Chapter 16: The Thief with Reason

(Intro)


The alarm in the Down City Bank rang as someone was robbing it. The doors blew open, causing several civilians to scream and run off. Through the smoke, stepped forth a man, dressed in big Red Draconium armor. His name was Firefly. He was carrying 2 sacks of money that he stole from the bank vault. Just then, Dragon Security rode up on their Dragons and prepared to fight. "Surrender, Firefly! You're not getting away again!" Captain Faier demanded. "Do not get in my way." Firefly said in a deep mechanical voice. He activated the Red Thruster Gear on his back and took off into the air. "Ugh! I can't believe we let him get away! Again!" Captain Faier exclaimed in anger. "Sir, what do we do now?" One of the officers asked. "We get help. Call the Boosters." Captain Faier ordered.

Meanwhile, in the ancient temple, Artha was teaching the Dragons how to play Dragon Chest. "Alright. Let's start with the basics. You got your pawns, bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king. Now to start your first move, you'll always want to move one of your paws one square forward." Artha explained, moving one of his pawns forward. "Artha, I'm quite curious. Why do you teach us to play Dragon Chess?" Beau asked as they played. "Sometimes, our continuing battles against Word Paynn, the Shadow Booster and the Gloomix Clan will be like a chess game. It's all about strategy. You need to think through your moves and plan out the next move." Artha explained. The Dragons understood how Artha was explaining himself. "Artha!" Erika called as she ran into the temple. "Erika, what's going on?" Artha asked. "We just got a call…from Captain Faier." Erika said.


Later, the others gathered in the temple and listened to Captain Faier's call. "He calls himself Firefly. He's been robbing banks all over Dragon City, all wearing armor forged from Red Draconium." Captain Faier explained. The team was shocked to hear that. "But how could someone actually forge armor out of Red Draconium? It's impossible!" Parmon exclaimed. "Yeah. I thought me and Kitt had that kind of armor." Derek said. "So, what's the plan, Artha?" Kitt asked. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. We'll stake out the remaining bank that Firefly hasn't robbed yet and wait for him to show up." Artha said. The others nodded in agreement. "Good plan, bro." Beau said.

Later, the Boosters arrived at the last known bank in Dragon City and staked it out, waiting for Firefly to show up. "All good on the east, Artha." Kitt said through the com-link. "All's quiet on the south." Benny said. "Nothing to the west." Kurt said. "Keep your guard up, Boosters. I have a feeling Firefly's gonna make his move on this bank. Be ready for anything." Artha said. As the Boosters patrolled the bank, Artha sat down and started thinking. "What're you thinking about, Artha?" Beau asked. "I was just thinking about that trick Arthur taught me. I still think about what other tricks I can do." Artha said. "I may not remember much about my past when I was Merlin, but I do remember that there was a lot Arthur could do when he was Dragon Booster." Beau said. But before Artha could ask, the bank alarm went off. "He's here." He said. The Boosters all looked and saw him fleeing the bank with at least 3 sacks of money. "Alright, Boosters, let's Boost up!" Artha called. "Ready!" The Boosters called. "RELEASE THE DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE FIRE DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE VOLCANO DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE SMOKE DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE EARTH DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE WIND DRAGON!" "RELEASE THE WATER DRAGON!" They all shouted as they transformed into their Booster forms.

As Firefly ran as fast as he could, Benny, Erika and Derek dropped in and cut him off. "The jig's up, pal." Artha said as he, Kitt, Kurt and Charlie surrounded him from behind. "My name is Firefly. And I don't want to hurt you, Boosters. Leave now." Firefly said with a serious tone. "I guess you didn't get the memo. We don't take kindly to thieves in Dragon City." Kurt said. "Okay. Have it your way then." Firefly said. He activated a cannon on his right arm and fired a flamethrower at them. The Boosters staggered back to dodge the flames. "Hey! No one uses fire against me!" Kitt exclaimed, activating her cannons. But Firefly blocked her fire and pushed through it, knocking her down. Suddenly, Firefly got covered in a veil of smoke, blinding him. "What is this?!" He exclaimed. Kurt shouted as he leapt onto his back, grabbing him. "Hey! Get off of me!" Firefly exclaimed. "No way! You're going down, Firefly, just like every other bad guy we've faced!" Kurt exclaimed. Just then, he was blown off Firefly's back by his thrusters. "Okay. Nobody hurts our little pal and gets away with it!" Charlie said. "Time to douse this Firefly's fires." Benny said. Firefly fired a double flamethrower at the 2 Boosters. Charlie stomped his feet and created a rock wall, blocking the flamethrower. Benny jetted up and fired a water jet from his hands, pushing through the fire. "You think you can douse my fire? Think again!" Firefly exclaimed. He activated 2 extra thrusters from his shoulder armor and pushed through Benny's water, knocking him back into Charlie's rock wall.

Meanwhile, Artha watched Firefly as he fought his own team. "Weird. I've never seen a villain so determined to succeed with such a crime. And I've seen Word Paynn more determined to start his Human-Dragon War." He said, thinking to himself as Firefly knocked out Erika. "Okay. I think it's time to try out a brand-new trick." As Firefly turned his attacks towards him, Artha pushed through the fire and placed his right hand on Firefly's helmet. "Alright, let's see what you're all about, Firefly." He said as his eyes glowed gold, thus, looking into Firefly's memory.

[Firefly's Memory]

Firefly, without his armor, knelt down beside a sickly-looking woman and little girl lying in a bed. "I promise you, I'm gonna get the money. I'm gonna make you both healthy again." He looked through his wallet, having no money for medical work. He forged Red Draconium into his Firefly armor and started robbing the banks all over Dragon City.

[Memory End]

Artha gasped in shock as he released Firefly, causing him to collapse. "Artha! Are you okay?" Kitt asked after she and the others recovered from being knocked out. "I…I'm okay." Artha said. "What was that thing you just did?" Kurt asked. "I looked into Firefly's memory. It's another new power I just unlocked." Artha said. "And what did you see?" Erika asked. "He has a family, a wife and daughter. They're badly sick and he didn't have the money for the medical treatment." Artha said. The team gasped in shock and pity. "He was just trying to help his family. That's why he was robbing those banks." Derek said.

Firefly groaned as he started to recover. Derek and Benny helped him to his feet. "You okay?" Charlie asked. "I think so. I don't even know how he did that." Firefly said. "Listen, Firefly, we know about your family." Artha said. "You…You know?" Firefly asked in shock. "That thing I did, I looked into your memory and saw your family. You were robbing those banks so that you can help your family." Artha said. "So, now you know everything. Except for one thing." Firefly said. He deactivated his helmet and removed it, revealing his face. His hair looked very scruffy and he had a small scar on his left eye. "My name is Martin Lynns." He introduced. Artha looked at his team and nodded. They each removed their helmets and revealed their identities to him. "Artha Tannis Penn. This is my girlfriend, Kitt Raada Wonn, and my siblings, Benny, Charlie, Derek, Erika and Kurt." Artha introduced.


Later, the team all brought Martin and the money bags he stole to Dragon City Security HQ where he explained everything to Captain Faier. "And after I lost my job and most of my money, my wife and daughter got even worse. That's why I made my Firefly suit and went on those crime sprees." Martin explained. "I understand, Mr. Lynns. People will do anything to help their families." Captain Faier said. "Thank you, sir. I promise to return all the money I stole to the banks. But now I've got nothing to help my wife and daughter." Martin said sadly. "Actually, I think I can help with that. I'll take a loan out of my father's account and help you pay for your wife and daughter's treatment." Moordryd said, offering an alternative. "You would really do that? Even for me?" Martin asked. "Of course. I can't stand to have someone lose their family." Moordryd said.

Later, after taking out the loan, Moordryd used it to pay the hospital for the wife and daughter's treatment. As the hospital staff brought them in for treatment, Martin watched them enter the operation room before they closed the door. "Thank you, Boosters. Thank you all. I was worried that I'd have to live the rest of my life as a criminal while my family just lie there." Martin said. "Well, Martin, you don't have to worry about that. For returning the money that you stole from the banks, we're going to give you a short sentence." Captain Faier said. "How long a sentence, Captain?" Martin asked. "Well, the operations take about 5 days, recovery included. So, that's your sentence. 5 days behind bars." Captain Faier said. "Thank you, Captain." Martin said. Captain Faier nodded. "Oh, and Boosters. If you should ever need extra firepower, you can count on Firefly to bring it." Martin said. "Thank you, Martin." Artha said. Martin nodded as Captain Faier led him out of the hospital.

Later, after the team returned to Penn Stables, Artha and Beau resumed their Dragon Chess game in the temple. "So, Artha, how were you able to figure out Martin's intentions before you used your new power?" Beau asked. "Simple. I just watched how Martin was using his moves, seeing his determination. And then, while he began his attack, I managed to outmaneuver him, slip through his attacks and look into his mind. Just like playing a game of chess." Artha said, moving one of his pieces into the winning spot. "Checkmate." He said with a wink.

Well, how was that? A new villain in Red Draconium armor comes onto the scene, calling himself Firefly, robbing banks all over Dragon City. Meanwhile, Artha was teaching the Dragons how to play Dragon Chess. But then, the Boosters heard of Firefly from Captain Faier. As they confront Firefly, Artha noticed how determined he was. So, he decided to try a new trick. He entered Firefly's memories and discovered why he was robbing banks. He was trying to get money to pay for their operations. Luckily, Moordryd decided to take out a loan from his father's account and pay for the operation himself. What other surprises will the Boosters encounter next? Will there be other misunderstood villains? Leave a review if you'd like.