Conner had left the hospital and spent the rest of his week home from school. Thanks to eating as healthy of a diet as he could, Conner had recovered at least enough to walk around without a struggle.

With his free days, Conner had spent a good amount of time hanging out with his friends, and this day was no different. Conner and his group had met up at the local park.

Normally, the group would gather at the skate park or basketball court. However, with Conner’s wounds slowing him down, the friend group decided to make their outings easier on their wounded companion.

For the past few hours, while John, William, and Carl were playing frisbee, Lana kept Conner company. The two had spent their time sitting beside each other on a bench, playing a game of Capture Monsters against one another. A game which, to Conner’s frustration, he’d quickly lost.

As Conner let out an exasperated sigh, Lana grinned and stated, “That makes one hundred twenty-six to zero.”

Rubbing his eyes to let out frustration, Conner replied, “I swear I’ll find a videogame I can beat you at one day.”

Bopping her head against Conner’s arm, Lana retorted, “And one day, I’ll grow wings and fly away!” This earned Lana a half-serious scowl from Conner as she went on, “Face it, tough guy. I’ve got the best mind for video games in the whole city.”

As Lana said this, John landed next to them, having jumped to catch the frisbee, startling the two.

After overhearing Lana’s comment, John threw the frisbee to Carl and said, “Watch it. Pride cometh before the fall and all that good stuff, Lana.”

“Oh yeah?! Well, until Conner beats me, I’ll just keep on being my prideful self,” Lana mocked before sticking her tongue out.

Reaching into the lunch pack he’d brought with him, Conner moaned, “Ah, whatever. I’m too hungry for this.” He then pulled out a small container of broccoli and a carton of milk.

As Conner dug into his snack, Lana tilted her head and asked him, “Hey, so, I haven’t said anything about it till now, but I’ve been wondering… What’s with you living off veggies ever since you got out of the hospital?”

Catching the frisbee as it came back his way, John added, “Gotta admit, I’ve been wondering about that too. I get that the milk’s for your bones,” he then threw the disk toward Will and concluded, “But what’s with you living off greens?”

Hastily swallowing his food, needing to use his milk to keep himself from choking, Conner replied, “Ack! Hegh… Well, uh, when Death Head rescued me, he told me that eating vegetables helps you heal faster than anything else.”

Laying her head against Conner’s shoulder while staring up at him, Lana remarked, “Really? I woulda thought it’d be meat that does that.”

Shrugging with his free shoulder as he tried to avert his flush face from Lana’s view, Conner replied, “Um… If a one-man army like Death Head says it’s what’s best for me, then I’ll believe him.”

While waiting for the frisbee, John said, “I guess you got a point there. It’s only been a week, and you’re already moving around pretty well.”

“Yeah, I… What?” Conner asked as the color drained from his face.

Huh?! Wait, it’s already been a week?! Conner screamed internally.

Jumping to his feet, causing Lana to fall on the bench with an, “Ouch!” Conner began scanning his surroundings, desperately searching for where he’d put his jacket.

He’d taken it off about an hour ago when Lana began laying against him. He’d somehow grown too hot for one reason or another.

But once Conner was on his feet, he quickly saw his white jacket had fallen on the ground behind the bench, and he went to grab it.

“You… You okay, bro?” John asked, distracted by Conner’s antics as the frisbee flew over his head.

“What the Hell was that about?!” Lana shouted as she stood up and rubbed the side of her head.

Getting his jacket back on as fast as his recovering body could, Conner exclaimed, “Sorry, but I just remembered something really important! I need to go!”

Putting a hand in one of his jeans pockets, John murmured, “Uh… Huh?”

As he and Will came rushing over, Carl asked, “What’s going on?”

Pointing at Conner, Lana explained with irritation, “Mr. Impatient’s apparently in such a hurry to get somewhere he couldn’t even ask me to get off him before he got up.”

With disapproval in his eyes, Carl said, “Really, man? Not cool, Conner.”

“Hey, I said sorry,” Conner replied as he finished throwing his jacket on.

Cocking his eyebrow, Will asked with a hint of concern, “You, uh… You need a ride, Conner? I could get you wherever you’re going faster on my bike.”

Zipping his old white jacket up, Conner replied insistently, “No! Uh, no… It’s something private, sorry.”

Folding his arms, Will asked Conner, like a doting older brother, “You aren’t in any more trouble, are you?”

“What? No! It’s nothing like that. It’s just a private thing,” Conner answered.

Joining in on Will’s worries, Carl asked, “You sure, man? You know we can help you, right? I brought my best bat with me and everything.”

Seemingly forgetting about her superficial head wound, Lana raised her fingers like claws and added, “Yeah! If it’s Frank again, I’ll scratch his eyes out!”

“Guys, seriously, it’s nothing like that… I just, uh… Well, I can’t say, but-.” Before Coner could finish, he was cut off by John approaching him.

Pulling his hand out of his pocket as he walked up to Conner, John patted his friend’s back and said, “Alright, come on, guys. If this was really something dangerous, Conner would’ve let us in on it. I’m sure it’s just something he’d rather keep private. Probably something embarrassing. Right, bro?”

Smiling with relief, Conner replied right away, “Yes, exactly... But I seriously need to go, so I’ll see you guys later.”

Without another word, Conner began speed-walking away as he failed to hear what his friends were going on about with him gone.

|X|

Arriving back at the same alley that Frank had jumped him in, Conner began looking around for any signs of Death Head’s presence.

After a few minutes in this place, Conner came to understand why Frank had chosen this spot to ambush him.

Practically no one’s come by this alley so far… No one to get in the way… If Frank gave that level of thought to his schoolwork, then maybe he’d at least be a C student like me. Definitely wouldn’t have needed to shake John down for help… When’s Death Head gonna get here? I figured he’d already be waiting… He didn’t already leave, did he?

After a half hour of waiting and watching, it seemed to Conner like the Mask either wouldn’t show or had already left a while ago.

Just as Conner was about to give up and leave, he heard Death Head’s voice remark, “You really need to learn to look up, kid.”

Doing as the voice suggested by following where it came from, Conner saw Death Head sliding down the side of the alley wall. One of the Mask’s hands and his feet were pressed against the side of the building as pebbles flew out from beneath his shoe souls and his palm. And once Death Head was close enough, Conner could hear an uncomfortable scraping noise coming from the man’s hand and feet.

Having gotten close enough to the ground, Death Head pushed himself off the side of the wall and landed in front of Conner.

Folding his arms, Death Head remarked, “Admittedly, most people don’t think to look up. That’s just a bad habit I’ll have to help you break, I guess.”

Joy overflowing in his chest, Conner desperately searched for the right words, “I, uh, I… Yes, um, I’ll do whatever-.”

Stopping his new recruit mid-sentence by raising his hand in his face, Death Head told him, “Before we get started on your training, you need to explain the tag-along. Otherwise, this ends here and now.”

“The… I’m sorry, the what… Sir?!” Conner blurted anxiously.

Gesturing with his head, Death Head explained, “Some other kid followed you and has been hiding a few minutes down the road since you got here. You know anything about that, Conner?”

Immediately, Conner exclaimed, “No! Nothing!”

Leaning forward slightly, Death Head’s voice lowered as he asked, “Really?”

“I promise!” Conner nearly shouted as his voice broke from anxiety.

Straightening his posture, Death Head looked at Conner for a minute before letting out an approving grunt and nodding.

“Alright,” he said. “If that’s the case, then you’ll need to take this.”

Suddenly, Death Head pulled a knuckleduster out from a large pouch on his utility belt.

He then put it in Conner’s hand and told him, “Here’s your first mission, Conner. Go see who that guy is and chase him off if you need to. Honestly, the kid looks like a pushover. Even with how beat up you are, you could probably take him on even without one of these. But it’s best to have that just in case he pulls a knife on you or something.”

Shocked to have a weapon handed to him so brazenly, Conner struggled to reply as he stared at the knuckle duster.

“What’s wrong? Never used one before?” Death Head asked.

Desperate to seem competent, Conner said, “No! Of course I, uh… have. You just put ‘em on like this… right?” Sliding his finger through the loops, Conner held the hard arch of the weapon over his knuckles.

With an amused sigh, Death Head seamlessly slipped the knuckledusters off Conner’s hand.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Uh-.”

Before Conner could speak, Death Head took his hand, began putting the weapon back on, and explained, “You want this arch to rest on your palm. If you used it the way you were, you’d just break your hand. And don’t slide them all the way back. You want them on the upper half of your fingers, not on the knuckles themselves. You won’t break your hand if you get that wrong, but it’ll still hurt. You got it?”

After Death Head finished his explanation, Conner opened and closed his hand a few times to get a feel for the weapon before replying, “Yeah… I think I can work with this, sir.”

Putting a hand on Conner’s shoulder, Death Head told him, “One last thing. Don’t use them if you don’t have to. Only if the guy has a weapon. Any damage you deal with those will be permanent. You can even knock eyes clean out of the skull. If you go too far over there, I’ll cripple you myself. Understand, Maggot?”

A cold sweat came over Conner when Death Head threatened him so nonchalantly, causing him to shiver as he answered, “Uh… Right, yes. I promise I won’t.”

And as Death Head pulled his hand back, Conner thought, Holy shit! What’s his problem…?! He wouldn’t really cripple me, right? How would he even do that…? Break my spine, maybe? Auh…

“Good. Then go complete your mission,” Death Head told Conner as he tried to understand the Mask’s methodology and motives.

Putting his hand that held the knuckleduster in a pocket, Conner turned to exit the alley and took a step before another thought occurred to him.

Hesitantly turning to look back at Death Head, Conner asked him, “Excuse me, but… How is this a mission?”

Hearing a chuckle from behind Death Head’s helmet, Conner recoiled nervously as Death Head put his hands on his waist.

“Hehe. Gutsy enough to think to ask that even after I threatened you. Good,” Death Head remarked in amusement.

“Huh?” Conner murmured.

Pointing at his new student, Death Head told him, “Listen good, Maggot, because I’m only saying this once. Intimidation is invaluable to men and women in our line of work. If you scare a crook enough, you’ll have won a fight before having to throw a single punch.”

As understanding overtook his demeanor, Conner replied, “Oh… Okay, yeah. That makes sense.”

Pointing at the alley’s exit, Death Head ordered, “So let’s see if you can pull this off against an easy mark. Get to work.”

“Right! Yes! I’m going!” Conner replied as he turned and marched out.

“Walk casually! Don’t draw attention to yourself, Maggot!” Death Head snapped at him.

Breaking his stern strut, Conner replied, “Sorry!” Before doing his best and failing terribly to make his stride seem relaxed.

|XXX|

Once Conner was gone on his mission, Death Head let out a sigh before lowering the jaw piece of his helmet. He then took out another energy drink, sucked it down, and threw it into one of the alley dumpsters.

Folding his arms as a bit of life came back into his old bones and muscles, Death Head muttered, “The kid seems naturally tough, but it looks like he’ll need to work hard on learning the finer aspects of the trade. Stealth, investigation, resolve, and intimidation, just to start with. Not to mention tests of character… Conner seems like a nice boy, but… I just hope I don’t have another Parker on my hands.”

Putting his helmet back together, Death Head stretched out as much as he could in his armor and said to himself, “Well, better go shadow the kid and see how he’s doing.”

Death Head then went to run up the walls but stopped when he noticed Conner had returned just as he’d readied himself.

Wow. The kid works fast. I- Wait a second.

It was then that Death Head noticed how Conner wasn’t alone. In his left hand, he held onto the shirt of his target, having dragged the other boy back to the alley.

The boy looked completely shocked and amazed despite his predicament. As for Conner, he seemed extremely annoyed as he forced his target along.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You were supposed to chase him off, not bring him to me! What if he’s a spy for the local criminal element?!” Death Head almost yelled.

Pushing the boy forward, Conner explained himself in a deadpan tone, “Death Head, sir, this is my friend John. The one I told you about. John, this is Death Head. You know, the one who you refused to leave before seeing?”

“Huh…?! I- I- I-.”

Stopping John mid-stutter, Death Head rushed the boys, grabbed them both, and pulled them further into the alley with him.

“Ouch! I’m still recovering, Death-.”

Interrupting Conner, Death Head lifted the teenager off his feet with one hand as he pressed John against a wall with the other.

“This is the John you told me about? Why the fuck did you bring him with you?!”

Terrified, Conner answered desperately, “I didn’t! He-.”

“So you’re saying he is a spy, then?!” Death Head asked.

Sweating, Conner replied, “No! He just-.”

Tightening his grip, Death Head snapped, “Just what?! The way I see things, you either had to have told him you’d be here, or he followed you for someone else. If it’s the former, I’m gonna have to cut you out of the plan and find someone else. If it’s the latter, I’ll have to cut you out and rough up your friend to make an example.”

The moment Death Head made his threat, he was taken off guard by the swift kick that struck his torso. Although his armor kept him from getting hurt, the recoil was still enough to make him drop Conner.

Despite his wounds, once Conner’s feet touched the ground, he was quick to jump back and put his fists up. One of which was still adorned with the knuckleduster.

Through gritted teeth, Conner hissed at Death Head, “You hurt my bro, and I put you in the ground! I don’t care if he works for some assholes or not! You got it!?”

“Hey, hold on a sec-.” John began before Death Head dropped him on his ass.

Sighing, Death Head remarked, “Guess this is a chance for another lesson.” In a blink, Death Head pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Conner.

And while Conner flinched with dread, Death Head told him, “You’ve got a good kick there, Maggot, and I know you can take a decent beating. But do you think you’re tough enough to stop a bullet from ripping through your skull? Why do you think I wear this armor? No matter how good you are in a fistfight, even a runt with half-decent aim can take you out in a half-second if he has a piece on him. Understand what I’m saying, Maggot?”

|XXX|

For a moment, time seemed to freeze for Conner as he processed what to do next. For the briefest instance, he considered standing down. However, he realized just as fast that it would mean leaving John to Death Head’s mercy.

So, in what would seem to most as no time at all, Conner steeled his resolve and was about to try and sidestep the Mask’s aim.

However, just before Conner or Death Head could make a move, John screamed, “Hey! Stop! I can explain! Don’t shoot him!”

Turning to look at John as Conner froze in place, Death Head asked, “Shoot him…? The safety’s on, on this thing. I wasn’t actually gonna shoot the Maggot. He can’t hurt me so long as I’m armored up, so there’s no need for me to get lethal. Even with that brass, the worst he could do is bruise me.”

Lowering his fists reflexively, Conner asked, “Uh… Seriously?”

Holstering his gun, Death Head dismissively replied, “Shut it, Maggot. Now, how do you plan to explain yourself, Johnny-boy?”

“Johnny…? Oh, uh… This’ll sound weird, but I was worried about what Conner was doing, so I… Um, I put a tracker on his back before he came here,” as John explained this, he pulled out his phone and showed off a radar of some kind on the screen.

“What…?” Death Head asked, flabbergasted.

Reaching behind himself, Conner asked, “Is that how you followed me?!” After scratching his back, Conner pulled out a small white plastic chip with a little barb that had stuck to his jacket.

Refocusing, Death Head asked, “And how exactly does that make you innocent? Why would you have a tracking device ready to use in the first place?”

“Uh, well, I’m a bit obsessed with building tech. I actually made that thing about a year ago for the fun of it. I was just looking for a reason to use it,” John explained while trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Tilting his head somewhat, Death Head attempted to process this before looking at Conner and asking, “Is that true, Conner? You said John was smart, but is he really a tech-head?”

Having almost completely relaxed, Conner replied, “Um… Yes? I mentioned he got into robotics, right?”

Despite being unable to see his face, Conner could tell Death Head was processing what he remembered of his life story.

“Hrm. Yeah, you did mention that. I didn’t expect his hobby would make him that skilled… Hmm, so what to do…? Conner, are you still interested in working for me?” Death Head asked sternly.

Although Conner wasn’t sure why this question was being asked at first, the gears in his brain soon put the pieces together. After such a violent encounter, the young man had to reconsider his decision.

This guy… Death Head… He’s threatened to cripple me and do who knows what to John. Is… How crazy is he? Can I really trust myself to him…?

As Conner’s thoughts rambled and he considered the best move to take going forward, his eyes shifted toward the ground. It was then an important memory struck him. Flashes of pain ran through his body as he remembered the beating he’d gotten on this spot only a week earlier.

If only I was stronger… I only I was faster… If only I could fight better… If only… If only…! If only I were better, I could protect myself and everyone else!

Concluding his contemplations, Conner furrowed his brow and stated, “Of course I’m still gonna work for you! You think you can scare me off that easy?!”

Without hesitation, Death Head asked, “Alright, so tell me, does your phone have a notes function on it?”

Completely bewildered, Conner glanced at John, who shrugged in equal confusion.

“Yes… Why?” Conner admitted.

Approaching Conner, Death Head poked his chest and demanded, “Open up your phone, pull up the notes, and hand it over to me.”

“Mmm… Alight?” Conner replied while pulling his phone out of his pocket. And as soon as he tapped on his notes app, the veteran Mask snatched the phone out of his hand.

Despite Conner’s annoyance, he waited patiently as Death Head quickly typed something in.

Within a few seconds, Death Head shoved the phone back at Conner and told him, “Head to this address, Maggot, and bring your twig of a buddy. Force him to come if you need to. This is where we’ll start your actual training. This time, make sure nobody follows you! I’ll see you there if you haven’t chickened out.”

Before Conner could get a word out in response, Death Head performed parkour to scale the walls and dash out of sight just as he’d done the prior week.

After watching Death Head’s impressive exit for a second time, Conner took a deep breath as he tried to process everything that’d just transpired.

As the young man struggled to wrap his mind around how this day could just be getting started, John said, “Holy mother of… Wow.”

Mentally kicking himself for neglecting his best friend, Conner brought his attention back to the present, went over to John, and offered him a hand up.

“Are you okay, bro?” Conner asked while John locked hands with him.

While being pulled to his feet, John replied, “Yeah, I… Are you?”

Shrugging, Conner answered melancholically, “As well as I can be, I guess… So…”

Shifting his gaze up to the roof Death Head dashed away on, John asked, “You’re… You’re gonna become a Mask?”

“That’s the plan,” Conner said.

“Aaand, you need me to come with you now for it to pan out?”

Momentarily, Conner frowned and stared at the cement before answering, “That’s what Death Head said. But I’m not gonna force you into anything. If he doesn’t accept me, whatever.”

Scratching his head, John asked, “You sure he’s not just gonna kill me?”

“As sure as I can be… I mean, if he wanted either of us dead, he could’ve taken us both out just now,” Conner answered while doing his best to sound sure.

Joining in on the frowning, John bemoaned, “Guess I really don’t have a choice.”

“What? Of course, you do,” Conner insisted.

Shaking his head, John nervously stated, “Nu-uh. If you need me there for this to work, then I’m gonna be there. It’s my fault for following you here in the first place.”

Thinking it over, Conner remarked, “Yeah… You have to admit that the tracking bug was a bit much, John.”

Averting his gaze, John relented, “Yeeeeah, not my smartest move. I thought I was being like a cool secret agent at the time, but… Yeah, no.”

“Yep,” Conner replied while typing the address into his phone’s map.

Turning around while gesturing for John to follow him, Conner said, “Well, I guess we’d better get going then?”

Quickly catching up to his pal, John asked, “Alright, let’s move… By the way… The others wanted me to text them about what you were up to? What should I say?”

Once they were back on the street, Conner thought John’s question over until he answered, “Um… After we get to this address, tell them I got Death Head to agree to meet up with me again for an autograph… And remind me to ask him for an autograph.”

Raising his brow, John replied, “Oh… Yeah, that actually works… Again, sorry for making this complicated.”

While following his phone’s directions, Conner replied dismissively, “Eh, I’d say this whole thing was already pretty complicated… By the way, John. Thank you.”

“Um, for what?” He asked back earnestly.

“For being concerned enough about me to follow me for miles and for sticking with me through this,” Conner said with a half smile.

Although initially taken back, John smiled in return, patted Conner’s shoulder, and said, “Hey, it’s the least I can do for my brother.”

Fully grinning now, Conner remarked, “Hell and back, right, bro?”

Pounding his fist, John replied, “Damn straight,” as the brothers trekked towards their intended destination.