MISC: OCTO-BOY # 1: Octo-Boy's First Day part 1 by J. Vandersteen

[jvdsteen1974 at gmail.com]

- OCTO-BOY:  Octo-Boy's First Day part 1 by J. Vandersteen


Bay City.
A Toyota drives past several stores. Inside are a young man, in his teens with reddish hair. Next to him a woman in her early forties with the same color hair. She is wearing a blazer. He is wearing a football jersey.
    "Thanks for picking me up, mom. I wouldn't be able to arrive at Jenny's without the lift," the boy says.
   "Sure thing, Matt. I actually like Jenny. A lot smarter than the girls you usually hang out with," the woman says.
   "Those weren't so bad... Just because Jenny is a brunette doesn't make here any smarter than the rest," he says. "Or the fact she works at the high school newspaper instead of being a cheerleader."
   "Sure," Matt's mom says. "Wait, what's that. There, at the bank."
Matt peers outside.
   Outside a van with darkened windows is parked, right in front of a building that has a big sign BAY CITY FIRST BANK on it.
   Matt's mom stops the car. "Something's wrong there. I can feel it."
   "FBI agent's intuition?" Matt asks her.
   "Yeah, something like that. Wait in the car," she says and gets out the car.
   "Mom, be careful!" Matt says.
    Matt's mom draws a handgun from a holster under the blazer and slowly walks towards the building.
   Special Agent Marcia Tatum on the case, she thinks. If this is just someone who can't park I'm going to be embarrassed.
   She peers inside.
   Inside the bank stand three men with ski-masks on, carrying automatic weapons. The customers inside are lying on the ground, hands on their heads.
   A security guard goes for his gun. All three masked men fire their guns. The guard falls down. The customers scream.
  "Bastards!" Marcia says and walks in with her gun in hand. "FBI! Drop your weapons!"
   The masked men aim their guns at her. Marcia fires, hitting two of the masked men who drop their guns and fall down. The remaining masked man fires his gun.
  Marcia drops to the floor, bullets fly past.
  In the car, Matt hears the shots. "Mom!" he screams and gets out of the car.
Bullets fly out the door of the bank as he nears it. I have to help her, he thinks. If only I had powers like Godling or Doc Proton...
His hands shake. He watches them and sees them turn green. What's happening. I feel funny... And my head...
  His skin has turned green, his eyes big and yellow. His arms sprout suction cups. He looks like a cross between a boy and an octopus. He sees his reflection in the bank's window.
  "What the..." he utters. "I don't know what just happened to me but I'm going to get mom out of there."
  He runs into the bank and as he does his legs stretch, becoming tentacles. Hey, what was that. Can I do that with my arms as well then?
  Matt's arms stretch, becoming tentacles as well. With those he grabs his mom, who's lying on the floor, firing bullets at the masked man.
  "Let me get you out of there," Matt says.
  "What? Who?" Marcia says as she is dragged out of the bank.
  "Are you okay?" Matt asks.
  "Yes, I wasn't hit. But that robber is still in there with the customers. We have to stop them. Let me call backup. I should have done so right away but I guess I lost my cool when I saw them gun down that guard. But who or what are you? Are you a superhero?"
  "No idea," Matt said. "I'm really, really new at this." Not to mention totally freaked out about it, he thinks.
  The robber runs out of the building, firing some shots left and right.
Marcia gets her gun. The robber spots her, aiming his weapon at her. Matt reacts, a tentacle grabbing the gun, another slapping the robber in the face. TWACK!
  The robber falls down.
  "Wow! I didn't know I could hit that hard!" Matt says.
  "You really ARE new at this, aren't you?" Marcia says.
  "Yeah, I am... Got to be going now. You got this under control?"
  Marcia gets a pair of handcuffs from her  blazer. "Totally."
  "Cool," Matt says and coils his tentacles underneath him, jumping up. He grabs a window ledge with his other tentacles and swings up to a flagpost. Then he swings higher until he's on the roof and out of sight.
  Sirens sound as police cars arrive. Armed cops pour out, guns drawn.
  "You guys take care of this, I'm going to see if my kid is allright," Marcia says.
    She walks back to the Toyota, but Matt isn't in it.
  "Matt?! Matt? Where are you?" she says.
  Matt appears behind her. "Hi mom. Everything okay?"
  "Yes, but you wouldn't believe what happened in that bank. It looks like we have our own superhero now. Where were you?"
  "I heard the shots and figured I'd better look around if I could find a squad car to help you out. But a superhero you say? What did he look like? What was his name?"
  "He didn't say, but if I had to call him something and had to describe him I could do both with Octo-Boy."
  "That sounds pretty cool," Matt says. He takes a look at his watch. "Man, Jenny will be getting worried I stood her up by now."
  "I'm afraid I will have to stay around to handle this," Marcia says then hands Matt some money. "Call a cab please."
  "Sure thing," Matt says. "No problem. Man, can't wait until I turn 16 next year so I can drive myself."
  "Hey, that doesn't mean you have a car yet, mister!" Marcia says. She gives Matt a kiss on the cheek. "Take care. Don't stay out too late."
  "No worries," Matt says.
  As Marcia walks back to the crime scene Matt runs off. Running around the corner he thinks, I think I might be able to make a pretty good time using my tentacles. I have no idea how I made myself change like that, but I managed to change back just by wanting to. So I figure it might also work the other way around.
  And as he thought that he started to change, turning green again. Pretty cool! But where on earth did I get these powers?
  With his tentacles he crawls up, toward the roof of a building. He jumps from that building to the next and the next. 
  He drops down in street, thinking Wow, I managed to swing all the way to Jenny's place. He changes back to his regular human form and knocks on the door of a house.
  A pretty brunette wearing glasses and several studs in her ears opens up. "Hi, Matt. Good to see you, come in."
  Matt walks inside with her. "I had to hurry a bit. Sorry to keep you waiting."
  "No problem, Matt. So, which movie are we going to?" 
  "Errr... I was kinda hoping we could pass on the movie tonight. I was hoping you could help me out with my math homework."
Jenny looks sad. "Oh. Sounds like fun. Well, I guess that's the benefits of a brainy girlfriend. All right, I will help you. But promise me we'll catch a movie on Friday."
  Matt gives her a quick kiss. "Deal!"
  They sit on Jenny's bed a bit later. On the wall are a poster of The Hunger Games and The White Stripes. They have their math books open.
  "I appreciate you helping out your dumb boyfriend," Matt says and thinks, I'm starting to feel bad about this. If I'm honest I'm only dating her because she will be able to help me with my homework.
  His cellphone rings. He picks up the phone, telling Jenny, "It's mom." He listens and says, jaw dropping, "Mom? You're in the hospital! What?! NO!"

TO BE CONTINUED