Last week I finished a new Isis series story Isis: All That Glitters. In this story
the goddess next door takes on a bikini clad bank robber with a taste for the
finer things in life.
With this story I’m trying to write a basic comic book story
where a hero does something simple like take on a bank robber. We don’t see
that kind of story in comics anymore and it’s a shame. It’s this kind of story
that shows readers how superheroes protect the community and has a relationship
with people in the neighborhoods they serve. It’s stories like this that show
new readers who a superhero is, what they do for them and why they should care
about them.
Chapter 1
I see my breath blow before my face as a flash of light takes
me from the warm offices of the Morris Phillips executive suite to the chilly
sidewalk on 23rd Street in Chelsea. After I get out of the bank, I
think I’ll head over to Victoria’s Secret to pick up that nightgown I saw
yesterday-
Just as I’m about to head into the Chase bank branch, my iPhone
rings. When I see John’s phone number I frown. I know executives work
twenty-four hours a day seven days a week, but I’d like to think a sista could
get a moment to run some errands on her day off. “You do know I’m off the clock
John boy-”
“I’d like to think it’d be hard to do shopping without a way to
pay for it Princess.” E’steem says.
“I just got paid-”
“You left your ATM card on my desk.”
Must have left it there when I was shopping online. “Guess I
was in a bit of a hurry to get out of the office.”
“So you want to pop back in and pick it up?”
I could, but that’d take precious seconds away from my
lunchtime shopping trip. “I won’t need it.” I say pushing past the tall wood
and glass door of the bank branch. “Back in the good old days of the 1940s we
had these people at the bank called tellers-”
“You know they still have tellers at banks-”
They call them customer service associates these days. “Humor
an old lady for a minute willya.” I say walking through the vestibule past the
ATMs. “Now back then they had these little slips of paper called Withdrawals.
We’d fill em’ out present, em’ to the teller and then they’d give you cash
money you could spend anyplace you liked.”
“You and your old fashioned ways.” E’steem laughs.
“That’s how we used to do it in the olden days of the twentieth
century.”
After I get off the phone with E’steem, I head over to one of
the tables in the corner get a withdrawal slip and fill it out. As I get on the
back of the long line near the door to wait for the tellers, I count ten heads.
Maybe I should have gone back for my ATM card-
Just as I’m pondering that thought, cold air blows behind me as
the door opens. A tall attractive blonde woman with a tan saunters onto the
bank floor wearing only a white bikini and strappy sandals. With it being forty
degrees outside, this has to be some sort of reality show stunt.
Several people on the line behind me get out their smartphones
to get pictures of the blonde in the bikini as the bank manager comes out from
behind the swinging door of the office area. As the stout man in the pinstripe
suit approaches her he’s completely intimidated by her beauty. “Can I help you
miss?” He asks.
“I’m here to make a withdrawal.” The woman says.
“Would you like a withdrawal slip?”
The woman flashes him a smile. “No thanks, I’ll get it myself.”
The bank manager’s jaw falls agape when the woman struts past
him and through the swinging door he came through. He and the elderly security
guard patrolling the floor are dumbfounded as she marches over to the vault
door on the far side of the bank. My eyes grow wide as she grabs the solid
steel door and tears it right off the hinges like cardboard.
After she props the door on the wall beside her, she strolls in
and starts stuffing her designer handbag with stacks of money. I’m about to
step out from behind the velvet rope to stop the robbery when the guard rushes
past me. “D-Drop the money miss.” He orders pulling out his gun.
The blonde turns to the guard with an annoyed look on her face.
“You better put that thing away before you hurt yourself.” She laughs. “You’re
not man enough to take on this much woman.”
The air explodes as the terrified guard empties his gun in the
direction of the safe. The customers who were on line recording the robber
scramble for the exit on hearing the gunfire. As I dart over to the table with
the bank slips near the door I’m shocked to see the bullets bounce off her
breasts like Jell-O.
After his six-shooter runs out of bullets, the blonde scowls at
the guard. She slings her bag over her shoulder and storms over to him. “Looks
like you shot your load big man.” She says snatching the gun from him. “But
it’s still not enough to satisfy me.”
Standing in the presence of the beautiful bikini clad blonde,
the old man clutches his chest and crumples to the ground. She crumples his .38
revolver like tissue paper and hands it to the bank manager. “Something to
remember me by.”
After taking the crumpled gun, the bank manager faints and
falls on top of the guard. On seeing the men fall at her feet, the blonde has a
smug smile on her face as she steps over them and starts strolling towards the
door. Before she can reach it, I step out from behind the table and meet her
blue eyes with mine. “Excuse me, can I see a receipt for that withdrawal?”
The blonde rolls her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna play the
superhero concerned citizen-”
“Goddess.”
“I look the part more than you stringbean.” The blonde says
looking me up and down.
“That’s what you think Goldilocks-”
“That’s Golden Shine.” She corrects flipping back her long
blonde hair. “And you’re gonna find there’s more to this beach body than meets
the eye.”
“Tell it to the cops when you wake up in Central Booking-”
I throw a punch at Golden Shine; she catches my fist with her
manicured hand before it connects with her face. I knew she was strong, but I
didn’t think she’d be strong enough to hold me back. “You’re good beanpole.”
Golden Shine says. “But you just can’t beat perfection.”
Golden Shine grabs my arm and twirls me around. The room is a
blur as I hear glass shattering and feel pebbles of raining down on me as my
body skids on the floor of the vestibule. I hear Golden Shine’s heels stepping
through the shattered doorway. I scramble to my feet and point daggers at her.
“Still want some more of this Princess?” Golden Shine asks.
“You’re not leaving here with that money.”
“Guess I’m gonna have to teach you why you shouldn’t mess with
the beautiful people.” Golden Shine says shrugging her shoulders.
Golden Shine drops her bag of loot on the floor and gets into a
fighting stance. I swing on her; she dodges the punch and hits me with a right
cross that sends me stumbling around the vestibule. Before I can recover, I’m
grabbed by the back of my leather jacket and the waistband of my jeans. My eyes
grow wide when I feel my three hundred pound body being hoisted in the air like
a sack of potatoes. I catch the evil grin on her face reflected in the tall
picture windows of the bank’s entrance. She laughs as the pane of glass
explodes around me and I crash onto the sidewalk.
I hear Golden Shine’s designer sandals pounding into the
concrete a few feet away as I shake the stars out of my head. Once I get my
faculties together, I see Golden Shine strutting out of the bank and getting a
key fob out of her bag and pressing it. When she steps into a White Bentley
Continental coupe and starts it up I frown. Oh no, she’s not getting away from
me.
Golden Shine’s car burns rubber as it bolts down Sixth Avenue.
I take off into the street right behind her. In a few moments I’m catching up
with her car and I’ve got her bumper in my hands. Then I feel surge of
electricity jolt my body. I let out a scream as I’m forced to let it go.
My limp body tumbles into the street. As I look up I see all
the midday traffic racing down Sixth Avenue in my direction. I barely have a
moment to disappear into a flash of light before I’m run over.
***
Isis: All That Glitters will be out…Eventually. I have four
Isis series books on the shelf and they’re delayed due to a shortage of funds
to pay for the covers. So if you could donate to my Patreon or my Paypal or
give me some leads on a full-time job in New York City I could start clearing
up the Isis series backlog and get those books out to you!
NOTE: Dynamite’s Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #3 comes out
today. So there’ll be a review up of that issue on Friday’s blog!
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