FOUR

"Well, no luck so far," said Phoebe as she and Cole cut through an alley near Henderson Avenue. "No one around here seems to have any idea who this mysterious Blue Avenger is."

"At least they aren't saying anything," said Cole. "From the way people have been talking most of them seem to admire this guy. Considering all the good he's been trying to do it's hard to imagine he's demonic no matter how elaborate his plan might be."

"I'm with you there," said Phoebe. "He seems to go out of his way to help people. But how can he just appear and disappear so quickly? No one's said anything about him shimmering away. In fact, he seems to run off before anyone can stop him. Then he just vanishes into thin air."

"Shimmering is only one form of transportation," said Cole. "There are a lot of ways to move around. And not all of them are demonic. Take Leo, for example. He orbs. Whoever this guy is I'll bet he runs away so he can disappear without anyone seeing how he does it."

"But how does he know where the crimes are being committed?" Phoebe asked.

"That's a good question," said Cole. "Maybe he has some kind of precognitive ability like you. Or he could be clairvoyant. For all we know he might just walk the streets like any other person and then changes when he sees a crime in progress."

"He'd have to be a quick change master to do that," said Phoebe. "Purse snatching doesn't take more than a few seconds. How could he change into his costume so quickly?"

"Maybe it's one of his magical abilities," said Cole. "We really don't know what else he may be capable of other than what we all ready know. He might have powers we haven't even guessed at."

"But why a superhero?" Phoebe asked. "Why not impersonate a cop or someone like that?"

"He's probably someone who has never been given any recognition throughout most of his life," said Cole. "The superhero personae could be satisfying some emotional need he has for recognition."

"Are you suddenly a psychologist now?" Phoebe asked.

"I've lived almost a hundred years," said Cole. "You pick up a few things in that time. Besides, it doesn't take a psychologist to know that being a superhero draws attention to yourself. Otherwise he'd be trying to be as anonymous as possible. I think we're dealing with someone who has some self-esteem issues and his identity as a superhero helps to satisfy his need for validation. We all need to be validated. It's a normal human need."

"You could be right," said Phoebe. "I just don't know why we can't find out anything about this guy."

"Hey, buddy, you got a cigarette?"

"Sorry, no, I don't smoke," Cole said, looking at the scraggly guy dressed in very dirty clothes leaning against a building they were passing.

"In that case," said the long haired man pulling a gun out of his pocket, "give me your watch, your wallet, and all your jewelry. Her too. And be quick. I ain't got all night."

Instinctively, Cole stepped in front of Phoebe. The gunman was too far away for Cole to reach physically. But a fireball didn't have that restriction. Except that wasn't an option. Cole was no longer the demon he had once been. Vanquishing mortals was no longer an acceptable alternative.

Of course, Cole could always grab Phoebe and shimmer away. But he couldn't be sure he would be fast enough. Chances are they'd be gone before the man even knew what was happening. But there was always the chance he might panic. And with Phoebe next to him he couldn't take the chance she might get hurt.

"Just take it easy," Cole said, beginning to remove his watch. "You can have whatever you want. We won't give you any trouble."

"Cole," Phoebe said.

"Shut up," said the man with the gun, looking around nervously. "Let's have the jewelry and wallets. Quit stalling."

Cole reached into his coat pocket and removed his wallet as Phoebe began to remove her jewelry.

"Do not fear, mortals," said a voice from up the alley. "I shall protect you from this evil varlet who preys on the weak and innocent."

They all looked up the alley to see the new superhero standing at the end. He had his hands on his hips and a smile on his face. At this distance they got a good look at him. He was wearing a blue suit with white stripes down the arms and legs. He was wearing a mask that covered most of his face, leaving only his mouth exposed. A blue cape fluttered slightly in the breeze.

"What the hell?" the gunman said. "What kind of a nutcase is this?"

"I am the Blue Avenger," said the man. "I protect the weak and innocent. Put down the weapon, mortal."

"Mortal?" questioned the gunman. "I'll show you mortal, you psycho."

Before any of them could move the gunman turned the gun on the Blue Avenger. He fired two shots that struck the superhero in the chest. As the Blue Avenger fell to the street, the gunman looked around, fear in his eyes. Forgetting all about Cole and Phoebe, he turned and began to run as fast as he could down the alley.

Cole and Phoebe forgot all about the gunman. They rushed over to see how badly the Blue Avenger was hurt. They knew it couldn't be good. But with any luck the bullets might have missed any major organs.

"Cole, we have to do something," cried Phoebe. "There's an awful lot of blood. He's going to bleed to death."

"Call Leo," said Cole.

"Leo can't heal him," said Phoebe. "He's only allowed to do that if it's demonically related."

"We can sort out the ethics of it later," said Cole. "We can't just let him die. Call for Leo. The way he's bleeding he won't last until help gets here."

Phoebe was about to call for Leo when suddenly the Blue Avengers' chest glowed blue. Within seconds the wounds in his chest were completely healed. Even the holes in his costume and the blood had vanished as if they had never existed. The Blue Avenger stood up and smiled at Cole and Phoebe.

"Do not fear, mortals," said the Blue Avenger. "Mere mortal weapons cannot harm me. I am the Blue Avenger and the scourge of evil everywhere."

Suddenly they heard a siren drawing closer to the alley. Suddenly a police car pulled up at the end of the alley. A policeman inside began shining a spotlight down the alley.

"I must be off," said the Blue Avenger. "Crime does not rest and neither do I."

"Hang on, blue boy," said Cole. "You have some questions to answer."

"There are no time for questions," said the Blue Avenger. "I must be about protecting the weak and innocent."

"We need to get out of here," said Phoebe. "Cole, under the circumstances I don't think we have much choice."

Phoebe reached out and took Coles' hand. But before Cole could shimmer them out of the alley the Blue Avenger suddenly orbed out and was gone. Phoebe and Cole just looked at the empty alley. Suddenly, the police car turned and began a slow drive down the alley, the spotlight shinning all around hit. Cole looked at the police car and then shimmered Phoebe and himself out of the alley.