Tall Tales and Shiny Stories by Clayton Blanchard
"Lady this is a robbery! Fill the bag with the money and no one will get hurt!"
The teller behind the counter eyed the man disdainfully. He brandished no weapon visibly and was dressed in a shabby overcoat, black baseball cap, and smelled like he had not bathed in a month. His blue eyes, the color of a deep ocean, were bloodshot and a bit wild. She sniffed slightly and wrinkled her nose, unconcerned.
“Sir, if you do not leave this instant I will be forced to call security.” She then began to turn away, but something on the man’s hand caught her eye. She turned back and began to pale, as she noticed his hand slowly starting to glow a deep blue. Shards of ice began to form on his hand and the rim of the bag. Several of the other tellers took notice, each of them going wide eyed at the display. One surreptitiously tripped the silent alarm.
“You’re a Waver.” the teller muttered. The man smiled grimly and shook the bag.
“I told you this was a robbery. Now play nice if you all want to make it out of here alive!” He eyed the other customers as he glowed blue.
Within a few minutes several police cars arrived at the Orange City Credit Union. The man inside looked out upon hearing the sirens and cursed angrily.
“You tripped the alarm didn’t you!” The temperature began to drop around him as the glow deepened. The teller backed away slightly.
“I…I don’t know what you are talking about…” She glanced wild eyed around. The man growled, and without warning dropped the bag and pointed at her. A blue beam fired from his finger and hit her, and within seconds she was encased in ice.
He turned and addressed the remaining people in the bank. “Now listen here! If you all don’t want to end up like this bimbo here, you will come here one at a time and put your valuables into this here bag!” He picked his bag back up and placed it on the counter in front of the frozen woman. “No one else needs to get hurt here.” Ice had begun to form in the air around him as the temperature continued to drop. He grimaced.
“First I gotta deal with those pigs…” He said as he walked towards the glass doors.
Outside the officers stared. All the police had seen the blue flash of light and knew that it meant something beyond their ability to deal with. They took up defensive positions behind their cars and kept glancing over at the bank. All was quiet. After a few moments, one of the officers stood and started to slowly work his way towards the front of the building.
Without warning, a beam of blue light shot out through the glass doors. Ice formed where it touched the glass, and it hit the officer dead on. Within a few seconds his was frozen solid. The other officers stared. Sure enough, a Waver was involved. One, a quick thinking youth named Carter grabbed the radio in his car and called Dispatch.
“This is Officer Carter, badge number 2542! We have a situation at the Orange City Credit Union on Park and Aspen. A Waver is involved, and seems to have some sort of ice or cold manipulation ability! Send back-up!” Carter glanced up and noticed that none of the officers were moving from behind the protection of their cars.
“Roger that Officer Carter. We will radio for special assistance.”
Carter nodded, and watched as another beam fired out of the window and hit a police cruiser, encasing it in ice.
A few blocks over a man in a skintight black and gold unitard stood silently on a roof. He had just gotten off the phone with the local police dispatcher and was getting ready to head over to the scene. He sighed, and stretched slightly.
“Well Kinetick, time to get hopping!” He concentrated, and felt himself lift slightly off the roof. He then focused and shot forward, almost like he was riding a skateboard. He glided down to the street and began to weave in and out of traffic, heading straight for the bank.
The police stayed behind their cars as the beams continued to be fired out. Each time one hit a car it became frozen almost instantly. Inside the bank, the terrified customers had begun to deposit their wallets, rings, and other valuables into the bag. The man’s glow was highly visible now, and it seemed like he was surrounded by snowfall. It would be almost magical if it didn’t surround a very smelly and disheveled man. The man realized that the cops were hiding behind their now frozen cars and growled.
“Need to figure out how to get rid of them.” he muttered to himself. He glanced around at the assembled customers, now huddled together in one corner, and saw a small girl. She could not have been more then eight years old. He stalked over to her, his eyes full of menace, and without preamble grabbed him by the arm. Where he touched her, the area began to cover with ice. She cried, and a man in the crowd began to beg “Please! Don’t hurt my little girl.”
“Listen pal,” the man said as he hauled the girl up. “If those pigs don’t leave, you all will be in for a world of pain.”
With that said the man dragged the girl over to the doors, and pressed her up against the glass. He then punched a section of the glass that had frozen over from his rays, and shouted out from the opening.
“Listen pigs! Leave now, or this little girl and the rest of the folks in here are gonna become like flies frozen in ice cubes!” For emphasis he shook the girl, eliciting another sob.
It was at that moment that several things seemed to happen all at once. Out of nowhere a streetlamp suddenly streaked towards the glass doors like a spear. At the same moment a man in black and gold appeared to slide out in front of the frozen cars. As the lamp reached the glass the man reached out with his hand and made a pulling motion. The door that the girl was pressed against flew out off its hinges and soared out over the cars.
As the lamp spear reached the other door where the mans face was peering out through his hole, he let go of the girl and dove backwards. The lamp grazed the top of the mans head as it sailed into the bank and crashed into the back wall, sticking out of it some giant toothpick.
The girl quickly ran over the man in black, who then ushered her over to the nearby officers. The robber stood and snarled.
“So, you're some sort of Waver like me eh?” The robber said angrily.
The man in black and gold let out a laugh. “Well something like that, only it's obvious that I have the better fashion sense between the two of us. What’s your name?”
The robber eyed the new Waver. “Call me Chiller. And you are?”
The man in black took a bow, never taking his eyes off Chiller. “Kinetick. So, how bout we end this peacefully, with you letting the other hostages out and giving up? I would hate to have to hurt you…”
Chiller barked out a laugh, and without another word fired a beam straight at Kinetick. Kinetick however had been waiting for such a move, and with a thought flipped up a manhole cover into the beams path. “Now now, that was not very nice!” Kinetick chided as he flung the now frozen manhole cover at Chiller with enough force to break the robbers knees.
Diving out of the way, Chiller concentrated hard. The air around the bank began to grow colder, and suddenly a nearby fire hydrant burst open, spraying ice shards everywhere. “Lets see you stop that hero!” Chiller laughed and came out of his roll.
Throwing out both hands Kinetick concentrated and imagined a large sphere in the air. Instantly a barely visible dome of force surrounded him and the officers, and the shards deflected off it. However, while he was doing this Chiller fired several more rays. Kinetick’s eyes widened as they went right through his barrier. He dove to the right and called out to the officers.
“Look I will distract this guy! You guys get inside and get the people to safety!” He then concentrated, and a wall of force slammed into Chiller, shoving him into the side of the building. The officers wasted no time and quickly ran inside.
Chiller and Kinetick both stood and eyed each other. Chiller’s glow had deepened, and Kinetick was panting slightly. “So boy, you got some sort of weird force field power or something?”
“Its actually Telekinetics. I can move objects with my mind. You seem to have Cryokin
esis!”
Chiller cocked an eyebrow. “You are using fancy words there. I just freeze things….like stupid heroes!” Chiller brought his hands up and fired a large beam of energy. Kinetick shoved himself up into the air with a push of force and hopped over the beam. Quick as he could he then concentrated and slammed a ball of pure force into Chiller’s stomach. The man doubled over, and Kinetick wasted no time in ripping out a tree and flinging it at the man. To his surprise however, Chiller held up a hand and generated a shield of ice, stopping the tree. With a wave of his hand Chiller then flung that wall of ice directly at Kinetick, who cleaved it in two with a blade of force. Chiller growled and concentrated. Suddenly several blades of ice appeared in the air and shot forward. Kinetick dove under them and focused his mind. He grabbed a hold of the sidewalk and shoved upward. The expression on Chiller’s face was one of surprise as he was flung backwards by the sidewalk under him heaving upward, slamming headfirst into the wall of the bank. He slumped down to the ground, unmoving. Glancing over, Kinetick noticed that the police were leading the hostages out of the back door of the bank. He smiled, and walked over to the seemingly unconscious Chiller. He checked the man’s pulse, found it steady, and pulled an eyelid back. The man lay there, breathing but still.
“Well, you were a bit of a workout, but overall, I give you a C minus.” With that, Kinetick radioed dispatch asking for a Waver Containment Team to come pick up Chiller. A few moments later the team arrived, and using specialized equipment they bound Chiller and hauled him off. Kinetick smiled as his radio hissed to life. Another call was coming in. A hero’s work was never truly done.
The Dark Carnival
The teller behind the counter eyed the man disdainfully. He brandished no weapon visibly and was dressed in a shabby overcoat, black baseball cap, and smelled like he had not bathed in a month. His blue eyes, the color of a deep ocean, were bloodshot and a bit wild. She sniffed slightly and wrinkled her nose, unconcerned.
“Sir, if you do not leave this instant I will be forced to call security.” She then began to turn away, but something on the man’s hand caught her eye. She turned back and began to pale, as she noticed his hand slowly starting to glow a deep blue. Shards of ice began to form on his hand and the rim of the bag. Several of the other tellers took notice, each of them going wide eyed at the display. One surreptitiously tripped the silent alarm.
“You’re a Waver.” the teller muttered. The man smiled grimly and shook the bag.
“I told you this was a robbery. Now play nice if you all want to make it out of here alive!” He eyed the other customers as he glowed blue.
Within a few minutes several police cars arrived at the Orange City Credit Union. The man inside looked out upon hearing the sirens and cursed angrily.
“You tripped the alarm didn’t you!” The temperature began to drop around him as the glow deepened. The teller backed away slightly.
“I…I don’t know what you are talking about…” She glanced wild eyed around. The man growled, and without warning dropped the bag and pointed at her. A blue beam fired from his finger and hit her, and within seconds she was encased in ice.
He turned and addressed the remaining people in the bank. “Now listen here! If you all don’t want to end up like this bimbo here, you will come here one at a time and put your valuables into this here bag!” He picked his bag back up and placed it on the counter in front of the frozen woman. “No one else needs to get hurt here.” Ice had begun to form in the air around him as the temperature continued to drop. He grimaced.
“First I gotta deal with those pigs…” He said as he walked towards the glass doors.
Outside the officers stared. All the police had seen the blue flash of light and knew that it meant something beyond their ability to deal with. They took up defensive positions behind their cars and kept glancing over at the bank. All was quiet. After a few moments, one of the officers stood and started to slowly work his way towards the front of the building.
Without warning, a beam of blue light shot out through the glass doors. Ice formed where it touched the glass, and it hit the officer dead on. Within a few seconds his was frozen solid. The other officers stared. Sure enough, a Waver was involved. One, a quick thinking youth named Carter grabbed the radio in his car and called Dispatch.
“This is Officer Carter, badge number 2542! We have a situation at the Orange City Credit Union on Park and Aspen. A Waver is involved, and seems to have some sort of ice or cold manipulation ability! Send back-up!” Carter glanced up and noticed that none of the officers were moving from behind the protection of their cars.
“Roger that Officer Carter. We will radio for special assistance.”
Carter nodded, and watched as another beam fired out of the window and hit a police cruiser, encasing it in ice.
A few blocks over a man in a skintight black and gold unitard stood silently on a roof. He had just gotten off the phone with the local police dispatcher and was getting ready to head over to the scene. He sighed, and stretched slightly.
“Well Kinetick, time to get hopping!” He concentrated, and felt himself lift slightly off the roof. He then focused and shot forward, almost like he was riding a skateboard. He glided down to the street and began to weave in and out of traffic, heading straight for the bank.
The police stayed behind their cars as the beams continued to be fired out. Each time one hit a car it became frozen almost instantly. Inside the bank, the terrified customers had begun to deposit their wallets, rings, and other valuables into the bag. The man’s glow was highly visible now, and it seemed like he was surrounded by snowfall. It would be almost magical if it didn’t surround a very smelly and disheveled man. The man realized that the cops were hiding behind their now frozen cars and growled.
“Need to figure out how to get rid of them.” he muttered to himself. He glanced around at the assembled customers, now huddled together in one corner, and saw a small girl. She could not have been more then eight years old. He stalked over to her, his eyes full of menace, and without preamble grabbed him by the arm. Where he touched her, the area began to cover with ice. She cried, and a man in the crowd began to beg “Please! Don’t hurt my little girl.”
“Listen pal,” the man said as he hauled the girl up. “If those pigs don’t leave, you all will be in for a world of pain.”
With that said the man dragged the girl over to the doors, and pressed her up against the glass. He then punched a section of the glass that had frozen over from his rays, and shouted out from the opening.
“Listen pigs! Leave now, or this little girl and the rest of the folks in here are gonna become like flies frozen in ice cubes!” For emphasis he shook the girl, eliciting another sob.
It was at that moment that several things seemed to happen all at once. Out of nowhere a streetlamp suddenly streaked towards the glass doors like a spear. At the same moment a man in black and gold appeared to slide out in front of the frozen cars. As the lamp reached the glass the man reached out with his hand and made a pulling motion. The door that the girl was pressed against flew out off its hinges and soared out over the cars.
As the lamp spear reached the other door where the mans face was peering out through his hole, he let go of the girl and dove backwards. The lamp grazed the top of the mans head as it sailed into the bank and crashed into the back wall, sticking out of it some giant toothpick.
The girl quickly ran over the man in black, who then ushered her over to the nearby officers. The robber stood and snarled.
“So, you're some sort of Waver like me eh?” The robber said angrily.
The man in black and gold let out a laugh. “Well something like that, only it's obvious that I have the better fashion sense between the two of us. What’s your name?”
The robber eyed the new Waver. “Call me Chiller. And you are?”
The man in black took a bow, never taking his eyes off Chiller. “Kinetick. So, how bout we end this peacefully, with you letting the other hostages out and giving up? I would hate to have to hurt you…”
Chiller barked out a laugh, and without another word fired a beam straight at Kinetick. Kinetick however had been waiting for such a move, and with a thought flipped up a manhole cover into the beams path. “Now now, that was not very nice!” Kinetick chided as he flung the now frozen manhole cover at Chiller with enough force to break the robbers knees.
Diving out of the way, Chiller concentrated hard. The air around the bank began to grow colder, and suddenly a nearby fire hydrant burst open, spraying ice shards everywhere. “Lets see you stop that hero!” Chiller laughed and came out of his roll.
Throwing out both hands Kinetick concentrated and imagined a large sphere in the air. Instantly a barely visible dome of force surrounded him and the officers, and the shards deflected off it. However, while he was doing this Chiller fired several more rays. Kinetick’s eyes widened as they went right through his barrier. He dove to the right and called out to the officers.
“Look I will distract this guy! You guys get inside and get the people to safety!” He then concentrated, and a wall of force slammed into Chiller, shoving him into the side of the building. The officers wasted no time and quickly ran inside.
Chiller and Kinetick both stood and eyed each other. Chiller’s glow had deepened, and Kinetick was panting slightly. “So boy, you got some sort of weird force field power or something?”
“Its actually Telekinetics. I can move objects with my mind. You seem to have Cryokin
Chiller cocked an eyebrow. “You are using fancy words there. I just freeze things….like stupid heroes!” Chiller brought his hands up and fired a large beam of energy. Kinetick shoved himself up into the air with a push of force and hopped over the beam. Quick as he could he then concentrated and slammed a ball of pure force into Chiller’s stomach. The man doubled over, and Kinetick wasted no time in ripping out a tree and flinging it at the man. To his surprise however, Chiller held up a hand and generated a shield of ice, stopping the tree. With a wave of his hand Chiller then flung that wall of ice directly at Kinetick, who cleaved it in two with a blade of force. Chiller growled and concentrated. Suddenly several blades of ice appeared in the air and shot forward. Kinetick dove under them and focused his mind. He grabbed a hold of the sidewalk and shoved upward. The expression on Chiller’s face was one of surprise as he was flung backwards by the sidewalk under him heaving upward, slamming headfirst into the wall of the bank. He slumped down to the ground, unmoving. Glancing over, Kinetick noticed that the police were leading the hostages out of the back door of the bank. He smiled, and walked over to the seemingly unconscious Chiller. He checked the man’s pulse, found it steady, and pulled an eyelid back. The man lay there, breathing but still.
“Well, you were a bit of a workout, but overall, I give you a C minus.” With that, Kinetick radioed dispatch asking for a Waver Containment Team to come pick up Chiller. A few moments later the team arrived, and using specialized equipment they bound Chiller and hauled him off. Kinetick smiled as his radio hissed to life. Another call was coming in. A hero’s work was never truly done.
The Dark Carnival