Rise of the Heroes by Andy Briggs Page A

before—
    WHAM!
Emily swooped in low. Having gained momentum by looping from the end of the street, she smashed into him like a cannonball. With the thug incapacitated she dropped to the ground, her feet sliding across the pavement before her momentum was lost; she felt like an ice-skater skidding to a halt. Caught in the moment, she flicked her arms out as though she’d just finished a performance.
    Doc Tempest growled, taking Emily’s actions as a taunt. The remaining henchman backed closer to his master. Tempest took off his red shades and his bloodshot gaze bore into Emily. “And what do they call you? Zoom Girl?”
    Emily was repelled by his appearance, but remained silent, determined not to let the fear inside show through.
    Doc Tempest looked up at Toby. “And you, Spider-boy, how do you intend to stop me?”
    That hadn’t occurred to Toby, especially since his power seemed to be limited to climbing walls; not at all useful in a situation like this. He prayed that his thoughts didn’t show on his face. Instead he shouted back, “You’ve seen what we can do. Now we’ll just let the authorities take you in.”
    â€œYes, I have seen what you can do. Most unusual to have a new group of Goody Two-shoes appear just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Unannounced, with no publicity. But, my dear boy, you have
not
seen what
I
can do.” Doc Tempest extended his hands like a maestro at a concert; his voice suddenly raised an octave. “A genius like me! And they send cops and children to stop me? Where are the Enforcers? Where are the
real heroes
? Do they cower in fear of Doc Tempest?”
    Lorna had a suspicion he was being overly dramatic. But then Tempest slowly turned, raising his eyebrows and whooping with laughter as he brought his hands together in a powerful clap.
    It was as if a nuclear bomb had detonated in the street. A shimmering wall of silver energy burst from Doc Tempest in a three hundred and sixty degree radius. Toby was the first to feel the force hit him like an explosion, sucking the breath from his lungs. The face of the clock next to him exploded in a shower ofglass and ornate lead beading. He felt his body crush against the brickwork, his hands slipping until he lost his grip like an insect being blown from the wall. He fell.
    Fortunately the bank’s old entrance hall, which jutted out several feet below, broke Toby’s fall. Slates cracked under his body and he slid down the steeply sloping roof, arms and legs scrambling, until he dropped six feet to the street below.
    Tempest’s soldier got the full blast of the force-wall, which sent him reeling flat onto his back and pushed him across the debris-littered road like a water-skier thrown from a rope. He collided forcefully with a car, crumpling the door with his head, and lay motionless.
    Pete raised his hands to fire a blast of ice. He had no idea if it would work, but it was an instinctive reaction. A jet of ice formed just as the invisible force struck—the sheer pressure curled the ice back against him, then shattered it into pieces. The cold fragments hit his face, smashing his glasses, as Tempest’s energy blast pitched him hard into the side of a van, causing it to rock on rusting suspension.
    Lorna tried to leap skyward but the blast caught her and knocked her down the street, rolling her end over end. She felt loose detritus, swept up by the force-wall, scratch her face.
    Emily froze in panic, and suddenly teleported as the wall arrived. The energy blast dissipated againstthe clothing shop behind her, shattering the wide plate-glass windows into a million pieces, tearing the plastic mannequins apart with jagged shrapnel. She reappeared moments later, surprised with herself.
    Doc Tempest looked equally astonished as he surveyed his handiwork and saw that Emily was still standing.
    â€œYou are a pesky thing, aren’t you? But you can’t stop me, little