Righteous Lad: The beginning
#3"Oh, so you're lame AND new? Just my luck… Look, you're not exactly showing to be the worst thing ever, but some reassurance would be great right about now." 

"I know, I know. Just let me–" Cutting into that train of thought is a sudden ear piercing sonic screech, and a persistent one at that. The two instinctively reach to cover their ears as they grimace intensely from the audio assault. Too loud to think, too painful to pay much attention to anything else. It results in the thief desperately reaching for his handlebars, particularly the nitro button on the right-handed bar. During, Tyson takes a brief moment to look behind him. It's there he sees the drone has extended some sort of antenna toward them, discharging a wave of visible sound-rings. Before the hero can even consider a method of stopping it, the biker abruptly takes off with a similar burst of speed from earlier, grabbing Tyson's attention again. 

This time however, the biker ends up crashing through the window of a business building and disrupting a work environment with destruction.

 

"Huh. That seems to have done the trick, eh? Sometimes simple options provide the best outcomes." The voice behind the drone muses out loud while retracting its antenna.

Driven by worry, Tyson hurries inside the building through the shattered window. He adjusts himself while entering, coming to slide into a landing and using his momentum to jog toward the mess before him. 

 

"Hey, you guys have to get out of here! It's not safe! Is anyone hurt!?" He asks, mindfully picking up and tossing aside former makeshift walls that made up work-space  cubicles. Thankfully, the employees were taking his warning seriously and were proceeding to exit the floor as quickly as they could. Tyson finds and helps a few back onto their feet. No casualties or injuries among them, but things were far from over. In fact, while aiding one last worker, the drone silently floats pass him and avoids his immediate detection. Surveying for the only individual the drone pilot was interested in - the bank robber. 

After a moment of searching, the drone spots its target in the back near the elevators, pulling himself from underneath the hover cycle.

 Just as the thief gains the freedom to move around, he attempts to push himself up from a kneeling position. What freezes him right in his tracks is the drone's mini gatling gun barrel pointing down at his face.

 

"This is the end of the line for you, punk." And with those words, the barrel begins spinning and preparing to rain down piercing death. However, Righteous Lad slides over on the soles of his sneakers and blocks the barrage of gunfire with his back. Just like before, the only things that receive damage is his clothes. His jacket and T-shirt this time around.

 

"Still getting in my way, huh?"

 

"Yeah, you bet! I'm still NOT going to let you kill him." Tyson answers with a self-righteous tone while turning where he stands to shoot a glare at the drone. It's also within this moment that the young aspiring hero realizes he needs to find an alternative method to finish this confrontation fast. What comes to mind is a power that he's barely been able to use adequately - a power he feels is so dangerous, that sends an uncomfortable chill through his body. Still, he had to try. He just had to focus.

 

"Hm. You know, this gives me a chance to try out a button I was told to be veeeery careful with. Might end up losing the stolen dough, but Ehh… I rather see this place come crashing down on your head." With that stated, the drone begins to morph. Shifting like pseudo liquid before taking the shape of a canon, where the position of the 'eye' now sits atop like a scope.

 

[ "Focus… think small."] Tyson speaks to himself within his own mind, soon building solar light within his eyes. His pupils shift from jade green to a radiant shade of gold. Simultaneously, the levitating weapon before him begins accumulating a red energy from within its hollow barrel.

[ "Fooo-cuuus… Not too big, not too big!" ] He does his best to keep his eyes in check, flutiating the brightness that shines from in the process 

 

"H-hey! That dirt bag is about to hit us with something, man. Do some–!"

 

Z A A A A P

Z a a a p !

 

Before the thief could finish that sentence, the two opposing forces finally clash in a power struggle between beams. Red vs Sunny-Orange. It doesn't take too long to realize the two are in a stalemate a moment in.

 

"So you've got lasers too, huh? Are they any good? Because I'm about to turn up the dial and melt your face off if you're slacking, kid…" The voice behind the drone warns, and follows through. The drone's beam escalates bit by bit, growing in size, girth, heat, and pressure as it gradually overpowers Righteous Lad's solar vision. 

The young hero grimaces with gritting teeth, struggling to control his power. He had to push a bit more.

 

[ "Come on, a little more. I can give a little more!" ] He exclaims internally to himself. Just as the expanding beam was pushing the struggle dangerously close to his face, Tyson gives what he feels is a small jolt – a measly jump to boost his eye beams. However, it proves to be more than that. That push results in him overtaking the laser bout in a destructive flash. Not only does he overtake the struggle, but he also disintegrates the drone and ends up blowing a large hole in the current and bottom half of the second floor windows in his line of vision.

In a moment of horror and shock, he immediately puts an end to his projectile.

"Oh My Go– GOSH. Oh my Gosh…" He stops himself from calling to the divine in vain.

 

"Holy Hell, man. I'm glad I wasn't standing behind that thing…" The thief muses out loud.

 

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm so glad you weren't either. That-.. That was an accident."

 

"Yeah, sure. Might want to get a visor filter for that thing. You know.. Like.. Uhh… like… Cyclops! The comic book character. You know him, right?"

 

"Yeah, I do. I do, I do. He's only the best X-Men member." Tyson replies.

 

"Whaaaat…? Dude, come on… We all know Gambit is the best X-Men in the comics. Cyclops? Mr. Boyscout McCool? Yeah, right." The thief scoffs.

 

"Gambit? That shady card throwing conman?" Tyson retorts while shooting a questioning look over his shoulder.

 

"Dude, he has character. The guy's a realist. Plus, he's just so freakin' cool. How can you NOT like him?"

 

"We're going to have to agree to disagree there. Right now, I need to hand you over to the authorities and return the money you stole."

 

"Baaugh, fine. But I'm not carrying anything, nor am I walking. I'm pretty sure I fractured something in my leg, and it's been hurting like a bitch. Plus? My rides totaled." 

 

With a sigh, Tyson places his hands at his hips and hangs his head for a moment.

"...Alright, it's better than spending another second chasing you all over the place."

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Finally returning home after a busy afternoon, Tyson uses his key to enter through the front door before shutting and locking it behind himself again.

"I'm home."

 

"Welcome back, honey."

"Welcome come, son." His parents greet in turn. His mother presently cooking dinner in the kitchen, while his father sits on the living room couch and watches TV. Upon passing by his father, the older male looks him over and calls for his attention.

 

"Hey, what happened to your clothes? You look like you just got out of a fight with a mountain bear."

 

"Huh?" The mother looks over upon hearing that description, and gives a concerned stare of her own at what she sees.

"He's right! Are you okay? Are you bleeding anywhere?" His mother asks, hustling over to examine him up close.

 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything. Just Uhh… just got caught up in a bit of excitement, is all." Tyson assures, wearing a wry grin on his face while his mother cups his cheeks.

 

"Are you sure? I can drive you to the hospital right away." She offers.

 

"No, no. I'm totally fine. Honest. No cuts, bruises, or anything. Truth be told, I feel pretty good after today."

 

"Hm. If  you say so." His father accepts his answer and resumes watching TV.

 

"Well, alright… I believe you. Go on up and get cleaned up for dinner. I'll be done shortly." She commands, raising on the balls of her feet to peck at Tyson's cheek. Afterwards, she heads back to the kitchen.

 

"Yes, ma'am. Already smells good, too." He responds while heading up to the second floor. He enters his room and gently shuts the door behind him. He rids himself of his ravaged track jacket and tosses onto the nearby office chair before throwing himself onto his bed, turning his body in the middle of doing so to land on his back.

Looking up at the ceiling with half lidded eyes, he thinks back to the hours he spent outside. A grin seamlessly curves his lips upward, growing a bit further until he's flashing those pearly whites of his.

 

"R i g h t e o u s."

 

End.