Previous Chapters:
Chapter 0, Chapter 1, Chapter 2
The alarm was blaring through the silence of the night, disturbing dozens of people sleeping in buildings near the jewelry store.
Subtlety certainly wasn’t the robbers’ greatest strength; Finn had been watching them since before they had smashed the display window. In fact, he had been observing them for days, as they had been staking out the place. Once again, he wondered why nobody aside from him had noticed them.
Finn’s mask, sewn out of an old, black T-shirt of his, started itching his nose. He rubbed it, trying not to sneeze. Then, he moved out of the shadows of the alley he had been hiding in and made his way towards the jewelry store, the air still filled with noise.
Careful not to cut himself on the broken glass, Finn climbed through the window, inside the store. Three masked men were smashing display cases and shoving necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other precious things into their backpacks, without paying much attention to their surroundings.
Were they not worried about the police?
Finn cleared his throat, but the sound wasn’t loud enough for the robbers to hear. He tried again, unsuccessfully.
“Gentleman”, he finally said, trying to be loud enough to not be drowned out by the alarm and at the same time not shouting like a lunatic. The robbers froze and turned towards him.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the one to his left started laughing, and the other two joined him.
“What”, the robber to his left wheezed, “what are you supposed to be? The knight in tights? Are you trying to be a vigilante superhero? What is wrong with you, dude!”
Hot embarrassment flooded through Finn’s veins, filling his whole body with the urge to turn and run. Maybe his costume hadn’t been the right choice, maybe it looked too much like a comic book hero. He shouldn’t have taken Superman as an example. The ongoing noise of the alarm was drowned out by the sound of his grinding teeth.
He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Unclenched his jaw.
“Stop what you’re doing”, he said. “This neighborhood is under my protection, and you’re committing a crime.”
“Isn’t he cute”, said the robber to his right. “He really thinks he can take us.” All of the sudden, there was a gun, pointing at Finn.
“Go away, tights man. Go away, or you’ll get hurt. We don’t fear the police, why should we fear you?”
“Because I am not the police.” Keeping his voice from shaking was hard, but Finn was determined to not be intimidated. He had all the power. He was the one controlling the universe, controlling the simulation they were all in. This was nothing more than a computer game. 
He glanced down to the bracelet on his right wrist. A soft green glow indicated that it was working and ready to execute the formulas the main machine hat solved earlier. All he needed was to say the words. Finn bit the tip of his tongue, then stood up straighter.
“I am not the police”, he repeated. “I am your personal nightmare.”
The robbers started laughing again.
Finn pointed his right finger at the gun.
“Disintegrate”, he said. The gun crumbled in the robber’s hand, and shiny metal dust fell to the floor. Laughter was replaced with horrified looks.
“What the …” robber to the right said.
“I told you”, Finn said. “You should not commit a crime here. This neighborhood is protected.”
There were a loud bang and a piercing pain in his left leg, to which Finn reacted with a scream. He had been shot in the leg by the man standing to his left! When had that guy taken out a gun? He hadn’t even noticed him move.
“I don’t know how you did that magic trick”, the shooter said, “but it’s not enough to stop us. Now, shut up and stay on the ground, or the next bullet will be in your head.” The group of men continued collecting precious items, only occasionally looking back at Finn to keep an eye on him.
“Rewind time, 3 minutes”, Finn hissed.
“What did you say?”
A blue light flashed, and the robbers had moved back to their positions they had held three minutes ago. But Finn? Finn was still lying on the floor, bleeding from his leg. The rewinding of time had only affected the simulation around him, not himself. He had forgotten that little detail, and that was now a problem.
“What the hell?” Robber to the right said, pointing his still existing gun towards Finn. “I didn’t shoot yet! Why are you bleeding?” He turned to his accomplices. “Did one of you shoot?” Both shook their heads.
The pain was throbbing through Finn’s body, and tears started flowing out of his eyes. Was an artery hit? Was he going to die?
A police siren joined the alarm.
“That’s our cue”, robber to the right said, and everyone closed their backpacks and headed towards the store window, completely ignoring Finn, who was still bleeding on the floor.
Helplessly, the mathematician watched the three robbers get away, and the flashing lights of the police car come closer. He had failed, his first mission was an absolute catastrophe because he hadn’t prepared properly.
There was only one thing left to do.
“Formula return home”, Finn said, the blue light flashed, and he was no longer bleeding onto the linoleum floor of the jewelry store, but the soft carpet in his living room. The “return home” formula had been a last-minute addition, a failsafe in case things went wrong. Finn had not expected to be forced to use it that night.
Groaning, he pulled himself over the floor to the bathroom to get the disinfection spray and bandages stored there. And while he was patching himself up, quietly thanking fate that the bullet hadn’t hit any arteries, Finn started thinking about new formulas to program into his bracelet.
Next time, he would be prepared for everything.
Next time, they wouldn’t beat him so easily.
Last time, I promised 10 Steem to the person who’d come up with a good superhero name for Finn. And while there were some fun suggestions, none really convinced me. So now, you have another chance! What should the media call Finn, once they figure out he is roaming the streets with his powers?
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