Sell you a Bridge

by MalcolmTent6730

Have you ever gotten an email telling you you've won a free cruise? Or one for a work out that will get you ripped in ten days? Wouldn't it be crazy if those offers were legit? Well for Morgan O'Malley they can be. Spam becomes real life when his meta powers finally manifest. Hopefully the perks of the super life aren't false advertising.

3. Chapter 3

Predictably the move was not delayed overly long. My mom called and left a message to withdraw me from Gotham North and decided we would spend Monday moving and getting settled and I could start Tuesday. She figured a day off school was a good reward for getting into such a prestigious academy. After our dinner she rushed me to bed so I could get up early and start our packing tomorrow morning.

Anyone who grew up somewhere that wasn't here would probably think this was rushing or a hasty decision, but in point of fact it was fairly normal. The odd apartment emptied out every day in this place, the tenants leaving to move up in the world, getting committed, arrested, or just killed. Gotham wasn't a kind city and even less so to people in this part of town. Luckily this wasn't The Narrows so our actual homes were safe enough as long as we locked up, but everyone here knew and played by the rules if they didn't want to die.

The biggest rule was mind your own business. Don't ask questions about where your neighbors went, because you might not want to know, and don't ask about where they're headed because they might not want to tell you. Add the complete lack of consequences for leaving to the fact that we really didn't have that much stuff and a quick move was well within the realm of reason. Plus, though it was left unsaid, this place really sucked, who would want to live here if they didn't have to.

The next morning found me waking up to a red number nineteen behind my eyes. I debated trying to work in a use of my powers before I was officially up but it didn't seem worth it. Instead I popped out of bed, watched my ninja training video for the day and drank my daily shake (made with water in the bathroom so mom didn't know I was up) . I felt my muscles get a bit denser as opposed to larger or more defined, which was nice because it was less obvious a change and the video taught me a technique that built on the balance lesson called water walking.

Contrary to what the name might imply it wasn't specifically for walking on water, it was a method of using my points to lighten my body and allow me to walk across or on top of things that couldn't possibly support me. Combined with my perfect balance I could walk across the points of the links of a chain link fence without bending them at all, hell if I was up high enough and somehow needed to I could walk on literal clouds. The energy requirements for water walking were actually really low, but it was of pretty limited utility in my day to day life.

Once I was done I emerged from my room to find my mom awake and beaming as she packed up the living room. She gave me a sunny smile as she saw me awake "Morning sleepy head, thought you were going to snooze the day away. This is your day off so I figured I'd let you stay in bed. Now that you're up why don't you get your room packed up." She was moving with surety and fluidity, neatly boxing and packing random knick knacks with bubble wrap and the deft touch of someone who spent all day balancing trays of glassware.

I chuckled and leaned down to kiss her on top of the head "Sure thing ma. You got any spare boxes?" She pointed wordlessly to a large stack of cardboard in the corner where she had stacked the piles of broken down boxes she always shoved in the closet when we got out hands on anything boxed for just such an occasion. I rolled my eyes "Just because these came in handy this one time does not validate years of cardboard hoarding. This is a one off, an isolated incident, and I refuse to admit your ridiculous pack rat habits are reasonable."

She just smirked at me and handed me a roll of tape. She was never going to let me live this down. I picked up a bunch of boxes and headed back to my own room to get started packing. I'd expected to be sentimental about leaving at least a bit. This was my home for most of my life and where I made my first real friend, but in the end all I felt was relief. This had never felt right to me, it had just been a pit stop my mom and I had been taking for way too long. We were destined for better things, and now that I had the power to change things we were going to get them.

Seeing all of my stuff as i packed it away didn't exactly make that impression fade. I had so little, not because my mom hadn't provided for me or anything but because it wasn't safe to keep things that were too valuable around here. and because I had never really wanted anything. Just another reminder of I spent so long frozen by apathy. Now that I was finally thawing I felt a burning hunger waking up in me. I began thinking about what I could get for our new place, the new furniture and clothes and food.

I was going to make sure that we lived a good life, as soon as I figured out how to make it less suspicious that I suddenly had hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw around for no apparent reason. My packing was done fairly quickly, just a few boxes of clothes, my computer, my muscle powder and dvd player and a few odds and ends. I couldn't help but stare at the empty room. From the stripped mattress that wasn't worth keeping to the small stack of boxes that represented my entire life that I had piled in the hallway. With one last look, I closed the door on the room I'd spent most of my life in.

The drive to the new condo felt...final. Like I was shutting the door on a huge part of myself. Nothing to do with the place I was leaving and more to do with the person I was leaving behind. I smiled at the feeling though. That severance didn't feel like tearing a hole but more like cutting a rope tying me down. When we pulled up outside the building we sat in the car and just kind of stared. A briefcase full of money is an overwhelming thing to look at but it's just money. Just potential. Intellectually you know what it can do but its not the same as looking at a high rise condo and thinking "That's mine."

Apparently my mom agreed. "Wow." I glanced over to find her eyes locked on the building. "This feels like it's going to be a joke. Like we're going to get to the lobby and they're going to tell us they were messing with us and to take our dirty boxes and get the hell out." She turned bright eyes on me. "I just want you to know I'm proud of you. No matter what you did to get this chance for us." My eyes must have shown my surprise because she laughed "Oh come on. I'm not stupid Morgan. Scholarships don't come with the deed to a high rise condo."

My heart broke at the sadness in her eyes when she looked at me. I swallowed hard "I-I didn't do anything wrong to get the money. It's hard to explain but I-" She reached up to put a finger to my lips with a sad smile, shaking her head. I could see she had the wrong idea, she thought I'd begged for the money from dad or gone into the family business. But the worst part was I could see the sadness in her eyes wasn't tinged with anger, it was tinged with guilt. She thought I'd become a criminal because she couldn't afford to help me live a better life.

I grabbed her hand and looked her dead in the eye. She had opened her mouth to respond but I cut her off. "We live in an amazing world where amazing things happen. One of those things happened to me, but it isn't a bad thing. I can't talk about it, but I'm different now. I'm going to do better for us both. I love you, and I love the life you made for us all by yourself. But you aren't by yourself anymore. You have me. Let me help. Trust that I'm the person you raised and that I wouldn't do something you would think was awful. Believe in me."

That was the most I could say. Because despite playing around with Artemis I knew the truth perfectly well. Having powers was going to bring me into a world where bad things could and did happen on a regular basis. If my mom knew what I could do she would want to know what I was using my powers for. She would worry herself sick as I risked my life trying to do...whatever my final goal was going to be with my powers. I couldn't allow that. So I would let us pretend ignorance with plausible deniability.

We got out of the car and I carried the boxes to the elevator door and then we hit the button. Once it was open I pushed the stacks inside the elevator car and hit the button and when we got to our floor I did it again. Even pushing a pre made stack I had set up for that purpose onto and off the elevator so I could save trips I still had to fill the elevator about three times to get all our stuff up. Once it was all in the upstairs hallway I carried it down the hall to our door one or two boxes at a time until I had it all finished.

When I finished getting everything in I stopped to catch my breath and shut the door before turning to take in our new home. It was gorgeous. Mom came to stand beside me, having slipped in past the boxes and closed the door and put an arm around my shoulder. Her voice was strained with emotion "There was a time when I thought I would live in a place like this with your father. Not a long time, but there was a period there where I imagined it." She smiled and kissed my cheek. "I love you Morgan, I try to say it often, but in case you didn't get the message. I can't imagine having a better son."

I smiled back at her and then leaned my head on her shoulder while we took in the view. The river gleamed outside the window, with the beautiful shining city of Metropolis across the water from us. The floors were polished dark wood aside from the recessed living room which was thick black carpet and the stairs up to the roomy second floor were flat panels of wood on a metal frame with spaces you could see between. The whole place looked modern and elegant and just perfect. I made a silent prayer of thanks to my power.

After a few minutes I picked up some boxes and started moving them to the rooms upstairs. First my boxes then moms, I gave her the master bedroom because she was my mom of course, plus even the small bedroom was five times the size of my old one. I'd have to buy some new stuff to fill it up. With mom non verbally approving of me being the one to get us this place (which meant Artemis's mom must have known too and played along for her own reasons, both of them were insanely talented actors) I could afford to buy us some new stuff. Guess it was time for some shopping. Thank god every
place in Gotham delivered for a big enough tip.

My mom wasted no time getting me into school, and the next day it was time for me to start classes at Gotham academy. I was still stockpiling my points but I was at twenty nine still, presumably I would get five at noon and five at midnight judging by my experience so far. I made sure to drink my shake and take my lesson right after I woke up, giving me more muscle density again and building on the waterwalking to let me officially learn to walk up walls. It seemed like the balance and the waterwalking and wall walking were all related, like the lessons were intertwined and supporting each other, which was pretty cool, I couldn't wait to see what I got next.

I didn't get to see Artemis on our first morning of school really since we were both busy getting ready. Mom made me pancakes and poured me a glass of juice and started fussing over me non stop. The academy had charged through the nose to have my uniform shipped over by next day courier but it was here now and I was ready to go. Mom tugged at my collar impatiently trying to smooth out creases that weren't there. "Do you have everything you need? We don't want to be late on your first day. Is there anything you forgot?"

I snickered at that "If I forgot something I don't remember what it is, but yeah I have everything. It's-" I checked my watch "Six A.M, school starts at seven and they want me there a half hour early for my campus tour with a student volunteer, so we should get going." I gulped down the last of my orange juice and kissed my mom on the cheek "Don't worry too much ma, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself and I have Artemis around to watch my back." Her brow furrowed and she continued fiddling with my collar for a second before letting her hands drop.

She sighed "I know baby, I just really want this to work out. Did you know that I went to Gotham Academy?" I hadn't actually known that so I just shook my head in surprise. "I dropped out junior year when I got pregnant, your grandparents wouldn't pay my tuition after they kicked me out and I had to work anyway." She smiled wistfully "But I had a lot of fun there and made some good friends. I always wanted you to go, but we didn't have the money. I never talked about it because I didn't want you to feel bad about missing out but now that you have the chance..."

I smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I get it ma, I'll be good any make sure to keep my grades up." I actually would do that, I made a mental not to get my hands on some sort of memory boosting pills or something with my power. Even if I hadn't though with what I was paying the school I doubted they would kick my out unless I really screwed up. I let her go and smiled down at her, noting that I had finally gotten to an age where she was shorter than me, and thinking about how weird that was. I shook off the nostalgia "Alright well it's a moot point if I'm late. Let's get the lead out."

She laughed and we headed downstairs to the car. The trip to Gotham Academy was short and silent. We were both tense and worried about my first day. While I didn't think they would kick me out for putting a toe out of line because of a generous bribe I was starting a new school. Despite what I let on to my mom I was kind of terrified by the though of being silently judged by crowds of rich kids. High school at Gotham North had been lonely but I was so below the radar no one really messed with me. I was too poor to bother with and not ugly or brainy or loud. I was kind of like furniture. People didn't really notice me.

But this was the new me. The buff ninja me. I was still a bit average in the face department but the extra muscle helped a ton. I didn't want to be set dressing in this new school. That said my desire to stand out now conflicted with pretty much every instinct I had for blending in and it was giving me a sick nervous feeling. Thank god I wasn't going alone, if Artemis hadn't been coming with me I probably would have been puking my guts up from nerves. Finally we arrived, I climbed out of the car, kissed my mom on the top of the head and with an exchange of I love yous she headed off to work and I went into the den of the beast.

My student liaison or whatever was waiting for me outside the office. He was a tall guy with spiky blonde hair and green eyes. His uniform was a bit patchy and hung on him in a way that suggested he'd lost weight and his face was a bit gaunt but he had a friendly smile and warm demeanor despite the bags under his eyes. His expression lit up when I came around the corner and he waved me over "Hey! Thought you might not make it in time but we still have a few minutes to spare. My name is Reginald Willowbrook the third. I'll be your student please, call me Reggie."

I raised an eyebrow "The third huh? Fancy stuff" I held out a hand "Nice to meet you Reggie, Morgan O'Malley, though since you're in charge of showing me around you probably knew that. So what's on the docket for the tour today, and where do I get my schedule. Do I need to stop in at the office to pick it up?" This transfer had been rushed as hell, I'd paid through the nose to make it happen because i wanted mom and Artemis out of that shitty tenement as soon as possible but that didn't magically make it convenient, I was still kind of scrambling to find my footing.

Luckily Reggie seemed to be a pretty on the ball guy. He grinned and pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket. "No worries, got it for you right here. And yes, my name is a bit pretentious, my family used to be pretty old money in Gotham before some bad investments and an uncle with a gambling problem screwed us over. Still there are limits to even old money Gotham's pomposity so I go by Reggie and only use the formal introduction on official school business. Gotham Academy likes to project an air of sophistication." He shot me a wink and I laughed. Reggie seemed like an ok guy.

He nodded for me to follow and we set off down the hall. "Now the tour is pretty short. Gym, Cafeteria, Library, Pool, there's a Football Stadium but I'm not dragging us both out to it so you'll have to catch that one on your own time. Other than that I'll show you where your classes are so you won't be late on day one." I saw Artemis pass by with another blonde girl and shoot me a wave which I returned with a grin. Reggie saw and slapped me on the back "You know the other new transfer? She's got Bette Kane as her liaison, lucky girl, spending thirty minutes walking behind Bette in that skirt is pretty much my fondest wish."

I snorted as we walked away from them. "That's my best friend Artemis, I'll see if she can put in a good word for you. Now unless Bette's ass is on the tour I suggest we get moving, as cute as she is I really don't want to be known as the kid who was late on his first day." I liked Reggie, and he was obviously a keen observer. Most people would have assumed Artemis and I were dating, but he'd never mentioned her being my girlfriend, he clearly had an observant nature. Not to mention he hadn't made any comments about how hot she was that would have obligated me to punch him in the throat.

He shook his head with a dreamy sigh as we walked into a large Gymnasium. "God I wish. I'd spend all thirty minutes there. Hell I'd do these tours every day." I raised an eyebrow and he grinned unrepentantly "Oh please. Every guy in school would sell his left nut for five minutes in a closet with Bette and if he says he wouldn't he's either gay or lying." His smile dimmed a bit "Not that she would give me the time of day. With how bad things have been for my family most of the old money families ignore me now. The Kane's are related to the Wayne family, you don't get more old money Gotham than the Wayne's."

I whistled at that. "Damn, that's pretty much Gotham royalty. Guess your princess is in another castle." He gave me a flat stare that I returned with my own unrepentant grin before snorting out a laugh. He showed me around the Gym and the Library and the Cafeteria. The indoor pool was huge, but Reggie said you had to either be on a team or reserve a spot to use it. As we headed for the wing of the school where the classrooms were I had a thought "So, you in any of my classes? I assume you took a look at my schedule when you had it? Least you could do is let me copy the homework."

He chuckled at that "Yeah, I have a few courses with you, and as for copying they're a bit strict about that here, but I can lend you my notes." He gave me a genuine smile "Seriously though, if you need any help let me know. I know it can be scary being the new kid, as long as you don't mind tumbling down the social ladder of this place by spending time with the broke kid I'm happy to help out." Privately I couldn't help but smile slightly at that. I was by far the poorest person in this school, power granted million dollars aside. Well, more like seven hundred grand at this point, between bribes and the hundred thousand for the condos I might need to top up my account soon.

Finally the tour came to an end at my first class, with Reggie smiling and clapping me on the shoulder. "Alright man well that's it. You know the basic layout of the place and if you have any more questions I wrote my cell number on your schedule so feel free to get in touch. If I could give you any last minute advice now it's to just enjoy yourself, stare at some pretty girls, maybe ask one or two of them out." His smile dropped "But be careful. The waters in Gotham Academy are deeper than they look. Try not to make any enemies."

That was...ominous. But the dark look passed quickly replaced by his usual lazy smile "Other than that have fun man, now get going, you have Kaplan for first period and she's a total stickler about punctuality. Don't want to be late on your first day remember. See you in chem later, I'll let you borrow my book since I doubt you have yours yet." Then he waded into the crowd that was filling the hallway and was gone, off to his own first class. As I thought back to that flash of darkness across Reggie's face I got a bit worried. What exactly had I gotten myself into here? I shrugged, whatever it was I was sure I could handle it. I was a millionaire ninja after all.

Class was fairly mundane, as per usual. The teacher Ms. Kaplan, was as mentioned by Reggie, a bit of a stickler, and not just about punctuality. I was informed upon arrival that she would tolerate no nonsense or disruption. I didn't have my books yet so she had paired me with a cheerful, pretty blonde girl named Annabel with a happy smile and bright blue eyes. She put us off to the side so our talking wouldn't disturb the others when she helped get me up to speed.

As we sat down Annabel stuck leaned in to whisper conspiratorially "Sorry about Kaplan, she can be a bit of a stick in the mud but she's a pretty good teacher. She loves literature and she's really fair about her grading. As long as you aren't disruptive she's actually pretty cool. One kid would just come in here and read the whole period and she didn't care at all." She stuck out a hand shyly, "Oh, sorry I'm Annabel Powers, nice to meet you. You're one of the new kids right?" I must have looked surprised because she giggled quietly "Don't be so surprised, people starting mid year is odd, everyone on campus knows."

I chuckled ruefully and scratched the back of my head "I'm Morgan O'Malley and ouch, we were hoping to lay low for a while, not draw too much attention. We have some catching up to do, this place is a bit more advanced than our last school." I had zero interest in expanding my social circle here. I had Artemis and Reggie seemed ok as a maybe friend in the future, but his odd warning made me a bit reticent to reach out to other people, I was hoping to cultivate a reputation as a struggling academic so people would leave me alone while I was here.

Annabel's face lit up "Oh, you should join our study group! You and your friend would both be welcome. My friends and i try to help out any new students or underclassmen who seem out of their depth. So many people around here are cutthroat and only out for themselves. We believe that helping others is it's own reward." She must have sensed my hesitation because she put her hands up as if backing off "But no pressure, we know how overwhelming a new place can be. Just get in touch if you want to take me up on it, you and your friend Artemis seem like you have potential."

It was a bit odd that she knew Artemis's name, but then again she did mention we were big news so i kind of shrugged it off. Annabel, as it turned out, was pretty damn smart, and an excellent teacher. I could see why she had a study group, she seemed to intuitively grasp the way my mind worked after talking to me and showed a surprising ability to steer me to the right conclusion without just giving me the answer. She was also charismatic and funny, with a sneaky sense of humor. I liked her.

Not that I was going to join her little clique of study buddies or anything, but we exchanged numbers when class was over and she offered to show me to the cafeteria. As we walked I took in my new...acquaintance. She was small, like under five feet, with pretty china doll features and a button nose. She had bright cerulean blue eyes and an athletic frame with long curly platinum blonde hair. I had to admit the girl was gorgeous, and it was a bit of an ego trip she seemed so focused on me.

When we reached the cafeteria I caught sight of Artemis sitting at a table in the back corner. Unlike most schools Gotham Academy had smaller private tables for the students, with table cloths and everything. I gave Annabel a grateful smile "Hey I see Arty over there, I'll see you around ok? I have your number and I'll text you. I don't know about a study group but I'm not against hitting the books with a new friend." I could use a refresher course and she was cute. Maybe a study session could turn into something more private.

Annabel put a hand on my arm, squeezing my bicep a little as she pouted. "I understand, no rush. I was hoping to get to know you a bit better. Mysterious new guy comes in mid year. I'd love to hear that story. My guess is either old money or political connections." She winked to let me know she was joking. "I hope to hear from you soon though Morgan. I enjoyed hanging out with you today." She leaned up and pecked me on the cheek, having to stand on her tip toes to reach. I silently thanked my muscle powder, no way a girl like that would have talked to me if I wasn't ripped.

I slide into the seat across from Artemis who smirked at me with a raised eyebrow and pushed over a tray she must have snagged me, a pretty decent looking burger and fries.. "Well don't you work fast. She was pretty cute, how the hell did you manage to get that far in only an hour of school and during class." Her tone was incredulous and a bit impressed and I have to admit I felt pretty smug. Ripped or not Annabel had definitely been interested in me as a person. She had all kinds of questions about my life and seemed so fascinated by all my experiences. It was weird for me to be someone's type, but I guess Annabel likes her guys cut.

I returned the smirk with one of my own. "Annabel Powers, we're in first period together. She was helping out with my English class since I don't have my books yet. She even invited us to her study group, though i didn't accept. My student liaison mentioned the politics here were a bit complicated. I figured it would be best to stay out of things in the social scene for a while." Artemis was as cautious as me, she wouldn't be any more interested in getting involved in that kind of thing than I was.

She smirked at the comment "How about perky little cheerleader types with blonde curls and a cute little apple bottom? Annabel seems plenty social, bet you'd wont be staying out of her." She shot me a wink and I flushed a bit at my phrasing. Luckily Artemis wasn't too keen to rake me over the coals because she let it go, answering my original question. "As for the social scene I could see that. Bette was pretty adamant that it was important to pick your friends. I was going to stay out of social stuff too probably, but I was thinking about joining a sports team or something. Try to get the full upper class high school experience."

I just shrugged, that seemed like it wouldn't be too big a deal. "Well you would do pretty well on the Archery team if they have one. They seem like that kind of place, but somehow I doubt you want to get on people's radar as a possible olympic athlete. Might I suggest something a bit more generally physical. Something you would be great at but not the be all end all, maybe track and field or something?" Becoming a champion athlete at a school like Gotham Academy was way more attention than Artemis would want, but she was in great shape. Aside from shot put and other aim based activities she would excel at I bet should could run pretty damn fast.

She just rolled her eyes with a smile "A decision I'm sure has nothing at all to do with the tiny shorts they make girls wear on track teams. But you aren't wrong. I don't want my family situation coming out and being a recognized archery expert would definitely be attention grabbing. I don't mind working up a sweat, sure I'll go out for track and field. Maybe I'll meet some cute boys there." She raked her eyes over me "The pickings at Gotham North were pretty slim." I gasped in mock offense and flicked a fry at her, which she effortlessly caught in her mouth with another smirk. Damn expert combatant reflexes.

Seeing her so excited about that made me kind of want to try out for a team myself. I'd always really loved playing basketball but I'd also always sucked at it. Maybe I could find some kind of become a pro level baller email to learn the sport well enough to get on the Academy team. I'd wanted to stay out of the social politics but there was something intoxicating about the idea of being the one to get up in front of the school and crush our enemies. That said it would have to wait. I had a few ideas for my next use of powers already.

The ninja thing was fun and the built in combat stuff would be useful enough that I didn't need to do a bunch of martial arts lessons. My next idea was probably some kind of computer coding seminar or learning a new language. I'd have to go through my emails when I got home to find a decent one. I had thirty four points now, proving my theory about the points dispensing five and five at noon and midnight. I might need to save for a bit more to get something good. I took my first bit of my burger as Artemis filled me in on her first class.

Surprisingly the food here was pretty good. They had fancy catering companies not those mass produced school lunches Gotham North had. Though to be fair I actually really enjoyed some of those. The cheap donuts in the plastic packages were a particular favorite of mine. Still, it was nice to have good options here, I noted the pizza and salad bar up there too but Artemis had clearly just grabbed the first thing she found for us. I appreciated the effort but I was going to show up early the next time so I could try some other stuff they offered.

I checked the time and realized between our conversation and eating lunch was almost over. Lucky I was a fast eater because with five minutes left some people might have had some trouble finishing a burger and fries. I shoveled the food into my mouth as Artemis talked, occasionally taking bites when I responded and therefore about even with me in terms of food finished despite doing most of the talking. I finished my burger with two minutes on the clock and pulled out my schedule "So, what's your next class? I have chemistry with Chambers."

Artemis fished her own schedule out of her backpack to check "Looks like I have pre-calc with Kowalski." I raised an eyebrow at her and she flushed "So I'm a bit ahead in math classes. Don't make a big deal about it. Proper long distance shooting requires math skills, my dad always emphasized math classes believe it or not, I think he was hoping I might take up sniping eventually." Unfortunately I did believe that, Larry Crock was exactly the type of guy to push his daughter into a school subject for his own long term gain.

We made plans to meet up after school and both headed off to our respective classes. I had chem with Reggie so at least I would know someone there and I was looking forward to getting home to check my emails. Add in hitting it off with a cute girl and my first day at Gotham Academy was already going pretty damn well. I was excited to see what would happen next. Now all I needed to do was figure out where the hell my chem class was. I probably shouldn't have waited until the last minute to leave the cafeteria.

I ended up finding my chemistry class just in time to avoid being late on my first day. When I got inside I looked around for a spot and saw Reggie sitting at one of stools. He had an empty seat next to him and he shot me a grin and waved me over. I grinned back and headed over to drop my bag and sit down sighing in relief as the bell rang. I chuckled at my student liaison "Hey man, wish I could've caught you at lunch, I barely found the room in time. Luckily I figured it out. How about you, how's your day going to far, I had a pretty great first class, I met this seriously cute girl."

I admit I was gushing a bit but this felt...surreal. Having a friend save me a seat in chemistry and then telling him about this hot girl who liked me? It was like I was a normal guy and a super powered badass all at the same time. Best of both worlds. Talking to Artemis had been more super powered me, but Reggie was a normal student and we could talk about normal stuff. He gave a whoop of joy and punched me in the arm wincing when the teacher, who had written instructions on the white board, glared at him. "Nice man, what's her name? Is it Sophie Chamberlain, that girl has a rack like an Italian suit warehouse."

I kept my laughing response low so as not to incur the wrath of Mr. Chambers, the chem teacher. "No, though with that introduction I'd be interested to meet her. Her name is Annabel Powers. She's a little cutie and she's super into me. She spent the whole period asking questions about me and even invited me and Arty to join her study group. She says she and her friends like to help out new kids but she was totally feeling up my bicep when we were talking." My rambling explanation was cut off by the breaking of a beaker. The teacher glared at my now pale new friend who apologized and started cleaning.

He saw me staring and smiled wanly, swallowing hard. "I...I would avoid Annabel and her friends if I were you Morgan. Their families are really old Gotham money and it makes them a bit entitled. They may seem nice but that just means you have something they want. The Powers family are pretty cut throat. The current company head Geri Powers, is a pretty amazing woman by all counts, but her son Joseph, Annabel's dad is...not a nice guy. He has a whole clique of powerful business associates whose kids all hang together here, that would be the "study group" Annabel mentioned."

I furrowed my brow, that sounded kind of shady and weird, but I'd turned down joining her study group anyway. And remember those pouty lips of hers I didn't think I could resist calling. But if it was just the two of us I doubted she would do anything too weird, plus I was a ninja with a sword that could cut through plate steel. I could handle one tiny girl. I nodded though "I won't bail on Annabel, but I already begged off her study group." I shot him a wink "I'd rather spend some time with her one on one anyway if you know what I mean."

His shoulders seemed to relax a bit from their overly tight posture. "Yeah man, go for it. If it's just you two hanging out it should be good. Just make sure to avoid her crew. She isn't the worst of them anyway." He seemed to have talked himself out of whatever weird panic attack talking about the study group gave him and I just shrugged it off. "So, what are you doing after school anyway? Want to hang out or something? There's a place up the street kids from Gotham Academy have been going to for years, heading to the Charcoal Pit is kind of a right of passage."

I raised an eyebrow at that "The Charcoal Pit? Is it a barbecue place? As for today i have plans to meet up with Artemis and head home together. I could try tomorrow though, maybe talk to Arty and see if she can bring along her friend Bette. I believe comments were made as per her ass and your willingness to lead a tour of it. I can't arrange for a private viewing or anything but I can set you up with a chance to work your magic. Unless you're all talk." Given his pallor and discomfort when we talked about Annabel I decided I should take his mind of things and nothing gets a guys attention like a challenge to his masculinity.

He dramatically put a hand to his chest and gasped. "Was that a challenge O'Malley? Fine. Tomorrow it is. I'll be leaving with Bette's number or not at all. As for the Pit it's an ice cream place weirdly enough. They make amazing sundaes and they even have one of those food challenge things. They call it the kitchen sink. It's twenty scoops of ice cream, vanilla strawberry and chocolate topped with banana spears, crushed pineapple, walnuts, whipped cream and cherries. The thing is massive and if you can finish it with two or less people it's free."

That sounded awesome. I was wincing at the brain freeze just thinking about it. "Sounds great man, I'll warn Arty to bring her stretchy pants. We can get one for the two of us and one for you and Bette, I'm not sure how romantic wolfing down a melting pile of ice cream and fruit will be but at least it'll give you an in. Not that I don't expect to beat you guys to finishing it. I can eat a pretty decent amount. Just in case though how much is the 'Kitchen Sink'?" I had weirdly sensitive teeth, ice cream wasn't usually a problem but if the fruit was too frozen I didn't want to get stuck with paying a hundred bucks for ice cream."

He chuckled and waved it off "Twenty bucks a pop, it's fine man. We've all given it a try and paid the price. Anyway we should focus on getting this assignment done so Chambers doesn't rip our heads off. You need any help on this one?" It was nice of him to offer but I actually knew chem pretty well. It had been one of my favorite classes back at Gotham North. We managed to get through the rest of the lesson without either of us blowing anything up, and Reggie and I managed to not incur the ire of the teacher with our constant laughing and shit talking, somehow.

The rest of the day was fairly lackluster. I had no classes with anyone else I knew and I wasn't paired with anyone either, finally though it was time to go. I had agreed a while ago to meet Artemis outside at the flagpole when we were going home together but she wasn't around yet when I got there so I sat down and leaned against the thing, waiting. I closed my eyes to wait and after about a minute I heard a voice. "I wouldn't go to sleep there." My eyes shot open, I hadn't heard anyone coming, and one of the perks of my silent walking skill was that I was pretty hard to sneak up on, you have to be able to hear the noise made by walking to eliminate yours.

The voice was pretty high pitched but not feminine, and when I looked up I saw a dark haired kid standing off to one side. He had bright blue eyes shades and was casually holding his backpack over one shoulder with a fairly mocking grin plastered over his face. Despite the tone and the smile I didn't get a mean spirited vibe, he just seemed like kind of a sarcastic person. I raised an eyebrow "That's an odd way to say hello to someone. Nice to meet you random stranger, I'm Morgan. I'd shake your hand but I'm pretty comfortable down here and I don't feel like getting up."

The kid laughed "I know who you are Morgan O'Malley, it's not like there's too many new people starting school in the middle of the year, and I have a knack for finding things out. I'm Dick Grayson, and I was just saying going to sleep right next to a high school full of teenagers, some of whom are assholes, is a good way to wake up with a sharpie mustache and a drawn on unibrow." I was getting pretty sick of everyone knowing who the hell I was, but he had a bit of a point. I gave him a nod and finally stood up, holding out my hand.

He took it with a smile which I returned, a bit surprised at the strength of his grip "Well I appreciate the tip, I hadn't actually considered that. I thought this was supposed to be the nice part of town. Isn't everyone here all well bred and raised with good manners? At the very least I would expect my sharpie mustache to be all refined and well coiffed." That surprised a laugh from the kid. I also couldn't resist commenting on his name "Also, why on gods green earth would you willingly go by the name Dick? I assume your name is Richard, why not Rick or Ricky?"

He just shrugged "It was what my parents called me. They died when I was pretty young, I keep the nickname as a way to remember them." He must have noticed the guilty expression because he waved me off "Don't worry about it. Everyone has the same thought when they hear it but ninety percent of the people I talk to don't have the guts to say anything about it. I appreciate the good intentions, but honestly if people are going to snicker let them, I don't care much anyway." I could definitely understand that kind of stance and I gave him a respectful nod.

He gave me another amiable smile "Anyway sorry to wake you from your nap, just wanted to help you avoid public humiliation, you seem like a pretty interesting guy, I have no doubt I'll run into you again around this place and it was nice meeting you." He clapped me on the shoulder and nodded behind me "I think your friend is here." I turned to see Artemis hurrying up and when I looked back to thank him he was nowhere to be found. He's vanished into thin air, though I could swear i heard a phantom chuckle floating on the wind.

I narrowed my eyes at the obvious flex "Sloppy. I could have done better." I was an actual ninja, the kid had no idea who he was showing off in front of. Regardless Artemis showed up next to me within seconds and I turned to greet her "Hey Arty, you ready to go? I expected you a few minutes ago, everything ok?" She looked harried and out of breath which was an odd way to see my best friend. She was almost always collected and rarely tired out. She must have been held up and run all the way here for some reason.

She held up a finger leaning down and putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "I-I'm fine. Sorry I was late. I stopped to get the form for track team tryouts and ended up talking to one of the office aids. Sweet girl, pretty cute, you should meet her. Barbara something? Anyway she has some friends on the track team and was giving me the behind the scenes gossip. Is your mom picking us up today?" Her question was answered by a honk as my mom pulled up smiling at the both of us and waving. Artemis laughed "Question answered, well, lets go then, I have so much to fill you in on about the rest of my day, and I want to hear about yours."

The drive home was uneventful, mom asked us about our day and asked Artemis to stay for dinner, she'd brought take out from the bar. I'd called in to GNB and had a card overnighted to the condo for her after our little discussion on Monday. We'd come to the silent agreement that she wouldn't ask and just trust the way she raised me but she had much more financial freedom and had plans to spend tomorrow picking out furniture on her day off. Artemis stayed for a steak and then I checked my email, I found a solid looking coding message but it was seventy five points so it would still take me a few days.

Finally I laid down in bed. Mom had those delivered and the doorman of the building signed for them and let the movers in so we would have somewhere to sleep. After all, it wasn't like we had anything for them to steal yet. I was burrowing under the blankets to get warm and just on the edge of drifting off when my phone rang. I pried my eyes open and glared at the offending device. The bright light from the screen was blinding in my dark room, but only a few people had this number. I privately hoped Annabel was calling for a midnight tryst but even with superpowers my luck wasn't that good.

It was Reggie. I hit the screen to answer the call and grunted "This better be good man. I was just about to fall asleep."
I heard ragged breathing in the phone and sat up immediately wanting to get my brain working by getting myself in motion. The breathing continued for a minute before Reggie's voice came on the line, stuttering and clearly terrified "M-Morgan? Yeah, I'm sorry about the time, I just...I'm in some trouble. I need help. I know we barely know each other but I couldn't think of anyone else to call. They're everywhere, I don't know who to trust. Can you come meet me? I really need some help but I can't talk on the phone. This is a burned but I know they have ways of monitoring calls." He sounded frantic, babbling and nearly hyperventilating from fear.

I cut him off "Whoa. Slow down man, yeah I can swing by. Or should I meet you somewhere?" He sounded near to tears from fear. I had no clue why he would call me or who "they" were, but Reggie seemed cool and i wasn't going to leave someone literally begging me for help hanging no matter who it was. Besides I was a fucking ninja now. I took a breath and decided how to proceed. "Give me an address and meet me there as soon as you can. I'm on the way." He rattled off a few numbers that I wrote down and then hung up, thanking me profusely.

I made another call informing a grumpy and very tired Artemis I was going somewhere risky and needed backup then checked the time. Two AM. I downed a chalky shake and felt myself bulk a bit and popped open my dvd player to do my lesson. By the time I was finished I heard the door open and then close, Artemis clearly having gotten ready and come over. I closed my eyes, letting her wait as I went over my gains for today. This lesson had been a combat style and a power for removing traces. Nothing with high engagement, some joint locks and pressure point stuff to get enemies off you or immobilize them while they escaped, but enough to make me glad I'd done it before leaving.

The flurry of activity was intense, but finally I opened my eyes and took a few deep calming breaths. Artemis was standing in my room looking impassive, but when she saw my gaze land on her she raised an eyebrow. "What the hell Morgan? It's two in the morning and we have school tomorrow. If I miss the tryouts for track team I'm going to whoop your pasty ass." Her words were snappy and irritated but I could tell from her tone she was concerned. It meant a lot that she was willing to get up like this and come over just because I asked. "Now what's going on? And if this was an attempt at a booty call I'm going to break your nose."

I put my hands up in a placating gesture "Of course it wasn't. A friend of mine called. Reggie, from school. He was freaking out and said someone was after him, kept babbling on about 'them' being everywhere and me being the only person he could trust. It's nuts, he seemed fine at school earlier, but he sounded really afraid and I'm pretty worried." As I spoke I walked over and lifted up my mattress pulling out and fastening my tanto and my shuriken. My trace removal power actually retrieved my shuriken. I'd had an inkling of something like that, one of the only reasons i felt ok buying throwing weapons. I had zero idea how to use the tanto, but learn by doing right?

Artemis's annoyed expression softened and she gave me a fond smile. "Well I can hardly bitch about you wanting to help out a friend, especially one you haven't been close to long. I know you'd do the same for me. Plus if someone really is after him it's probably some random street thugs. I bet we can kick their asses easily." Now that she knew this wasn't a random wake up at two in the morning she seemed to be getting a bit fired up. I smiled to myself Artemis might be excited to do the normal girl thing at school but she still wanted to kick ass. Luckily tonight she was going to get her wish.

We slipped out of the apartment, and between Artemis's training and my skill we didn't wake anyone up and were downstairs withing minutes. I'd called ahead for a cab, they ran all night in Gotham if you could pay, and I could, and with a few muttered words to the driver we were off to the address Reggie had given. It turned out to be an all night diner, which suited me fine, and I could see why he would be comfortable meeting here given the harsh lighting and open spaces. It was a pretty good spot to meet if you were scared.

Reggie was seriously out of it. He didn't notice me until I actually sat down and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw me. He barely noticed Artemis at all. His eyes flicked around frantically before settling on us. "Thanks for coming man. I didn't know who to trust. They're everywhere. I'm pretty sure you aren't with them though, for a few reasons." He finally looked at Artemis "I was hoping you would come alone, but I'm not going to bitch about extra help. Nice to meet you, you must be Artemis, Morgan never shuts up about you."

Artemis gave a self satisfied smirk but I cut in before this could go anywhere embarrassing "Pleasantries aside, what the hell man? What are we doing here? What are you into? Who are they? What do they want from a high school student? I'm here to help but you owe me an explanation. We don't even know each other than well and you called me? Why am I the only person you could trust with this?" None of this was making sense and some of his paranoia was rubbing off on me. I felt like we were being watched.

Reggie sighed and nodded, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion, like the fear was the only thing keeping him upright. "I can't tell you their name. They don't like when people talk about them, and they have ears everywhere. As for why? Well you know my family has been going downhill financially. What you don't know is that it's been happening for a while, we were able to get by ok without giving up our lifestyle with some creative bookkeeping but we were a paper tiger. My dad wanted to change that, he was a brilliant guy and amazing with money. He knew he could turn the family around with an infusion of cash."

He laughed, a high pitched, frantic sound "He took out a loan of sorts. Petitioned some very powerful people for backing, and given his track record they agreed. Except a few months ago dad died in a car accident." His eyes started to glisten with unshed tears, and I suddenly understood why he always looked so pale and thin at school. Grief can do that from what I hear. "I didn't even know about the deal, until I got home from school today and found someone waiting for me. He told me my dad owed money, and since he was dead I was on the hook for the debt. He said if I didn't repay it he would kill my mom and my little sister."

I winced "Jesus man, I'm so sorry. But what does this have to do with me? I can't exactly front you the money for what I assume must be a multimillion dollar debt." I actually probably could if I felt like it, but I doubted he knew that, so why had he called? The feeling of being watched just wouldn't go away. I suspected it was some kind of ninja instinct, but whoever it was hadn't made a move yet so I could only ignore it. I glanced around and tried to spot them subtly but no one in the diner felt like the observer.

He shook his head "They don't want money. They said that they funded dad because they wanted to trade on his influence. Once our company got back into the black it would have restored most of our reputation, my family are old money here. But the issue is that they know I can't do the same thing. I even offered to return the money, but they don't want it."

I could hear the genuine dread in his voice as he talked about whoever this group was. "They said if I want out of the debt I need to get something for them. Some kind of knife. It's apparently super old and some kind of artifact, they want me to steal it from some house on the edge of town, and they only gave me a week to do it. Big creepy place, the people who live there are weird, they even named it."

I raised an eyebrow "What house? What knife? Why do they think you can steal it? No offense but you aren't exactly Catwoman, why would they send you? And why did you call me about this again? I swear to God if you assumed I could help you break into a house because I'm from the bad part of town I'm going to punch you in the dick." I wouldn't leave him hanging of course, not when his family might be killed, but it kind of hurt to consider I'd been called for help just because he thought poor people made better criminals.

His eyes widened and he shook his head, putting his hands up placatingly "It's not like that man! I called you because I'm pretty sure they don't think I can steal it. They're giving me an impossible task to put me in a bad spot. I don't know if they want me deeper in debt or if they're just sickos who want to watch me squirm before they kill me, but I don't trust them.I'm terrified they might just be toying with me, like I'll turn around and they'll be there, telling me it's a huge joke and they're going to kill me anyway."

He was on the verge of sobbing "You're the only person I know who I can be positive isn't connected to them. I can't say why here. As for the house and knife, the knife is some kind of old welsh thing with a weird name I can't pronounce. The house is some big creepy place on the edge of Gotham." His face twisted in concentration "I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. It's something weird and pretentious, like some old castle or something, but pretty edgy too." He paused and then snapped his fingers "Right, they said it was called 'Shadowcrest'."

And the first arc truly begins! This probably helped confirm some of your suspicions but as before please use spoiler tags on guesses. As for the advance chapters I just introduced his mentor! I guarantee it absolutely not anyone you were expecting and as far as I've seen is a pretty unique choice so I'm excited to get to it. You can see the advance chapters on my pat-reon at that site /malcolmtent