ARIES NIGHT OUT PART 10

Part 10

Aries paused only to scratch his head in exasperation before he went into action. The black van was speeding away down the long street, swerving past honking cars and shocked pedestrians. Igneous was much more manageable in his young, raccoon form so it was little trouble to pull off a piece of wrought iron from a nearby fence and tie it around him. The giant ram did not even look over his shoulder once the villain was restrained. He shot off at a full run to catch the vehicle with a look of intense determination, his hooves dug out chunks of concrete from the side walk and gouged out holes in the asphalt of the street as he was building up his speed.

The hero knew he had a good chance of catching the van. He was not super-fast like many supers; one of his teammates was good friends with a Burmese mountain dog in a red costume that could literally move faster than the eye and race around the city in minutes. Aries did not have that kind of speed but he could do something similar. As long as he was allowed to continue in a straight line, Aries would continue to build speed and overall power and there was no known upper limit to this ability. It was one of his weirder abilities and did not get much use or practice especially in the crowded city. Everyone knew about his strength and toughness and they had made a big deal about how he never got physically tired. Mrs. Hain made a big deal about that in their first press conference where she very subtly implied that it would make him a better romantic partner. Aries thought that idea was a bit ridiculous but he had noticed that just the idea had done something for his popularity with the ladies. Regardless, he would need to depend on this power right now if he was ever to save Mr. Typhon.

The van had done a good job of clearing the street already and Aries was able to accelerate up to the next level. He could feel himself reaching another plateau of speed and power almost like shifting gears. He guessed he was traveling at 30 miles per hour. The next burst brought him to 45 then 70. He would continue to increase at a slow exponential curve, each increase being bigger than the last. It was difficult to fine tune though it might be possible to learn how in an area with a large amount of space. The speed also brought a change in power. He could see a shield of air being bent in front of him, turning him into a living comet. As long as nothing jumped out in front of him, catching the van was a foregone conclusion. However, it was hard to adjust at this level of speed and if someone got in front of him, he would have to do something drastic to keep from killing them.

Only once did a small convertible cross his path. Aries was able to jump the vehicle and the power of his acceleration tore the collapsible roof off the car and nearly pulled the passengers out as well. Speed alone was not the force that tore at he car, it was the potential energy building around Aries. They gawked in shock as the giant super sailed over their heads. Another increase of speed came and jumped Aries up to 100 miles per hour. The Black van was coming closer now and he would have to grab it before it made a turn. He hoped that whoever was inside had their seatbelts on because this next part was going to be rough.

The giant ram impacted into the back of the vehicle and all the potential energy was transformed into kinetic energy. The level of power was something like being hit by a garbage truck going full speed. The vehicle’s rear end crumpled in around Aries’ head and body but his hands shot out to grab the sides. No one rocketed through the window so that was taken as a good sign. Aries lifted the vehicle high into the air so that its headlights were pointing straight up. He then leaned it against a wall so that none of its wheels could touch the ground.

Aries was a little perturbed that he was forced to inflict so much damage on the street though by most standards it was minimal indeed. He ripped the van’s side door off and stared inside. He hand was up in case a crook was waiting to shoot him in the face. It had happened before. No one was inside except for Mr. Typhon who was unconscious at the wheel. Aries was quite confused and gingerly set the van back down on its wheels to get a better look. Alexander Typhon was buckled in at the driver’s seat with one hand still on the wheel and a small bruise forming on his feathered forehead. The hawk was groaning slightly. Aries did another quick check to see if he had missed anyone else that might have been forcing him to drive at gunpoint.

What the fudge is going on here? Aries scratched his head again. The police were closing in but he was not sure what to tell them. Everyone was safe but the last couple of events did not make much sense. From the middle of the street, a large shadow came into existence. It seemed to be composed of solid black flame that refused to show any highlight or reflection. Aries had seen it before and knew it to be the display that always preceded one of Scorpio’s teleports.

The flames disappeared to reveal a strange group. All were part of the same team that Aries belonged to: Zodiac. The first was a huge, orange-striped robot with hulking shoulders and crab-like pinchers. That was the crab-bot being remotely piloted by Cancer: the tiger boy genius. Aries and Cancer were good friends even though he was quite a bit older. Aries was not above acting a little immature in the pursuit of fun now and then. Next, a tall otter with a thin waist and wide shoulders wearing a green mask and costume. He had a mean, serious look on his face and was scanning the area quickly for any threats. It was Pisces, once an exemplary soldier that had been infused with alien DNA to create an immortal military weapon. Pisces always intimidated Aries a little but he got along with him well enough and was glad to see him. After that was a short, female mouse in a dark purple body suit. This was Scorpio. She had a gymnast’s thin muscular build and a long braid of white hair with a blade at the end. Across her left eye was a sword tattoo that branded her forever as once belonging to a world-wide crime organization loosely referred to as the syndicate. She was a former thief herself with a disdain for law in general. Their first meeting had been a difficult one and Aries always kept a safe distance from the surprisingly dangerous mouse. Still, he was glad to see them all right now.

These three were Team Water. Zodiac was a large group of supers, many would say too large. They had been divided into smaller groups of three based on their star signs associated element. Some of the teams did not seem to make too much sense. Team fire was almost too good and its members should have been spread out to other teams. Team Earth has two incredibly inexperienced members on it and Team Water had some of the strongest personalities and two of the biggest troublemakers, namely Scorpio and Cancer. Many complaints were made about the sub-teams but the board members kept them as they were for “theme” purposes. Pisces stepped forward with a serious look on his face. Aries fought the urge to salute.

“What’s the situation, Aries? We got a report of a super-battle a few miles from here but only found a raccoon kid tied up in an iron fence. Report.” Pisces was too the point as usual.

“Is Mrs. Hain OK?” Aries asked. Pisces was momentarily irritated that his question was not addressed but he had learned to ignore a lot since he joined the team. He was more used to a strict military protocol but knew that Aries had good instincts and intentions.

“She’s fine. No guests were hurt and they have all the perps in custody. Now, answer my question.”
“The raccoon is the villain Igneous. He crashed the charity ball and took Mr. Typhon as a hostage. I was able to beat him but then the van ran off. I thought there was another goon in the car but Mr. Typhon is the only person here and he’s at the wheel. It’s weird.”

Pisces and Scorpio looked at the driver briefly while they thought about the expression then both smiled as they looked at each other. Scorpio even laughed a bit much to Aries’ frustration at being left out of the joke.

“What? What is it?” Aries and Cancer asked the same question. Pisces was still smiling as he retrieved a pair of handcuffs from his belt. Scorpio hopped on the van’s hood and took a relaxed seat. She was the first to answer.

“You two are so naïve, it’s refreshing. This wasn’t some random job thought out by Igneous. He’s too stupid to plan it. The brains behind this crime is behind the wheel.” Aries stared at Mr. Typon with a bewildered look.

“Why?”

Pisces took over the conversation. He was kind of enjoying the moment and it was obvious. “It’s a scam, Aries. Igneous pretends to kidnap Mr. Typhon who then uses his access to the charity funds to clean it out. He would say later that Igneous forced him to or something like that. When it is done, all the money is split between Igneous and Typhon. Typhon hides the money in foreign accounts until the suspicion dies down and then he retires and moves away to enjoy all of Alpha City One’s charity money.”

“Pretty classic misdirection scam,” Scorpio joined in.

“Wait, then why did he try to get away in the van? He still had a good cover that he was kidnapped. I would have believed him.”

Pisces secured the handcuffs to the wheel and Mr. Typhon’s wrists. “Desperate I guess. He must be in some serious debt and figured there was still a chance to work the scam without Igneous as long as he got away.”

“Yeah, it was a rookie mistake to be sure. Not everybody is cut out for a life of crime. You need a cool head and a good back up plan.” Scorpio’s last statement caused her teammates to stare at her for an awkward moment of time. She saw their accusing eyes but made not effort to correct her statement. Pisces broke the silence.

“Anyway, Igneous would have probably ratted him out for a reduced sentence. He’s no genius in the criminal world either.

Aries dropped the conversation and made himself busy clearing the van out of traffic and handling the police when they arrived. Mr. Typhon was loaded onto an ambulance with a slight concussion. Everything his teammates had said made sense now though he was surprised at their detective skills. Scorpio was used to thinking like a crook and it had come in handy more than once before. Pisces didn’t trust anyone and that had also helped a time or two. He felt a little bad for not putting the pieces together himself but felt thankful that he had teammates who could help him.

He returned to the party, which was also full of police. They barely noticed him as they milled around giving statements. Mrs Hain found him. She said nothing but walked toward him with a large smile on her face. Before he could offer any explanation, She pulled his arm down to kiss him on the cheek.

“Thank you, Aries. I had a wonderful time. I’ll meet you at the limo after I tie up a few loose ends with the police.”

“Um… Okay.”

He rubbed his cheek where she had kissed him and made his way over to the police, convinced that he would never understand a lot of things. Reporters saw him as he entered the center of the room and quickly circled him with a barrage of microphones and camera lights. Aries knew the drill and waved them off saying that Mrs. Hain had already given any statements from New Dawn Corp. or Zodiac. It was much easier and she had given them all a statement. Still, the reporters were always looking for any personal tidbits or slips and Aries was a good choice. Several times in the past, he had been baited into saying something by a cagey reporter and it had gotten him into a lot of trouble. Mrs. Hain had always been able to fix it though.

He ignored the reporters’ questions but stopped when he felt a smooth hand curl around his arm an up his neck. It was Diana. She was pressed up against him with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other around his neck. She pulled him into a passionate kiss for the benefit of the reporters who went berserk and started firing questions at him like a gatling gun. Aries was left standing in total shock with lipstick on his face while Diana sashayed away from the reporters with a wave and blowing a kiss.

The lights from the cameras blazed and the reporter’s questions blended together like the cacophony of a hive. He was stunned to say the least. Aries could lift a fully loaded train car, survive a direct hit from a bazooka unscathed and chase down a racecar at full speed. However, he suddenly felt quite vulnerable and powerless.

“Um… help?”

End Part 10

THE END