Chapter 2 - An Act of Bravery
Sunday morning, a time when people took the advantage to sleep in all they wanted, and Nicky Manos was no exception; the only one in his family who was up at the crack of dawn was his father, but he didn't even start to stir until noon.
Nicky woke with a gasp not only because he realized that it was a new day, but also because of the possibility that yesterday could have all just been a weird dream—especially a certain talking ant.
"Hoo…thank God it was just a dream…mm, more like a nightmare," Nicky chuckled in relief while sitting up and stretching, cheerfully making his way downstairs to start this lazy day. And just as he expected, his little sister was already up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, sitting on the living room floor while wearing her favorite pink tutu and watching her favorite girly cartoon.
Nicky walked into the kitchen to find his mother watching a cooking show on much smaller TV, and there were some leftover pancakes on the countertop, to which he happily helped himself to.
Teresa couldn't help but notice the unusual smile on her son's face, "Someone's especially happy this mornin'."
"Yup! Just glad it's a new day, and nothin' weird can happen," Nicky informed, pouring syrup on his pancakes.
"Yeah, I suppose that's a reason ta be all giddy," Teresa agreed in slowly confusion.
"Sure is. Thanks for the pancakes, Ma."
"You're welcome, Dear!"
With that, Nicky was so pleased and relaxed, that he decided to sit in the living room and maybe even watch some cartoons with Tiana.
"Good morning, Nicky!" Tiana cheerfully greeted and turned to face her brother.
"Mornin', Tia." Once Tiana went back to watching TV, Nicky lifted a bite of pancakes up to his mouth.
"I'm really hooked on this show," a tiny voice whispered in excitement, and Nicky looked down to find the exact same ant from yesterday sitting on the arm of the couch, taking him by complete surprise as he nearly spit out his food.
"The hell're you doin' here? You were supposed ta be a dream!" Nicky hissed quietly after swallowing.
"But last I checked, I am completely real," the ant protested with a grin while feeling himself all over to double check his existence.
The young man sighed and leaned back in his seat, placing his plate in his lap so that he could cover his eyes in disappointment.
"You gonna eat that?" Nicky opened his eyes to find his friend pointing at his breakfast.
"Yeah, actually, I am."
"Oh, come on, Nicky, I know you don't want me gone that bad." The ant flew in front of Nicky's face while crossing his arms.
"That's debatable."
"Either way, we still have the mission of utmost importance here: Where did I come from?" The ant paused. "Do you work today?"
"No."
"Then hurry up and eat. We're going for a walk."
Nicky and his insect friend headed out that afternoon, sticking the more vacant sidewalks to avoid any suspicious eyes.
"An average ant queen couldn't possibly have brought me into this world, so perhaps there was some sort of unnatural interference in Mother Nature," the atom began with a hand on his chin to think deeply again
"You sure you're not just my imaginary friend?" Nicky questioned blankly.
"Yes, I'm sure—hmm, it would help if I could remember…"
"What do you remember?"
"The first thing that comes to mind is a railroad track far outside of the city. Anything before that is just darkness."
"A railroad? Man, there's hundreds of tracks that leave the city! How're you gonna find just one?"
"Actually…I've managed to mark this one. And with a bird's eye view, I'll find it in no time. Stay here, I'll be back!"
"Wait!" But Nicky's cries fell on deaf ears, as his friend disappeared into the sky. Just then, he turned around when he heard a robin's song from up in a random tree. "Lord forbid you start talkin', too."
Meanwhile, a churning sensation of excitement and fear filled the ant, as he knew he was possibly another step to finding out who he is. And those feelings tended to interfere with his concentration, as he found it difficult to navigate the busy city at the higher speeds.
"Not even a mouse could find their way out of this modern maze!" the ant exclaimed in surprise when he just barely missed the side of a skyscraper. And as soon as he rounded a corner, an unnatural buzzing filled his head and shook his antennae.
"Well, that's new…" He broke in mid-air and pondered the new feature, remembering that interfering with his sensitive feelers would have dire consequences; so, he left them alone and instead constantly adjusted his head to soften the static. Until finally, the static had vanished completely, and was replaced by a high frequency of sirens and cries for help.
As soon as the ant was certain of the direction of the danger, he abandoned his first objective and zipped off to do the right thing. And sure enough, he soon found the source of the commotion was a large building, a bank surrounded by police tape and cruisers, as wells as roaring crowds of panicked people.
"Stay back! There are hostages inside! They're being held at gunpoint!" the chief of police announced, his voice amplified by a megaphone. Curious, the ant averted his attention to the bank and his antennae were suddenly buzzing with separate readings of distress.
"If there is the unfortunate chance that that's true, they'll never rescue them without being seen," the ant pondered aloud, but then his eyes widened with realization. So, he darted down and flew through one of the holes in the smashed glass doors, braking in midair upon the terrifying sight of people balled up in front of and behind the counter, and many men dressed wearing masks were threatening them with large guns.
"Freeze!"
Each and every burglar turned their heads up with they heard the high-pitched yet booming voice, but were baffled when they couldn't find a police officer anywhere in the building.
"What was that?" a lackey questioned.
"I dunno, but stay focused!" the leader, the biggest and buffest man in the bunch, ordered while pointing at a group of people in a corner, and the lackey immediately went back to keeping his gun pointed at them.
And when the ant saw the numerous innocent people in that corner, especially a little girl, much younger than Nicky's sister, cower and whimper in fear once more, he now knew enough was enough.
"Shoot either one of those innocents, and you'll regret it!" the ant warned, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest. But none of the robbers thought to look for an ant, so his efforts to look bigger failed.
"Come out or else I'm gonna shoot!" the leader shouted while pointing a gun at a employee behind the counter, making her shriek.
"Oh, no you don't!" Out of nowhere, the leader's gun was suddenly ripped from his grasp and smashed into the ground, becoming nothing more than a mutilated piece of metal.
"This is your last warning: Surrender or suffer the consequences!"
"Where's that even comin' from?" another lower-ranking robber whimpered.
"This bank is haunted!" another lackey screamed and immediately dropped his gun to hold up his hands.
"No, it ain't! We're bein' played by some Smart Alec!" the head of the gang snapped, "But we ain't playin'!"
With that, the leader snatched a gun from one of his cronies and aimed it right at a hostage's head, not wasting any time to pull the trigger. But as soon as the bullet exited the barrel, a loud boom filled the air and blood was never spilled. Completely shocked, the robber looked down at the floating bullet, which was now smooshed from the impact of the mysterious force that stopped it.
The ant then dropped the bullet and finally revealed himself, scowling up at the large man, "I tried to warn you."
The big man's eyes were now as wide as dinner plates, and he shook so bad that he dropped his gun as the ant floated up to his face.
"W-What…are you?" he quivered.
"I'm simply a genetically-mutated, super ant."
In the blink of an eye, the man was met with a punch that could match atomic power, and flew across the room like a rag doll before crashing through the doors and out onto the pavement. Dazed and confused, his nose bleeding and broken, and bruises all over his body, he was left to the mercy of the police outside, and the rest of the gang finally surrendered as well to the unbelievable sight.
The ant smiled at his success, especially when he saw the hostages start to stand and thank fate that their lives were spared.
"Hello." The insect turned to find the same little girl from earlier, who was once so full of terror and doubt was now filled with happiness and gratefulness, staring up at him with a big smile. This was the first time a stranger didn't gaze at him in fear or shock upon first seeing him.
Slowly, the ant floated down to her face, but was careful to keep his distance. She then did something even more unexpected: She held her hand out flat, as if to welcome the ant. Even more surprised, the ant curiously landed on her hand. With another smile, the girl carefully brought the ant up to her lips, and gave him a kiss on the top of his head.
"Thank you for saving us," she squeaked with great sincerity, making the ant blush with a goofy smile.
"Y-You're welcome…just another day's work for…huh," the ant began with a nervous chuckled while flying out of her hand, but then paused awkwardly, "I really need a name."
Shortly after the ant left him, Nicky returned home to wait for him for an undetermined amount of time, but he came home to a very unexpected surprise.
"Breaking news: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has just witnessed a most unsettling yet spectacular turn of events! What began as bleak robbery turned into to an amazing rescue by a mysterious vigilante! We have yet to learn the identity and whereabouts of this new hero, but we seem to have one witness with some information!" The cartoon Tiana was once glued to was now interrupted a news channel, as a news reporter was broadcasting the robbery at the bank just a few minutes ago. The reporter then approached a little girl standing next to her parents, lowering his microphone for her to speak.
"He was amazing! He had super strength and speed, and he could fly!" she happily announced.
"So, you've seen this man? Can you tell us what he looks like?"
"Yes, but he's not a man. He's a little ant."
The reporter instantly looked up at the camera in bewilderment, failing to believe this little girl and believing it was all just a fantasy. So, he cleared his throat and lifted the microphone back up to his lips, "Ahem! Well, as mentioned before, the true form of this brave rescuer has yet to be revealed! If anyone has any information about him, do not hesitate to call the tip line at-!"
Just before the number could be announced, Tiana suddenly changed the channel to watch another cartoon.
"Hey!" Nicky snapped, as he was staring at the TV with wide eyes beforehand. Tiana simply shrugged, obviously showing her lack of caring.
But Nicky was persistent, so he ran out of the living room and headed right for the door, only to be stopped by a flying ant after opening the door.
"You're amazing!" Nicky whisper-shouted in awe, careful not to attract attention from his sister or mother.
"What do you mean?" the ant simply questioned while floating into the apartment.
"Dude, that stuff you pulled at the bank was awesome! You're like a hero!" And just like the girl at the bank, Nicky extended his hand out to the ant, once again surprising him. But he wanted to indulge his only friend and landed on his palm.
"I was only doing what felt right."
"That's what heroes do, Man. And just think, if everyone knew who you were, you'd be famous!"
"But won't they be a little terrified of a talking insect?"
"Maybe at first, but they'll get used to it. After all, it's the deeds that make the man…or bug."
The ant smiled, "I guess you're right. But if you really want this super hero business to kick off, we need to come up with the perfect name first."
"No kiddin'," Nicky chuckled, "But don't worry, we'll come up with something. The story of an underdog never starts out easy, anyway."
A skinny and shadowy figure walked alone in the somewhat empty streets at night, as a gentle yet frigid sprinkle accompanied the restless city. He was dressed in a trench coat with his hood up, and pulling a small wagon full of various-sized with holes in them.
But as he passed by a TV store, he was suddenly captivated by the same breaking news channel earlier that day. Amazed, the figure dropped the wagon handle and approached the window, pressing his hands against it to get a better look. And when he heard the interview with the little girl, he was speechless.
But only for a moment.
"It seems my little experiment was a success…I was a fool for giving up on it so irrationally," Von Gimmick muttered, "But this is still a problem. If he really does join the fight for good, I might never achieve my dream."
Just then, the old man remembered his wagon and the special items inside. He turned his head down and grinned in realization, "Then again, what difference would one ant make against an army?"