ASBO-Boy: The Battle of Dyfatty - Part One

"Helix! Helix! Are the rumours true?"

The crowd of paparazzi brayed and swarmed around the Elementals as they approached the blockade. Vue observed the police presence, their strength and the proximity of the old blocks of flats. They'd need to be moved, he thought, considering the crowd of onlookers.

"Of course not," Helix chuckled amiably, "We're here to raise awareness and oversee a police exercise."

Vue tried not to laugh. Helix's ability to lie with a charming smile never ceased to amaze him.

"So, you don't think this police blockade is a little excessive?"

"Why wouldn't they be here if it wasn't for a terrorist attack?"

"I assure you," Helix said, turning to the crowd with open hands, "this is purely routine. All of your questions will be answered when we return." Helix led his Elementals under the Police tape and through the gate that led into the park at the foot of the flats. Behind them the press shouted after them, but they walked on as if nothing was happening.

When they were out of sight Vue gravitated towards Core and his hand slipped into hers. For five minutes they'd have a little privacy.

"Holding hands in the park," Physic jibed. "People will talk."

"Not if they don't see." Core replied, gesturing to the trees around them. Physic was lanky and wore glasses. He was the very vision of a nerd. His talent was technically classed as the manipulation of complex chemicals. His party trick was encouraging the immune system into overdrive. He constantly bragged that he could cure anything.

Vue looked up at the farthest tower block and thought on the mission. Of course the rumours were true. They always were. Of course terrorists had taken the flats and were threatening extortion and death. Terrorism was a monthly occurrence.

"Seraph – what do you see?" Helix called upwards. In moments they heard the reassuring flapping noise of Seraph swooping into view. He was short for his age, blonde and had enormous white angel wings sticking out of his back.

"Not much." He replied, landing softly on the path. "The curtains are drawn on the first floor. The police have set up a perimeter."

Vue looked over and saw the plain clothes officers setting up behind the concrete barriers. "Have they made any demands?" Helix asked.

"Nope," Seraph replied, his wings tucked in. Vue had to laugh sometimes, the wings were twice the size of Seraph and they forced him into a kind of waddle because of his height.

"I suppose our public relations officer will have to butter them up then," Physic muttered. Helix gave him a dig in the shoulder and laughed.

Physic spent too much time wondering why he wasn't the leader, but to Vue it was obvious. You pick the most good-natured, confident and good-looking one to lead the team. It worked in comics, it worked in real life. Vue's collection was one of the largest still in existence and it was only because he was an Elemental that the Authorities had let him keep it. Apparently they were subversive, dangerous and too close mirror to real life.

The moment of relative peace ended when they reached the concrete barriers. The police were working out of the back of a white van.

"Helix," the officer in charge approached, "We're glad you guys are here. They've holed themselves up pretty well."

"Hostages?" Helix asked.

"You bet. Four familes – all from the block. They're armed with stolen machine-guns. They haven't fired them yet, but we haven't gone any closer than this." The officer led them over to the van where they'd pulled out the schematic drawings for the building.

"Vue, study the drawings and pick a good entry point." Helix directed. Vue scanned the image and spotted the stairwell. He made the calculations quickly and awaited further orders.

"Th Government is lying!" came a scream across the park, amplified by a hand-held microphone. "This is not just a block of flats! It's built on a secret government facility designed to monitor us! They're spying on us!" The voice sounded weak and scared, Vue noted. They dealt with scaremongers on a daily basis. Of course society wasn't perfect, people aren't stupid – they know when their being spied on, but when it's being done in the people's best interest, only the guilty have to worry.

"They've being spouting this rubbish all morning." The officer explained.

"Are you ready?" Helix asked.

Vue nodded, shared a brief smile with Core and closed his eyes. His ears popped and the sounds around him changed. When he opened his eyes he was standing in the stairwell, two floors above the terrorists. Moving quickly he descended and approached the door. He heard voices beyond, muffled, lowered.

A gun clicked behind him.

"Move and we kill one of the hostages."