After just a few minutes, I’m standing above a toy shop waiting for a man dressed in all black to walk in. “Tyler? You there?” Lance’s voice cuts into the silence and jumps me back to attention.

“Yeah! Yeah.” I blink a few times to realign my thoughts. “What’s up?”

“Your man is on his way. I’ve been tracking him through several traffic cams and I’m guessing he’ll be on your location in 5.”

“Got it! Thank you, Lance. Bryan, any potential suspects yet?” I keep my eyes peeled and move my head up and down the street, trying to find someone dressed darker than the night itself amidst a crowd of tired faces.

“Yes, sir! His name is John Afton, an ex-marine whose mom passed just before the robberies started. He’s got the skills, the trauma, and most importantly: his mom was one of the weaker powered folks your dad and I ran into back in the day, which means he has the potential to also be a powered.”

“John it is then… And here he is.” I catch a man in all black slip into an alleyway across the street. A couple minutes later, he reemerges with a ski mask on and holding something in his pocket. I’m prepared to jump down before a voice cuts me off.

“Tyler wait!” It’s Lance this time. “You have to catch him in the act itself. Otherwise you’re just stopping a guy in a ski mask, not a criminal.” I groan and roll my head. “I’ve got eyes on the cameras inside, I’ll let you know when to make your move.”

Thus, I watch our robber head into the store, unimpeded. The seconds tick by like hours until, finally, Tyler gives me the go ahead. I step off the ledge of the building and land down in front of the store, catching the attention of those inside (as well as some folks on the street). Instantly, phones are pulled out and start filming me as I head into the store.

Without hesitation, John turns and aims his gun at me. I instantly raise my hands to show I don’t want to fight him. “Hey there, Johnny. There’s no need for that.”

“How do you know my name?!” I watch the plastic gun tremble in his hand - clearly scared that a superhero had arrived to stop him.

“Johnny, it’s OK. I promise. Besides, you know guns don’t work on superheroes so there’s no point in pointing that at me. The bullet will bounce right off!” I couldn’t see his face but his eyes were showing that I was clearly getting to him. He closes his eyes and turns away before pulling the trigger.

Despite knowing the gun was a fake, my heart stopped for just a moment as the dart flew at me. Thankfully, the dart plinked off of my armor harmlessly. My words had gotten to him in time and made his weapon useless.

I let out a long sigh of relief and regain my composure. “Listen, buddy, you’re not in trouble.” I take a step forward. “You may have done some bad things, but nothing we can’t fix.” Another step. “Everything’s gonna be just fine.”

“B-but… I killed people!” I can see tears start to well in his eyes and a massive look of confusion from everyone else in the store.

“No, you didn’t.” I hold out my hand and gently grab the gun. Pulling lightly, I take it from his trembling fingers. “This isn’t the kind of gun that can kill people. Watch this.” I point the gun at one of the clerks and pull the trigger without hesitation.

“No!” John screams as he whips around to watch the foam projectile hit the woman’s arm and fall to the floor.

“What was that for?” The woman looked confused and mildly annoyed at my shooting her.

“I was proving a point.” Admittedly, a point I wasn’t totally sure of and could’ve put the woman into a coma, but a point nonetheless. “See?” I look back at John. Your gun is completely harmless. All those people you killed? They’re all just asleep. In fact, I bet they’re all going to wake up very soon.”

Picking up on my message, Lance says “Gotcha, boss. Checking hospital records now.”

“Now, Johnny, just come with me and we’ll make sure that everything will be alright. We’ll talk to the police and I promise that we’ll set everything straight.” He nods. “Come on,” I hold out my hand to him. He takes it and I lead him back out to the street. We both sit down on the curb and wait without a word.

It’s not long until sirens begin making their way towards us and a patrol car stops right in front of us. Two cops get out of either side, hands at their sides, “holy shit! You’re Burst! Alright, both of you need to stand up slowly, turn around, and put your hands behind your heads.”

I look over at the terrified John and tell him to stay put as I stand up with my hands behind my head. “Officers, he’s going to turn himself in. But I need to explain something to you first. Is it alright if I approach? I will keep my hands behind my head so you know I mean no harm.” The cops look at eachother confused. They shrug and relax their postures, moving their hands away from their weapons and the officer on the driver’s side waves me over.

I nod and make my way over carefully. I speak in a hushed tone to make sure John can’t hear me. “That man over there is John Afton. He’s the culprit behind the recent toy store robberies and the people in comas. The truth is, John currently has the mentality of a child. When his mom died, it triggered a mental regression that combined with a potential for super powers.” The officers seem hesitant but both nod anyways. “The reason he’s been putting people in comas is because he thinks his foam dart gun was killing them, and to him, dead just means not moving anymore.”

“Tyler.” Lance’s voice cuts into my earpiece at the perfect moment. “The employees he shot are all waking up.”

Without missing a beat, I continue my explanation. “In fact, I just showed him that the gun can’t hurt anyone and if you check with the hospitals where his victims are being held, I bet you’ll find that they’re all waking up right now.”

“Rogers,” The man closest to me turns to the cop on the driver’s side. “Call in and see if he’s telling the truth.” The cop climbs back in and speaks into the radio to double check me. Tension hovers over us we listen to his partner mumbling in the car.

After a few minutes, Rogers climbs back out. “Hero boy here is telling the truth.”

The other cop shrugs. “Alright. I guess I’ll believe you. Rogers, grab Johnny over there.”

I stick my hand up to stop him. “Please! Remember he’s practically a kid right now. Don’t be rough with him.” Rogers takes a deep breath and nods.

“Now then,” the officer closer to me takes a step forward, “you’re coming with us.”

I take a step back. “Tsk. ‘Fraid I can’t do that friend.” With that, I whip around and leap. Letting the power surge through my leg and rocket myself upwards, I tuck and roll on the rooftop that I’d come down from earlier. Looking back over the edge, I salute the two dumbfounded cops. “Good night you two! Keep up the good work.” I salute them and run off, jumping from building to building, and heading home.