Night had fully claimed Mayvel Bank. Red and blue police lights flooded the street, painting the old stone building in pulsing colors. News helicopters thumped overhead, their spotlights sweeping across the roof and the front windows.
For the first time in years, Mayvel had a real crime on its hands. The city had grown used to petty offenses and small hero moments, nobody quite knew how to react to something this serious.
Morris Evans was live from one of the helicopters, his voice cutting through the noise on Cloud News.
"A heist is in progress and police have the area surrounded," he said, gripping the microphone tightly, wind whipping at his hair. "We don’t yet know who’s inside, but we’re told there are over twenty hostages."
He paused for dramatic effect. "And with the Hero Body having stripped Flamebird, until recently the only classified hero in Mayvel, people are starting to fear our city could go the way of Void City."
Inside the bank, tension hung thick in the air. About ten hostages lay face-down on the cold marble floor. A thin masked man paced nervously, gripping a sleek new Destroyer gun.
"Just let us go," a woman in a business suit shouted from the floor, voice cracking. "You’re already surrounded."
The masked man stormed over to her.
"Can you shut your cum dumpster for one minute?" he snarled, pressing the barrel close. "Or do I put a hole through your head?"
The other hostages started murmuring, voices rising with fragile hope. A hero was supposed to come. That was how these things always ended.
"Just give up."
"There’s two of you and you don’t even have powers."
"Idiots," another voice muttered. "What did you think would happen, hitting Mayvel Bank? Your asses are rotting in a cell tonight."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALL OF YOU!" The masked man’s shout cracked, almost a sob. The room fell silent. "Next one of you that opens your mouth—"
He didn’t finish. A man in a gray suit suddenly scrambled up and bolted for the door.
"JOWY!" the masked man yelled for his partner, the woman who’d been watching the street from the windows.
She turned sharply. Black hair to her shoulders, face covered from chin to nose with a dark bandana, sharp blue eyes visible above it. Slim build, long straight legs in desert boots. She spotted the running man immediately.
Frank pulled a pistol and fired. The shot cracked loudly, catching the runner in the butt. He dropped with a scream.
Every hostage slammed their face back to the floor. No one else dared move. The two robbers walked over to the writhing man.
"What the hell was that?" Jowy snapped.
"What?" Frank shot back. "He was running. I had to."
"No." Jowy’s voice was flat and cold. "You said my name. My fucking real name."
"Yeah, I did." Frank didn’t flinch. "And I’ll say your whole name too. We’re already screwed, what’s it matter."
Jowy shoved him hard in the chest, stepping over the bleeding man. "Fuck you, Frank."
"Somebody help me," the wounded man groaned. Frank kicked him in the wound. He screamed.
"What, you think you’re Elena Mars now?" Frank called after Jowy as she walked away in disgust.
[This is your chance to surrender before we come in.] A amplified voice boomed from outside. Both robbers froze.
Jowy walked back to Frank.
"Let’s just surrender," she said quietly.
Frank nodded. He pulled a small microphone from his pocket.
"Don’t shoot. We’re surrendering."
Outside, officers kept their guns trained on the bank doors, fingers tense on triggers.
Up in the helicopter, Morris Evans was still on air, hammering the narrative.
"This would already be over if Mayvel had lisenced heroes," he said. Then he stopped mid-sentence, mouth open, eyes widening as he stared past the camera. "Isn’t that Glitch?"
The camera whipped around toward the top of the building. For a moment, nothing. Then it panned back to Morris.
"I swear I just saw that son of a bitch." The hatred bled through his voice, raw and unfiltered.
***
Ren stood on the rooftop two blocks away, the cool night wind tugging at his black-and-gold suit. Mayvel Bank glowed in the distance under swirling red and blue police lights, with news helicopters circling overhead.
The chat was already alive and scrolling fast in his vision.
[remind me why I’m here again]
[Freelancer008: who’s blinking when Glitch is live? not me]
[okay but real talk who made that costume because it is LIT]
[Bonker205: y’all are delusional thinking Glitch is some random Mayvel guy. that’s a rich mf with time to burn]
[give us the lore king]
[we’re ready for anything just DON’T black out my block. getting laid tonight and Shay’s scared of the dark. help a brother out 🙏]
Ren read it all, a grin forming behind the mask.
『I wonder if people were thinking all this before social media or if the apps just gave them somewhere to put it. 』
"Tonight," Ren said, voice steady as he addressed the chat, "we’re running an extraction."
[Viewers: 22.9K]
"For everyone here for action," he told the chat, "I’ve got you."
He slammed the white force button. The suit launched him forward in a powerful burst. The broadcast caught every second in crisp HD as he rocketed across the gap and slammed into the side of Mayvel Bank. Sticky palms gripped the stone, and he climbed swiftly to the roof.
[that alone was worth the night]
[you’re the GOAT bro]
[VillainEater has donated $300]
[okay but who IS VillainEater]
[GlitchObsessed has donated $1,000]
The comments kept flooding. Ren swiped them aside for a moment and locked onto the glowing blueprint in his vision. Helicopters thumped overhead, their spotlights sweeping the area, none on him yet.
He followed the route precisely and stopped at his mark. Directly ahead, a Cloud Media helicopter hovered, Morris Evans visible inside, broadcasting live. For half a second, Morris’s eyes locked onto him.
Ren raised his middle finger directly at Morris, then dropped into the access hole on the roof, vanishing before the lens could catch him.
He landed inside the bank with a soft thud. He sprinted through the next room where the hostages lay face-down on the marble floor, two black duffels of cash abandoned nearby. No one lifted their head at his arrival.
[This is your chance to surrender before we come in.] The amplified police voice boomed from outside.
At the front doors, he saw them, Jowy, black hair to her shoulders, red top, black mini skirt, desert boots, and Frank beside her. Both had their hands raised, walking out to surrender.
[Don’t let her be arrested.]
"No," Ren shouted.
Every hostage’s head snapped up as he slammed the white button and launched through the doorway. The entire city caught it live on every station. The police were ready.
He crashed into Frank, dropping him hard, then spun in the same motion and shoved Jowy back into the building. She scrambled, crawling deeper inside, no idea what had just happened.
Ren turned just as the police opened fire. Bullets sparked and skipped off his reinforced suit as he ducked back in after her.
"Hold!" the commander shouted outside.
Inside, Jowy was still crawling, disoriented, when Glitch scooped her up effortlessly into his arms.
"Who are you? Where are you taking me?" she gasped, already being lifted off the ground as Ren killed gravity and propelled them both upward.