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a-heros-heart · 2 years

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The Ascent

Hiya. I’m not dead. Life has a way of being funny and decided to make life busy between now and my last writing prompt post. But we just gotta keep moving forward no matter what.

This is an idea I’ve mulled over in my head for a while. I like hallway fight scenes like in Daredevil, Oldboy, and John Wick and I wanted to try my hand at one.

Felix yawned and stretched as his three thirty psychology class came to an end. He had taken the class at the behest of his twin sister Morgan, who wanted to take a class with her brother.

“Remember class, the deadline to submit your research papers is tonight. Best of luck to those who have yet to begin working on them.” The psychology professor looked directly at Felix who gave a sly grin in response. Felix often gave the illusion he was not paying attention to class, but always received near perfect scores on assignments. Although he could obtain perfect scores, he did not want to add insult to injury to Morgan who practically begged him to take the class.

As they exited the class, Morgan slung her bag over her shoulder purposefully knocking her brother in the head. What she did not expect was for Felix to stumble over and hit the wall, slumping over. Other students gasped and slowed down to view the unfolding drama.

“I didn’t even hit you that hard little brother.” Morgan began. However Felix did not reply. After a few moments Morgan became concerned and approached him. Felix quickly spun around, grabbing his sister by the waist, and dragged her to the door laughing.

“Put me down you menace!” Morgan protested. But Felix continued laughing as he carried his sister to the door, wading his way through the group of students were gathered by the door waiting for the rain to lessen.

It had been raining for days in McCallen and today was no different. The gray skies were rare in McCallen where the days were normally sunny. Felix stopped just inches from the door and noticed Morgan was calm.

“What gives?” Felix asked.

“If you were going to shove me out in the rain you would have done it already.” She wheezed. Morgan wouldn’t give her brother any satisfaction, not even her difficulty in breathing.

��Who says I’m still not going to do it?”

“I am.”

“But what if I do?”

“Felix I played along with your trick and gave you the reaction you wanted to see what you had planned. You wouldn’t really toss me in the rain but you wanted me to believe you would because I guess that’s what brothers do.”

“You’re no fun.” Felix sighed, setting Morgan down.

“Maybe if you paid attention in class you would learn a thing or two about reverse psychology.” She huffed, straightening out her coat.

“Oh I do. I just pretended that I didn’t care so that I could make you believe that you’re one step ahead.” Felix taunted, gently shoving his sister to the door. Morgan stumbled and fell onto the door causing it to fling open, becoming immediately drenched.

Felix became red with laughter as the group of students silently stared on. Once Felix noticed Morgan, his laughter ceased. She gave him the most soul piercing stare that even the fearless hero began to sweat.

“C'mon Morgan. It’s just rain.” Felix pleaded.

Morgan silently stood, straightened her coat, and began walking away from Felix.

“I’ll buy you lunch!” he shouted. Morgan stopped and considered the offer.

One silent, half-hour drive later Felix and Morgan were sat in a Mediterranean restaurant at Felix’s offer. Morgan had not said a word to her twin since the incident. She stared at him, occasionally squinting at him and only spoke when the waiter asked for her order.

“How long are you going to keep this up for Morgan?” Felix whined. In response Morgan slowly blinked and shook her head.

Felix sighed “Look I don’t know how many times I can say sorry. I didn’t know your bag was open.”

Morgan remained silent.

“Alright well I have to make a phone call anyways so I’ll be back.” Felix bluffed.

He stood up and left the restaurant, walking all the way to the corner of the street where the parking garage was. Felix tapped away on his phone for a few moments before the panicked sounds of a young woman caught his attention. He pressed himself against the wall and listened in as best he could.

“-sweetheart. Either your husband finds the cash or he’s going to have to report his wife missing. Might not be able to find her for a coupla’ days.” the gruff voice of an unseen man threatened.

Crouched and counted the pairs of legs he could see. “Two. Five. Nine. Er, fifteen? Has to be at least twenty.” He whispered to himself.

The men gradually walked towards the back of the parking garage continuing to threaten and jeer at the woman who was holding back tears. Felix took advantage of this opening and quickly moved to his car which was close to the entrance. He slowly removed his keys from his pocket and placed one hand on top of the trunk. With his other hand he slid the key into the trunk slot and felt it pop open. Without letting the trunk fully open, Felix reached in and grabbed two metallic suitcases on the right side of the trunk and pulled the cover back down. The men were now by the elevator conversing just out of earshot.

Felix inhaled and exhaled to ease his nerves. He stood, pulling the edges of one case and tapped the top of the other with his foot. Both cases whirred to life and began expanding and contorting to Felix’s body.

“What the fuck was that?” someone shouted.

“Go check it out numbskull.” another ordered.

Both cases formed a suit of armor around Felix, though not as tough as his regular suit. He had constructed a lighter suit for moments when he didn’t have access to his main armor. Felix had dubbed this his ‘speed suit’. Light with just enough armor to stop a bullet, and easily portable.

“Oh shit, it's him!” one of the grunts shouted before receiving a quick jab in the gut.

“We’re fucked!” the other man flanking Sunrise shouted before he collapsed from a strike to the neck.

Sunrise rose and glanced at the men who had begun to scramble. He saw a portly man holding the woman enter the elevator with two other men. The others argued for a moment before some took the stairs while four others approached him.

“You don’t want to do this,” Sunrise warned. His plea fell on deaf ears. Two pulled out knives from their pockets. One slid a pair of brass knuckles on his fists. The last one tapped a bat against his palm.

Without a second warning, Sunrise dove towards the man with the bat catching him off guard. They both fell to the floor wrestling for the bat. One of the men grabbed his leg and was rewarded with a swift kick in the nose. Another received a blow to the temple with Sunrise’s free fist and recoiled. Sunrise stood and lifted his original opponent with one arm. He struck the man in his stomach and released him. The man with brass knuckles had backed away from the skirmish.

“Leave.” Sunrise ordered. The man obliged, dropping his weapons and taking off.

Sunrise dashed to the elevator and tapped the call button rapidly. He was too late.

“Fuck!” Sunrise hissed, punching the doors. He looked up at the floor indicator and noted the highest floor was 15. The light quickly switched from four to five.

Sunrise knew he couldn’t waste any more time. He darted towards the stairwell and kicked the door open. The door slammed against a man sending him reeling backwards. Sunrise grabbed his shirt and shoved him face first back into the door.

“He’s here!” someone shouted from above. The sound of rapid footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Sunrise met two grunts as he ascended the stairs. He swiftly struck one in the throat and blocked a kick from the other. Using both arms, Sunrise pulled the man with ease sending him tumbling down the stairs. Two more men quickly replaced the ones Sunrise dispatched. One grabbed a horn on his helmet, pulling his head back while the other wrapped his hands around Sunrise’s neck.

With his raw strength alone, Sunrise freed his neck by grabbing his assailant's hands with an iron grip. The man yelped as Sunrise tossed him over the rail. Switching his focus to the other attacker, Sunrise grabbed his wrist and forced it away from his horn. His attacker instinctually released his hand not wanting it to be broken, but fell into the hero’s trap. Using his body, Sunrise shoved the man into the wall with his shoulder. The man crumpled to the floor with the wind knocked out of him.

Before he could plan his next move, two shots hitting his chest plate drew Sunrise’s ire.

“You fuckin’ idiot, you’re supposed to aim for the head!” a voice scolded before firing a shot that ricocheted off the side of his helmet.

Sunrise turned his head towards the shooters and noticed they jumped slightly. Instinctively, Sunrise reached for his cape to block any more shots. His heart sank when his hand grabbed nothing but air. Mentally kicking himself, he walked menacingly up the stairs towards his next opponents.

“Shit! He’s not stopping!”

“I know moron!”

Sunrise held his hand out as he walked, stopping the shots with the armor plating on his palm. When he was close enough and his attackers out of ammunition, he grabbed both of thier heads and slammed them against each other.

The weight of his armor began to take its toll on the hero. His breaths were becoming more ragged as he dispatched foe after foe. Each gunshot weakened his already crumbling armor plates. Despite the overwhelming onslaught of henchmen, Sunrise continued to move up the staircase with an unmatched fury. Each punch numbed his wrist, each kick turned his legs to jelly. Sunrise lost count after the eighteenth dreg he subdued.

Sunrise coughed as he received a strike to his stomach from the last minion guarding the door.

“Wussa matter? You tired you fr-” Sunrise grabbed the leg of his last obstacle as he was taunting him, lifted, and swiftly slammed him into the ground.

Before he had a moment to think, the man grabbed Sunrise’s leg catching him off guard. He fell beside the man groaning as his body hit the concrete. Both men writhed in pain for a moment before the lackey stood up with great effort. He moved over to the nearly unconscious hero and began punching his helmet. After the third punch, Sunrise grabbed the man’s shoulders and slammed his helmet against his attacker’s face, smearing his visor with blood. Sunrise now stood over his unconscious enemy and considered a final kick to the chest, but decided on saving his energy.

Falling to one knee, Sunrise took a moment to catch his breath. It had been less than eight minutes since he entered the parking garage, but to him an eternity had passed. Sunrise was lightheaded and exhausted. Though he had reason to give up, he could never quit once he set his mind to a task. He stood, ready to press onward and placed a trembling hand on the door. Immediately after opening the door his senses were assaulted by the pounding rain and the shout of a man.

“You bit me! You bitch!”

“Help me!” she cried.

Metal rang amidst the rain. Not a bullet. Sunrise determined. He looked down to see a set of keys by his foot. Her attacker had no escape, but he did have a hostage.

A sharp impact on his shoulder sent his thoughts away and his focus returned. The boss had shot him, numbing his arm. Reflexively, Sunrise lifted his arms to protect his face from further fire. Two shots hit his left arm causing him to groan from pain.

“Stay outta my business you freak! This one owes me a lot of money, and I ain’t walkin’ away until I get it!” the boss ordered.

Without a word Sunrise slowly marched forward taking two more bullets to the leg. His armor had crumbled to nothing but metal, metal that made him heavy and hot. But Sunrise refused to relent. No one would escape his wrath, certainly not this man. The loud thunk of his footsteps overpowered the sound of the rain as he approached his target.

“Get outta here you!” The boss had now aimed the gun at the woman’s head.

“Please listen to him, I have kids! I don’t want to die!” she cried.

“Heroes don’t run.” Sunrise huffed. His voice had become scratchy from his coughing a moment ago. He had stopped just a few feet away for safety.

“You think I won’t kill her and not get my money?” Sunrise noticed the man was shorter than he expected. Short and slightly portly, an easy target.

“Shut up lady!” he shouted at his hostage who was now in hysterics.

“Sure, you can kill her. But if you shoot her you won’t have the time to shoot me after. But if you did, I would be very very angry. So what’s going to stop me from feeding you your own spine afterwards?” Sunrise spoke calmly. The man’s face had become slightly paler. “Give me the gun. Police arrest you, and you can be out of prison in a few days. Then we can do this all over again.” Sunrise was now a few inches away from the man’s face which had now become as white as a sheet.

Sunrise offered his open palm. The man thought for a moment, biting his lip. After some time he reluctantly placed the revolver into the hero’s hands and backed away from the woman. “Thanks.” Sunrise closed his fist around the weapon and without warning, struck the man on the nose which gave a loud crack as he fell to the floor.

“G-guh.” was all he could get out before he received a metal boot to his mouth.

“Are you ok?” Sunrise asked the woman. She nodded slowly, still in shock at what had happened over the past few minutes.

“Question is, are you ok?” She asked in return. Sunrise was covered head to toe in blood. His armor was mangled and dented in many places.

“You should see the other guys.”

“You weren’t really going to let him shoot me right?” she asked. Sunrise revealed the revolver’s cylinder. All 5 slots were empty.

“I figured I would let him think he had me where he wanted. Reverse psychology.” Sunrise said, tossing the empty gun at the man.

“Sorry about all this. I had lost my job and needed some money to help my family. A friend of mine said that she knew someone who could get me a fast loan. What I didn’t know was that he was a loan shark.” She began. Sunrise nodded too tired to think of a response. “We used up the money pretty fast. And I couldn’t make the payments back at all. He started with a few phone calls, then sending people to my house. I’m just glad this is all over.” She finished, wiping her eyes.

“Tell that to the police when they get here. Also, get a lawyer. Don’t trust anyone around here except one firm on 3rd and Brighton Street. Ask for a girl named Kylie, she’ll help you.” Sunrise began walking towards the elevator.

“Thank you!” She called out as Sunrise entered the elevator. He silently waved back, as the doors closed.

Summoning all the stamina he had left, Felix ran to his car as the armor disassembled off his body. Once both pieces were back in their original form, he wrapped the blood-soaked cases in his forgotten cape and slammed his trunk shut. He checked his clothes in the side mirror, straightening out any wrinkle. Thankfully, his coat would cover the bruises on his body. Felix took one last moment to calm his nerves before joining his sister.

After a much needed moment to himself, Felix re-entered the restaurant and took his seat in front of his sister who had a bored look on her face.

“Long phone call.” She noted. Morgan folded her hands and placed her chin on it, staring at her brother.

“Yeah, business as usual.” Felix replied, taking a sip of his now warm glass of water.

“Oh, the rain stopped.” Morgan noted with a smile on her face. “Today is looking better already.”

“Mm.” Felix mused, as the sounds of police sirens wailed in the distance.

#hero #short story #amateur writer #fun fact about this #I forgot to write him putting on his cape #and I realized it midway through that one scentence #so instead of going back and writing it in #I just made him forget the cape

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