Greg Veder
I ignored the smell of urine as Ironwood stood over me, he was well huge, not as big as Zeus was of course, but bigger then any man I've seen. The pain started to vanish fast, other capes started to float around, this was bad, really bad. To have so much attention would mean Thinkers and if any of them figured out that I wasn't a cape I would be so completely fucked. Really fucked, Endbringer kill or not I've been lying for almost ten years now. I stood up straight, my legs felt like jelly and I yawned. Mostly because just after pants wetting terror I tend to feel just a little sleepy.
I got out of the dumpster and tried to clean off the garbage.
"That makes you the third."
My heart skipped a beat, that was Eidolon.
"The first human being to get a single handed confirmed kill was me, the second was Lightning Tiger, I wish he had survived that."
Ironwood strugged.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't fast enough and I can't fix death."
"No one's blaming you Woody, we sent as much of his corpse as we could back to his family in China, that said that makes you the third."
I tried to shake off my fear.
"I got lucky, I had one tinkertech round left and I used it."
"Just one? You're a Tinker?"
I shrugged.
"Remember when Bakuda went on her little, well thing? Lots of stuff can go missing in that kind of situation, I just decided to put it to better use then she did."
It wasn't a complete lie, and Eidolon chuckled.
"That you did kid, you have brass ones... So now what?"
I looked around.
"There's a lot to do, recovery and things like that."
"Still focusing on the mission."
"Yes sir, I um have to hurry and get back to it, I'm on rescue."
Eidolon nodded.
"Theres going to be a party, you would be invited."
The old me would have jumpped in, be surrounded by the biggest heroes in the world? All of the hottest girls right on my arm, I imagined Sveta there, in that skin tight... mind out of the gutter. It was too big a risk, go in, do the fighting and get out, the more I talked the more I got personally involved, the bigger the risk of getting caught.
"I'm sorry sir, but there's too much that needs to be done, this is my city after all."
I was waved off and went to help the rescue workers and the others, a few people helped me but as the night went on the capes left, going to the party and celebration. This didn't mean that the normal rescue workers were left out, there was a system and they would get their turn eventually. I kept working, looking for bodies just doing my job, as long as I looked busy I could put off questions, never let anyone get too close, do your job and get out of the way when it was over.
Also don't let your mouth write checks your body can't cash, did that once and now I have to live like this. I continued on until it got dark, I continued on as the sun started to rise and-
"You can rest, you know."
I was tired but my suit had... well half of it was fried but my back ups were still working..but I was losing juice and it was time to get going. Even being stingy with my jumps and power wasn't going to last forever, and fuck... it's Armsmaster and his wife Dragon.
"Yeah, I'm just going to fill out my paperwork and head out."
He had a lie dectector that was fucking bad, really bad... I needed to get out now.
"Look, the Wards are open."
"I just want to focus on the war... thanks for the offer though."
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, this was bad, really bad I needed to go now.
"I could take you there you know."
"I'm just going to catch a ride with some EMT's."
Come on I need to be gone now.
"My bike is faster."
"I know but I want to stay out of the fray."
"You kind of got into the fray when you stole Bakuda's tech."
I shrugged.
"I prefer to think of it as requisitioning needed items for the war effort, sir."
"How much requisitioning have you done?"
Leading question, entrapment I needed to be gone now... this was going to backfire horribly but fuck it.
"Get off of my back, I have just spent the last 12 hours dealing with the dead and dying, I don't need this. I'm going to go do my official report, write in my name for the UN and then I am gone."
He frowned, and tried to step forward, Dragon held him back.
"Thank you for your time Void Cowboy."
I nodded my head and took a ride with the EMT's. I ignored their questions and just kept silent, when people asked how I did it, I just told them I got lucky. They were all proding me, pushing me, they were all threats. I needed to deflect it, wait it out eventually it would die down and something else would happen. Given enough time everyone eventually stopped giving a shit. I just needed to survive this war then I could just vanish and disappear. I could go back to being nobody, go back to people not having expectations of me. Go back to being nobody, go back to being Greg.
I filled out the paperwork and got out of there as quickly as I could. Then I did my best to double back, tripple back until I was fucking sure I wasn't being followed. Then and only then did I go back to my house. The power was out, but that was true for the entire city, it was deserted abandoned and I took off my damaged suit. The water still worked but I didn't have heat, I just let the ice cold water hit me, tried to clean off the memories of what happened. Then with the sun in the sky I went into my basement and slept.
It would be a couple days till mom and dad came back, be even more until I got the internet back. I missed Sveta, the relationship didn't pan out, she was single again, but we literally came from different worlds. I had a couple CDs and played a song about a girl from Mars. I didn't have enough batteries to go out so I just focused on reparing the suit trying to salvage what I could when I felt a tap on my shoulders.
I spun around and stared at a woman in a suit.
"I represent some interested people."
I took in a breath, I was going to die, or get forcibly recruited and I felt calm. It was finally going to be over.
"If you're going to kill me get it over with, I have things to do."
The woman leaned against a wall.
"You're not a cape."
My heart raced.
"I'm clearly a cape, I mean look at-"
"No you're not, gravity weed, illegal for private use, the only legal applications are industrial and military, your actions count as military so you're legally in the clear."
Was she government?
"Don't get me wrong, you're a cleaver amateur, you clearly worked at this but you're not a Tinker, you're not a cape period."
I crossed my arms, and she walked around like a tiger.
"So what do you want?"
"I represent an organization, you see various Tinkers have figured out how to give people powers, and we sell those powers, think of us as middlemen."
"What do you want?"
"To give you a gift."
She opened a suit case I saw three vials.
"Normally we charge a lot of money for these, they're top of the line."
"How much."
"Millions, Mr. Veder, and they come with a favor to be repaid at any time."
I looked at those vials with a hunger, I could finally be legit, finally.
"What do you want?"
She closed the suitcase.
"Keep doing what your doing, keep fighting the war, this is a gift. After all if the Endbringers kill everyone we can't make a profit, can we?"
"And there are no strings attached?"
"None."
I felt the hairs in my neck go up.
"Powers?"
"One vial will make you into an actual Tinker, One's more of a Shaker/Mover kind of thing, and the final one is a Trump power. Don't try mixing them and drinking them all, the side effects will be horrific."
I nodded my head as she placed the metallic suitcase down.
"You don't have to decide now, we're giving you all three vials, hand one to a friend, or sell them off, we don't really care ether way. It's your property now Mr. Veder."
I turned my head and she was gone, the suitcase was on my bed. I stared at it, at the paperwork left behind. This was good, too good to be true. I put the case under my bed and continued trying to fix my suit. I went out and ate some cold food and then got back to work. I thought about going to that party mingling with all of the real capes. Becoming a real cape, it was temping but there was a price and I wanted to take the time to actually think about it this time