The following morning, I wake up to my walking alarm. I stand up to turn it off with a new determination. Miss Claire isn't here. And it isn't like Mr. Eun-ji is gonna just move into the lair to do everything that she did for me. First step, make myself breakfast.
I won't forgive myself for what I've done. But I will plant my feet and move forward. It's all I can do after all.
I walk downstairs and run over to the kitchen. I see a sticky note on the table. Further examining it, it's Miss Claire's omelet recipe in her handwriting, alongside a step-by-step instruction on how to make it. I grab out some eggs as I hear a ringing noise originating from my phone.
I grab out my phone and see that it's a call from Mr. Eun-ji. I pick it up and he greets me, "Hey, Ray. Claire wants me to check in on you because she has a twelve-hour flight that left about… eight hours ago? She left overnight and said she'd sleep on the plane."
"How is she flying as a wanted villain?" I ask as I continue to cook.
"Private flight. She has connections." He replies.
"Who?" I follow up.
"Kid, I have no clue. Ask her." He says with a sigh of exasperation before asking: "So what are you doing?"
"I'm cooking breakfast, Mr. Eun-ji," I reply.
"Once you're done, Claire doesn't want you to do your typical morning routine. She wants you to go outside and just explore the city." He explains
"Why?" I ask.
"Do you feel the need to question everything you're told? She just wants you to get familiar because you don't get out much. Knowing the areas you do operations in is important." He explains, he seems to have very little patience today. He is so confusing. He emotionally shields me, yet is quite short with me at the same time. I don't understand him.
"Got it. I'll leave after I eat. Just got done cooking." I tell him.
"Good. I'll check in with you later, Ray." He says before hanging up on me.
I look down at my creation. It looks very messy and slightly burnt. It's probably edible. Surely. No way I made something that bad.
I take a spatula and flip my omelet onto my plate. I grab a fork and walk over to the kitchen table, pulling out my chair and sitting down. I stab into the omelet, pick up a piece, and take a bite.
It's… kind of edible?...
It's nowhere near as good as the ones Miss Claire makes me. But she isn't here. So I gotta learn.
I quickly scarf this down; this isn't something I feel the need to savor.
I then quickly run over to the elevator, ride it up, and exit the warehouse. Entering the city streets, I look around. It still looks new, even though I've been getting out more. I turn the corner and see a very bright sign with a crowd surrounding the building. The sign reads: "NEW RANK 50 HERO OPENING CASINO. MINORS WELCOME."
The new rank 50 hero? So whoever is in here is the one replacing Mr. Eun-ji's spot. I silently push past the crowd, earning me glares from the people nearby. I enter the building and immediately get spotted by this caricature of a man. Donning an overly chiseled jaw and smooth black hair, wearing a fancy suit and tie. It feels like he's overcompensating.
He runs over and greets me, "You must be Parker! I've seen you on the news, and Sonar has had glowing things to say about you!" He flashes me a smile, his teeth shining so bright it nearly hurts my eyes.
I doubt Mr. Eun-ji would brag about me in the first place. And I also don't think he'd entertain a conversation with this guy.
"And you are?..." I ask.
"Ah! I should have introduced myself! I was a B rank hero, but then I came across some money, I then became a ranker, and now I'm here! To celebrate, I changed my hero name! You may call me: Mr. Perfect!" He exclaims.
This guy can't be serious. Do I seriously have to call him that?!
Interrupting my thoughts, he began to speak, "Oh, but who am I kidding, you're Parker! You really interest me, young man. I mean, being a ranker's apprentice is very rare. And honestly, Sonar isn't the biggest fan of kids. So I want to learn more about you, and in exchange, you'll learn about my greatness!"
Okay, aside from his stupid self-inflated ego, I actually do want to know how a B rank jumped to Ranker status. Mr. Eun-ji's promotion makes sense; he is about as strong as Ironhide. But this guy?...
"Well… Mr. Perfect…" I begin to say, the ridiculous name barely rolling off my tongue. "I accept your offer. You may learn more about me, and you will answer any of my questions." I finish.
"Great! Let's go to the back!" He says as he grabs my hand and starts dragging me, not even waiting for my reply.
We arrive in the back room, which is a very drab meeting room with a whiteboard in front and a table with ten chairs. He begins to explain, "I am actually a large money source for the WWSHA! That's why I was promoted, and I ended up making even more money! I bet those pricks who looked down on me are looking pretty stupid now!" He says in an obnoxious, haughty tone. Laughing at his own statement.
"My power? I'm glad you asked!" He begins.
Ugh. I really didn't.
"Luck! Every time I make a perfect dodge or I strike lucky by doing something statistically unlikely, I get stronger! I, with my superior intelligence, learned how to exploit it with gambling! I rig my things in my favor, and when I win, it still works! But the strength disappears after each time I make an attack, so I always need to restock, so to speak!" He says.
"So that's why you opened a casino?" I ask.
"Correct! It's also a great money maker for the WWSHA. Paragon loves it!" He exclaims.
Yeah. That checks out.
"And you allow minors? Isn't that illegal?" I question.
"Well, minors can only use the arcade section!" He tells me, pointing outside of the room in the direction of what I can only assume is the arcade.
"How does an arcade and a casino mesh?" I follow up.
"Well, an arcade is just a casino for kids, isn't it? They sink money into tokens to play games for tickets, and exchange them for prizes that are ultimately a losing profit for them and a winning profit for us. I mean, kids don't really know any better, but adults? Arcades lose their allure for them, aside from an occasional outing. But a casino? They spend money to play games to potentially win more, but they will always leave with less than they came in with. It's an adult arcade with a far more alluring prize." He explains.
Huh… never thought of it that way… Not that I've ever been to an arcade. But now I don't think I will, this guy just ruined it.
"Now, tell me about you. How did you meet Sonar?" He asks me.
"My… Mom… introduced us. Don't know how they met. But he saw that my powers are similar to his, and saw a lot of potential in me. We sparred, and then we got ice cream. He just took me under his wing from there." I explain. An abridged version of the truth.
Wait… Does my lie mean that in public, I gotta refer to Miss Claire as "mom" now? It's weird, but it doesn't feel unnatural.
"Huh, simpler than I was expecting." He remarks.
"Anything else?" I ask him.
"Did Sonar tell you about his past?" He says, his obnoxious smile turning a little bit more sinister.
Crap. Should I lie? Should I tell the truth? If I tell him no, he's probably going to explain it to me. But if I tell the truth, that's going to lead to a million more questions.
Yeah. I think lying is the better option. The fewer questions, the better. "No. He hasn't." I tell him, trying to be convincing.
"Well, he used to run a gang. He was quite the brutal villain. Ironhide then took him in, and now Sonar is the perfect hero." He explains.
"And? I don't care about that. I care about who he is now." I tell him.
"I was expecting that reaction." He says, before following up with: "But I will tell you. I control the gang now. My money and influence are near unmatched… I'm going to cut to the chase. Be my apprentice, Parker. I have more money, more influence in the WWSHA and the underground. Money is power. And I can share that power with you. Ditch Sonar, I'm far better."
Pft. He can't be serious.
"No thanks," I say simply. I want to be polite so as not to set him off, but I won't bother explaining myself.
At my simple rejection, his expression flips into one of anger. "You little… Brat!" he shouts, flipping the table. I jump back and get into a defensive stance. He rushes in and punches me, sending me flying through the door and back into the main lobby of the Casino.
Mr. Perfect now looks disheveled. He looks as though he wants me dead. I stand back up quickly as I search for an exit; however, in the blink of an eye, Mr. Perfect is on his knees, coughing up blood, and Mr. Eun-ji is standing above him. "Now what made you think laying hands on my apprentice was a smart idea?" He says, tapping his foot impatiently.
"S-Sonar! I swear this isn't what it looks like-" Mr. Eun-ji cuts him off, "Just go."
Mr. Perfect listens and scrambles into the casino area, going into a VIP room.
Mr. Eun-ji helps me up. "Let's go." He says, grabbing my hand and leading me out.
"So what was that?" He asks me.
"I entered the building because the flashing sign interested me. Mr. Perfect found me and asked me questions, then asked me to become his apprentice. I told him no, and he attacked me." I explain.
"Checks out. He's a jackass who got cocky when he stopped being a greaseball. What did he ask and what did you tell him?" he asks me.
"He asked how we met, and I told him that my mom introduced us. So I suppose I need to pretend Miss Claire is my mom." I tell him.
"Oh, that's fine. I already told a similar story to the top four when they asked me. Anything else?" He says.
"He asked if I knew about your past. I told him no, and he told me what I already knew." I tell him. A half-truth, but I want to keep the last bit he told me to myself.
"Well, that settles that… I only swung by because I was curious about what that guy was pulling with this new casino. But I need to run back to HQ." He explains.
"Alright, thanks, Mr. Eun-ji. Goodbye." I say, waving.
He waves back and walks away, out of my sight. I realize that where I'm standing isn't too far from the ice cream truck that Mr. Eun-ji bought me ice cream from. I head in that direction, even though I have no money. It might just be a nice spot to relax.
I arrive at the truck and see the familiar cutout of Mr. Eun-ji. Mr. Eun-ji originally struck me as greedy and cowardly. But as time passed, he's shown better qualities underneath that. I want to understand him more.
Maybe I need to start being Parker more and try to spend some time with him, especially now that Miss Claire is gone.
I walk over to the bench near the stand and take a seat. I make myself comfortable. A few seconds later, I see two people around my age turn the corner and stand near the ice cream truck. A boy on the left and a girl on the right. I recognize the boy as Bayani. I ran into him a few times. The girl on the left, wearing a denim jacket, a black tank top, and some skinny black jeans. Her skin is dark and smooth, very clean, as is everything on her. Her shorter hair is meticulously twisted into locs. Kara. I remember seeing her on… that night… She seems to take her appearance a lot more seriously than most people I've met.
"So, what do you want to do with the villains we ended up catching?" Bayani asks her.
"I mean, they're in Elaine's custody, but I recommend she just offs them," Kara replies rather nonchalantly compared to her statement.
What? An apprentice of Ironhide wanting to kill a villain? But that goes against everything he stood for! Is she kidding?! Ironhide exonerated me, even in his death. He wants me to move on… And she wants to just disrespect him and his ideology, which he more than likely passed down?
It surely isn't my place. I should just keep my mouth shut, but something in me felt compelled to speak up. "Ironic, coming from an apprentice of Ironhide. What would he think?" I say.
Kara's face contorts into one of anger, but she takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She returns to a more neutral expression as she approaches me. "And what would you know about that? Please don't butt into things that don't involve you. I know more about this than you do." She says rather calmly, but with dangerous undertones.
"Clearly not." I retort. Standing up.
Kara seems like she's trying her hardest not to be angry right now. "Look. Ironhide is dead. It doesn't matter what he thinks. I'm grieving. Back off, because I really might hit you." She threatens.
"And if I don't want to?" I ask.
This time, Bayani chimes in, likely recognizing me from prior encounters, "Dude, just leave. Zero point in staying and purposely agitating her, even if you sort of have a point."
"Shut it, Mighty Mouse. Let the ones who are above eye level with the counter of the ice cream truck talk." I retort back at him.
Kara sighs, mumbling something like "This guy…" Before taking a swing at me. I sidestep and use her momentum to throw her over my shoulder, making her land on her back on the concrete.
I walk away. Immediately regretting my actions. Bayani didn't deserve that insult, and I didn't need to speak of Ironhide in the first place. Who was I to even say anything? I'm a murderer. I killed him. Who am I to dictate how people handle his legacy?...
As I walk away, I see Kara's face contort into a smile, silently giggling…
Weirdo.
Even though I regret my actions. She's still weird.
Bayani shouts out at me, "You! The one I helped evacuate?! Who even are you?!"
"Peter," I reply succinctly. I am trying not to run into them again. So hopefully they never meet me as Parker.
I wave and turn the corner, as Kara shouts after me: "Hey! I want a rematch! Next time we use powers! You gotta have 'em, right?!"
I don't reply and keep walking. I'm just aimlessly walking, trying to get as far away from there as possible.
As I keep walking faster and faster as I get farther away, practically sprinting now. It's all a blur. How could I be so stupid?! What is wrong with me?!
I stumble over myself, realizing that I'm now at the collapsed parking garage where I killed Ironhide. My breathing quickens, and my heart rate spikes. I crawl away in a quick panic. I'm now up against a wall, panting as the images of my depraved murder enter my mind. I can't stop. I'm hyperventilating. The images keep flashing over and over, tormenting me. It feels as though this trance will last forever…
Suddenly, my brain is interrupted by the ringing of my phone. I pick it up from my pocket and see the call is from Mr. Eun-ji. I answer it with shaky hands. "H-Hello?..." I greet him.
"Ray, I hate to spring this on you. However, Paragon and the rest of the top four are demanding that you meet them. Can you come to HQ?" He requests nervously.
"Yeah. I know where it is. I'll meet you there." I say, promptly hanging up.
I proceed to text Miss Claire: "Hey, I am going to WWSHA HQ because the top four heroes want to meet Parker. And btw, for a cover story, you're now my mom when I'm Parker."
I don't get a response, but she does react with a thumbs up to my message. She must have landed by now. Or the plane has wifi. Either or, she'll call me later anyway.
I put my phone away and avert my eyes from the parking garage. I need to ground myself. I draw in deep breaths before sharply exhaling. I repeat that process a few times. Finally, I move. I start walking. I can't just ditch Mr. Eun-ji.
I need to go to HQ.