I Don't Want To Be A Hero

Chapter 4 The Brute

Ben steadied himself beside her, rolling his shoulders as the last of the dizziness faded. Siren scanned the street with a calculating gaze, her suit's green circuitry pulsing brighter as she assessed the chaos.

More roars echoed from deeper in the city. The drug‑amped attackers were still out there—dozens of them, maybe more.

Ben exhaled. "You picked one hell of a night to visit York."

Davina didn't look at him, but he caught the faintest smirk tugging at her lips.

"You and I both know I didn't come for the nightlife."

She tapped a panel on her gauntlet. A small compartment slid open, revealing a sleek injector vial—compact, reinforced, designed for field collection.

Ben blinked. "You're… taking samples?"

"I need their blood," she said, voice low but steady. "If I can isolate the compound Lucifer's using, I might be able to reverse it."

Ben let out a breath that was half admiration, half disbelief.

"You flew 400 miles to save my city and invent an antidote."

She finally looked at him, eyes sharp and unwavering.

"I came because you asked for help. And because people are dying if we don't stop this."

"Plus I have a private jet I might as well use it" she shrugged.

Before he could respond, another attacker barreled around the corner—bigger than the others, veins glowing faintly with the unstable drug. He roared and charged.

Ben tensed. "Round two."

Siren stepped forward, calm as a storm's eye. "I'll distract him. You get behind him and keep him busy."

Ben raised a brow. "You're giving me orders now?"

"Only when you're too beat up to argue."

He couldn't help the grin. "Fair."

The brute lunged.

Siren moved first—sliding low, launching a concussive boomerang that detonated near the attacker's knee. The blast staggered him, giving Ben the opening he needed. He blurred behind the brute, delivering a rapid series of strikes that forced the attacker to pivot wildly, trying to catch him.

Siren darted in, her movements precise and surgical. She fired a grappling line that wrapped around the brute's arm, yanking it down just enough to expose the side of his neck.

"Speed—hold him steady!"

Ben zipped in front of the brute, taunting him with a quick jab to the forehead. "Hey big guy, over here!"

The brute swung, overcommitted, stumbled.

Perfect.

Siren leapt, landing lightly on the brute's back. In one swift motion, she pressed the injector vial to his neck. It hissed as it drew a small sample of blood—just enough.

The brute roared and bucked, but she flipped off him with effortless grace, landing beside Ben as the attacker collapsed to one knee.

She held up the vial, the dark, unstable blood swirling inside.

"One down."

Ben stared at her, impressed despite the chaos.

"You make that look way too easy."

Davina slid the vial into a secure compartment on her belt.

"Don't get comfortable. I need at least three samples to run a proper analysis."

Ben groaned dramatically. "Three? You're trying to kill me."

She smirked. "Relax. I'll keep you alive."

Another roar echoed from the next block—closer this time.

Siren turned toward the sound, eyes narrowing with purpose.

"Ready?"

Ben cracked his knuckles, electricity humming around him.

"With you? Always."

They sprinted toward the next wave of chaos—side by side, perfectly in sync.

"P‑please… let me go, David." The woman's voice cracked as she clawed at the brute's forearm. His grip around her neck was iron‑tight, knuckles pale, eyes unfocused and glassy from whatever cocktail of chemicals was burning through his system. Sweat rolled down his temples, and his breath came out in ragged, animalistic huffs.

Siren crouched behind a half‑collapsed brick wall, her pulse steady despite the chaos. "This time I'll distract him. You get the woman and get her out of here," she whispered, her tone sharp with command.

Speed gave a quick nod. "Got it." A split second later, he was gone—nothing but a streak of motion and a gust of displaced air.

"HEY, DAVID!" Siren's voice rang out, amplified with just enough force to cut through the brute's haze. His head snapped toward her, jaw tightening. "Why don't you put the girl down?" she added, her voice laced with deliberate irritation.

David's lip curled. For a moment, he looked almost human—then the sound that tore from his throat was anything but. A guttural roar, primal and furious, echoed off the alley walls. With a violent jerk, he hurled the woman aside like she weighed nothing.

She screamed, arms flailing—

—but Speed was already there. He caught her mid‑fall, the world slowing around him as he cradled her safely against his chest.

"You're safe," Ben murmured, his voice calm despite the adrenaline. Before she could respond, he whisked her away in a rush of wind, depositing her behind a row of parked cars far from the danger.

Back in the alley, Davina stepped forward, boots crunching over broken glass. The air around her seemed to tighten as David lumbered toward her, shoulders heaving, muscles twitching beneath his skin.

"Now," she said, her eyes narrowing as she squared her stance, "it's just you and me."

David's shadow loomed across the alley as he lumbered forward, each step heavy enough to rattle loose pebbles on the ground. His pupils were blown wide, swallowing the color from his eyes until they looked like two bottomless pits. The drug twisting through his system made his muscles twitch in unnatural spasms, like something inside him was trying to claw its way out.

Davina didn't flinch. She rolled her shoulders back, letting her breath settle into a slow, controlled rhythm. The faint hum of her power vibrated beneath her skin, a soft warning glow tracing along her arms like living circuitry.

"Easy," she murmured—not to him, but to herself. "Stay focused."

David snarled, spit flying as he bared his teeth. "HeRo…" he growled, her name warped and slurred. "mUsT… KiLl."

"I won't let you," she shot back, stepping into the center of the alley. "You're hurting people, David. This isn't you."

For a heartbeat, something flickered across his face—confusion, maybe even fear. But it vanished as quickly as it came, swallowed by the drug's grip. He slammed a fist into a nearby dumpster, denting the metal with a thunderous crash that echoed like a gunshot.

Davina didn't move.

Behind her, Speed reappeared in a gust of wind, stopping just long enough to confirm the woman was safe. He gave Davina a quick nod—silent, trusting—before darting back to circle the perimeter.

David's breathing grew harsher, more ragged. "YoU tHiNk… YoU cAn StOp Me?"

"I don't think," Davina said, her voice low and steady. "I know."

The brute lunged.

Davina braced, power flaring around her like a pulse of light.

The alley exploded into motion.

TO BE CONTINUED