"What is the offer?"
"Do not worry about it. Your interest is confirmation enough."
"What are y-"
And then there was nothing but darkness.
An alarm rings as glass is broken, the distant whine of police sirens mingle with the panicked yells of fleeing citizens.
"Please! You don't have to do this!" a bank clerk yelps as a gun barrel shifts its gaze towards him.
"Yeah, you're right. We don't." its owner grunts, "Just give us the money and we'll get outta your hair, alright?"
He suppresses a whimper before backing into the bank vault to fulfill the robber's wishes. Meanwhile, another thief within the background of this whole affair twirls his gun flashily in front of a crowd of hostages.
"Okay, okay. Look, we can make this easy or we can make this hard." he starts, trying to look tough, "You hand me all of your valuables or… uhh… get shot!"
He emphasizes his offer with a shot to the bank's ceiling. Plaster and dust crumble from above as the crowd shrieks, huddling closer together in an attempt to protect themselves from the gun-toting robber who is currently snickering to himself.
The citizens oblige.
"Alright, alright! Here!"
"Take it! Please, just don't hurt us!"
"WHaaaAA!"
The sound of precious metals and pearls hitting the floor filled the room before everything went dead silent, leaving only the whimpers of a child clutching a locket close to their chest.
The robber, intrigued by this child's resolve, snickers, "Huh… whatcha hiding there, kid?"
"Nothing!" the child retorts, earning a panicked reprimand from their mother.
"Charlie! Just give it to him! Please!"
"No! Dad gave it to us 'fore he left! I'm not letting him take it!" they respond, tearing themselves away from their mother's grasp.
The robber scoffs, losing his patience, "Eugh fine, you asked for this!"
A crack, a yell, and a blur of red.
A blur of red…
"No… it can't be!" The robber yelps as he realizes his mistake, backing up into his partner and knocking them both out of balance, leading to them collapsing on the floor.
A shadow falls upon the two, who upon realizing their new foe began to quiver in their shoes, already knowing they have lost this battle.
The child releases themselves from their curled position, their eyes filling with hope as they realize who their protector is.
Policemen who crowd the perimeter of the bank widen their eyes in disbelief as they see who was the man brave enough to take a bullet.
All at once, they say, to themselves, to their comrades…
"SUPERMAN!"
