Chapter One
Friday night started with the greatest words any hungry kid could hear.
“PIZZA’S READY!” Mrs Strong’s voice burst from the kitchen.
Luke Strong came thundering down the hall and into the room, almost landing on top of her as she carried dinner to the table.
“Someone’s hungry!” His mum laughed, but he was too distracted by the smell of oozy melted cheese to respond.
Luke’s stomach growled hungrily. A second later, his dad strode in, almost as quickly.
“Games night has officially begun!” Mr Strong announced, clapping his huge hands together.
The family threw themselves around the small kitchen table and attacked the pizza eagerly. Mum began setting up the board game between mouthfuls of gooey goodness. Luke loved games night on Fridays. They were the best start to the weekend! He was especially excited as it was becoming rarer that they all managed to sit around the table together with dad’s work becoming so busy.
“OK, who wants to be the dog? I’ll be the iron!” Mum mumbled; her cheeks full of pepperoni.
Luke snatched it excitedly.
“Prepare to hand over your money!” He threatened.
“We already do, between football gear and new trainers!” Dad grumbled good-naturedly.
The family sat together happily, chomping pizza and buying fake property, occasionally squabbling over who’s turn it was. Luke felt perfectly content. His missed the days when they did things like this all the time but it just seemed like it happened less and less. He sat back happily, watching his parents. The game had not gone on for long when Dad paused mid-move, cocking his head to one side like a spaniel. He had that familiar look on his face. Scrunched up. Sort of a cross between thinking of a really difficult maths question and holding in a huge fart! Luke knew all too well what was coming next and his stomach sank.
“Sorry folks but my work beeper just went off. It could be an emergency! I have to go check on things!” Dad said, a little too brightly. “You two play on without me. I’ll be back as soon as I can! And mom – no cheating!”
A worried look flickered across Mum’s face but she quickly hid it behind a smile. She glanced at Luke.
“Of course, dear! It must be important. You go and we’ll keep having fun here!” She said chirpily, too chirpily in fact. “Be safe...whatever the work emergency is!”
Luke only managed a shrug. His feelings had switched to anger and frustration within moments. This was always happening these days! He couldn’t remember the last time that Dad had stayed for a full games’ night! He watched with disappointment as Dad scrambled out of his chair and raced out of the apartment without even a backwards glance. He glared at the front door as it closed behind Dad before noticing his Mum looking at him. She was biting her lip which he knew meant that she was worried. He decided to swallow his feelings for her sake and forced himself to brighten up.
They played on. After about an hour, they finished the game. Luke completely stuffed her, although he thought perhaps she was letting him win to make him feel better.
“Want to play something else?” She asked.
He shook his head. He didn’t much feel like it. Dad still wasn’t back. He had missed games night again. Instead, Luke made his excuses and went to his bedroom.
Inside, the walls were a smorgasbord of posters. There was his favourite football team, bands he loved and, of course, in pride of place above the bed, his hero Silverspin. Luke lay down on his football patterned covers and looked up at the poster. His mind was a buzz of thoughts. He couldn’t understand it. Why did Dad have to work all the time? What was so important that he had to run off like that? He worked in an office. It’s not as if he was saving lives!
The poster of Silverspin in his shiny silver costume grinned down at him. Silverspin was always there when people needed him. He was the greatest superhero in the world. He never let the people of Shady Valley down! He never let anyone down!
“I wish you were my dad instead!” Luke whispered, before eventually falling asleep.
Chapter Two
The colossal warehouse stood at the end of the docks in silence. Beyond it, the inky water rolled gently against the pier. Only a small number of staff worked there on the nightshift. The other businesses around them lay closed. Inside, two sleepy security guards sat in their crammed office. One watched the CCTV cameras with eyes half closed. The other lay back in his chair snoring loudly. Thankfully nothing ever happened here because they looked like they couldn’t stop a mouse from breaking into a cheese factory.
BOOM!
The shutter doors of the warehouse burst inwards with a deafening blast, interrupting the peaceful quiet. The guards jumped out of their seats, looking around wildly before noticing movement on the screen. On it, they seen a black truck crashing through the huge doors and sending them flying off the hinges. The doors sailed through the air and slammed to the ground with a metallic clang.
CRASH!
The sound rang through the building. One door landed inches away from a started nightshift worker. She stared open-mouthed at the massive metal door, now crumpled like a piece of paper. The other workers froze in shock, watching the truck zoom towards them. It skidded to a stop metres away from where they were loading rows of giant, yellow drums marked Balonium onto the endless rows of shelves.
The back doors of the truck swung open suddenly and four masked men jumped out carrying ginormous weapons. They were dressed head to toe in black. All that was visible was their eyes and they looked like they meant business. The men pointed their weapons at the gobsmacked workers.
“Is this a drill, Tony?” A confused man whispered to his colleague.
Tony shook his head, wide-eyed.
“Everybody stop right there!” One of the masked men roared in a gruff voice. “Do as I say and no-one will get hurt!”
Another one opened the back of the truck, revealing its empty contents.
“What’s going on?” The older security guard mumbled, still half asleep, as they watched the events unfolding before them.
“I don’t know but we’d better call the police!” The other gulped.
Before he could reach the phone, one of the masked men appeared at the security room door.
“Don’t move!” The voice growled from behind the mask. “Follow me!”
The guards stood still, scratching their heads. The man thumped the door angrily.
“What are you two playing at? I said follow me!”
“But you also said don’t move!” One of the guards braved. “Which is it?”
“Yes, move! Follow me!” Came the exasperated snarl. “But don’t try anything fishy!”
They traipsed in terrified silence to the middle of the warehouse where the scared workers had been rounded up like sheep in a pen in front of the truck. One of the masked men stood forward, surveying the pale faces before him.
“My name is Dangerous Dave and this is my gang.” The leader barked. “We’re here for the Balonium! I want all of it loaded onto the truck now!”
The workers didn’t move. Instead, they looked warily at their boss for help. The supervisor, a small man with glasses and red overalls, coughed nervously and stepped forward. His name badge read ‘Mr Trout’.
“B-B-But you can’t take it,” Mr Trout stammered, wringing his hands. “It’s a v-very dangerous chemical. Someone could get killed. It is extremely explosive. In the wrong hands, i-it could blow up the entire city!”
Dangerous Dave marched up to the shaking supervisor. He towered above him, like a meaty mountain. Dangerous Dave leaned into the little man’s face menacingly. His breath wafted through the black mask. The stink nearly made Mr Trout sick. Dangerous Dave narrowed his eyes and jabbed his finger.
“That’s kind of the point, Mr uh-,” He read the name badge. “Trout! Like the fish?”
He laughed loudly causing Mr Trout to jump. The other masked men began to chuckle as well. It sounded like seagulls exploding one-by-one.
“Look Mr Fish. Here’s what’s going to happen. The boss wants this stuff and he’s ordered us to get it. No. Matter. What. Now, tell your workers to load our truck or you’ll end up like a fish finger!”
“Bread crumbed?” Said Mr Trout in horror.
“No, dead!” Dangerous Dave threatened. “I’ll obliterate every one of you, starting with you fish-face!”
The gang sniggered as Mr Trout turned pale. He trembled. Sweat trickled from his brow despite the cold evening air. He looked out quickly through the gaping hole where the shutters had been. It was pitch black out there. He knew that no-one else was around the docks at this time of night. All the other warehouses were long closed, their workers nice and cosy in their homes by now. He hoped that someone might have heard the blast in the distance and would call the police. If he could just buy some time until the police arrived...
He felt the barrel of the weapon digging into his chest, breaking his thoughts.
“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Dangerous Dave rasped. “But we’ll be outta here before the police can save your bacon, or should that be save your scales! And if they do get here before we’re gone, then we’re going to BLOW them SKY HIGH! Now, LOAD THE TRUCK!”
He aimed his weapon at the roof and fired.
BANG!
A tiny whizz of red blew out and blasted a hole in the roof, sending rubble cascading down on top of them. The warehouse workers gasped.
“Why that looks like Balonium!” Mr Trout exclaimed.
It was the only chemical around powerful enough to cause such destruction! Bright red and strong enough to blow them all into space.
“EXACTLY!” Laughed Dangerous Dave. “And we’re here for the rest of it so the boss can build even bigger weapons from this stuff!”
Mr Trout reluctantly instructed the workers to load the Balonium onto the trucks. he had no choice.
“Please don’t shoot anymore!” He begged. “If you accidentally hit one of the drums, w-we will all be b-blown into smithereens.”
“Don’t make me then!”
The workers scurried into action, scuttling to load the heavy steel drums onto the truck. The gang roared at them as they hurried along.
“Move faster, snail trail!”
“Hurry up sloth feet!”
“Get a move on turtle brain, if you want to live!”
Slowly and carefully, the drums went on. In his panic, a burly worker accidentally knocked one of them over. It thudded to the floor, echoing throughout the warehouse. He threw himself to the ground, his bum sticking up in the air. The drum slowly rolled towards the truck and stopped. The workers held their breath and waited.
HONK!
A loud sound rang out. Everyone ducked.
“Sorry!” The burly man went very red. “It was only me! I get gassy when I’m nervous!”
“Get up butterfingers!” Dangerous Dave snapped. “Do that once more and I’ll make sure you’re blown into next week! Not by your own backside either!”
Mr Trout let out a sigh of relief, popping back up. His heart was pounding in his chest. How were they going to get out of this, he wondered.
Suddenly, a deep voice rang out from the doorway.
“You won’t be blowing anyone up. Not if I have anything to do with it!”
Chapter Three
Everyone stopped at once, astonished to see the large frame standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips. His silver costume glinted under the glare of the warehouse lights. A red tornado symbol blazed like fire across his chest. The masked figure narrowed his steely blue eyes at Dangerous Dave.
“IT’S SILVERSPIN!” One of the workers gasped.
“I was wondering if you’d show up, Silverspin!” Dangerous Dave howled. “Decided to ruin our party? Well, now that you’re here, it’s going to be a BLAST!”
He opened fire with a cackle, the others followed suit, firing their Balonium guns.
BOOM! BANG! KABOOM!
Red blasts shot out everywhere. They blew huge holes in the floor and the walls. The warehouse filled with deep red smoke. The workers screamed and ran for cover. Silverspin dipped and dodged the blasts, spinning like a tornado as the firepower came thick and fast. At last, the blasts stopped and there was silence. Did they get him?
“Is that the best you’ve got?” The familiar voice laughed.
The smoke cleared to reveal Silverspin standing in one piece, without a mark. He whooshed through the air towards the masked men.
POW!
He knocked them the ground one-by-one. Dangerous Dave yelped and bolted for the truck. Silverspin zoomed in front of him.
“Party over so soon?”
“Sorry Silverspin,” Dangerous Dave snapped, “but this party is the bomb!”
He fired at the yellow drums this time.
“THE BALONIUM!” Mr Trout screamed, as the workers raced for the front door.
With a flash, Silverspin dived in front of the drums. Displaying his trademark move, he whizzed around at the speed of light, stopping the blasts before they could hit anything. Finally, the barrage of red stopped. Dangerous Dave scrambled into the truck and jerked it forward.
WOOSH!
Silverspin flew towards the truck and held his hands out, stopping it in its tracks. The truck bent inwards as he pushed down on the bonnet. Dangerous Dave bounced forward against the steering wheel.
“OUF!”
“Why leave when we’re having so much fun?”
Silverspin pulled Dangerous Dave out of the truck and sent him crashing to the floor.
“SILVERSPIN LOOK OUT!” Mr Trout squealed.
Silverspin jerked his head around in time to see a single red bullet whizzing towards the drums behind him. One of the masked men had crawled back up and fired. The bullet disappeared into the centre of the drum with a plop.
“NOOOOOO!” Silverspin yelled, diving on top of it.
BOOOOOM!
The drum exploded underneath him. The ripple blew everyone off their feet, sending them scattering. A plume of smoke and red ash filled the air. Slowly the workers got up.
“S-Silverspin?” Mr Trout gulped, as their hero lay motionless buried in the red dust.
The thug made a break for the door. As he ran past, he knocked over a couple of the drums. They thudded to the floor and rolled towards the doorway. One of the drums trundled out, along the pier and over the edge with a plop. It quickly sunk down into the black water.
A hand shot out and grabbed the man’s ankle, sending him crashing to the ground.
“Going somewhere?” Silverspin croaked.
With a twist, he grabbed the masked criminal’s weapon and bent it around his wrists like handcuffs.
“This party isn’t over until I say it is!” Silverspin grinned, dusting himself off.
A cheer rose up around the warehouse. The surviving workers hugged each other tightly. Tears of relief flooded Mr Trout’s face, leaving streaks through the red ash. As he surveyed the damaged warehouse, red and blue lights flashed at the doorway. The police had arrived. A swarm of officers stumbled through the hole where the doors had once been, led by Chief Constable Bobby. The Chief looked around at the gang lying unconscious on the floor, the strewn barrels and the relieved faces.
“It’s alright,” He shouted behind him. “Everything is all clear. Silverspin has beat us to the action! Again!”
The Chief strode over to one of the masked men lying on the ground and whipped his mask off.
“Dangerous Dave! We’ve been after him and his dastardly gang for a while!”
He turned his attentions to Silverspin.
“We heard the blasts all over the city. Expected to see this place in pieces when we arrived! What happened?”
“They tried to steal the B-Balonium!” Exclaimed Mr Trout. “Silverspin stopped them and saved us all!”
“Just doing my job!” Silverspin grinned. “And it’s time I finished my shift, I’ll be off!”
“Except it’s not your job Silverspin! It’s our job! You really must leave these things to the proper police!” The Chief grumbled.
It was too late. Silverspin had whooshed out the gaping doorway above the astonished police below.
“I HATE when he does that. Never stays to give a proper statement.” The Chief sighed.
He watched as Silverspin soared through the sky and into the night. Always zooming in and zooming out. A shiny silver mystery! No-one knew who he was or what he was or where he came from. All the Chief knew was that they were mighty glad to have him! Crime had been increasing in the city lately and the force were at their limit. Without their superhero, they’d soon be overrun. Silverspin was the best thing that had happened to Shady Valley!
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