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Pop’s Barbershop, Harlem [April 2011]
–Jack Sullivan–
It had been over a month since he had arrived at Pop’s shop with all his belongings in a small black bag that looked suspiciously similar to a garbage can.
Pop was a good man. He had taken him in and given him food and shelter without ever asking for anything in return. It was he who had insisted on completing the small tasks around the shop in exchange for letting him live behind the shop in the loft. Pop had a small area set up in the back of the shop where anybody in trouble could rest, regardless of their affiliation with any criminal organisation.
Pop’s shop was a neutral zone of sorts. That truce was respected by all the players that did business in Harlem and in return, Pop made sure that anybody who came to his door for help never returned empty-handed, even when most of the time the situations devolved into life-threatening ones. Most of the ringleaders that ran crime around Harlem were little kids when Pop had returned and set up his shop. Most of them still visit his shop regularly, as if it were a ritual. Pop was respected around the neighbourhood not just because his area was known to be a small void in an area where violence had become increasingly common but also because he was a big philanthropist. The crime lords made sure to donate generously when they came for a haircut and Pop made sure that he donated the lion’s share of his earnings to the neighbourhood because according to him, they needed that money more than him.
Honestly, Pop was a man after his own heart, an even bigger inspiration now that he was seeing him in real life, instead of through a screen. He seemed even larger than life now that he could see him in action. Doing so much as an act of repentance was honestly worthy of respect and it was not as if Pop did not have his fair share of darkness, it just made him even better of a person.
Judging from his clothing, Pops had made the judgment that he was an orphan and offered to call CPS [Child Protective Services] to make sure that he had someplace to say but he had requested to stay at his shop and he did not know what Pop had seen on his face, but he had agreed almost immediately. The aftermath of that was that he now had a place in the loft to call his home. He was responsible for guarding the place after hours and making sure that Pop was safe and secure. He was free to do as he pleased throughout the day, provided he informed Pop about it first.
It was honestly a little shocking how much freedom Pops had given him but he could think of a couple of reasons why Pop would not want to restrict him. His powers for one would give him ample confidence about his safety. After all, Pop had multiple guns in his stash and he had made him test them against his barriers and it was safe to say that there was nothing he had to worry about. At Least not from the gangs that roamed the streets. He was more than capable of taking them all out and he even offered the same to Pop who denied it. He had asked him for the reason and was told that there was a delicate balance between the powers in the city and that change was coming. He could see it but it would take time. If he did what he had offered to do, it would not just disturb the balance, it would destroy it in its entirety, and then, the death toll would be much higher than it would be.
“The world has not yet fallen to such a level that the burden of helping people would fall on such young soldiers,” Pop had said to him and then sent him on his merry way.
That was part of their routine. Of course, this freedom was conditional as it was based on the multiple assessments that Pops had one of his friends teach to him. If he failed in any of those tests, his privileges would be removed and he agreed to that. Obviously, since it was not as if those tests were hard. Those were average maths, English, and Sciences and he could literally do those in his sleep.
Like clockwork, Pops woke up in the apartment upstairs and he came down to the shop at 8 AM. By that time, he was already up and cleaning the place. Then, Pops would give him breakfast and he would be out of the shop by 9. That was when his true job began.
See, for the past month, he had just been roaming around the city. With the help of portals and his barriers, it was safe to say that his mobility was off the charts and he used that to patrol almost an entire borough in a single day. 5 boroughs for five days and then he used the weekends to practice his powers, explore the world, and taste the local cuisine of the world. He had not yet told Pops about his magic since that would be a little hard for him to believe so Pops did not know that the cheesecakes he bought for him last week were from a little bakery in Germany that was known for its world-class limited stock cheesecakes.
He visited all the wonders of the world and as was the case with him, made sure to put his nose where it doesn’t belong and made sure to stop dozens of crimes from happening throughout the world. Most of them were believable.
Some were not.
“Authorities are still investigating the freak accident that happened in Paris last week. According to video testimonies and independent verification from our team, we have confirmed the presence of an individual who was instrumental in preventing the further collapse of the Eiffel Tower in the direct aftermath of the terrorist attack that caused the deaths of 12 people last Friday,” He winced at Pops’ judgemental look as he looked at him pointedly after shutting off the TV. He had hoped that it would not reach Pops’ ears but apparently, his good run had ended and he now had to explain to Pops why his seemingly underage charge was gallivanting on the other side of the world and was using his powers to extraordinary effect in public view.
“Um, oops?” He said in hopes that the lashing would not be too harsh.
“Oops? Is that all you have to say for yourself? What were you doing in Paris? How did you even get there? Where did you even get the time to do all that?”
The rapid-fire round made him finally decide to come clean to Pops, once and for all. So, that day he told Pops of his ability to open portals to wherever he wanted to, with a wave of his hand. He still did not inform him about magic though. No need to needlessly endanger the old man.
“This is nice. So, this really goes straight to Africa?” Pops pointed at the now-open portal and asked him.
He shrugged at him, “Try it,”
“Okay,” Pops took a deep breath and just jumped into the portal. He followed suit as well.
“Well?” He asked Pops as he was busy looking at the rainforest surrounding them in awe.
“Well, the air’s fresher here, I’ll give you that much. How can you do this?” Pops asked him the same question again.
His only answer to that was a shrug. “Don’t know what to tell you, old man. I just can do all of this,”
Pops just accepted that answer and then went on to enjoy nature for a while. After a while, Pops turned around to see him following at a leisurely pace, utterly unconcerned with their situation. Pops, however, had beads of sweat on his forehead as he seemed stiff like a stick due to the wolves surrounding them.
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Oh, so he was worried about them.
“Don’t worry old man,” He said and snapped his fingers, boxing them in a cube. The sudden appearance of a green cube around them startled the wolves into attacking them. The scene of multiple wolves just jumping on them and then having their faces stuck on the side of the barrier as they slid down was hilarious.
“Oh, *huff* I forgot about those,” Pops collapsed on his butt and said.
“L-Let’s go home. That’s enough adventure for one day,” Pops said and he obliged.
“Now do you think I am ready to take down Cottonmouth?” He asked Pops once they were back in his apartment. He had chosen to bring them here instead of the shop because Pops looked like he needed a rebreather.
Pops raised his finger and was about to say something before he paused and then looked at him intently. “How do you know that name?”
He whistled innocently and looked away at that question.
Pops sighed, “Never mind. Just make sure that no innocent is harmed?”
“You got it, Pops. Firstly, I will be establishing a no-crime zone around the street. I will publicly use my powers but won’t reveal my face. In the meantime, I want you to do business as usual,”
“Fine. Do as you wish. Who knew kids were so troublesome even at such a young age? Thank god I never had to raise….him,” Pops’ voice took on a melancholy note at the last sentence before he wiped his eyes and then hustled down the stairs, to the shop.
He sighed internally. He was aware of the difficult past that Pops had. He had a child and a wife but they distanced themselves from him due to his past and he could not bring himself to blame them for that decision. Pops as he was now would have made a fantastic father but the reason he is who he is is because his family left him.
“Alright, let’s get started,” He snapped his fingers, changing his attire to that of a ninja. Well, it was a full-body suit that was made up of light-absorbing materials. It was something he had commissioned to be made in preparation for this day. It was currently day but it was not as if crime took a backseat during the day. With a thought, a portal opened up in front of him and he floated through the portal, finding himself standing right above Stark Tower.
He was sure that Jarvis had already recognized him and was informing Tony. He wanted to make an appearance here to inform Tony about his presence in the city. Before Tony could come out, he opened another portal and then made his exit. He was sure that seeing his portals in action should give Tony another round of surprises, which made him feel good inside. Just imagining Tony scratching his head in wonder as he saw a teenager make wormholes with his hands was calming.
He then appeared above Pops shop and then began floating just above the city, looking for any crime that he could stop. After a while of just floating around, he felt rather stupid as all he had done was stop a car chase by creating a barrier under the car and then floating it to his level. Then, he ripped the doors off its hinges and then deposited the car and the robbers in front of the legion of NYPD officers that had gathered in front of them with all their guns pointed at him.
“STOP! Hands where I can see them,” Someone in the lead shouted and he snorted in disdain. There was nothing they could do to stop him and both of the sides knew it. He made sure that they knew it by waiting mid-air with his hands crossed in front of his chest. He was wearing the suit which was magically enchanted to interact with his powers so that when he projected the skeleton of a slightly bigger person on his smaller frame, the clothes adjusted their size accordingly. It was a very good thing that only had the flaw of being pretty weak and could not be stressed during combat.
Everybody gathered around the blockade and kept looking at the situation. They looked at the lead officer who was still pointing his gun at him and shouting for him to surrender himself while everybody else had lowered their guns, knowing that there was nothing they could do to him.
Slowly, the lead officer realised the situation and turned red either in anger or embarrassment, he did not know.
“Like I thought,” He snorted in his modular voice and then left the scene. He gained an altitude and then sighed as the distinctive voice of repulsors reached his ears. He looked to the side to see Iron Man flying right alongside him, waving at the people gathered below.
“So, when did you grow so big, Kid? And what’s up with the ninja outfit?” Tony’s voice filtered through the external speakers of his suit.
He chose not to reply to that question and instead, he created a portal in front of them and then leisurely floated through, taking both of them straight to the Himalayas.
“Learned new tricks, I see,” The forced nonchalance in Tony’s voice was clear for him to hear.
He snorted, “Don’t pretend that this isn’t awesome, Tony,”
Tony waved his arms, “Yeah yeah, I am not denying that wormhole creation and manipulation is not awesome. It’s just that you are cheating with your powers. I don’t know how but you are. It would be much more interesting if there was some sort of machine that did this but I am not into biological enhancement much. Now, where have you been, Jack?”
He ignored Tony’s question and then pointed straight up and then slowly began floating up. He increased his speed as Tony followed.
“Where are we going exactly?”
“Just…Up,”
“Uh-huh,”
They continued to fly up until they reached orbit, as the vast expanse of blue became visible to them.
“Okay, not that this view is not great, I have not yet tasted this suit for space operations so whatever it is, make it quick,” Tony complained.
He waved his arm, creating a cube that enclosed both of them. He slowly dropped on the floor and so did Tony, who checked the floor integrity with both of his feet before doing so.
“Look, Tony, I have learned a lot in the past months and it has led me to one conclusion. We are not ready, not by a long shot. We need to be ready,”
“Uh, ready? For what? You are not making a lot of sense here, buddy,”
“I won’t say much right now. You will learn about it sooner or later but let’s just say that The Hulk is not the only one the world has to worry about. There are things much worse than a green Hulking rage monster that we have to worry about. I would just say that be prepared. You’ll know in due time and I will be staying in the city for the time being. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,”
“Well, the minor vigilante around the city will certainly be well accepted and when did you become the adult in our relationship? Also, quit talking cryptic shi-”
That was all he could say before a portal opened right underneath him, dropping him straight on top of his almost complete tower.
That was fun. He should do that again.
“Now, back to work,” He opened a portal and he found himself floating above the city once again. He chose to make a statement this time as he created a mid-size Gundam around his form and continued to float around the city in that form.
At first, people were terrified and ran screaming whenever he approached but after the first hour of him just floating there and stopping violent criminals, the people only continued to record and then point at him. He even had the privilege of rescuing a cat stuck on a tree and then, a balloon that had escaped a little girl’s hand.
Tony, for some reason, did not come back to bother him. Probably holed up in his lab trying to make sense of his words and powers.
The helicopters were annoying at first but then he just began stopping their rotors and depositing them somewhere nearby and then they stopped bothering him. He had been hailed multiple times by the NYPD but he just ignored them and only deposited the subdued criminals to the nearest officer.
As the sun set, creating an orange ocean, he created a portal inside his Gundam and then left the scene.
“So, I see that you had an eventful day?” He looked at Pops’ who had already set up a couple of sandwiches on the table. Good, he was famished.
“I assume you saw everything?”
“Oh, son. Everyone saw what you did. Just…. be careful,” He nodded, heeding Pops’ advice, and jumped right into the sandwich.
Thus ended his first day as an aspiring vigilante starting his career in The Big Apple.
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Word Count - 2927
If you guys want to read up to 15 extra chapters or just want to support me - P*treon
A/N - Ha! An aspiring vigilante. I crack myself up sometimes.