Chapter 14: Superhero? More like Super Helper
With all his force, he shoved the gunman holding the little girl hostage to the side. Blindsided by the sudden attack, the gunman fired his gun, but the bullet shot off to the side, hitting no one. Felix was the first to recover, and he delivered a heavy punch to the side of the man's head before he could get his arms up. The robber was out cold.
The entire restaurant took in his actions with no small amount of surprise, including the invulnerable girl. She didn't stay fazed for long; tossing her current foe into another, she motioned for Felix to take care of the last man, who wasn't all that far from him.
Nodding, Felix sprinted at the final enemy. Without hesitation, the man fired away at Felix. Caught out in the open, Felix could do nothing but pray that the bullets missed. They didn't. A couple got him in the legs, and another in his left arm. Felix stumbled in his charge, deciding to risk turning his headache into something much worse.
As he watched the gunman prepare to release the bullets a second time, Felix dived to the left, away from the hostages and out of the line of fire. Though the robber tried his best to train his pistol on Felix, it didn't matter. The girl collided into him, knocking him to the ground and rendering him unconscious.
That was the last of the hostage-takers. All four of them graced the floors of Gino's Italian Bakery, accompanying a fifth, unmoving form. Felix wandered over to it, and seeing Gino's kind face matted in blood, suddenly felt like he needed to hurl. He was the one Felix had heard about on the newscast.
Falling to the ground in a combination of shock, exhaustion, and pain. Felix felt the world growing dark. It was as if his eyelids were made of lead; there would be no stopping them from closing. Before he lost awareness completely, he saw a girl's face leaning over him, her blonde locks spilling out from underneath her hood.
And then he was out.
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"We need to stop meeting like this, Felix," Kyle grinned beside Felix's bed. It was very reminiscent of their last meeting, except that Kyle wasn't in bandages but instead in a doctor's coat.
Felix rolled his eyes. "I had a different doctor assigned to me when I woke up," Felix said slowly, gauging Kyle's reaction. "I didn't know you worked here."
"Yep! I'm a top doctor if you'd believe me. I requested to take over for your old doctor," Kyle admitted easily. "And I hear that you've been up to more heroics, is that right?"
"I wouldn't really call it that. I tackled a guy and avoided getting shot by another, is all," Felix mumbled. Compared to that girl, he had done practically nothing. He had been able to use his powers a single time, and even then only to just barely avoid dying.
"I'm not sure any of the people you rescued feel that way, Felix," Kyle nodded towards the small mountain of thank-you cards that had accumulated by Felix's bedside. Felix had begun going through them half an hour ago, and they all read similarly. That said, he did enjoy finding the occasional child's drawing. Those were always cute.
"And," Kyle added, "you're all over the news! Everyone's been speculating about the superhero and her helper, but they could only get pictures of you."
"What do you mean?" Felix asked, trying his best not to bristle at being called a helper. It was true, he knew, but he was superhuman too. Super Helper had a nice ring to it, didn't it?
"She disappeared after checking on you. The police are looking out for her to thank her for saving all those people, but no luck. Whoever she is, she knows how to avoid cameras well," Kyle explained, shrugging his shoulders in helplessness. "And speaking of you, I wonder why you collapsed… You're in good physical condition, and I doubt you crashed on adrenaline THAT hard."
It was Felix's turn to shrug his shoulders. Lying by omission was a powerful tool, and it was one that made him feel less badly about lying. Kyle laughed at the gesture.
"Oh, you would. Listen, I already know it has to do with using your powers."
Felix choked on his own saliva. Kyle was annoyingly persistent, and he was way too good at reading situations. Either that, or the man would have made a killer poker player with his talent for bluffing. He tried to change the subject.
"Okay, detective. Why did those people choose to hold a restaurant hostage, of all places?"
Kyle sauntered back and forth throughout the room, his flair for theatrics shining once again. "I've got a theory for that, but I'm not giving that one to you for free. You're walking into a shady world you're woefully unprepared for."
"I have superpowers, Kyle. I'm pretty prepared."
"No. You aren't." Kyle said that with absolute seriousness. "People die every day because they went too deep and couldn't get back out. If you promise to let me help you, I'll tell you."
Felix sighed. His curiosity demanded that he accept Kyle's proposal. The doctor already knew about his superpowers, and he knew his identity. If he hadn't already divulged it to anyone, Felix doubted he ever would. Irritating though Kyle was, the older man was trustworthy. And maybe, just maybe, Kyle could help him become a legitimate superhero, not just some run-of-the-mill idiot with superpowers. He nodded.
"Great! Come over to my house next week on Monday after you're done with classes," Kyle smiled and put a card in Felix's hand. With that, he turned to leave the hospital room. "The hospital wants you to stay for another day to monitor you. I can recommend to release you, if that's what you want," Kyle offered as he stood in the threshold of the now-open door.
"Yes, please."
"Sure thing. By the way, I'd call your sister if I were you. She stopped by earlier and she looked furious enough to stare down a lion." Felix laughed. His sister was nothing if not an emotional powerhouse. She always made sure you knew what she was feeling.
Kyle disappeared, but another person took his place in the doorway. It wasn't someone Felix knew. The hooded figure walked in without an invitation and quickly deposited a note into his lap. She – he was fairly confident it was a she – put a finger to where her lips would be and disappeared from the room as if she were a hurricane.
The note simply read: "Tomorrow, the Little France Café at 3:00 P.M."
And suddenly, Felix had an idea as to who that figure had been.
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