[ WP ] Two cyberhobos travel back in time to steal our time 's garbage , now a precious resource in the bright , eco-friendly , Utopian future .

PLEASE NOTE: Batman is not in this story. Also, I misread the prompt, I did n't see the word `` two'' so I wrote about thousands of cyberhobos. 
 
 From somewhere downtown, the blue light poured in through Gordon's windows. He woke with a start, and checked his clock. 3:00 AM. The light shut off just as suddenly as it had come on, and Gordon sunk back into his bed, and shut his eyes. He was just about to fall back asleep when his phone rang. 
 
 `` What now?!'' he said. He had n't had a day off in months and was looking forward to tomorrow. He'd planned to visit his kids, he did n't get to see them much, and when he combined his schedule with his ex wife's, visiting days were damn near impossible to come by. 
 
 Gordon picked up his phone and checked the caller, it was the station. People were probably panicking about the blue light. 
 
 `` Gordon'' he said as he answered the call 
 
 His friend Rick was on the other end, but he was babbling like a rookie `` Commissioner, uh it's uh, it's me, Rick.'' 
 
 `` Why're you calling me at 3 in the morning Rick? c'mon, spit it out.'' 
 
 `` There's riots sir, downtown.'' 
 
 Gordon had expected some phone calls at the most, maybe because of a power outage. but riots were a whole different ballgame. He put his phone between his ear and his shoulder and began putting on his uniform. `` How many? How many rioters?'' he asked, suddenly sounding like he gave a shit. 
 
 `` Hundreds? thousands? I do n't know sir, but we need you down here.'' 
 
 `` I'll be down in five minutes.'' he hung up the phone and ran grabbed his keys. he ran into the hallway and headed down the stairs. He got to the garage and hopped in his car, his siren went on and the garage doors opened to reveal the city before him. 
 
 Four minutes and thirty seconds later he pulled into the station. His cruiser skidded to a halt and he ran up the stairs to meet Rick. `` What's going on, gim me a sit-rep.'' 
 
 `` There's about 1,500 rioting bums downtown. They're lighting fires, breaking into apartments, stores, everything. They're moving this way, too. We've got riot police on the scene but they ca n't contain it. Every time we try to push the bums back we end up a half a block in the wrong direction. It's just one step forward and two steps back'' Rick managed to get it out without sputtering like a scared kid. He seemed to have found some composure in the last five minutes. 
 
 `` So we've got looting and rioting. Are they lighting fires? What about the people in those buildings, are they being hurt?'' 
 
 `` Fires, yes. Attacking, no. As for the looting, well, that's just the thing. People are calling in, telling us that rioters have broken into their houses, but they are n't taking anything. Nothing valuable at least. They're taking the garbage and fucking off.'' Rick said. 
 
 `` What?'' was all Gordon could muster, he could n't believe what he was hearing. 
 
 `` They're stealing trash, sir. I find it as odd as you do.'' 
 
 `` Alright, well as weird as that is, it does n't change the facts. Come with me, we're going down town.'' 
 
 When Rick and Gordon got to the riots, the head of the riot squad confirmed what Rick had said. one step forwards, two steps back. Gordon stepped up on top of a van to get a good view of what was happening. The fires were n't near any houses, they were burning cars in the middle of intersections. It looked like they had been abandoned when the riots started. But the rioters themselves were worse than Gordon could have imagined, just the sheer number of them. It had to be at least twice what Rick had told him at the station. 
 
 He climbed down from the van and turned back to the riot officer. The name on his badge was McGillis. `` How many are out there? I was told fifteen hundred about ten minutes ago, but now I think it looks more like three thousand.'' Gordon asked 
 
 McGillis pointed up at a helicopter far above them. `` That fifteen hundred came from our eye in the sky. But everytime they update us, the number goes up.'' 
 
 `` Well where are they coming from?'' Gordon asked, he was already losing faith in McGillis. 
 
 `` could n't tell you, sir. we've got a perimeter around the riots, nobody gets in or out, and there are way more homeless here than we even thought existed in this area. So we have no idea.'' McGillis was right, no matter how incompetent you are, a barricade is impossible to screw up. nobody was going to join the riots who was n't already in side their perimeter. and the riots were a pretty small area, way smaller than even a thousand bums would be living. 
 
 `` what have you been using to drive them back?'' Gordon asked 
 
 `` Men, sir. we've just been trying to physically push them back. I would have used tear gas or something but we need authorization to do so.'' McGillis explained 
 
 `` well you've got it. Put your mask on and get ready to fire some gas into the crowds.'' Rick and Gordon stood on top of the van. They had their gas masks on top of their heads. McGillis climbed up after them. 
 
 `` Alright, put your masks on. we're about to push back.'' Rick and Gordon put their masks on and McGillis spoke into his radio `` open fire'' he ordered. The riot cops with began shooting tear gas cannisters out of grenade launchers, they were non lethal but they were just as loud as gunfire. as the canisters landed among the crowds, Gordon hoped for the best. He was ready to tell McGillis to order them to disperse, but when he took a closer look at the crowds his heart sank. The riots were continuing as normal, the gas had no effect. He was confused and alarmed, but that did n't stop him. 
 
 After a few minutes the gas cloud had thinned out. Gordon took off his mask and turned to McGillis, but Right before he could give another order McGillis's radio crackled. The eye in the sky had another update. McGillis listened to it and relayed it to Rick and Gordon. `` Eye in the sky is reporting five thousand rioters. we got ta step it up, lets switch to rubber bullets.'' 
 
 `` you read my mind'' said Gordon, `` tell your men.'' McGillis climbed down off the van and Gordon turned to Rick, `` We may not be able to handle this on our own, I want you to go back to the station and see what you can do about getting the national guard on the scene.'' 
 
 Rick looked back, momentarily, in disbelief, but he must have seen the reason to what Gordon had said. His only reply was `` yes, sir'' and he climbed off the van and into the squad car. The engine kicked on, the sirens blared, and Rick sped away from the riots. 
 
 McGillis climbed back on the van `` alright, we're ready, are you?'' 
 
 `` Just do it,'' Gordon said. Once again, McGillis gave the order to open fire. And once again, the riot cops started shooting into the crowd. The only difference was that this time, there were more gunshots. Hundreds of thousands of rubber bullets were fired into the crowd, not just a few gas canisters. But just like last time, their efforts had no effect. 
 
 `` Fuck me'' said McGillis exasperated. the sun was up now, it was nearly noon. They'd been at it for almost twelve hours. `` Well shit, what do we do now?'' he asked. 
 
 `` Water cannons. And if that does n't work, Rick is trying to get the national guard out here.'' It took nearly half an hour for the water cannon trucks to get out to the riots. by the time they'd been fully hooked up the helicopter had given them another update: eight thousand in the crowd. just stealing garbage, it still did n't make sense. 
 
 McGillis climbed on to the van for the third time since the night had started. He grabbed his radio, and again, gave the order to open fire. Water exploded out of the trucks and blasted everyone in the crowd. but unlike last time, it worked. The bums that were hit collapsed, and the ones that were n't ran. They carried their precious garbage loot away. Gordon started to smile, but then he noticed they were all running the same way, they all ran downtown. `` Tell your men to push back, follow them. they're retreating so lets advance.'' Gordon said. 
 
 McGillis grabbed hold of his radio and gave the order `` Push back, keep tight around them'' the riot police closed in around the rioters, chasing them back downtown. 
 
 everything was going well. Gordon was pleased with himself and he hoped he might finally have his day off, when the light came back on. The blue light that had woken him up came back on, it was blindingly bright and it was loud too. it sounded like an electrical failure. Gordon clapped his hands over his ears, the noise was deafening. 
 
 But just as it had come on, it came off. the fleeing bums had and the ones who were hit by the water cannons had disappeared. Gordon climbed down off the van and into the intersection. He looked around and saw nothing. At his feet there was a severed arm in a ragged coat sleeve. Gordon looked down at it. It had been severed at the shoulder, and it appeared to be... sparking. He picked it up, and took off its clothes. It *was* sparking. he grabbed the skin near the wound and peeled it back. It was mechanical, the skin felt real but underneath it was metal and wires. The riot police, McGillis, and the citizens were on the streets now. They all looked on in silence as Gordon held the arm. The blue light came on again, only for a second. When it switched off again, there was nothing in Gordon's hand.
