Power Of The Pangolin

Suddenly, what appeared to be a large, green scaly bowling ball came rolling down 5^th street at the speed of an automobile, hi-street shoppers frantically darting out of its path before, bouncing, more like a rubber ball, over car roofs it crossed the street heading towards the large glass plate doors of the first National Bank building and then, without stopping, crashing straight through them.

“What is that?”, asked one of the bankrobbers who was holding a frightened female teller hostage, his pistol pointed at her head, turning as he heard the loud noise of shattering glass and then seeing the scaly ball come bursting through the doors.

But then, almost in answer to his question, the ball quickly unrolled itself and, instead of a ball, the bankrobber saw a tall, imposing masked figure dressed in a green armour plated costume.

Turning their guns on the figure, two of the bank robbers fired but then, shocked, they saw their bullets bounce harmlessly off of the masked figures green armour.

“Your guns will not harm me”, said the armoured man, smiling, “I am the armour plated Pangolin and my suit is made from impenetrable scales. Give yourselves up, gentlemen or face the consequences”.

The leader of the bank robbers, grabbing his hostage, a terrified young mother, by the back of her hair pushed her forwards.

“Do anything and we’ll kill the hostages”, he said, gruffly, pressing the barrel of his gun hard against her temple.

Leaping into a forward roll the armoured hero became a ball again and then, relieved, the robbers saw the scaly ball roll, meekly, backwards out through the doors of the bank.

“Right”, said the leader of the bank robbers, gesturing with his gun to his accomplices, “That’s taken care of him. Back to work, all of you. Get that money out of the safe and let’s go before the cops get here”.

Almost leaping out of his skin with fear, from behind him, the man suddenly heard an enormous crash even louder than before as through the wall of the bank, in a cloud of dust, flying plaster and concrete, the armour plated Pangolin like a wrecking ball burst and then, before the man had time to react, the ball came smashing into him and his hostage knocking them off their feet like two human bowling pins.

Then suddenly, dazed, the robber found himself being hoisted to his feet by the powerful right arm of the armoured hero, his gun seized from his hand and crushed into twisted metal by a green, claw like armour plated hand.

“Now I have a hostage”, said the Pangolin pressing the pointed edge of one of his steel claws against the man’s face, “And you don’t want to see what these claws can do”.

The leader of the Robbers sighed.

“Alright”, he said to the other masked men, “Let the hostages go”.

But then, from outside the bank, the Pangolin heard the sound of wailing police sirens getting closer, cars screeching to a halt and car doors slamming and then, in the next instant armed men in blue uniforms were flooding into the building.

“Thank you Pangolin”, said one of the Police officers seeing the armoured hero, “We’ll take care of it from here”.

“Don’t mention it. Just playing my part as a concerned citizen”, said the Pangolin before, curling back into an armoured ball and rolling forwards towards the exit, he added, “Or you could say…my roll”.