Why am I Here? | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Why am I Here? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Art Westefeld
01/18/18
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Belinda Snow, the Speedster, sat in the hotel room across from an old warehouse, wondering how she got talked in to assisting the police in this stakeout. Granted, it was one of her dad’s old foes, the Jester, but she had no real interest in him.
He had been accused of starting the fire that took her father’s life, but without proof, it was hard to keep from being bored out of her super-fast mind. Jester was a comparatively low level offender, the kind the local police could handle. He didn’t even have any powers, just a prankster who used bizzaro gadgets, like a gun disguised as a rubber chicken.
She’d already completed three Sudoku books, her bag of snacks, and four novels, and she still had seven hours to go in the shift.
Admittedly, she had a mini-cam from the news studio to record if she captured Jester, but still had better things to do. Her mom was in the hospital, again, her second stroke in two years. Also, she needed to vanquish the ultra-violent Vindicator, who had been systematically assassinating criminals.
Speedster saw Jester slip into the warehouse. As she turned toward the door, she caught motion from the corner of her eye. It was the gray and black form of Vindicator. Stunned, it took her three seconds to recover and move, feeling like three hours for Belinda.
She raced from the hotel, vibrated through the warehouse wall, and remained vibrating enough to be invisible. She really wanted to see why Vindicator was here, as his previous victims were all small-time crooks.
Jester had his back to Vindicator, so when the vigilante’s shot whizzed over Jester’s head, he reflexively raised his hands, as though under arrest. When he turned, he stammered in his piping voice, (Speedster always thought he had sniffed too much helium), “Wwwhat do you wwwant with mmmeeee?”
Vindicator did something no witnesses had mentioned he’d ever done, removed his mask. Then he grinned, as he aimed at Jester’s head and snarled, “It took me over a year plus to find out YOU were the one who killed my parents and pregnant wife while I was serving my country in the Middle East. Since no ‘proof’ that could be brought to the soft-hearted courts was obtained, you never were arrested and tried for your quadruple murder!”
Jester lifted his head, which had been staring away from Vindicator, and laughed derisively. “When did I do what you think I did, tough guy? I’ve committed lots of killings over the years, so which one was it?”
Vindicator waved his gun wildly. If he wasn’t careful, he’d allow Jester to escape, and that would be a waste of Speedster’s time. Not that Jester could move fast enough to escape her, but still...
Vindicator refocused, returning his aim to Jester’s forehead, roaring, ”Don’t you remember the kill on Christmas Eve, year before last? Elderly couple and the most wonderful woman in the world? Her you shot twice, once in the abdomen and once in the heart.”
He was openly sobbing now, and Speedster felt her heart go out to him, despite his violent ways. Belinda had covered the story and seen the bodies.
She slowed down enough to become visible to the two men, and asked, “How do you know Jester did it?”
Vindicator stared at her and said, “I don’t always kill immediately. sometimes I ask questions first, then kill. More efficient.”
Speedster felt her jaw drop at the casualness of his response. She spoke calmly to Vindicator, “Well you have him and I’m a witness to his confessing he’s a repeat killer. Let’s take him in.”
Vindicator’s face twisted into a mask of hatred. “That’s the difference between us. You take them in. I take them out!” he shouted to his audience of two.
Speedster knew he was going to pull the trigger. She started to move as his finger began to tighten. With her speed, stopping a bullet was easy, catching the projectile in her hand a mere six inches from the muzzle. Jester had fainted, and Vindicator stared at the bloodless body on the floor. Speedster did a quick search, and found some cord to bind the two together. She used the hotel’s phone to call in the police.
Two criminals brought down today. Not bad for seventy-five minutes worth of her being bored out of her mind.

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