Hola everyone! CJzilla here with a very long awaited update. Sorry; I really had to fight this to get it perfect. In this chapter the Titanium Titan and La Cortina put their carefully weaved plan into action.
As I smash this city, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R! Love... hate... review.
eltigre221: Sorry for the long wait. I had to get it perfect.
Amaris Solbes de la Vega: Here's an update. I'm not giving any spoilers.
Moranofchaos2: Sorry about the wait... thanks for making me one of your favorite authors. It's an honor.
CardcaptorKatara: I'm totally envious of the unconditional love in Manny's family.
soleil: Thank you. I've been busy with the second chapter for about a week and a half now. Enjoy.
acosta perez jose ramiro: That "basura" thingy was an honest misspelling. My bad and I'll correct it. You've got Black Cuervo and Dr. Chipotle Jr. on your brain lately. It's kinda funny... I'd be lying if I say they aren't going to be major characters in my sequal.
KingOfTheLab: Just for you... donuts will rain from the sky!
Chapter 2
Mala Luna Creciente
The summer months of Miracle City were always hot. The sweltering sun pounded the city with heat way before it was high in the sky. Even at seven-forty-five in the morning, the streets were hot enough to cook breakfast on. Would you like a fresh sidewalk tortilla with you pavement eggs and asphalt chorizo?
For Manny Rivera, the heat made a sour night and early morning worse. Even walking to school with his best friend Frida Suárez wasn't as enjoyable as it should be. The bubbly thirteen-year-old rocker girl noted that her best friend looked haggard.
"Gee, dude. You look like you ran a triathlon, climbed Mount Tortura, shaved El Oso's back and beaten with a chicken! Why do you look like you were beaten with a chicken?" Frida set her hands on her hips. Manny turned his sleepy eyes to his friend, a grin on his face.
"Beaten with a chicken?" Manny repeated, quirking a brow. "Frida, did you have one too many cinnamon churros this morning?"
The girl scoffed, took her hands off her backpack straps and threw them in the air.
"You know what I mean! Even on your worse days, when you've pulled an all-night party and beaten up by all the supervillains in Miracle City, you don't look this bad!" Frida gestured at the dark, dark circles under his eyes, the wrinkly, still-in-bed face and slouched appearance. The thirteen-year-old boy rolled his tired eyes.
"I look like a wreck. Gee, thanks for the compliment, Frida." Manny sighed and closed his eyes for a second. It felt good to close his eyes since he hadn't slept all night.
Then he was abruptly yanked out of his almost-asleep state when he walked into an open sewer and did a face-plant into its contents. Frida didn't know her friend had fallen asleep while walking, wandered out into the street and into an open manhole marked as a construction site. But then she heard a disgusted scream from her best buddy. Stopping from walking, the thirteen-year-old girl blinked and walked over to the open manhole.
"Okay. This has gone on for weeks, dude. Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Frida flinched at the disgusting stench wafting up from the sewer. From inside the gutter she heard Manny ground loudly.
"I-… I keep having these… dreams." The boy confessed. Frida hummed in acknowledgement. "Well, not dreams… more like nightmares. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in months."
Finally the boy climbed out of the sewer, smelling like monster spit and dog poo. Frida sipped back to the sidewalk, giving her smelly best friend a wide berth.
"And?" She called from ten yards away. Manny rolled his eyes and squeezed some of the sewer drainage out of his shirt.
"And in them… La Cortina comes back and… you and my family…" He trailed off, looking at the ground replaying the dozens of nightmares he's had. Frida fell totally silent.
Yes, she remembered La Cortina and the Titanium Titan. Alejandra Marengo nearly wasted her; sometimes she could almost feel that icy black tentacle in her chest. Frida also remembered that both she and Manny defeated the shadow villainess and her twisted love/partnership with the Titanium Titan.
"It's been a year, yeah? La Cortina and the Titan have probably moved on. Forget about them." Frida called to her friend. Manny made a face at her.
Forgetting La Cortina and the Titanium Titan? How could he forget his family's greatest and most powerful enemies? He knew they were still out there, waiting to attack and to take away everything and everyone he'd ever cared about.
Just then a tall, lanky man with a black hoodie and purse in his hands raced by the two kids, pushing Frida to the side. Soon after, a police car raced down the street. Manny smiled. Finally. A thug he could easily capture and get his mind off of La Cortina and the Titanium Titan.
"I got this!" Manny waved at Frida before he spun his belt buckle. In a wave of mystic green incandescence, a tiger yowl was heard. "EL TIGRE!"
Manny Rivera suddenly became the super-powered El Tigre, a tiger-based super powerful, super brave, super macho superhero! Slashing the air with his iron claws, El Tigre smirked.
"Piece of cake." He watched the gangly thief run down the sidewalk. Shooting his Tigre claws to the nearest street light, the teen super swung after the bandito.
Flying over the streets and cop car, much to the surprise of the police, Manny placed his heels together as he aimed to tackle the purse-snatching thief. The boy hit the man dead-on and he hit the sidewalk so hard, he left part of his face on the cement. In an instant, El Tigre had the thief by the front of his shirt with one hand and balled a fist with the other. He relished the look of absolute surprise on the criminal's face.
"Drop the goods and I'll let you walk into the cop car-" The teen smiled but he was suddenly cut off.
"HELP! Help! I'm being MUGGED!" The man called into the air struggling under the boy's super-grip, a terrified look in his eyes. Manny blinked.
What in the-?
Then the cop car screeched to a halt. Both officers hopped out of their car and pointed their weapons at the teen hero.
"Freeze! Hands UP!" Manny looked up and smiled.
"Don't worry, officers; I got this!" The teen beamed, but he was met with a scalding reprimand.
"I said HANDS UP, El Tigre! NO sudden moves!" The police officers barked. Manny blinked again.
"But-! He's a thief!" The teen held up the guy's purse. "He's running with a purse!"
The man in his clutches growled loudly.
"This is my wife's! She left it and her inhaler at home! She's having a massive allergic reaction and needs her medicine RIGHT AWAY!" Popping open the purse, the man held up a medical inhaler.
Manny promptly dropped the man, green eyes wide.
"Sorry! I didn't know!" In that same second, he felt handcuffs slapped over his wrists. "Hey! What gives?!"
"You're coming with us, delinquent!" The two officers moved Manny toward the waiting cop car. The boy struggled a little.
"WHAT?! This is a BIG misunderstanding!" El Tigre objected.
The officers scoffed.
"How many times have we heard that one, Officer Sanchez?" The one cop asked his partner as he slammed Manny on the hood of their car.
"Hundreds. Chief Suárez is gonna love you!" Manny's face paled as it was plastered on the cold steel of the cop car. Chief Suárez was Frida's father and it was NO secret that Manny wasn't his favorite person in the world.
Just then Frida came running across the street.
"Hey! What are you doing?" The thirteen-year-old girl questioned, hands in the air. The officers glared at Frida.
"Making an arrest on this miniature menace to society." Officer Sanchez grabbed Manny's belt and yanked the buckle from the leather. The thirteen-year-old's El Tigre form disintegrated in a puff of green light. "There. No more supernatural powers for you."
"HEY!" Manny fumed. "That's a priceless family heirloom!"
The officer's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"This is a dangerous weapon in the hands of irresponsible riff-raff." He held it securely in his hand. Then the officer felt the little thirteen-year-old girl grab at the mystical belt buckle.
"You don't know what you're doing! He's innocent!" Frida growled with strain as she fought to get the man's fist off of Manny's belt buckle. "That's Manny's! Give it back!"
Officer Sanchez snatched Frida by the back of her shirt.
"So! Two delinquents!" The man growled, taking out his set of handcuffs from his holster. "Resisting and assaulting an officer! You're coming downtown too niña!"
Slamming Frida on the hood of their police car, Officer Sanchez handcuffed the girl. Manny turned his head and saw the angry and bewildered look on Frida's face. Just then he heard Leone Middle School's first period bell ring. They were late for school and arrested. What could make this morning any worse?
The man with the purse watched from an alleyway half a block from the scene as the two thirteen-year-old children were thrown into the back of the cop car. The police vehicle passed with wailing sirens, rushing for the police station with the two children's angry and thunderstruck faces clearly seen through the windows. The man smiled before slinking unseen into the alleyway. Standing into the farthest corner of the lonely backstreet, the man threw back his head and gave a loud villainous laugh as his shape began to melt. The form of La Cortina appeared as her black costume re-assimilated her disguise.
Alejandra Marengo laughed as the costume retreated off of her face, showing a twisted smile and purple eyes shining with pure evil. She dropped the truly stolen purse to the ground and broke the medical inhaler under her heel. Just minuets earlier, she'd taken the essence of the asthmatic woman so she had no use for the inhaler. Alejandra's little show was real enough to frame El Tigre and ripple to his female friend. That made her smile widen. It was just luck that the policia car was cruising by. Now Manny Rivera and Frida Suárez were now in police custody.
The first carefully planned step was complete. Let's see how long the Rivera family could withstand disappointment, distrust and a little dark manipulation. With a thought, Alejandra Marengo teleported away.
Manny Rivera sighed as he scratched his nose. The thirteen-year-old was sitting in a chair, his hands behind his head and feet up on the single wooden table in this sterile room. He felt… strangely numb. The windowless room he was in had a wet, moldy smell. Maybe that was because of all the interrogations Chief Suárez gave in here. When the man would yell, the moisture from his overused but never tired voice-box always made Manny squirm.
So far, this whole misunderstanding looked pretty incriminating. If he was Chief Suárez, Manny would believe he was trying to mug that man. It was a good thing that Frida saw the whole thing. She would totally back him up.
Manny looked down at his waist. His El Tigre belt had been "confiscated". The boy hated to be away from his beloved item of mystical power. Especially now. He would be powerless to stop any baddie that might feel like starting some trouble.
Just then the door to the stale room opened. Manny dropped his feet from the table and couldn't take his eyes off of the opening door. He saw Policia Chief Suárez walk into the room, that special scowl on his face that he only reserved for the thirteen-year-old friend of his daughter. Quietly stepping sideways, the man shut the door behind him and folded his hands neatly behind his back, his only dark blue eye narrowed at Manny.
Manny was silently sweating as he sat rigid in his seat. There was something about Frida's father that made him want to confess to every bad, naughty and/or indecent act he'd ever done. Chief Suárez was especially protective of Frida which would be bad news for any boy that would attempt to date her… not that Manny thought about dating his best friend…
The thoughts in his head made the thirteen-year-old sweat more and when Chief Suárez approached the table, Manny was a hair away from spilling his guts.
"You care to tell me what happened, Rivera?" The man spoke, his voice authoritative and aggressive, able to crack even the hardest of criminals. Manny stood no chance.
"Me and Frida were walking to school." The boy began, trying to keep his voice from getting high with nervousness. "I was telling Frida about a bad dream I had last night when I fell asleep on my feet and walked into an open sewer!"
Emiliano Suárez could tell the Rivera boy was nervous and blubbering on with useless details. His mouth creased with a deep, annoyed frown and that made Manny even more nervous.
"We were just about to school when this hombre with a purse and black hoodie came running between us, almost knocking Frida down!" The thirteen-year-old boy hopped out of his seat and started reenacting the events from just thirty minuets ago. "I turned into El Tigre and tackled the ladrón! I was about to beat the candy out of him when he screamed that I was mugging him! Then those two officers came, handcuffed me, took my belt and rubbed my face on their carro! Frida tried to tell them that I was innocent but they arrested her too! And now I'm here in this room that smells like mushrooms and I'd really like to just get outta here!"
Manny took a breath and flopped back down in his chair.
"And that's my story, Jefe." The teen looked up at the steely man with big, innocent brown eyes.
Chief Emiliano Suárez frown remained as he began to quietly pace in front of the table Manny was seated at. The boy was telling the truth and his story was verified by Frida, whom he interviewed in a much less intense session; with a couple churros and a horchata got him all the answers he wanted. The Rivera boy had always been a thorn in his side. Emiliano blamed the little delinquent for all the trouble and sometimes injuries that Frida sustained. He wasn't about to let an opportunity like this to slip out of his hands.
"So this was all just a big misunderstanding, correcto Rivera?" Chief Suárez questioned, turning to the boy with unyielding fire in his single eye. "You were doing just what comes naturally when you see a shifty looking character run down the street with a fully-loaded purse?"
Manny nodded with a funny and confused look on his face at the chief's choice of words.
"And you mean to tell me that you've never used your El Tigre powers to take advantage of someone less powerful than you?" The police chief went on. "How am I supposed to believe you were just innocently in the wrong situation at the wrong time?"
"Wait a minuet-!" Manny stood from his chair. Chief Suárez kept on with his interrogation.
"What I think happened is that you saw this man walk past with a purse of money in his hands." Emiliano cut the boy off. "And you couldn't stop your criminal impulse. You used your El Tigre powers to overwhelm him and you were just about to take the purse when Officers Sanchez and Ramirez caught you."
Manny slammed his hands on the table.
"No! Jefe, I thought he STOLE that purse!" The boy nearly yelled. "I mean, c'mon! A man with a purse… and in a hoodie! In THIS hot weather! I didn't know! I didn't know that man's wife was sick and that she needed her inhaler that was in that purse! I bet if you saw that happen, you would have done the same thing that I did!"
Chief Suárez's eye narrowed dangerously.
"Don't insult me niño." The man hissed, bracing his hands on the table and leaning forward. "I am no thirteen-year-old punk with a powerful mystical object that I abuse. Your irresponsible parents let you roam unsupervised causing trouble and chaos across the city! I fear that if your bad course does not change soon… you will force me to lock you up and throw away the key. You are selfish and short-sighted and that is a path that Frida cannot follow you down."
The man's words burned, seared in fact. Manny's face fell to a dark, angry expression as he closed up. Once he saw his words had sunk into the boy's head, Chief Suárez stood and straightened his jacket.
"Your story checks out, Rivera." He admitted. "With Frida's reliable third-person testimony, I have no other reason to keep you here at the station. Your father will be here shortly to pick you up."
Manny's eyes widened.
"Dad? Why'd you call him?!" The teen jumped out of his seat again.
"He is your legal guardian, yes?" Chief Suárez returned a caustic look on his face. "It is standard police procedure to call a delinquent's parent or legal guardian."
The thirteen-year-old boy bit down on his bottom lip. Calling dad meant that Rodolfo had to break off of work to come to the police station to pick his up his only son when he should be at school! Manny face-palmed. Yes… yes this morning could get worse.
"Coming, Rivera?" He heard Chief Suarez call to him from the doorway. "You need to pick you your El Tigre belt and your backpack before you leave."
Moving out from behind the table, the boy walked to the door, head bowed and uncharacteristically silent.
Walking out into the police station's lobby, Manny grabbed his stuff from the counter. Putting his El Tigre buckle back onto his belt, he felt a little shred of the good luck fall back into place.
"Manny! Over here!" He heard Frida's voice. Looking up, the thirteen-year-old saw his best friend waving at him with a big smile and two churros in one hand.
He smiled and walked toward her. Frida hopped off of her chair and ran to him.
"Here you go, buddy." She handed him a churro. "How'd it go? You seem a little quiet."
Her father's scalding words were still ringing in his head. Manny put on his best smile and waved off the gut-wrenching feeling inside him.
"Aw! It went easy! Your dad's just a big softie!" He scoffed. "I told him the truth and he caved like a tower of cards!"
Looking back at the main counter, Manny saw Chief Suárez standing there, giving him the stink-eye. Then he drug his finger across his throat with a spiteful scowl on his face. Manny shuttered and turned back to his oblivious friend who was happily eating her churro.
"Your dad's supposed to pick us up!" Frida chirped. "Hey, maybe on the way back to school, we can talk him into dropping us off outside the comic book store! We just gotta somehow associate comic books with some random school assignment."
Manny gave an uneasy chuckle.
"Uh… sure. Can't wait to… lie to my dad." He gave a fake smile. Just then the door to the police station burst open, revealing one very cheesed off Rodolfo Rivera. "Oh… no…"
Even the cops cowered before the angry alter-ego of White Pantera. If smoke could come out of Rodolfo's nose, it would have.
"Manuel… Pablo… Gutierrez…-" The man hissed with the rage of a terrorizing monster ten-times his size. Manny held up his hands defensively.
"Wait! I can explain papa!" But Rodolfo gave no room for his son's explanation. He held up his hand, grabbed his son like a football and turned back to the door.
"Frida… Are you coming?" The usually outgoing, charismatic and bubbly man sounded angry enough to snap bricks with his bare hands.
"Right behind you Mr. Rivera!" Frida zipped out the door way before Rodolfo did. She ran to the nearest car and hopped into it like she was in the middle of a special forces training course.
Rodolfo, with Manny under his arm walked over to Frida and tapped on the window.
"Frida… My car is right over there." He said.
Frida jumped out of the car, screaming like she'd lost her mind and ran over to their car. Sighing, the super-macho superhero father followed the spazzing out girl. Rodolfo set his son in the passenger seat, buckled him in and drove toward the Leone Middle School.
Pulling up to the entrance of the middle school, Rodolfo unlocked the doors.
"Enjoy school, Frida. We will see you afterwards." He stated unexcitedly. Frida hopped out of the vehicle with a curious look on her face.
Without allowing a wave to the bewildered Frida Suárez or for his son to hop out of the car, Rodolfo pulled back into the road. Manny studied his father.
"Papa… I-" Manny watched his father's hand come to his face and rub his tired eyes. He felt even more guilt.
Manny wished he could read his father's mind for his exact words.
"You've had a busy morning, my son." Rodolfo's tired face was soft toward his son. The boy's throat was being pinched shut by his guilt.
"I'm sorry, papa." He looked down to his lap. "This whole morning has been a big misunderstanding. I never-"
"It's all right, Manny." He heard his father tell him. Manny looked up with wide eyes.
His on his father's face was a sympathetic smile.
"It's all right." Rodolfo repeated. "You've had a rough few months. It's about time other people understand that."
Manny gave a grin, thankful that his father believed him.
"Yeah… It's been nuts. Even with Frida… I'm going loco." The boy candidly admitted.
"I know. I myself have not had a full night of sleep for months and Grandpapi is so grumpy because he can't sleep that he's even more evil than usual." Rodolfo cleared his throat as he remembered the coffee pot the retired supervillain threw out the kitchen window this morning. "I feel as though our family deserves a rest. You know of Día de los Bibliotecarios?"
Manny scoffed loudly.
"It's only one of the most expected days of the year! EVERYONE'S looking forward to Día de los Bibliotecarios!" The thirteen-year-old cheered. Rodolfo smiled at his son.
"Well, we should plan something for that day! The walls of our Hacienda are closing in." The man returned his eyes to the road. Manny beamed.
"Oh yeah! What about a-!" WHAM! Rodolfo slammed the breaks and Manny's face hit the window.
Not having two seconds to realize how much pain his face was in, the boy was yanked out of his seat by his father as the man dove out of his door. Manny felt his father tumbled before he heard the shriek of mangled metal and the pop of glass shattering under a great force.
Rodolfo rolled with his son in his arms as the Alebrije Monster's foot crushed their car. The man curled over his son as glass burst in every direction. Taking Manny in his arms, Rodolfo darted to his feet and with the help of his Bronze Boots of Truth he made it to a safe distance before the towering creature could attack again. The supermacho superhero dodged cars and toppling buildings as he finally came to safety three blocks down.
"Are you all right mi hijo?" Rodolfo questioned, letting his son to his feet. When he saw Manny's nose was red and throbbing, he gulped.
"I'm bueno, I'm bueno." The thirteen-year-old blinked the tears out of his eyes. Spitting, the boy looked up at his father. "It looks like we have some morning monsturo control to do, papi."
A smile came to Rodolfo's face.
"Right!" He remarked before stancing and ripping his grey suit off of him. Puffing out his chest, Rodolfo Rivera became: "White Pantera!"
Manny chuckled evilly as he gripped his belt buckle and spun it. In a flash of green glow and a tiger's roar, Manny Rivera became:
"El Tigre!" Manny exposed his metal claws and looked at the giant Alebrije Monster with a big smirk. "Let's fry this pescado!"
El Tigre laughed before blasting his claw to a street light and swinging toward the fishy monster. Laughing with his son the superhero speeder, atop his Bronze Boots of Truth zipped toward the terrorizing Alebrije Monster.
The Alebrije Monster had its mouth over one of the nearby buildings giving the structure a liberal suck, freaking out the people still inside it. The towering creature was about to sink its curved teeth into the building, chewing and then swallowing when something hit it from behind. Rearing with the stroke, the monster's maw cleared the building. Spinning, a new rage in its eyes, the Alebrije Monster saw its attackers. White Pantera picked up a manhole cover and flung it. The metal disc flew through the air and hit the monster in the eye. Enraged and partially blinded, the creature lashed out with its tentacles, trying to get a hold on the superhero.
People taking shelter in an alleyway peeked around buildings to watch Miracle City's premier superhero family take down the Alebrije Monster. They observed White Pantera fearlessly keep the monster's attention as El Tigre snuck behind the creature.
"Asombroso!" One man awed as he peeked out from behind a building corner. The giant creature raged in frustration as it couldn't get its slimy tentacles on the Riveras. "White Pantera is supermacho!"
"There dey are! Saving Miracle City otra vez!" A woman watched as White Pantera kept the frustrated monster at bay by keeping it angry.
An elderly and kindly woman named Mrs. Chichita smiled.
"It makes me sleep better at noche knowing dat héroes like White Pantera and Mannito patrulla de city!" The old woman beamed. "Día tres día, dey save us and keep de city sergo!"
As she admired the two heroes, Mrs. Chichita didn't even realize the air had grown unusually cold around her until it was too late. Something cold and firm clapped over her mouth. The old woman writhed as she was lifted off of her feet. She caught a flash of purple eyes blazing out of the alleyway she was standing in front of before there was a blast of smoke.
La Cortina was careful that no one saw her seize the old woman. Three stories above the battlefield, the shadowy villainess reappeared with Mrs. Chichita in a dark tentacle. The old woman was disoriented from the sudden teleportation but she was fighting her abductor. Opening her eyes from behind her thick spectacles Mrs. Chichita was staring into purple, sinister eyes of a living shadow.
"Hola señora." The dark creature finally spoke. Mrs. Chichita's eyes grew wide. "I couldn't help but overhear how much you appreciate White Pantera and El Tigre."
La Cortina tightened her tentacle's grip on the woman as her purple eyes narrowed.
"Well… how would you like to help me take my venganza on them?" The old woman's fearful expression remained. "All I need you to do is just step into White Pantera's way."
Mrs. Chichita wriggled in La Cortina's grasp.
"No? Fine. We'll do this the hard way." Then another ribbon of darkness snaked over the shadow's shoulder and hovered in front of the old woman. The tentacle then passed through the elderly woman's chest.
Mrs. Chichita writhed, trying to free herself. Smiling, La Cortina pulsed her tentacle, stealing a portion of the old woman's essence. Mrs. Chichita felt her body get weak, so weak that if she wasn't suspended by the villainess's tentacle, she'd be on the ground.
"You should be happy, señora. You will be one of the first to see the Riveras come crumbling down." The shadowy villainess spoke in a soft voice. Then La Cortina turned her attention to the battle between the Riveras and the Alebrije Monster below. "Let's get into position and watch the breakdown."
In another puff of smoke, La Cortina teleported away with Mrs. Chichita in her grasp.
Four tentacles each as thick as a railroad car, sped toward White Pantera. Counting the moments in his head, the man did a back-flip just as the monstrous tentacles hit the pavement. According to plan, Manny was in position to immobilize the creature. Then El Tigre bolted out from behind a car and held the monster's tentacles to the asphalt.
"Got 'im dad!" Manny called to his father. Nodding, White Pantera turned and ran down the street.
Skidding to a stop he spun and lined up the Alebrije Monster for a massive White Pantera punt. Without hesitating, the superhero dug his feet into the pavement and flew toward the monster. Within the last few meters, White Pantera's feet left the ground. Extending his left leg, the heel of his enchanted boots was aimed for the monster's body. A kick alone from the Bronze Boots of Truth could flatten the monster, but a super-kick at Mach 5 would send the creature back into the ocean.
Manny watched his father speed toward him when the Alebrije Monster flexed its tentacles. The boy was jerked off of his feet as the creature moved; Manny could no longer hold it to the ground.
White Pantera saw the monster break Manny's grip and move out of the way. The instant that the Alebrije Monster ducked to the left Rodolfo saw Mrs. Chichita. The old woman was merely standing on the sidewalk but there was no way he could stop in time to avoid her.
Dropping his feet to the ground, Rodolfo dug his heels into the pavement. It slowed his momentum but it was not enough. White Pantera hit the old woman and both went tumbling to the ground. The superhero wrapped his arms firmly around the old woman as they rolled to a stop. Shaking the impact off, Rodolfo looked at the elderly woman in his arms. What he saw cut him to his core as he set her to the ground.
"Señora? Señora!" The woman was unconscious and probably seriously hurt. It was all his fault.
El Tigre had problems of his own. The Alebrije Monster had managed to get all four tentacles wrapped around him and now he was dangled above the creature's bottomless maw. No amount of writhing could free him fast enough before he was monster food.
"DAD!" Manny called out.
Rodolfo heard his son cry to him. White Pantera saw his beloved Manny about to become lunch for the monster. Leaving the old woman that he struck, the superhero father moved to protect his son. This time the monster had its back to him and it didn't see White Pantera until it was too late.
One White Pantera punt later and the Alebrije Monster was launched off of its feet and blasted back to the ocean. The monster released Manny just as its feet left the ground. Ten stories above the street, the thirteen-year-old boy was dazed. Thankfully White Pantera bolted off of the ground and caught his son as he fell. Dropping to the street, Rodolfo let Manny onto his feet.
"Gracias papi." Manny held his head. But in a gush of wind, White Pantera was at the other end of the street.
Manny looked up and saw something that scared him. He saw his father crouched over a small form lying in the middle of the street. A crowd began to gather around White Pantera as Manny began racing toward his father. Pushing past the crowd, the thirteen-year-old hero came to his father.
"What's wrong papa?" Then El Tigre saw why there was a crowd. Mrs. Chichita was lying motionless in the street and he couldn't hold in a gasp. "Mrs. Chichita! What happened?!"
White Pantera looked up at his son with wide, fearful eyes as his mouth flapped open.
"White Pantera killed her! I saw the whole thing!" A woman blasted from the crowd, tears in her eyes. She pointed a fierce finger at the superhero. "White Pantera es un matador!"
The gasps of the people around him were somehow muffled as Manny stared wide-eyed at his father. Rodolfo's face fell as he pinched his eyes shut. Bringing a hand to his face, the man felt the full blow of the pain he inflicted upon this innocent and dearly loved old woman.
As the horror-stuck crowd stood around the injured elderly woman, police and ambulances were quick to race to the scene. There was such a commotion about the old woman's injuries that no one saw the pair of purple eyes observing the scene from a nearby rooftop.
La Cortina watched as the old woman was hauled into an awaiting ambulance. Alejandra Marengo smiled as her costume retreated off of her face. She studied two particular people in the crowd of aghast onlookers. White Pantera and El Tigre. Even from this distance, she could tell Rodolfo was ripped apart by striking the old woman. That made Alejandra's smile broaden. It was no accident that the old woman was positioned in the superhero's path. The shadowy supervillainess made sure that the semi-conscious elderly lady would be struck by White Pantera's powerful boots.
Let the guilt fester and eat his insides. The first act to bringing the Riveras to their knees was complete, now it was up to the Titanium Titan to kick-start the second phase.
With an evil and delighted smile on her face, Alejandra's costume consumed her face. Blazing purple eyes on a blank shadowy face stood out in the noonday sun. With a thought, La Cortina teleported to City Hall.
R&R! LONG LIVE ROCK!