Teen Ink

Typhoon and Brain

It wan't long until a new "superhero" showed up in the local newspapers. He called himself Typhoon. He caught petty thieves by spinning them inside miniature tornadoes until they all begged him to let them go.The following week, he stopped a bank robbery by almost drowning the would-be robbers with the water from the nearby fountain. Each time, he flew away from the scene the flames that shot out from his feet.
Erik knew that it was time to confront Josh before he got hurt. Later that night, he chose to play the newest Batman game so he could spark up a conversation. To his luck, everything went as plan. Just as the end of the co-op campaign was around the corner. He decided to ask the crucial question.
"Dude, what's your favorite superhero?" he said as he knocked out yet another opponent.
"Probably The Bat, at this point."
"I said superhero. He has to have powers. The only thing Batman has is money for super high tech gadgets."
"I don't know, Spider-man. He's cool."
"What about that Typhoon guy? He looks pretty cool."
"Nah, not really. I think it's all just a fake. I mean control over wind, water, and fire. What's the story behind that?
"I wouldn't say its fake. Have you seen the videos? Experts say that there's no sign of it being CGI."
"Well maybe the newspapers hired some big movie guy to do all the work for them? That would improve their sales, and their believability."
"Yea, that's probably it." The Boy gave up the argument. There was no way he could make him blow his cover. There was only one way for him to find out who he really was, and he had just the idea.

Finding the suit was the easy part. Walking around with it underneath his clothes was an entirely different story. It was itchy, hot, sweaty, just completely uncomfortable. Erik was beginning to think that the super part of being a hero was having the ability to fight crime while wearing spandex.
When he got the call from Josh canceling for the movie, the Boy ditched also. He then waited outside of his apartment for him to start his patrol, and began to follow him. Erik noticed the police scanner in Josh's pocket. He wore his earbuds, so it looked like he was just listening to an mp3.
After an hour of walking around the city, Viridi was staring to regret is his decision. Just as he was about to turn back and go home, his target put one hand on his ear, and dashed into the subway. Erik ran after him, and not long after, he saw Typhoon crash into the window of the moving train.
The Boy then quickly pulled on his mask, tore off his clothes, and dashed after him. The wheels inside the Brain's head moved on hyperdrive. He calculated the speed of the train, its length, the distance from the platform, and finally his trajectory, all in a split second. The super genius leaped with all his might, and landed on the back of the last car. He peered inside, and saw a single gunman holding the passengers hostage. His weapon of choice was a standard AR. This would be a piece of cake.
He waited until he paced by the back window, and then the Brain started his assault. He blasted through the window, taking him by surprise, and in one fluid motion, disarmed him, and sent him to the floor.
"Stay quiet until I get back." He told the passengers.
"Who are you?" One of them whispered.
"I think he's Typhoon. The one from the papers."
"No," He laughed. "I'm The Brain."
One car, and one man at a time, he silently took control of the train. The alien king made his way to the control room, at the front of the train. There he found two gunmen on the ground, a broken control panel, and a confused superhero monkeying with the wires underneath.Before Josh could spin him out of the window, Erik explained himself in his rehearsed superhero voice.
"Relax, I'm the Brain, and I'm here to help." He said as he cautiously approached his fellow hero."
"Good, it's about time I got backup."
"So let me guess. Bad guys hijacked a train, jammed the controls, and we have stop it before we hit the explosives, conveniently located at he busiest station in the city at rush hour?"
"Dude, you're good."
"It's what I do. I can fix the controls. While I do, you can fly against the train. That should slow us down enough to buy me some extra time.
Josh followed the plan, but they were running out of space, and time. Imperial Station was in sight, and was approaching rapidly.
"Brain! We're running out of room! How's it going back there?" Typhoon shouted over screeching of the train.
"I'm almost there! Done!" Then out of nowhere, a man came rushing at the new hero with a knife.
"Brain, watch out!"
Heeding the warning, he turned and shot the charging gunman with his modified wristwatch. Quickly afterward, he threw the emergency brake switch. The train finally began to slow down, but the station was dangerously close. The explosives were visible, but the people only seemed to be conscious of the superhero who appeared to be single handedly slowing down the giant hunk of metal.
"Out of the way! We're not going to make it!"
"We will!" Erik shouted back. "We have to!"
The explosives armed, and they were only a hundred feet away from setting them off. 80 feet. 60 feet. 40 feet. 20 feet. 10 feet. 5. The train finally came to a stop. The two superheroes let out a cry of victory, before flying over the crowd, and out of the station.