One of the bikers yelled, "Attack them! There are only three of them!"
Several gangsters jumped off their bikes, raising their weapons and advancing towards IM.
I looked at Yolan, and we both nodded in silent agreement.
I pressed a button on my watch, and a gun materialized in my hand. Yolan drew her gun from the holster on her thigh. We both raised our weapons to the sky.
Bang! Bang!
The shots echoed through the night, startling the gangsters and halting their advance. They stumbled backward, their bravado momentarily replaced with fear.
The gangster who had fallen from his bike cowered in fear, staring up at IM with wide eyes. IM raised his leg and delivered a swift kick to the gangster's side, then another to his head.
Thud! Thud!
"Ackk! Help! Help!" the gangster yelped, clutching his injured head.
"You idiots! Help him!" another biker yelled, but no one dared to move. They watched their comrade get beaten, frozen in terror.
The rest of the gangsters watched in horror as IM continued to deliver punishing blows, each one accompanied by a sickening thud or crack. It was clear that IM was not holding back, his fury fueled by their reign of terror and their disrespect for innocent lives.
Meanwhile, Yolan and I stood our ground, guns still aimed at the remaining bikers. They glanced nervously between their fallen comrade and the two figures standing calmly before them. Yolan's eyes narrowed beneath her mask, and she took a step forward, her voice ringing with a chilling authority.
"This is your last chance," she said, her voice amplified by the night air. "Leave now, and you might escape with your lives."
The bikers exchanged terrified glances. One of them, emboldened by desperation, revved his engine and attempted to charge past us. But Yolan was faster. With a flick of her wrist, a chain materialized from her glove, wrapping itself around the bike's front wheel and bringing it to an abrupt halt.
The biker was thrown from his seat, landing hard on the pavement. He scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with terror.
"Don't... don't hurt me!" he pleaded, his voice cracking.
Yolan approached him slowly, her footsteps echoing in the silence. "You and your friends have caused enough pain," she said, her voice cold and unforgiving. "It's time for you to pay for your crimes."
The other bikers, seeing the futility of their situation, finally relented. They dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.
"We're sorry!" one of them cried out. "We'll never do it again!"
IM stopped his assault, allowing the battered gangster leader to stumble to his feet. He looked at them with a stern expression, his voice booming through his mask.
"You're lucky we're not the police," he said."But consider this a warning. If we ever see you causing trouble again, we won't be so lenient."
IM looked at me with his eyes sharp, still in the hunt. "Tie them all."
I nodded and surveyed the scene.
A strong rope that ties them up until the police come... I imagined, focusing my energy.
Suddenly, every gangster was bound by invisible ropes, their arms and legs pulled tightly to their sidesas they collapsed onto the ground in a tangled heap.
"What the hell is this!?" one of them yelled, his voice muffled by the pavement.
IM walked over to the pile of bound gangsters, who were struggling futilely to free themselves. He found the phone belonging to the one who had been livestreaming and saw that the comments were filled with confused viewers, the count now at 1,000.
IM smirked and held the phone up to his masked face. "I am the Anti-Gangster. Catch me if you can," he declared in a deep, menacing voice. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the phone aside and walked back towards us.
I pressed the button on my watch, and the gun disappeared.
Yolan replaced her gun in its holster. "So, going back to school?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
I nodded. "Let's go back."
***
Early the next morning, IM and I sat on the living room couch, watching the morning news before going to school. The top story featured a group of gangsters tied up in the middle of the road, with police officers taking them into custody.
I raised my hand to IM for a fist bump, a grin spreading across my face.
Tak! He bumped my fist in return, his grin matching mine.
"Guys! Breakfast is ready!" My mother called out from the kitchen.
IM and I got up and headed to the table.
After breakfast, we arrived at school, and once again, everyone was talking about us, unaware of our true identities.
The students were gathered around Marcel's phone, watching a recording of the gangster livestream.
Thud!
The video showed IM kicking one of the gangsters.
"Woah... these three people... they're amazing..." Marcel exclaimed.
"Don't they look like the people who appeared at the burning house?" Rayhan leaned in for a closer look.
"This couldn't be edited, right...?" one classmate asked, unconvinced.
"This is not..." Marcel trailed off, his eyes glued to the video.
I looked at Marcel's phone, trying to act innocent. "Who do you guys think they are?"
"Hmm... at the end of the video, it said they were the Anti-Gangster or something?" Marcel replied, recalling the livestream.
Indeed, IM himself had said it on the livestream. He called himself the Anti-Gangster, even though we hadn't decided on an official name yet.
I glanced at IM, who was smiling, clearly enjoying the attention even though no one knew it was him.
< Chapter 111 > Fin.