John Lenin looked underneath his mattress in search of his precious footwear. Finding nothing but dust-bunnies, he turned to the floor. Nothing there either.

He tore the sheets off his bed. He poked his head into the closet. He peered beneath the bookshelf and sifted through the papers on his desk.

Nowhere could he find that sock. And his foot was cold.

This was unacceptable. He had an important appointment coming up soon, and he couldn’t go unless both his feet were covered. As it stood, one foot was cold and clammy while the other was reveling in a warm, fluffy sock. The contrast was concerning and distracting.

He desperately needed his sock, but it was well and truly missing. And he knew he hadn’t misplaced it.

At that moment, he spotted something in his room he hadn’t noticed before. It was a simple bright pink sticky-note with a stylized E on it.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

To most, it would mean nothing. But this was not the case for John.

He knew that logo. He’d seen it the day he became a superhero. The day in which he stood in the rain, crying over the murder of his best friend.

It was the mark of E.VLE, one of the worst criminal organizations in the world. They were terrorists, thieves, and killers, all intent on world-domination. And John had fought them regularly, back when he was still a superhero.

The organization was responsible for the disappearance of his sock, and had left their calling card (or sticky-note) to taunt him.

Despicable.

His precious, woolen sock. It had been so warm and fitting on his left foot. It was a Christmas gift, hand-knitted by his grand-mama. And now, it was in the heartless hands of a supervillain organization, going through who-knows-what torture.

He had to act. He had to save his sock from their clutches.

John Lenin stood, slow and solemn. A dark look of undiluted seriousness covered his face like the mask of a demon.

He turned to his closet, and took out his old uniform. It was time for Shin-Man to prowl the city’s streets once again.