Chapter 31: Shadows of Helix
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The city had a new favorite hero.
Billboards across downtown displayed a blue streak racing through the skyline.
HELiX DYNAMICS PRESENTS: VELOCYTE
Children wore blue toy masks.
News anchors praised the company’s rapid response to recent disasters.
The city finally had a hero it could see.
Rasheed preferred it that way.
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He sat in the back of his classroom, watching the rain tap softly against the windows.
The television mounted above the whiteboard played another interview with Helix’s CEO.
“Our mission has always been simple,” the Director said with a practiced smile.
“To use science to protect humanity.”
The classroom applauded.
Rasheed didn’t.
His eyes drifted to Omar.
For a split second…
Omar looked uncomfortable.
Not proud.
Not excited.
Just… trapped.
The feeling disappeared as quickly as it came.
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After school, Adesewa caught up with Rasheed outside the gates.
“You’re avoiding me.”
“I’m not.”
“You disappeared after lunch.”
“I had somewhere to be.”
She folded her arms.
“You always have somewhere to be.”
Rasheed laughed awkwardly.
“I guess I do.”
She studied him.
There was something different about him these days.
He smiled less.
But whenever someone needed help…
He was always the first to move.
“I found something.”
She reached into her backpack and carefully pulled out one of her sketches.
Not the original.
A copy.
The bookstore.
The broken clock.
The old man.
“When did you draw this?” Rasheed asked.
“A week ago.”
His heartbeat quickened.
He hadn’t even visited the bookstore until days later.
“That’s… impossible.”
“I know.”
She searched his face.
“You’ve seen this place before, haven’t you?”
Rasheed hesitated.
Then…
“I don’t think this conversation should happen here.”
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At that exact moment…
A deafening explosion shook the city.
BOOM!
Every student turned toward the skyline.
A column of black smoke rose from the financial district.
Car alarms screamed.
People began running.
Rasheed and Omar looked at each other.
Just for an instant.
Then both sprinted in opposite directions.
Neither noticed.
Both disappeared from sight within seconds.
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Three minutes later…
The First National Bank was in chaos.
The front entrance had been blown open.
Customers fled into the streets.
Police struggled to establish a perimeter.
Inside…
Six armed robbers held dozens of civilians hostage.
Their leader wore a polished black mask.
Unlike the fragment dealers…
These men were professionals.
Military precision.
Perfect coordination.
One robber calmly placed a metallic device against the vault door.
Another monitored police frequencies.
“No unnecessary killing,” the masked leader ordered.
“We’re here for one item.”
A frightened bank manager shook his head.
“It… it isn’t here anymore.”
The masked man smiled.
“It is.”
He looked toward the underground vault.
“You just don’t know where.”
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A crimson blur stopped on the rooftop across the street.
Rasheed observed everything.
No crystal users.
No Chrona energy.
Just highly trained criminals.
Good.
That meant civilians came first.
As he prepared to move—
Blue lightning cracked across the sky.
Velocyte landed on the neighboring rooftop.
Neither spoke.
Neither attacked.
For a moment…
They simply watched the bank together.
The blue visor turned slightly toward Rasheed.
“You take the civilians.”
The distorted voice was calm.
“I’ll stop the robbers.”
Rasheed blinked.
He had expected an argument.
Instead…
A plan.
He nodded once.
“Deal.”
In less than a second…
Both disappeared.
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Inside the bank…
The hostages screamed as red and blue lightning exploded through the lobby.
The robbers barely had time to react.
One blink.
Three guns disappeared.
Another blink.
The hostages found themselves safely outside the building.
The masked leader smiled beneath his helmet.
“So…”
“They’re faster than the reports suggested.”
He calmly pressed a hidden switch on his wrist.
Deep beneath the bank…
An ancient steel vault slowly unlocked.
Not because of explosives.
Because someone…
Had already hacked the security system.
The masked leader wasn’t stealing money.
He was stealing something that had been hidden beneath the city for decades.
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Outside…
Rasheed frowned.
He counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
…
“Where’s the sixth?”
Velocyte reached the same conclusion at the exact same moment.
“The leader…”
“He never came upstairs.”
Their eyes met.
For the first time…
Neither saw a rival.
They saw another speedster who thought exactly the way they did.
Without another word…
Both raced toward the underground vault.
Neither knew…
They were already too late.
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