One and Only

Chapter Two: Jackie and Tamzen.

"WELCOME!" Jackie boomed to the arriving customers as he swipes the candy over the censors, ringing them up. Tamzen zooms past, using their powers to help out and entertain shoppers. "Can you juggle?!" a kid yells as they zoom past. They appear in front of the kid, juggling three chocolatey chocolate chip cake pops. "Tam!" Jackie warns, throwing him a red velvet with creamy cream cheese frosting cake pop. They catch it, adding it to the juggling three. The kids squeals in amusement and clapped their hands, making Tamzen smile slightly. He caught the final one and holds it out to the small child, bowing slightly. The kid snatches it and runs off to show their parents. Tamzen chuckles and goes back to restocking the chocolate cake pops.

"Bye Papa Bear!" a little girl shouts as her mom drags her out. "Yeah, bye Papa Bear!" Her older brother calls, his mouth full of marshmallows. He waves to them, smiling widely. "Hey, Daddy Bear." A drag queen artist appears, with other drag queens standing behind her. "What can I do for you beautiful ladies?" he asks, his eyes admiring the outfits and makeup. Don't take this the wrong way, Jackie used to do drag and is only admiring her amazing skills. "Where are the pride flags? We're about to do a walk and we need some gay capes." The front one said, clicking her nails on the counter. "Right there!" He points at the table with all the different types of flags for all the different types of people. "Thank you!" The group choruses, strutting to the tables.

"Stupid queers." He heard someone shout. Fuck, here we go again... He saw three older guys walk towards the queens. "What are you doing in this shop?! This is a family shop and I don't want my children to be seeing this!" The front guy yells, getting too close for comfort. That's it. "Hey!" Jackie shouted, getting their attention. "This is a family shop." His voice silenced everyone. The guys smirk and the queens look at Jackie in shock. Did he just agree with the homophobic?! "That means..." Jackie continues, turning to the group of guys. He was at least two or three feet taller than them. He takes a threatening step toward the guys, eyes ice cold. "I don't want to hear that kind of language in my shop. I'm asking you to leave nicely. If you don't, I will be forced to remove you forcefully." He was so calm compared to the guys steaming in anger. The front guy growls, stepping towards Jackie. He matched his expression and tone but wore a daring smirk. "Oh, I dare you." His voice was low and challenging. "Okay," Jackie says nonchalantly with a shrug. He picks him up by the back collar of his shirt, as if he were a doll, and walked over to the door. Opening it, he tossed him out the door and slammed it shut. He turned to everyone who was watching in shock and amusement and smiled widely. "Does anyone else have an unwanted opinion about our lovely queens?" He asked kindly, his eyes directed to the other guys who were standing behind the homophobic he threw out. They all shook their heads and Jackie clapped his hands, making everyone jump. "Then let's commence the sweets! Everything is 80% off with the purchase of a pride flag!" He boomed, making his way back to behind the counter as everyone cheered. He collapsed in his seat as Tamzen ran up to him.

"You really should have beaten his as-""Language," Jackie warned, cutting him off. Tamzen rolls his eyes. "Can I call Everleighn on him?! I want him to suffer. Oh! I can go get Boomer! She can make him suffer!" Jackie laughs as if it was a joke. "I don't know if Everleighn is busy, and Boomer has her daycare classes today." Tamzen pouts. "Fine." He zooms off, probably to work like he's supposed to be doing.

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"Thank you! Have a great night Papa Bear!" "Bye Papa Bear!" The kids call as they leave. They were the last customers of the day. Tamzen quickly flips the sign to CLOSED. They both sigh, collapsing on their stools behind the counter. "Good job today," Jackie says, glancing at Tamzen who was face-down on the counter. They just grunt in response, not lifting their head. He chuckled and looked across the road as a golden hue settles over the shop. He saw Boomer sitting behind the counter and waved. She waved back, smiling softly. He let his mind wander back into the good old days. Back when he fought crime with the others, dropping his cherry bombs on the evil below. He also loved to experiment by making different things to give to the bad guys. He doesn't use his power anymore, unlike Tamzen. Tamzen was too young at the time to be any actual help, so Everleighn came up with the great idea of them being a scout. They would run around the town and report back on any bad guys that had popped up.

Tamzen sighed, thinking of MJ. She would sometimes copy his power and join them in scouting for bad guys. In the end, they would always get in trouble for playing around and not having anything to report. They probably missed her the most. No, they knew they missed her the most. Hanging and playing around in the good old days.

Thank you, Viewers!

Written by Zach T. and Cora. 2022