Sakkara

Colin stepped back, took a deep breath and ran. He launched himself across the alleyway and landed on the metal fire escape three floors below, then vaulted over the edge and dropped to the ground next to Renata just as the knife-wielding man charged.

Renata lashed out with a side kick, knocking the knife from the man’s hand.

There was a moment’s pause, then Renata yelled at the muggers’ victims: “Get out of here! Phone the police!”

The man grabbed the woman’s arm. “C’mon, Jackie! Let’s go!”

“No, but…”

“Come on!”

The couple rushed past Colin and Renata, and stopped when they reached the street. “Great,” Colin muttered. “They’re hanging around to watch.”

“Forget about them,” Renata said. “Let’s just sort these guys out.”

One of the men – large, muscled, bald – advanced on them. “What’s this? It’s a little late for Halloween, kids. Turn around and go home.”

“No,” Renata said. “We’re taking you in. Citizen’s arrest.”

The men laughed. The one nearest Renata – a short, stocky man in his early twenties – reached out to grab hold of her arm.

Renata spun about, knocking his hand aside.

“Damn, that hurt!”

There was a brief pause, then the stocky man shouted, “Get ’em!”

Something crashed into Colin’s back, almost knocking him off balance. The bearded man had rushed him from behind and locked his arms around his chest. The one with the shaved head swung his fist at Colin’s face. There was a loud crack and the man gasped.

“Oh God! My hand!” He collapsed to his knees.

Colin had felt the force of the punch, but no pain. He grabbed hold of the bearded man’s arms, quickly ducked down and flipped the man over his shoulder, slamming him heavily to the ground.

Colin looked around to see that Renata was holding the fourth man by the throat. On the ground next to her, the stocky man was groaning and clutching his stomach.

“Are you going to play nice?” Renata asked.

“Please don’t hurt me! I’ll do anything you want!”

“Good.” She opened her hand and he dropped to the ground. “Stay put and keep quiet!”

“What exactly are you trying to do?” Colin asked the bearded man, who was now repeatedly punching him in the face. He grabbed hold of the man’s fist and twisted his arm around, forcing him down.

The stocky man suddenly scrambled to his feet and made a run for it. “I’ll get him!” Renata yelled as she chased after him.

Colin let go of the man’s hand and stepped back, pleased with himself. Not a bad night’s work, he said to himself. Now comes the tricky part. He’d have to keep these men here until the police arrived, then get away before they could ask too many questions.

He looked around to see that the young couple were still at the entrance to the alley, peering in. The woman was using her mobile phone. “Yes! Four of them! And these two kids flew down out of the sky and just beat the hell out of them! No, I am not making this up!”

There was a groan from the ground beside Colin. He turned to see the bald mugger slowly getting to his feet.

“Stay down if you know what’s good for you,” Colin said. He put his foot on the man’s neck and applied a little weight.

The man coughed into the dirt. “Who…who are you?”

“Who am I?” Colin replied. He had been waiting for this moment. “I’m the one the bogeyman is afraid of. I’m the new face of justice. I’m your worst nightmare.”

He crouched down, leaning closer to the man. “You’d better warn the rest of your low-life friends that there’s a new hero in town. You and your kind won’t be tolerated any longer.”

Colin stood up and folded his arms. He wished there was a breeze that would make his cape flap about a little. “Who am I? I’m Titan.”

And that was when one of the other muggers hit Colin across the back of his head with a plank of wood.

Colin felt someone slapping his face and he shook himself awake. “What? What happened?”

Renata pulled him up into a sitting position. “Looks like your powers took the wrong moment to desert you. You OK?”

He reached up and gingerly touched the back of his head. “Ow! What hit me?”

“I don’t know. I lost the other guy, and when I got back the rest of them were gone.”

Colin turned towards the entrance to the alley. “What happened to the onlookers?”

“They’re gone, too. Think you can stand?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He jumped to his feet, picked up the plank and crushed it in his hands. “See? Powers back and everything. Now let’s go and hunt those guys down.”

Renata put her hand on his arm. “No. We’re going to call it a night. Get you back home.”

“Why?”

“Check your face.”

He frowned. “I’m not bleeding, am I?”

“Colin…your mask is gone.”

2 (#ulink_5c303f8e-73a9-5774-b201-1372c2952857)

“FINALLY! THE LAST ONE!” Danny Cooper took the dripping dinner plate from the washing-up rack and placed it on a tea towel that he’d spread out on the kitchen counter. He used a second tea towel to carefully dry the top of the plate, then put down the tea towel, turned over the plate, picked up the tea towel again and dried the plate’s underside. Then, one by one, he put the small stack of plates into the rack above the sink.

He glanced at the clock. Washing and drying the dishes had taken him forty-three minutes, a new personal record. Before he’d lost his right arm, he could do it in ten minutes.

He sat down at the table and resumed flicking through his magazine, just as his mother pushed open the kitchen door and slammed it behind her. Danny instantly knew what had happened: Niall had blabbed.

He didn’t look up, but he could sense his mother glaring at him.

“I cannot believe,” she began, “that you were planning to deliberately go behind my back and bring your brother to see that man!”