The lightning storm moved out to sea. It was late and the streets of San Francisco were mostly deserted. A solitary car rolled into a bank parking lot and stopped. A woman stepped out of the car and made her way over to the ATM machine. She removed some cash and turned back toward her car.
Suddenly a man came out of no where and threatened the woman with a knife. "I'll take that," he said, pointing to the money she had just removed from the machine.
The woman was so frightened that she could not even move.
"Give it to me now!" the man shouted, his eyes glazed with anger. He held his blade dangerously close to her neck.
Her shaking hand slowly stretched toward him as he snatched the money from out her clenched fist.
"I'll take your car, too," he said, using the knife to point to her purse.
"Please, no!" the woman cried.
The thief screamed, "Give me the keys now!"
Her shaking hand reached into her purse and searched for her keys. The thief spotted her cell phone.
"The phone, also," he demanded.
"But…I need it to call a cab," the woman begged.
"Maybe after you call the cops?"
"No, I promise!"
"Give me the phone!" the man snapped.
The nervous woman did as he commanded.
He threw the phone against the wall where it shattered into pieces. Then he turned and ran to the car, leaving the woman frightened and in tears.
The thief got into the car and turned the key, but nothing happened.
"I think you'll need this," a woman's voice said.
The man looked out the window to find another young girl standing next to the car. In her hand she bounced one of the car's spark plugs.
The girl must not have been older than eighteen. She wore skintight jump suit that was primarily blue, with a gold lightning bold spreading from her neck to her chest. On her feet were black boots and gloves of the similar material which covered her hands. She also wore a belt and an odd device on her wrist, and a blue bandanna covered her eyes.
"And who are you?" the man asked in rage.
Without waiting for an answer, he screamed, "Listen little girl, drop the plug and go home and you won't get hurt!"
"Come and get it, big man," she said, and then jumped onto the roof of the car.
The thief slid out of the car and slowly backed away from it, keeping an eye on the roof.
The young woman was gone.
He jerked left and right, wielding his knife before him.
"You know knives are sharp and they should only be used for slicing and dicing vegetables!" She said as she yanked the knife out of his hand from behind. "I'll take this."
He turned to face her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was beautiful, even with a mask covering half her face. Through the mask blue eyes shone like crystals. Her long blond hair appeared to be a smooth as silk. The thief found himself lost in her beauty.
Until she kicked him in the knees and he fell to the ground.
Immediately, her hands were upon him. She lifted him over her head not only to his surprise but also to that of the woman he robbed who was watching with amazement from the curb.
"You should never take things that don't belong to you,"
she said. "Let's shake things up a bit."
She shook his body until the car keys and money fell out of his jacket. She then spun him around a couple of times and tossed him into the gutter.
While he attempted to wipe the drool from his dazed face, the girl bent over and picked up the woman's belongings.
When she kindly returned them, the woman was too stunned to say anything.
"I think you better get out of here," the girl said as she held up the spark plug. "After I put this back. Thank the gods for auto shop."
After the car was returned to normal, the woman started it up and the girl shut the hood. Wiping her hands, she gave the woman the thumbs up.
The woman managed to say, "Thank you," as she nervously drove away.
"Now, what am I going do with you?" the girl asked as she turned back to the man as he recoiled in terror.
She came very close to his face and said, "Listen close-ly. Go to the mission on 3rd street. They'll give you food and some new clothes and you won't have to prey on defenseless women to get them. Got it?"
The thief nodded frantically.
"Clean yourself up and get a job," she told him. "See what it's like to earn money, instead of stealing it."
All the man could do was move his head up and down with his mouth hanging open.
"Tell them the Muse sent you," she said before jumping onto the roof of the bank and vanishing into the night.