The sun was shining, the birds chirped, the morning breeze slowly swept the air. I just had breakfast and was ready to leave the house, I had an appointment with Doc. Walter that morning and it seemed like I would be just a little bit tardy. But I'm sure he wouldn't mind me arriving at his office a little bit behind schedule, nah that's just my lazy ass procrastinating mind talking. Of course I don't want to be late for my appointment with my doctor, he's a fucking doctor for crying out loud, one of the persons who rarely have enough time for themselves.
I think the people who values time more than the rest would have to be the doctors, because they could be having dinner at home with their family and then receive a call the next minute telling them to get to the hospital that there's been an emergency with a patient. Or could be on their day off and just wanting to relax, letting the daily fatigue wash away in a massage palour but then they might receive a call which requests their presence because the head doctor or specialist would need to take a look at a patient the other doctors were having issue with.
It was time to head out and I just needed one more look at myself in the mirror, after all looking good is good business, one of my dad's favorite quotes from my previous life which had stuck with me apparently. I was wearing a black turtleneck with black pants then I looked over to my bed on which I had carefully placed my coat. I've been obsessed with dark color clothing for as long as I could remember, so now I can barely remember having any favorite color that isn't on the dark side.
I made my trench coat come to me with only a thought as I wore the Gotham themed trench coat which made my ungroomed white hair stand out even more, for some reason trench coats were a trend in Gotham. Even their head if the police who I often saw on the news was always wearing a trench coat. Anyway enough about the trench coat, time to head out.
I got to the hospital and the smell which permeated through the air was nostalgic as it brought back memories of my time waking up here. I almost can't believe it had been almost five months since I woke up. I entered an elevator which led to the floor of my doctor's office when it occurred to me that Christmas was just two months away.
I wonder how they celebrate Christmas over here at DC, I'm sure that's the time villians suddenly decides to be merry and share chaos to the public. I bet the festive seasons are the most busy times superheroes, they would have to start hunting and stopping villians who are being naughty and not staying put so the public could have an enjoyable season without having to worry.
I walked down the hall from the elevator with deliberately calculated steps as my aristocratic upbringing started to show itself. I arrived at a door with Doc. Walter boldly written on it and proceeded with my knocking ritual, I knocked at the door without saying a word and waited for few a seconds before hearing his voice as he asked me to come in.
"Good morning Doc, it's been a while." I said as I locked the door behind me then walked up to his desk.
"Tom, aren't you a sight for sour eyes." He responded with a smile crossing his lips, showing his somehow shining white teeth as he gestured for me to take a sit.
"You literally requested to see me this morning, I don't understand why you are looking a bit surprised. Well doesn't matter am here anyway."
"I'm actually surprised, you look like you are doing a good job at adjusting to this strange world considering you lack any memory of it and that had me very much worried." He calmly spoke as he took a deep breath of relief.
"Yeah, I'm trying my best to understand this crazy world." I referenced to the world being a strange one to me but I bet he thought I was saying so because of the amnesia.
"Well I'm glad you are doing more than fine." He stood up and walked over to a section of the office with a coffee maker plugged in to the wall.
"Coffee?" He asked as he poured a cup for himself.
"Yes, I could use some caffeine right about now." I replied as it seemed like I had shrugged something off.
"Is everything alright." With a concerned look on his face he handed a cup of coffee to me then walked around his desk then proceeded to take a seat.
"No, not at all. Things with me have been good lately, great even. Just that everything seems to be moving so fast while I'm still trying to figure some things out." I sighed as I took a sip of the deliciously smelling hot coffee.
"Don't worry I'm sure it will all work out. Eventually." He gave me an assuring look
"I'm glad you are doing fine, I called you here today so I could see how well you are faring and let you know that I am here for you. You are like a son to me, but after the accident and with your amnesia, it feels like that relationship is slowly falling apart. But I'm still holding on to whatever shards are left hanging." He added as he adjusted in his seat, trying to get a little more comfortable as the conversation just took on an awkwardly emotional path.
"Thanks for the concern doc, but I'm fine. Also I keep in touch with my grandparents every now and then even though they insist I go visit them." As I spoke I came to realize how much I appreciate the love they showered me with and they are the only family I have here.
After a few casual conversations with him, his secretary informed him about another appointment with a patient he had that morning and I took my leave when it was due for me to leave.
…
Leo and I were at Central City's park that evening taking in the beautiful scenery as we had a casual conversation.
"Oh, before I forget, congrats on pulling off an Incredible heist kid." He patted my shoulder like he was impressed with how smoothly the job went for me and without he's involvement.
"Yeah, thanks. It was a game changing job for me, to be able to pull off a an operation as big as that was as exhilarating as can be." I added with a small smile on my face.
"You are getting kind of popular kid. Word on the streets has it that there's a man called Ghost who who suppervises operations and produce results with almost zero chances of failures. It seems one of the men in the crew you went on the last operation with must have told someone about Ghost, and that person must have told another.
"Wait. What?" I was as surprised as could be because I wasn't expecting a news like that.
"You are blowing up kid, and fast too. Not you of course, your alter ego." His calm nature made it difficult not to listen to him when he was speaking, even after giving me such news.
"But how did you get to know about this?" I asked so I know how my name was spreading.
"Criminals with huge jobs are in search of the man named Ghost and are trying to use their resources to contact him, I just got wind of it myself."
"I'm just a contractor and I'm willing to take any thrilling jobs from anybody." I said as I pondered on the thought of helping people out anonymously in exchange for an affordable fee.
"Any ideas how you would like to help people get in contact with you directly without them knowing whom they are actually communicating with?" He asked as he anticipated my reply.
"I don't know, but you are right. I can't have people knowing how to contact Ghost directly, that was the point of the name after all, to be a ghost." I clutched my hands together as I leaned forward like I was trying to think up something which I might not be able to get an answer to immediately.
…
In my study I sat on my reading desk as I thought of the conversation I had with Leo the other day. I don't want to work for people only as Ghost but start a legit side hustle. One where I could use my in depth analysis skills to help people accomplish different tasks for just a couple bucks, I won't mind who they were so long as they pay the fee required for that particular task.
I've been thinking of this for a while now and the only way to spread the word about a business to people all around without putting it on the news would have to be a website that can be easily accessed by anyone.
That is not such a bad idea, but the website would need to be untraceable. Anything that would link it back to me would have to be erased as I create it. I stroked my chin as I thought to myself on how I would create a website people could trust and it would be so legit that it won't draw the attention of the police and label me as a criminal.
Professors who are having issues with an equation or a topic would pay a good sum to be taught how, criminals would want to help on their operations, detectives who are working a case but are stomped at a dead end could contact me for professional insights.
Imagine being contacted by a superhero and given a job which concerned an operation I helped a criminal with and supervised myself.
Damn, wouldn't that be ironic.
I started work on the website and I was just putting the finishing touches to it. I needed a concept that would draw clients my way and also eliminate every doubt they might have in mind. A couple of good reviews would definitely help with that because everyone checks the reviews of a site before doing business, I think it's just for affirmation before investing their hard earned money into strangers.
I was finally done with the website and did not make it too flashy but with the appropriate amount which made it seem like a normal website and not a sketchy one. Also the name needed to be direct, so I named the website 'The Architect.' Now I just needed at least three to four positive reviews and I think the clients would start pouring in, after all we are in the DC verse and people need help all the time.
I was exhausted so I took a bubble bath to wash away my fatigue, had dinner, then crawled into my bed like a koala before calling it a day.
…
Few days had gone by since I uploaded the website but still there hasn't been any request. Although I wasn't expecting one as soon as it was created, it has been days and still no client.
There was a location I had jogged by several times, and I took a look at it before discovering there was a lake beyond that point and it wasn't visible unless a person went in. It seemed like a good place to clear my head and now I wanted to visit that spot.
I sat on a bench near the lake which was surrounded by trees and the air there brought a sense of peace to me, I think it was just a remedy which was cooked up for me by nature. While sitting on the bench and staring at the lake, I saw some stones by the bank so I picked a few which were perfect for stone skipping.
While I looked at the stones, It gave me a nostalgic feeling as it reminded me of a game my best friend and I used to play each time we went camping by the lake in my previous life, a game where by we would skip some stones on the surface of the lake and whoever had the most consecutive skips had won the game.
I threw the first one and watched it make ripples on the surface of the water as it skipped towards the middle of the lake, I did the same thing to the second one as I felt the sense of nostalgia fill me up, it made me miss a childhood friend who made life fun for me back then. Filled with mixed feelings I threw another stone and noticed the speed was way different from the previous one and I did not apply enough effort to make it go that fast or far even.
I remember theorizing about my powers being vector based and I had been thinking of how to practice and this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to try something out with the stones.
So I calculated the speed of the stone, the weight, and the force I was about to apply to it. Immediately I had processed the information that was being fed to my brain just by the thought of manipulating the vector of that stone, I launched the stone I had in my hand and to my greatest surprise it flew so fast with an higher velocity, it skipped on the surface of the water till it got to the middle of the lake before it lost its momentum.
"That was interesting." I mused out loud and stared at the remaining stones.
I tried again and again till I was able to change the velocity of the stone at an effortless degree, I threw the stone with little to no effort but it flew with an amusing velocity.
I decided to try something else since no one was around and it was safe for me to use my powers around there, providing I kept watch for any incoming person.
I made use of my telekinesis then lifted a stone mid air with nothing but only a thought. I tried to change the vector of the stone but it was sent flying without any change in its velocity. It propelled according to it's weight and the force I had exerted on it mentally.
I repeated this process several times till I came to the conclusion that I could not change the vector of an object unless I made physical contact with it. I picked up another stone, a round one without any sharp or noticeable edge. I looked for a tree which was far from the others but not too far so it wouldn't be tiring to me when I decide to take a look after I was done.
I tossed the stone at the tree and a brief noise which was due to the impact of the stone suddenly echoed around the quiet lake. I went over to take a look at it and the stone was stuck to the tree, being almost completely submerged into it.
"Wow." I put out my hand to feel the stone which was almost buried within the tree. It started to seem fun for me so I did it over and over again until I had my fill of it, with each tossed it moved almost as fast as a bullet would. Nine stones were currently buried in a tree and would leave anyone in wonderment if they ever saw them.
The thought of buying that property and legally owning that spot crossed my mind, that way it would be private property and no sane trespasser would want to step into private property without permission. Anyone caught committing such an act would be arrested, a true definition of privacy. Well, thoughts for another day.
On my way home that evening I strolled along the streets as I basked in the comforting evening breeze. As I walked home I heard a scream from a nearby alley which was a few blocks away from my place and it was none of my business as to why that unknown person screamed. But it sounded like she was in real trouble and I couldn't care less because this is the DC verse and I'm sure such things occurs on a regular basis, even with the presence of heros.
I took a turn into the dark alley and saw two miscreants harassing a lady as they had her pursed on the floor with it's contents emptied and the lady was stripped half naked as one of them had a gun to her head, he told her to keep quiet or he would blow her brains out without a second thought.
I walked straight at them but stopped at a reasonable distance, when they noticed my presence they removed the gun from her head then pointed it at me.
"Walk away kid, there's nothing to see here." one said as he pushed her to the floor and directed his animalistic gaze at me.
"Well too late because I already heard her scream and I'm here now so we might as well do something, either you let her go and everyone go home peacefully and unhurt, or we do this the hard way and mind you there will be blood." I bluffed midway, I didn't know if they were metahumans like the one I witnessed Kid Flash engaged with or if they were just ordinary thugs.
I slowly approached the men and with each step they kept getting riled up and yelling at me not to go any closer.
"If you don't want me to come any closer. Let the lady go and we can all be on our merry way." I said to the men in a polite tone, letting them know I wasn't looking to start any trouble.
"It seems this kid has a death wish, shoot him." The muscular one ordered his partner as he cocked his gun.
He aimed at me and took a canalized shot. On getting to me, the fired bullet was stopped by my deflective field as an air barrier which made ripples like water when a foreign object was dropped into it. The bullet deflected back at him and hit him on his right shoulder.
Haaa! He yelled out as he dropped the gun due to the sudden pain on that joint.
"You fucking bastard, that was literally an headshot." I said as I saw the look on both of their faces change, as one was frightened and the other had a more intense look on his face.
"You fucker you shot me." He grunted in pain as he held his bleeding hand.
"You shot me first dumb ass."
"Ran into one of you freaks before. You think you're some 'Flash'?" He leveled a knife at my head but even from this distance I could feel the minute vibrations from his unsteady hands. "Last chance kid, turn away." The muscular one spoke as he pulled out a second knife and charged towards me.
Midway to my position, I halted his movements with my telekinesis then slammed him against a wall to the left, then to the right, before throwing him up to a reasonable height as I let him fall. He accumulated some velocity as the gravitational force of the earth pulled him down, I added my telekinesis to increase the impact he had on the ground and for a brief moment he bounced on impact with the ground due to his excessive amount of muscles he had on him.
He was knocked out cold while the other stared at me with his eyes wild open, I guess I must have burned the feeling of fear and powerlessness into his memory.
"Your turn." I said in a calm tone as I turned to him.
"I'm sorry, please just let me go." He turned and ran towards the other side of the dark alley.
I helped the lady up as she looked at me still in shock of what had just happened. She regained her composure then I escorted her to the road as she took a taxi, she told me thank you with her watery eyes holding back some tears.
I headed straight home, I didn't want to be in the middle of anything when the cops or heroes showed up. Heroing isn't my thing but I just couldn't ignore an oppressed person in danger, especially if I could do something about it. That would make me some kind of heartless monster.
But one thing is clear, 'heroing isn't in my resume.'