It Comes With the Cape

Hapless Birthday

Happy birthday to my favorite fictional thmart bean! I actually finished it on time (shocker). Here's hoping I didn't miss anything stupid in my editing.

xXx

Tim dumped his armload of books on the desk he'd claimed for this afternoon's exploits. At this point, he'd firmly established his daily routine with the librarian, and as long as he didn't spill his coffee, she was more than content to let him hoard the table in the back and read all the books they had on illusions, magic, cryptids, and practical effects. "For a project," he'd said, and she didn't argue. He was pleasant enough when he came up to ask for help locating a specific book.

It was the third day he'd spent at the library, and it was anyone's guess as to how much longer he'd keep this up. He showed up every morning shortly after opening, and only left when the librarian found him where he'd been all day when she closed. By now, she'd made a habit of checking the back to make sure he'd left before she locked the door.

Tim himself had fallen into a schedule: place the previous day's books on a table along with two cups of coffee, find where he'd left off, read some, find more books, get more coffee, continue reading, rinse and repeat, then go to the apartment he'd rented across the street to continue his research and maybe patrol a bit until reopening. It was a pleasant existence of minimal human contact outside of the librarian, the barista of the cafe halfway down the block, and the person at the register of the sub shop at the corner. The closed environment was perfect for a routine of ceaseless information feasting.

So when his routine was interrupted by an obtrusive visitor, he of course was irritated.

"Hey there, Timbo."

Tim didn't even turn around from the shelf where he was skimming for ancient Egyptian rituals. "Hello, Jason," he said tersely.

"It's been a bit since anyone's heard from you," Jason said casually. The sound of flipping pages indicated that he'd pulled out a book to be even more casual.

"Have there been any problems while I was gone?" Tim asked, pulling a book from the shelf and scanning the back.

"Not really," Jason answered. His tone was reluctant. "We just decided someone should check in on you, you know?"

"'We'?" Tim chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Did you form a 'we're concerned about Tim' committee?"

"We didn't need to." The book was audibly shut and slid back onto the shelf. "You're kind of disappearing on us, and not in the stealthy undercover way. We don't want you to run yourself into the ground, you know?"

"I'm doing research, Jay. You should try it sometime." He flipped the book open to a random page and started skimming.

Jason scoffed. "I know the origin, effects, popularity, and production cost and process of every drug used on the east coast. I do my research." He stepped forward so he was barely visible in Tim's peripheral vision. "This isn't research. This is an obsession."

"With what, exactly?" Tim asked, lifting his eyebrows but not his eyes. "Aren't obsessions usually somewhat focused?"

Jason sighed and probably rolled his eyes. "Just come back to the manor. We're worried about you."

Tim sighed and turned toward his desk. "I'm fine, Jason. Go back home and tell everyone they can stop worrying."

"Yeah, see, that's a no-can-do right there." Jason's jacket shifted as he rummaged through it for something. "We've got a few things to talk about, and it isn't just between you and me."

"Then tell whoever needs to talk to me to come here. Or to my apartment, if it has to be private. It's not like my routine is a secret." He set his book on the desk.