmmm....Yes, but fail me again and you know what happens. THIS PLANET MUST BE MINE!!" And with that, I start to wake up.

_ ~~~~~Police~~~~~ _

"Stay sharp. She could be anywhere. No telling if she has escaped yet or is still down, but judging by the noise we all heard, ear onto the side of caution still." I say silently, gun held out steadily in front of me. The platoon of five other police officers follows behind me.

It was almost totally dark out, so we had our ex-ray vision goggles on. We went through the halls and around numerous corners and stairs until we came to a gruesome sight, a body that was torn by a brutal impact.

I flash the sign to hold, putting a fist up. Then signaling for a flanking maneuver, I tell each officer to take up a position. The figure had not moved at all yet. Debris lightly covered the floor, the officers moving silently along; stealth being our greatest asset at the time.

When everyone was almost in place, a few pistols, rifles, and a sub machine gun all trained on the figure, I see a quick, jerky movement. I quickly put out the signal to halt, everyone stops split second where they stand. I signal to watch for movement, automatic rifle still trained on the fallen robber.

A hand twitches, and before I know it, the robber rises with a hand on her temple. "Ooooooh...That was not go..." she pauses, spotting feet in the edge of her vision. Hood thrown back from the fall, her face is twisted into a grimace. Her long matted black ebony hair is slightly out of place; her cloak is dusty and painted with blood from her face.

"What are you looking at?" She says suddenly, rising up to her full stature.

We all take a step back, wary of the perpetrator. She looks around, a large scar running from the tip of her chin to the top of her temple. All signs of damage from the punch delivered by the unknown hero miraculously repaired.

I shout the common police saying before she can do anything else. "Hands up and behind your back or you WILL be shot." I finish, motioning with my gun to my comrades; still trained on the robber yet wary.

Sighing, the robber speaks reluctantly. "Very well, have it your way." She says in a flat voice.

With a twist and a flourish of her robes, she twirls away from me. Before I yell fire I get one last glance at her face as she vanishes in a puff of dark smog, nowhere to be seen. I stare, a little shaken as to what I had seen. Those were no ordinary eyes; they were the eyes of a demon, even though I do not know how I knew that.

Quickly coming out of my trance, I order everyone to look around frantically, to search for the perpetrator. We find nothing after a few intense minutes of searching. Frustrated, I report back to Robert.

"Sir... We found the leader...But she vanished before we could apprehend her." A voice can be heard yelling at the other side of the phone. "What?! No! I mean... She literally vanished like batman."......

"Sir?"......*Sigh* "Yes sir." Sighing I turn back to order everyone back to base. Unnoticed, a small pair of broken glasses lay off to the side of the hallway.

breeze $.saX^, smelling of freedom and city air.

I reach the porch, rapidly approaching the edge. My chanting becomes faster as my breath comes once again in short, quick gasps. With my bandages fluttering behind me like a sash; dark blue pants and no shirt on except my trailing bandages, I leap up to the rail then propel myself off the building, chanting and screaming all the way.

_ ~~~~~Bank-Robbery, Mysterious figure~~~~~ _

Shuffle...Shuffle...Shuffle...Shuffle...Thwack!

"Stop goofing off you buffoon. I need you to get this money in those bags quickly! I mean like yesterday!" A mysterious figure yells, making both Larry and Gerry flinch yet again.

"Sorry Boss." Larry says, touching the stinging bruise tenderly on the back of his head before quickly getting back to work.

"Well, If you guys were not lazing around instead of taking this seriously, we could have been done by now!" the feminine voice belonging to the cloaked figure yells in restrained anger.

The last job did not go so well. If we are to successfully pay for the atonium, every robbery has to be perfect. What these two lunatics lack in moderate intellect, they make up for in inhuman strength and endurance. It would not do to ask if he could just send me some Ba'lay as well. Those things at least know how to get a job done quickly and efficiently.

Thump!

"Oops, Sorry." says Gerry, picking up a forty pound bag once again, carrying it to a corner where similar bags waited.

Idiots...They are complete morons. Yet, I dare not say anything that would cost me my life. As long as the...

Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...Ring!...

Darn, not again.

"You buffoons! Work faster! If we do not clear this bank out, the dinosaurs will not be ready in time!" I scream. Hurrying towards the vault door, I put numerous traps and spell wards around the outside perimeter, not to already account for the ones outside and on the walls of the main building. With malicious glee I ponder to myself. Let us see them try and get through this.

I turn back around to check the already overstuffed bags, making sure they are secure. Satisfied that the morons do not get everything wrong, I wait patiently for the fun to begin. Five minutes later, the sirens of police arrive in force.Drat! They must know I am here! I say silently to myself while turning to face my two minions.

"Hurry up or it is jail time for the both of you!" I say in a desperate tone. Out of fear, they visibly start shoving money hurriedly into the remaining bags. A few minutes later and a terrible crash sounds. Both Larry and Gerry look up briefly and then back at me; even more frightened, they get back to work, sweat visibly rolling down their skin and soaking their clothes.

I faintly hear a strangled, OW! _Now where did that come from? I had thought we cleared the bank, save for a few hostages._A few seconds after I hear, "OK, that...was fun. Need to work on my landing though. Now, where would a thief be?"

Crap! I start to panic a little as I think who could have passed my traps on the outer perimeter. No Reason. Guess I will just have to flush him out. I bark orders to Larry and Gerry to finish up, then head for safe-point D. I stroll out of the vault to look for the intruder.