//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Last Run // Story: Martin's Unreal Life // by CrypticMetaphor //------------------------------// Umbra was clutching onto Speedstar’s back for dear life as she ran through the streets of his home city at such speeds that he had to tilt his head toward the back of her neck, he then proceeded to yell over the wind that was hitting his face, “HOW ARE YOU CARRYING ME SO WELL!? THIS IS CRAZY COOOOOL!!” Speedstar laughed as she addressed him, “TRUST ME! I HAVE CARRIED WAAAAY HEAVIER!” Umbra just laughed along with her as they stopped in the local park for a rest, in truth they had been patrolling for two hours in total but turned up nothing so far in terms of crime. Umbra raised his mask and wiped some sweat from his brow as he turned and looked at Speedstar who was panting slightly, he smiled as he felt his chest become a tad warm at the sight of his partner in justice. Speedstar then looked at him which caused blush to appear on Umbra’s face; he then yanked his mask down quickly and looked away. He then uttered quickly in a gravelly voice, “I’m Umbra” Speedstar just grinned as she playfully punched him in the arm, “Alright Umbra let’s get the lead out, if we leave now we can get to the south side in thirty minutes” When they both stood they heard chuckles behind them, “Well well well, what have we here…” Both Umbra and Speedstar turned around fast and revealed the very same thugs that had attempted to rob Martin a few days prior, “…Little late for Halloween kiddies” Speedstar walked took a step forward at being called a kid but a firm hand on her shoulder accompanied by a slight shake of the head from Umbra stopped her from advancing further. Umbra came beside her as he slowly removed his staff in its collapsed state; one of the thugs noticed this and whipped out a knife in response. Knife Thug then addressed Umbra, “Ya think you’re so tough you Batman wannabe? Well news flash, this isn’t the comic books this is real life” Knife Thug then lunged straight at Umbra…who then dropped down to waist level and knocked Knife Thugs feet out from under him. He then followed through by raising his staff in the air with both hands and extending it to full length and bringing it down vertically on the guy’s body, a crack was heard as the Knife Thug held his face crying in pain and anger as his buddies jumped toward Umbra. Speedstar then rushed forward as time slowed to a crawl thanks to her super speed, she then went for the first guy and delivered a swift kick to his ribs and followed through with an uppercut and Umbra brought his staff into the other Brawler’s groin. The Brawler squeaked as Umbra collapsed the staff and smacked the stunned Brawler in the face and he then followed through with a powerful kick to the Brawlers midsection effectively knocking him down in time with Speedstar’s victim. The Knife Thug reached for his weapon only to have Umbra’s staff extend into his palm causing him to yell in pain as he looked at a smiling Speedstar and Umbra as they both said, “You were saying?” * After a few more encounters in the city both of the hero’s traveled back to Alan’s apartment and removed their suits as they dawned their night wear. Alan was wearing a loose grey t-shirt with red plaid pajama pants as Rainbow walked out in a blue t-shirt with knee long black pajama shorts. They were both silent for about thirty seconds until they broke into excited conversation. Alan was smiling widely, “That was awesome!” Rainbow nodded frantically, “I know! It was so AWESOME!!” Alan then made gestures in the air, “The way you handled those muggers on the beach after we left the park!...” Rainbow smiled wider, “That was nothing!, how about those graffiti painters down on the west side you kicked the hay out of with me barley getting a move in!.....” They both then turned to each other and yelled at the same time pointing, “YOU WERE SPECTACULAR!!” Rainbow then playfully punched Alan in the shoulder again; he then took on a mock evil grin as he grabbed Rainbow in a head lock and began to give her a noogie. After much protest by Rainbow she finally managed to break free and tackle Alan to the ground, they both wrestled for a few minutes until they were both sweating and panting. Rainbow was on top of Alan pinning him down with a victorious smile, “Gotcha…” Both Alan and Rainbow stared at each other’s smiling faces; Rainbow looked at Alan for a long time as her grip began to loosen slightly as she relaxed. Alan’s face softened slightly as she did the same, Rainbow’s mind was focused on her victory and maintaining it, but her body moved on its own as she began to lean forward. Alan’s hand slowly slipped onto her back as she got closer, soon she and Alan’s faces were inches from each other and then….Alan pulled a reversal. Alan heaved himself sharply to the side and managed to get Rainbow on her belly as he pinned her WWE style laughing in triumph as the emotions they felt before vanished, “HA! Who’s got who NOW!?” Rainbow looked at the clock and sighed in defeat, “fine…you win” They both stood up and shared an equal blush and nervous laugh as they bid each other goodnight and headed to bed. * At the same time as this, the Knife Thug and the Brawlers were approaching their hideout grumbling in anger and pain. The Knife Thug then sat on the rotted couch on the far right wall thinking hard on how to get revenge on the costume freaks. Brawler 1 spoke first as he rubbed his broken nose, “I say we track the bitch down and torch her on the beach like they used to do to witches in ye old times” Brawler 2 nodded, “Yeah, then we hook that guy in black up to a car battery and leave him to fry with her” Knife Thug shook his head as he reached under the couch, “Boys boys you think to small…”, he then pulled out a glock and yanked the slider back and then let it snap back in place, “…let’s just blow both of their brains out” * The Six and Martin were chilling at Alan’s as he and Dash retold their night of escapades, Martin just shook his head when they finished, “Dude, I would expect this from Dash but why you?” Alan looked at Rainbow as she was spinning a tale of grandeur to her friends at the kitchen table, he then smiled, and Martin took notice of this and grinned as well, “Mr. Washington if I didn’t know better I think you li….” Alan interrupted him, “Shut it!”, he then quieted when he noticed the six looking at him and turned to Martin, “I just…care about her you know?” Martin shrugged and leaned back on the couch and changed the subject, “I got to say though you both make pretty bad ass heroes, but I still think Dash AND you should stop. These kind of escapades never end well” Alan just waved the comment off, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Martin stood up and walked to the fridge as he left Alan with an ominous answer, “You could end up like Big Daddy from Kick-Ass” * That night Alan stood before his mirror wearing his costume all except for the mask as he looked at the person staring back at him. He had been contemplating hard on what Martin had told him and was beginning to have doubts; he donned his mask as Umbra stared back from the mirror. Speedstar shouted from the living room to hurry up to which Umbra immediately complied and left his room unaware of what would befall the duo. * Speedstar and Umbra were both currently resting on a street corner after a busy night of crime busting. Both of them were absolutely baffled at the fact that for some reason there had been more criminal activity than the previous nights. Speedstar turned to look at Umbra who was currently rotating his left arm, “you okay Umbra” Umbra nodded, “I’m fine, that gangster back there was built like a linebacker and took me by surprise, its nothing major just some pain which could have been avoided if you were fast enough” Speedstar had a smirk and was about to give a smart aleck retort when both of them heard a scream and immediately stood up. Speedstar then grabbed Umbra and sped down the street in the direction of the scream, as the buildings whipped past them both, Umbra tightened his grip slightly on Speedstar. Umbra spoke over the rushing air, “Speedstar I’ve been thinking about how we have been going about crime fighting, and maybe we should stop before we get hurt” Speedstar looked over her shoulder at him as she began to slow down, “we’re on a roll now why do you want to stop?” Umbra hopped off of her when they stopped completely, “well like I said, we could get hurt and I care about…” Umbra stopped when Speedstar turned his attention to the task at hand which took the form of the three thugs holding a woman hostage at gunpoint, Umbra took notice of this as he stood defensively along with Speedstar. Umbra then pointed at Knife Thug, “Let the woman go, no one has to get hurt” Knife thug tightened his grip on the woman as the gun pressed into her temple, “that’s where your wrong, take one step forward and I’ll blow her brains out” Speedstar just looked at the weapon he held like it was nothing, “Right…how about this, you drop the weapon and I won’t wail on you as bad” Knife Thug just laughed at her, “You don’t get it do you? I hold all the cards and you’ve got nothing little girl” The second the Knife Thug finished his sentence Speedstar sped up in the blink of an eye and grabbed his wrist and forced it upwards, the gun went off and the bullet clanged against a fire escape ladder as she then disarmed him and knocked him upside the head with the gun which she threw aside. By the time she finished with Knife Thug, Umbra had just finished incapacitating both Brawlers as the woman thanked them and ran away to get the authorities. Speedstar turned around and fist pumped, “Alright! We win!” Umbra walked up to her, “Nice job, let’s get going and leave these idiots for the cops” Knife Thug just chuckled as a click was heard which Umbra picked up immediately before Speedstar, “I told ya I have all the cards” Everything slowed to a crawl as Knife Thug leveled the gun with Speedstar and pulled the trigger, Speedstar turned around slowly as her eyes widened in horror. But this horror was not because of the gun, it was because Umbra threw himself in front of her and took the bullet right in his side as he dropped. In a blur, Speedstar kicked Knife Thug clear in the face as he let go of the gun which she then threw in a dumpster that was beside her. She then came over to Umbra as he was gasping in pain and holding his now bleeding wound, she immediately bent down pulled his mask off and began to frantically speak to him, “Alan! Don’t pass out! Please stay awake!” Alan looked at her weakly, “to answer to your question...,” Dash looked at him confused and worried, “my….favorite pony...,” He then placed a hand on her arm, “is…you” Alan then lapsed into an unconscious state