Hello, it's me again! I've been here the whole time.
This is a rewrite of Jump's phantom, a story I wrote about a decade ago. Y'know, when I was a child? The quarantine works in mysterious ways you guys. Hope you enjoy!
Heroism is a lot harder than advertised.
I mean, I guess that's obvious right? That's the point. Heroes rescue people, help them when they can't help themselves. Firefighters save you from a fire, doctors fix what ail you, and activists speak out for the downtrodden. Problem is, I'm not any of those things. I don't have a protective suit or an oxygen tank. I haven't gone to medical school. As for the last bit, well...
This is a busy bus terminal. Hundreds of people are here at any given moment, coming and going. All sorts of people, young and old. I've seen families with small kids, people in business attire, young people in pajamas, and people in work uniforms. For the last two hours I've sat on a bench by the doughnut stand, watching them, and you know what?
None of them ever look back.
Oh, some of them have glanced in my direction for sure. My clothes are dirty, but they're still bright enough to be eye-catching. I mean, I'm color coordinated in bright red and blue from my head to my toes. Despite that though, none of them will look at me. Their eyes pass right over me. They keep walking, keep talking. They buy their doughnuts and drop a dollar in the charity jar.
Take it from a girl who can literally turn invisible; homelessness makes you invisible.
Well, it's not as if I actually want to stand out too much. Some people have a soft spot for a kid in a tough situation, it's true, but I don't need anyone's help. I've been able to get by on my own so far. I'm not sitting on this bench because I'm waiting for some adult to take an interest in me.
I've been sitting at here trying to make a very tough decision; should I go left, or should I go right?
For the last few months, I've been riding the rails, metaphorically speaking. Exploring the continent. I set out on my own to see the world, and become a hero in my own right! It... seemed like a good idea at the time.
In hindsight, though, maybe I should have stuck around Amity Park for a little longer. Should have taken my chances with Danny and his friends.
I'm strong. I'm really strong! I can hit as hard and fly as fast as Danny, and I can even do some things he can't. He's a great hero. He saved the whole world! So, I can be a great hero too. It's just been harder than I thought it would be, is all.
Heroes are supposed to make things better for people, but all I've done is hitch invisible bus rides and commit petty thievery.
I don't do it because I want to, and I never take more than I need. I have to eat. Sometimes I need to buy something, like bandages or clean underwear. With my powers, sneaking into gym showers or public restrooms is easy, but you still need money to use a laundromat.
After months of this lifestyle, not rescuing anyone or even knowing where to sleep at night, I'm almost ready to call it quits. Hence my dilemma; left or right.
Left means the left side of the terminal. I hitch a bus and go west, keep at it for awhile longer. Right means the right side of the terminal, hitching a ride back east. To Illinois. Danny.
It probably wouldn't be so bad to go back to Amity Park. I like my cousin. He's not just a hero, he's my hero. He saved me from my destabilizing body and kept me from being Vlad's slave. That's the issue, though! I already owe him enough. Going back before I've become a real hero would mean troubling him, again, with my problems.
From my seat on the scuffed bench, I can see the bus schedule updating; they're boarding for a trip to a city in California now.
It's time to stop dithering around. I'm not ready to face Danny again. Not yet. I need to be a real hero first. I at least need one last chance.
So, I pick up my bag and seek out a corner to disappear into. Jump City, here I come.
Beast Boy glided through the sky on scaly wings, keeping an eye out for trouble. The sun felt nice on his cold-blooded skin. A pterodactyl wasn't the most efficient form he could take for his patrol, but it was totally the coolest. He loved being a dinosaur.
It was fine, anyway. So far the whole thing had been a snooze-fest.
The Titans weren't usually the kind of team to perform regular patrols of their territory. Most of Jump's crime was of the kooky costumed variety, and they weren't hard to spot. The Tower's sensors picked up that sort of thing right away. Sometimes, though, the Boy Wonder got a bug in his boots and would split them all up to scour the city. Something something public relations blah blah blah.
Well, Beast Boy didn't actually mind solo patrolling so much anyway. He loved his friends, but even he liked having some time to himself sometimes.
Honestly though, he wasn't giving it his best effort today. It was broad daylight and his patrolling area wasn't exactly high-risk. It was mostly, like, residential. He had more important things on his mind; namely, it was getting close to lunchtime.
What kind of pizza should he get, and exactly how many veggies would he be able to sneak onto Cyborg's plate before he noticed?
Beast Boy circled around a small street of kitschy beach stores, where of course nothing was happening. Lame! This close to the bus station, though, he guessed it made sense for those tourist traps to congregate here. He landed on a street light for a short rest.
Tofu and broccoli would make pretty good toppings, he decided. Ugh! If it was capable of it right now, his stomach would totally be grumbling. Lunch seriously couldn't come sooner. He was more than ready for this no-action patrol to end, and- what exactly was that guy down there doing?!
Invisible, I popped out of the woman I'd been overshadowing for the trip. I watched her blink, confused, before taking stock of the other passengers getting up. She immediately stood and started wrestling with the overhead storage. Yeah, she'll be fine. I phased through the wall into the small bus bathroom, then went visible and left normally.
I don't love all of this sneaking around, but it's better than stealing the two-hundred dollars I'd need for a ticket. It's a lot less harmful all around.
When I finally get off the bus and out of the terminal, the first thing I notice is the cloudless blue sky. There's another incentive to sticking this out; Amity Park is overcast on a good day.
Outside the street is lined with shops selling swimsuits and wind-chimes made out of seashells. My stomach is growling, but it can wait until I find a soup kitchen or an unguarded barbecue. Let's pace out the petty crimes, shall we?
Maybe there'll be a place to find a t-shirt for less than four dollars. My sweatshirt is a little uncomfortable in this heat. Balmy, even. Though, that's nothing on the guy walking in front of me. I can see the sheen of his sweaty neck from here, yuck! Who wears a trench coat in this sort of weather?
The guy ducks into a nearby antique store, and I continue on my way. Then, I hear shouting and turn back. As unobtrusively as I can while visible, I follow the man into the store.
"I-I won't ask you again, Reggie! Give me the jacket already, it's perfect for my collection!"
Mr. Sweaty-neck is getting into it with the man behind the register, crumbling the ends of his trench coat in his fists.
"How many times do I need to tell you it's not for sale? Get out of my shop, Mike."
"Do you even know what you have?! That is a genuine US Navy Uniform Jacket from the Mexican-American War!"
Reggie glowers up at him, his mustache trembling in restrained fury.
"Of course I know. That jacket belonged to my grandmama's grandpappy's pappy, he fought in that war. It's not for sale."
Mike's voice raises to a strangled, high-pitched shriek. "YOU AREN'T EVEN KEEPING IT IN A TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT!"
This seems to be the final straw; he rips off his trench coat and flings it to the floor, revealing a very weird outfit underneath. From his billowy shirt, he draws a handgun. Uh-oh.
"I tried being reasonable with you, Reggie, but no more! Now you will face the vengeance of the War Reenactor!"
Not even batting an eye, Reggie smashes the display case behind him and snatches the jacket. He leaps off his stool, vaults over the counter, and rushes outside before Mike can react. Releasing another shriek of frustration, the self-proclaimed 'War Reenactor' follows him, leaving me suddenly alone in the store.
Well. No time to waste, then. "I'm Going Ghost!"
I fly out the door, and find the two of them facing off in the street. Mike is lining up his gun, still going on about the jacket. The altercation is beginning to draw a crowd; better end this quickly. A blast of ectoplasm would be too risky with so many bystanders; better go with plan B.
"Hey, you sweaty nerd!"
Focus broken by my shout, Mike turns his head, lowering the gun. I kick him in the face.
Before Beast Boy even got a chance to leave his perch and break up the ongoing crime below, someone beat him to it. With her boots.
The meta below was someone he'd never seen before. She was a short girl wearing a black and white suit that exposed her midriff. Her hair was a snowy white, and somehow, even from a distance and in daylight, he got the impression that her green eyes were glowing. Kinda like Starfire's did when she used her powers.
Within a few seconds, the unfamiliar meta-girl had laid the wannabe villain out flat. Dude, did she have super-strength? Robin was totally going to want to hear about this. He might even forgive him if he skipped the end of his patrol to report a new hero in town... Ugh, he was going to have to call in the JCPD for this anyway. Titan's policy when it came to guns; Robin was super strict about it.
The meta was now assisting the little shopkeeper guy to his feet, her back turned to the villain. Beast Boy caught the glint of metal in his eye and turned towards it. It was the handgun out on the asphalt. A hand was creeping towards it.
Beast Boy was in the air and transforming into a hawk before he even realized what he was doing. With a screech, he swooped in and snatched the gun right out of the villain's fingers with his talons, eliciting a yelp of surprise and pain. Geez, these crooks never knew when to quit! He deposited the weapon on a nearby rooftop for safe-keeping.
Down below, the other hero had started tying up the crook's hands with one of his own puffy sleeves. Then, unexpectedly, her body lifted into the air and she was flying right up to Beast Boy's new perch.
Face to face, close enough to notice the light freckles across her tanned nose, he saw that her eyes were indeed glowing. She frowned at him.
"You aren't a ghost," she said. Her voice had a strange, slightly echo-y quality. "What are you, random green bird?"
He would have turned back to respond, but he was distracted by her sudden lack of legs. The girl floated in front of him, looking puzzled. Then, the sound of police sirens filled the air. The girl startled, and then, suddenly, she vanished. Dude!
Beast Boy spun around, but no one was there. It was just him and the gun... right, the crime-fighting was still technically ongoing. He turned into a monkey, took the gun and started scaling down the side of the building to meet the police. After the arrest and the statements and the eye-witness accounts were taken care of, he gave the street another bird's eye examination. No luck.
The new heroine had disappeared into thin air.
Drop a comment if you like it so far. Also, please let me know if you spot an editing error (yikes!). I'll try to keep this up when I'm not doing homework, maybe. Stay safe out there!