Kricket

“Kricket you’re up” you say as he jumps from his seat. He wears an armored green and black suit a pair of yellow goggles and antennae in his helmet really drive home the look he’s going for.

A hero like Kricket is common these days, of all the things he could have picked as his symbol he went with a cricket, sure he’s good at jumping but did he really have to get a pair of sonic gauntlets?

You chalk it up to the times, way back when, you just were you, you didn’t need some gimmick to set you apart from others, your work spoke for you.

Those are the thoughts that run through your head when you see those ridiculous antennae drag in the wind as he runs out the door.

Things used to feel so simple back then, good was good and bad was bad, back then you didn’t feel the need to watch your colleagues out of the corner of your eye, you didn’t need to scrutinize their every word or action. But things have changed.

It isn’t long before Kricket arrives on scene, a pair of surveillance drones in tow which fly upwards to provide a birds eye view of the building.

The civilians are lined up against the far wall of the bank near the tellers booth, untied, two men on guard, the other two presumably deeper within.

This bank was built in the 40s one of the few built in an art deco style with high vaulted ceilings, marble floors and pillars creating a sort of avenue from the front entrance to the tellers.

This place hasn’t gotten an update or remodel in years, you won’t need the drones to guide him through the bowels of the bank.

He moves inside, the priority is the hostages, fighting from the back rooms will just give the lobby gunmen a heads up.

As he creeps closer taking care to stay concealed by the pillars for as long as possible, the surveillance picks up on a conversation between the gunmen.

“How long they gonna be..? Those jokers better not be rollin around in the money in there”

“The fuck..? Have they done that before..?”

“Well… no. But still, every time, they drag their feet when loading up the cash”

“C’mon man, take it easy, all that cash, it’s prolly heavy as fuck..”

“Yeah well… the longer they take, the sooner a cape shows up, then we’re all fu-“ just then the Kricket strikes, bounding forward and launching into a drop kick, the amount of energy stored in that kick sends the target flying into his friend.

The first man, clutches at his arm, clearly broken from the fall, the second man however is clawing across the floor in a panicked crawl, attempting to reach his gun that had skid across the floor of the lobby.

“Hey, Between you and me, I don’t think this is how you secure a loan” Kricket jokes.

“Nows not the time for jokes Kricket, you’re on the clock” you say, hoping to reign in his ‘quirky’ personality.

The Kricket heeds your words and dispatches the remaining gunmen with a flying knee, sending him sprawling to the floor, ****.

The civilians, seeing the opportunity, take off in a sprint towards the door, practically trampling over one another to escape.

With the lobby cleared and the hostages secured, you instruct Kricket to move deeper into the building. Hopping the counter he begins his walk through the hallway that connects the various rooms to the lobby.

The hallway is in an L shape, with rooms along the sides of it, passing a break room, security room and ending at the vault which lies at the curve.

The door; a 3 and a half foot thick testament to this buildings age, is made from steel reinforced concrete and hangs open, revealing the chaos within; safety deposit boxes are pried open, what cash remains in the vault having been scattered across the floor, belying the hasty work that’s been done.

The remaining suspects are no where to be seen, it’s impossible for them to have slipped past Kricket in such a narrow hallway, and so he takes off, hurrying down the remainder of the hallway bursting out of a back door leading to an alleyway, just in time to watch a dark van speed past and turn the corner.

He takes off in a sprint, each stride carrying so much power that it sends him up into an arch as he chases down this speeding van as it weaves through the lanes, juking around commuters.

The passenger leans out the window, firing wildly at their pursuer, causing Kricket to throw off his straight trajectory, bouncing off of the sides of buildings, slowing him down but greatly increasing his evasiveness.

Shot after shot rings out throughout the city streets, causing pedestrians to scatter for cover and cars to occasionally swerve, hoping not to catch a stray.

“Fellas, slow down! You’re gonna get a ticket if you keep this up!” Kricket cries.

Finally it appears the gunmen has run out of ammo, sucking back into the van, giving Kricket room to speed along.

It all comes to a head when Kricket lands on the roof of the van, the van swerving as a result, peeking his head down to peer through the driver side window.

“Oh hey guys! Wanna hear my new mixtape?” He says before thrusting an arm into the cabin and activating his gauntlet, sending forth an ear piercing cacophony of noise that makes it impossible to drive.

Kricket leaps off the van just in time for it to careen into a concrete bollard set up near the hospital, stopping the vehicle in its tracks.

“Huh… they didn’t like it chief..” Kricket says, over the coms link.

“Just… go check to see if they’re alive..?” You say, throughly tired of his jokes.

He jogs over, the surveillance drones following closely as he nears the driver side door, both he and the drones can visibly confirm they’re alive.

“Alright, I’m dispatching patrol cars to both the bank and hospital to collect the suspects, return to base” you instruct as the rank and file officers hurry out of the room to suit up.

All 4 suspects are brought in and the cash is secured, the Kricket is winded and his legs are sore but that is thankfully the extent of his injuries.