Shadow-Man

4

I slept on the idea of me becoming a superhero for a few days. The bruises from the mugging were pretty much completely gone, and all that was left was a few bruises from the kidnapper. I was even able to take the bandages off from around my torso, which I actually was kind of upset about. I liked having the bandages wrapped around my torso, and squishing my breasts down, even if it was just a little bit. However, I didn't leave the bandages on any longer than necessary, and I decided against saying anything to Clair and Gill about it.

"So," I began casually during lunch. "I'm thinking about taking Gill up on his offer and becoming a superhero." There was a small clatter as Clair dropped her fork onto the table. She looked shocked, and just stared at me, as did Gill.

"Are you serious?" He asked me. I shrugged, and nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, why not?" I replied.

"Because it's crazy." Clair told me. "That's why nobody does it."

"Nobody stood up for civil rights until somebody else did it first." I argued.

"That's different. Civil rights was realistic, and achievable. You being a superhero isn't."

"And why not? I can put on a mask very easily, and I've already beaten two criminals up. That's a pretty good start if you ask me."

"Have you actually thought any of this through? How are you going to keep yourself alive? How are you going to juggle being a superhero along with everything else you do? How far will you go to stop a criminal? Do you-"

"More importantly, have you thought about your superhero name?" Gill asked excitedly, interrupting Clair. Clair glared at him a little bit, and I just smiled at him, telling them that I hadn't worked out the details yet.

For the rest of that day, Gill talked excitedly with me about different possibilities for names and costumes. I listened to him talk excitedly to me about it all, even though I had already decided how I was going to dress, and worked out some of the finer details. I knew that I was going to be working at night more than any other time, so I was going to wear mostly black and dark colors. Gill was just so excited, and I didn't want to dampen his mood, or anything like that by telling him that he didn't need to think about it all anymore. He just had a really big smile, and his eyes were lit up, and I just liked seeing him so happy.

"Hey Ty?" Gill asked me, sounding a little tentative as school ended for the day and we were all let out.

"Yes Gill?" I asked in response, knowing that he was going to talk about something to do with superheroes.

"Could I, maybe...be your sidekick?" I blinked at him.

"My sidekick?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know, like, me following you around and encouraging you, or helping yo out with stuff. Like an intern." Gill explained. I chuckled a bit.

"I don't think I'm going to need a sidekick, but I'll remember you if I ever do."

"I already came up with my costume." Gill smiled, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. He unfolded it, and handed it to me. I smiled down at the drawing of Gill in a black suit, with a grey cape, grey gloves, grey boots, and a sword. I chuckled at it. The drawing wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing either. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that, considering that the only reason I was any good at drawing was because I did it constantly.

"Where would you get the sword?" I asked.

"There's lots of stores that sell them." Gill informed me as I handed him the picture back.

"I'll keep that in mind."

***

When I got home, I laid on my bed and continued to think things over. I was beginning to think that maybe Clair was right. Maybe I was just out of my mind, and I should just let the police do there job. After all, there had to be a reason as to why no one had ever tried to be a superhero before. It was unheard of, and that was probably for a reason. I was starting to talk myself out of the idea of becoming a superhero when i phone went off. I looked at the screen, and found that it was an Amber Alert, telling me that a young boy had gone missing.