Point of No Return

Sirens droned on in the distance, barely noticeable against the harsh ringing in Philip's ear. He opened his eyes not knowing how much time had passed or what really happened. Everything happened so fast, all he could remember was the flash of headlights and boom, impact. He was on the ground now, a light shined in his eyes. Above him was a paramedic checking if he was still alive. Philip groaned and slapped the paramedic's flashlight out of his face.

"What?" He groaned. "What happened?"

"You and your partner are hurt, we need to transport you to the hospital." The paramedic responded.

"I'm fine." Philip insisted.

His attempt to stand up proved otherwise, as when he picked his head up a sudden sense of dizziness came with it. He sat his head back and sighed.

"My partner, Gabriel. Is he?"

"He's…"

Philip looked over to the street where the police cruiser sat there completely wrecked, pieces of windshield were strewn about and the engine sizzled with smoke pouring out. Next to the car was Gabriel, he was laid out in a stretcher and being rushed to the ambulance. Philip got the uneasy feeling, from how bad his friend's condition was and how much the medics were rushing, that something was terribly wrong.

"Gabriel." Philip called out to his friend.

Philip tried to pull himself to his feet but the paramedic stopped him.

"Sir. You have to lay down. You can talk to him in the hospital after they take care of him."

Two men came over with a stretcher and placed Philip on it, they then carted him to the back of an ambulance and drove off. Philip stared at a light on the ceiling of the vehicle and asked himself where everything went so wrong.

----

Backup had finally arrived, a police van parked near the construction site and three officers stepped out to greet Misty. When they saw Scott's condition, and the pool of blood he laid beside, the officers had concerned looks on their faces.

"What the hell happened here?" Captain Stacy asked.

"He got into a fight with a superhero, Hydro-Man." Misty replied.

"Jesus." George sighed. "Get him into the vehicle fast. Come on."

The remaining two officers rushed to grab the unconscious criminal and escorted him to the back of the van. Captain Stacy folded his arms and gave Misty a suspicious look.

"If it turns out you were behind that."

"I'm not." Misty retorted. "Don't you know me by now?"

"I know you're a wildcard, and that you left the force to be a free agent. And I know you'll do anything to solve a case."

"Not anything."

"Let's just get him to a hospital. Need a ride?"

Misty nodded.

"Hop in the back."

Misty climbed into the police van, shut the door and listened as the engine roared to life. As they drove to the hospital Misty looked at the beaten criminal that laid on the floor next to her, she had finally brought him to justice but curiosity came over her. She reached down, grabbed his mask and pulled it off.

He was just a boy. Blonde, messy hair, dimples around his cheeks, no older than eighteen. She expected the super criminal who evaded her to be at least in his early twenties. She was suddenly feeling sorry for the poor boy, that he went down such a terrible path and paid the price for it in blood. Still, whoever this kid was, he hurt people and nobody is above the law. In her contemplation she was surprised to see his eyes slowly open.

Scott groaned. "Ow."

"Hello, Huntsman."

"Huntsman?"

"Right, that's what the boys at the precinct have been calling you. What's your real name?"

Scott turned his head away and didn't respond.

"That's okay." Misty sighed. "We'll find out later anyways. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney, if you can't afford an attorney one will be provided to you."

"I have an attorney." He groaned.

Scott's mind was in a fog, he went in and out of consciousness without realizing it. In the brief moments where he was awake, thoughts floated around in his head. "So this is it? This is how it ends?" He wondered. "I hope everyone else got away. That would make it worth it."

Misty stopped talking to Scott when it was clear he wasn't clear headed. As she sat in the van, her phone began to ring.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Misty." Jean spoke through the phone. "I don't know if anyone told you yet, but Philip and Gabriel were injured in the chase. They're being rushed to the ER."

Misty's face went flush. "Oh my god. Are they okay?"

"We'll find out soon."

"Okay. Please keep me updated."

"I will."

"Oh, by the way. Did Luke Cage stop by the precinct yet? He had two of the robbers with him."

"I didn't hear anything about him arriving."

"Okay well, let me know."

"Will do. I gotta go."

"Okay."

Jean abruptly hung up the phone and Misty sat there worried about her friends. So much happened so fast, she barely had time to process any of it yet. Deep down she wasn't sure if they had won or not, just that she couldn't celebrate just yet.

——

Phineas opened the workshop backdoor and walked over to a manhole cover in the parking lot. He scanned his surroundings for bystanders, or worse the police, and when he was sure the coast was clear he lifted the manhole cover.

"It's just you?" Phineas asked.

"The others got sidetracked. Help me lug this stuff inside." Flint answered sluggishly.

Phineas backed away as Flint tossed each duffel bag up and over the hole, then he climbed up the ladder with the particle ray hung by his shoulder with a rifle string. Phineas carried one of the duffel bags inside with difficulty.

"Damn, these things are heavy." Phineas spoke through gritted teeth.

"Adrian and the others loaded up."

"Yeah yeah, let's get these things inside."

Phineas and Flint managed to carry everything into the garage and were startled to see Adrian standing in front of them.

"Jesus!" Phineas shouted. "Announce yourself next time."

"I'm here." Adrian groaned.

"You alright?" Flint asked.

"Been better. The guy on the roof hit me pretty hard, but I got him off my tail."

"And he didn't follow you?"

"I left him on top of a skyscraper, he didn't follow anyone."

Adrian hobbled to the duffel bags and zipped one open to admire the stacks of cash inside. He smiled to himself with a glint in his eye. "It was worth it."

"What about Jamie and Scott?"

"Scott was caught by police, Jamie and his girlfriend ran off to rescue him. We left them behind."

"Damn."

Behind them a door slammed open, the three men turned around to see Jamie and Felicia stumble inside. Jamie was conscious and fuming.

"Jamie, you made it out okay." Phineas remarked.

Jamie didn't respond, he walked over to Adrian and stared him down with fury in his eyes.

"What the f**k was that back there?"

"I should be asking you that." Adrian responded. "You went against the plan."

"Yeah, because Scott was in trouble! And now he's probably been arrested or killed because you didn't want to step in!"

"He knew the risks, we all did. There was no guarantee any of us would walk away from that bank, but we did! Am I sad Scott was caught? Yeah, he was a good kid but it happens."

"I really can't believe you right now." Jamie scoffed and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, f**k yall."

Adrian sighed and folded his arms in frustration, he felt like a parent dealing with an unruly child. "How about you? You staying or leaving?" He asked Felicia.

"I'll stay. I understand why you left him, but you know I couldn't do that."

"I get that."

"Besides, Scott is capable of amazing things. He might have slipped away."

"God, I hope so."

----

Porky's Diner was typically slow on a Monday afternoon but Darren was still scheduled to work, he watched the eggs sizzle on the pan as a few hungry customers waited for their breakfast. Porky's didn't pay much, and a grungy looking chef wasn't earning a lot of tips from the clientele, but Darren genuinely grew to love cooking meals. As he folded the omelet he remembered how much Scott used to love pouring ketchup on his eggs, and how much he missed cooking breakfast for his old friend. Ever since Scott was bitten by that spider he'd seen him only a brief few times.

"Hey Darren." a cashier called to him. "Look at the TV."

Darren finished up the plate and handed it to a waitress, then he walked over to the TV mounted on the wall in the corner of the restaurant. By now a small crowd had gathered, but Darren was tall enough to look over them. The TV was broadcasting a live police chase from a helicopter in all its destructive glory.

"You see this shit?" The cashier nudged Darren's arm. "It's like some Fast and Furious out there."

"Yeah, except there's no Chargers."

The camera footage changed perspective to a closer view of the van the police were pursuing, and the spider themed bank robber on the roof of the vehicle firing webs back at them. Darren immediately tensed up, recognizing the costumed criminal as Scott. It had to be, he'd seen that costume several times and who else could stick to a speeding vehicle like that.

"What the hell are you doing Scott?" Darren thought to himself.

----

"What's taking us so long?" Misty shouted to the driver of the police van.

"The damage caused by that guy back there turned traffic into a complete mess." Captain Stacy responded. "The quickest routes to the hospital are blocked, so we're taking the long way."

"Okay." Misty answered.

She was anxious to get this kid locked up and check on her friends, she had no idea if they were still alive or not and sitting in a slow moving vehicle was making it hard for her to not think about that unsettling fact.

Finally the vehicle started moving again, Misty felt a sigh of relief as it felt the traffic jam was finally cleared. Suddenly the vehicle forcibly came to a halt, knocking Misty out of her seat and throwing the barely conscious prisoner around.

"Hey! What the f**k was that?!" Misty cursed in frustration.

"Oh my god." Stacy said under his breath.

Neither officer in the front seats responded to Misty, she couldn't see what on Earth was going on either. Stacy and the driver opened their car doors and exited the vehicle. Misty turned to leave out the back seat and was startled by the sound of gunfire.

"Wait here." She ordered Scott.

Scott was barely responsive, he nodded his head but Misty wasn't sure if he was aware of his surroundings enough to take that as a yes. She grabbed her weapon and rushed out the backdoor of the van. The first thing she saw when she opened the door was the driver of the vehicle being flung across the concrete like a ragdoll. The officer slid on the street and left a trail of blood behind him. Misty turned the corner and aimed her gun, only to have her jaw drop.

In front of her and Captain Stacy was a man in a brown trench coat with a titanium helmet covering his face, he was elevated ten feet in the air by four mechanical tentacles that connected to his back. One of the tentacles was used to stop the van in its tracks and from the looks of it, a vehicle moving forty miles per hour wasn't enough to damage these things. The masked man raised a tentacle to crush Captain Stacy, but Misty moved quickly and tackled him to the ground.

"Watch out!" She screamed.

The tentacle flew past both of them, narrowly missing them, and slammed into the side of the police van with enough force to flip it onto its side. Scott was sent slamming into the wall by the sudden impact, but it also snapped him out of his dazed mental state. "What's going on? Am I handcuffed? Shit!"

Scott wriggled with the handcuffs but it was no use, he couldn't find a way to slip out of them. Outside, Misty aimed her pistol and fired a few shots at the mysterious individual's head and chest. The bullets bounced off his armor and seemingly did no damage. Another tentacle came flying towards her, she braced for impact with her metal arm and managed to deflect the attack but felt an electric sensation across her body. It became clear that fighting this person was a terrible idea, so she ran towards Stacy and grabbed his shoulder.

"We need to go!"

The man sent a tentacle towards Misty's head, extending the metallic claws at the end of it to crush her skull like a watermelon. Captain Stacy jumped in the way, blocking the attack with his chest. The metal claws dug into the ribcage and shattered them with a loud CRACK.

"George!" Misty screamed in anguish.

"Agh!" He winced in agony. "Go!"

Stacy grabbed his gun and fired the last few bullets in his magazine, they did nothing but buy Misty some time to run for her life. Stacy was lifted in the air by the tentacle and slammed into the street, the force killed the captain on impact.

Scott heard the violent commotion outside, his heart was pounding and panic came over him.

"F**k it." He said out loud.

He put all of his might into his arms and broke the handcuffs, it hurt his wrists but he was more terrified of whatever was out there killing everyone. It didn't sound like Adrian or Jamie or Felicia, so he needed to leave fast. Then the doors of the van were forcibly ripped off their hinges, and the trenchcoat-wearing individual descended down in front of Scott.

Scott crawled back to the edge of the van in a futile attempt to protect himself from who or whatever was in front of him, it was pointless but fear was dominating his actions by now. The person pulled the metal helmet off his head, revealing an ordinary looking man with a round face, brown hair in a disheveled bowl cut and circle shaped glasses over his eyes.

"Don't be afraid." He extended his arm. "I'm here to save you."