New York, 1978
It's night. A middle-aged man works the register at a small liquor store while an Earth Wind And Fire song plays on the radio. Or at least he would be working the register if he had any customers. At this time of night, customers are sparse, so he reads the paper instead. The bell above the doorway rings as it opens and gets the hiss attention. Four young men enter the store; they wear matching red leather jackets without shirts. One carries a baseball bat on his shoulder while another wraps a chain around his fist. The fourth one hangs back and watches the door while the leader steps up to the counter.
"What can I do for you fellas?," the middle-aged man asks nervously.
"Give us the cash in the drawer," the leader commands.
"Okay, I don't want no trouble," the old man opens the register to reveal a small amount of cash.
The leader grabs a handful of it and shoves it into his jacket, "This all you got?"
"It's all I got. I swear."
The leader pulls the middle-aged man over the counter by his collar, "We'd hate it if we came all this way to find out you was holding out on us, man," he flicks open a switch blade, letting the older man get a good look at the blade close up.
"Hey man, I'm telling you, that's all I got. Take some booze too if you want."
"Good idea," one of the gang members grabs a nearby bottle.
The leader leaves with his men but stops at the doorway, "We might be passing through again some day. Try to have a little more for us next time." They laugh and leave the store; they make it outside and halfway across the street before they spot three figures on the other side. They are Bob Diamond, Abe Brown, and Lin Sun: Bob is a Caucasian man, Abe Brown is African American, and Lin Sun is Chinese. They are all well-built, in their late 20's, and wear plain clothes except for the talismans around their necks. They each wear a gold chain and at the ends, there are white, hexagonal shapes that seem interlinking. They stand together and their talismans seem to shimmer in the darkness briefly. "The hell you want?," the gang leader snaps as he flicks his switch blade at them.
"We want you to give that man back his money and walk away," Bob Diamond tells him.
"Get bent, man!"
"It was worth a shot," Abe tells him.
"Don't know why we bother sometimes," Lin Sun laments.
The three men run across the street at the gang members who all brandish their weapons in preparation. The leader tries to slash Lin Sun but he ducks back, grabs his wrist, and breaks his arm at the elbow before taking him out with a backfist. The gang member with the baseball bat takes a swing at Abe, but Abe ducks, gives him a jab to the ribs, then kicks him in the chin. The third member swings his chain around, only for Bob to catch it, allowing the chain to wrap around his fist. He pulls the gang member in and takes him out with a palm-thust and a judo toss over his shoulder. The fourth member reaches into the back of his pants and produces a snub-nosed magnum. Spotting the gun, Abe picks up the discarded baseball bat below him and throws it, knocking the gun from the gang member's hand before he can fire, then Lin Sun leaps in with a flying kick that sends him into the garbage cans on the curb. Bob removes the money from the leader's jacket and hands it to the store owner, "I think this belongs to you."
"I heard of you boys," the store owner says, "The Sons of the Tiger."
"That's us," Abe assures him, "Any more gang-bangers give you trouble, you let them know we're patrolling this area now."
"I'll do just that."
"Have a good night," Lin Sun says as they walk away.
The three men later gather in a dark dojo that has been closed for the day. They come in, one after the other, and take off their chains, laying the talismans on a table. With the three of them laid out, it is now more obvious that the pieces fit together to form a single shape: the head of a tiger with two holes for the eyes, sharp ears, and a pointed jaw line with stripes running up the sides of its face. Despite forming this shape, the pieces are not touching. The three men look at one another silently.
"Master Kee said they weren't supposed to touch," Lin Sun reminds them.
"I know," Bob says, "I can't help but wonder what they do. We've had them for so long."
"Bob, I agree with Lin Sun," Abe tells him, "We were told not to let them touch."
"But they give us so much power, Abe. Tell me you were never curious to know what happens when you combine them."
"Yeah, I've been curious," he admits reluctantly, "But the White Tiger is off limits. We know this."
"I have to admit, I've been curious too," Lin Sun tells them.
"Can it really be that bad? Maybe it's just superstition," Bob tells them.
"We form the White Tiger... Just this once," Lin Sun states finally.
"Just for a second," Bob adds.
"What the hell," Abe pushes his piece forward.
The three watch as his piece connects with Bob's, releasing a shimmer of silver light along the edges, apparently fusing them together. Bob and Lin Sun look at one another and push theirs together as well. All three pieces touch and the shimmer of light runs between the cracks, sealing them together and once the tiger's face is fully formed, there's a bright flash of light that runs along the surface and shines across their faces. When the light dies down, the amulet remains, waiting for someone to put it on.
"Okay," Abe turns to the other two, "Who's gonna be the first to wear this?"
Heroes For Hire: The White Tiger