Despite Michael's instructions to the contrary, the men in suits ended up escorting an enthusiastic Angelica toward the direction of the explosion. Not knowing what to do, Shun Yin followed as well, much to the relief of the man in suit who Michael had just recently appointed as the new leader. It would be bad if he had to split up his men to look after both the young mistress and the new charge.
The guy clearly didn't want his head to roll, after all. He obviously took Michael's instructions and threat seriously.
Shun Yin, for his part, was curious to see what Michael would do. Earlier, he had seen the awesome fire spell that the teenager had cast, and he wanted to see what more this heroic guy was capable of. He had a feeling that he would be able to see more things if he followed, the natural inquisitiveness of his youth overcoming any rationality he might have had. Not that a seven-year-old would have any rationality to begin with.
The group made their way across the field and toward the urban part of the city, with Michael at the head. It was easy to spot where the commotion was occurring, what with the clearly visible fumes billowing from one building and a huge crowd gathering to watch the spectacle. Needless to say, a good number of them already had their smartphones out, snapping pictures or recording the event, most likely to upload them to social media.
None of them had thought to call the police. Sighing, Michael glanced over his shoulder to call out to one of the men in suits.
"Call the police."
"Yes, Young Master." The guy complied immediately, fishing a smartphone from his pocket and speed-dialing 110.
The rest of the group followed silently, but found their route obstructed by the crowd. They slowed to a walk, but Shun Yin was able to see enough of what was occurring at the poor building that had been blasted.
It was a bank. The entrance had been blown open by what looked like explosives. A group of men in camouflage fatigues and black ski masks were shouting and waving automatic weapons. The armed, masked men herded a bunch of bank employees into the middle of the bank, their fearsome rifles pointed at the back of the whimpering staff's heads.
Evidently they were robbing a bank. There were a few shadows deeper inside the bank, moving rapidly as they sought to grab whatever cash they could and throw them into duffel bags. A few of them had reached the vault at the very back and forced it open. Even though the robbers did not move out into the open, the crowd could still clearly see what was going on inside the bank. The poor hostages were forced into kneeling positions in the middle of the bank, both staff and customers rounded up and placed under the watchful eyes of the armed robbers. They were too scared to make a single sound, and could only obey whatever the robbers told them to do.
None of the crowd made any move. It wasn't because of cowardice, but there was simply nothing they could do against heavily armed robbers. Any move to recklessly dash in and save the hostages would simply result in them being shot…their bodies being riddled with bloody holes from the high caliber automatic rifles the bastards were wielding.
Even so, Michael made his way to the front, gently pushing the spectators aside as he moved through the tightly packed crowd. Angelica tried to follow, but one of the men in suits firmly held her back, placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking his head.
"Sorry, Young Miss, but no closer than this."
"Eh? But Big Brother…"
"Young Master knows how to take care of himself."
Shun Yin wondered about that. Michael was just approaching the bank, completely unarmed. No one in the crowd seemed surprised about the teenager pushing past them to get to the front. Their attention was completely focused on the robbery event unfolding before them.
"Big Brother is a hero!" Angelica was still arguing with the man in suit who held her back. "He'll beat up those bad robbers and save the day!"
"He will, but you being there will only make his job more difficult. Let Young Master do his job, okay?"
Angelica sulked, but she couldn't fault the guy's logic. She then turned back to watch her brother reach the entrance of the bank.
By now, everyone noticed how there was this solitary teenager who had walked right to the front of the shattered bank entrance by himself, heedless of the armed robbers inside. His shoes crunching on the broken glass, Michael caught the attention of the robbers who were too busily ransacking the counters and vaults to pay much attention to him.
"You…!"
One of the robbers finally noticed him and quickly raised his rifle to aim it at Michael. The rest of the robbers glanced up, and a few of them also leveled their guns at the approaching teenager. Michael merely smiled and raised a hand in a friendly wave.
"Yo."
"Stay where you are!" the leader robber commanded, his rifle aimed squarely at Michael's face, but he didn't flinch. He just obeyed, coming to a stop next to a broken booth.
"Do you mind letting the hostages go?" he asked, almost conversationally. "You're getting the money, aren't you? What use have you for the hostages?"
"Huh? Are you stupid? On your knees!"
This time, Michael didn't obey. He merely stared at the guy evenly, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Let the hostages go."
"Did you not hear me?!"
"I did. Did you not hear me?"
The lead robber opened fire, the bullet whizzing past Michael's face but not hitting him. Even so, the teenager didn't flinch and merely kept his eyes on the guy, who clicked his tongue.
"If your main purpose is to obtain money, you have it. Why bother with the hostages? Let them go."
"Are you a moron?" the lead robber scoffed. "If we let the hostages go now, then how are we going to escape when the police arrive? We need some insurance."
"I see. Then how about we make a trade? I'll be your hostage. Let the others go."
"Huh? Are you stupid? One guy for many? Who are you kidding?"
"Why are we even listening to this guy, boss? Just shoot him already."
Getting impatient, one of the masked robbers raised his rifle and opened fire. This time, his hail of bullets streaked directly at Michael, who sighed.
"I see. So that's how you want to do it."
Before the bullets could reach him, they flared up a meter away from his body, burning brightly as flames incinerated and melted them. Molten metal dripped onto the ground harmlessly.
"T…that's…"
"He's a mage!"
The robbers exchanged frightened glances, not sure what to make of this new revelation. As civilians, they weren't as adept in magic, or they wouldn't be relying on guns in the first place. They were probably capable of basic spells, but nothing of the level that Michael was currently displaying.
"I…I know that boy!" one of the robbers suddenly blurted out, pointing his rifle at Michael. "H…he is Michael Porter! The first son of one of the main lines of the Porter family!"
"Michael Porter? The mage known as Blaze?!"
"What is a man like him doing here?"
"So you know who I am." Michael clapped his hands, almost in delight. "That makes things a lot easier. I hope this convinces you to agree to swap me for the hostages. I'm sure the first son of the Porter family is worth more than all those staff and customers put together." He put on a bitter smile. "You can even ransom my family for more money if you wish."
"Do you take us for fools?" the lead robber snarled. "With your power, you can easily escape from us once you're the only hostage."
"Yeah!" one of the other masked robbers made to jab a hostage with his rifle. "Get out of here or we'll shoot the hostages."
"If you can promise us safe passage, we'll return the hostages to you," the lead robber said, overruling his subordinate. Evidently he saw an opportunity in this and decided to cash in. "But if you try anything funny, we'll shoot them."
"Really?" Michael paused for a few moments, holding their gaze. Then he shut his eyes and turned away with a shake of his head. "Never mind. The time for negotiation has come to pass."
"Huh?"
"What is this idiot talking about?!"
"He's definitely doing something funny, boss! There's no point talking to him!" the trigger-happy robber from earlier rocked his rifle for emphasis. "As I thought, tell him to get out of here or we'll shoot the hostages!"
"You can try," Michael said. "But it's too late."
While he had been standing there and speaking to the robbers, he had been casting a large scale spell to envelop the whole bank. The robbers didn't notice the spell, too absorbed on the newcomer as they were.
"Fucker!" the trigger-happy robber snarled and squeezed the trigger. Knowing that bullets would be useless against Michael, he chose not to shoot at the fire mage this time. Instead, he directed his weapon at a hostage this time, the female bank staff screaming as she dropped down, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her head.
The bullets never reached her. Instead, they all melted the moment they left the weapon.
"AAAAAH!"
"Argh!"
"Whoa!"
All around the back, the robbers shrieked and jolted as they dropped their weapons. The rifles were all glowing red-hot from Michael's spell, heated up to extreme temperatures that they began melting, turning into molten metal that seared their way past the robbers' gloves and clothing and into their skin.
The masked robbers hurried unslung their melting weapons and began throwing them down. Even as they did, the gunpowder in their ammunition exploded, showering them with shrapnel and metal shards.
The robbers had given Michael too much time to cast his spell.
"Amazing…"
Shun Yin watched the whole spectacle, enamored by Michael's spells and conduct. The guy in front of his eyes was a true hero, an ally of justice capable of saving everyone. It wasn't just him. The spectators in the crowd were cheering even as they recorded the entire thing, applauding and yelling out Michael's name.
"Michael!"
"Blaze!"
"The Porter family!"
"Big Brother is a hero!" Angelica crowed triumphantly, much to the bemusement of the family subordinate who continued to hold her back. She puffed her chest out proudly. "I knew he would save them!"
Shun Yin continued to gaze around in wonder at the raucously cheering crowd before his eyes settled on the valiant figure of Michael, who pointedly ignored the screaming robbers and proceeded to help the hostages, starting with the whimpering employee who almost got shot. The hostages lowered their heads gratefully before they began making their way to safety.
In the distance, the wail of sirens indicated that the police had finally arrived, but by then Michael clearly already had the case well in hand.
Taking in all the incredible sights and celebrations, Shun Yin couldn't help but feel something ignite within his chest. Clenching his fists, he glanced down at himself as he struggled to stop his hands from trembling excitedly.
"…I want to be a hero too," he whispered to himself.