Locating A Supervillain

When I set my mind to something, I don't back out so easily. I open my closet and find a small bag located behind all my clothes and pull it out, tossing it on my bed. I grab an old journal I've never touched and put it inside the bag along with two pens. I snatch my Polaroid camera on my nightstand, setting it into its carrier then tossing it into the bag along with the other stuff. I decided to also grab a light jacket because it gets cold during nightfall.

I take a peek at the time to see I have thirty minutes to make it to Tess Cafe. I pull the bag up and over my shoulder but before I leave, I spot my wallet next to my laptop. I walk over to it to find a sticky note attached to the back of it.

I hope you don't mind me digging through your belonging but I had to know where you live. Next time, don't travel around with half a thousand dollars in your bag.

"Double S," I trail off. I stuff the note into my pocket and leave my wallet. I glance at my alarm clock to see I now only have twenty-seven minutes. I curse myself as I dash downstairs and out the front door.

I shove my jacket on as the cool breeze of autumn sweeps past New York. I quicken my pace, moving around the crowded streets. The cars honk at each other, trying to get to their designated location faster. I shake my head, like that would ever happen. I pull my phone out from my back pocket to glance at the time. The bright light shines the simple numbers 4:48 back at me. I turn it off, placing it into my bag instead.

I arrive to the little cafe on the corner two minutes before my shift starts. I nod my head at Tess, the owner off the restaurant. She gives me a wave in response. Tess is a 62 year old woman who loves to cook, that's why she opened this place. Her grey eyes light up at the people who are seated in her small cafe. I walk through the staff only door and set my bag on a small couch we have. I set my jacket down on the back of a chair to the side and grab my hat and apron before going out front.

"Seems your cutting it close today Hope," Tess says to me as she wipes down the counter, probably for the hundredth time today.

"Yeah, I know. I would say it won't happen again but I can't make that promise." She smiles and tosses me the rag in her hands.

"We finally found a replacement for Taylor," I look over to her as I pour more coffee for an elderly couple.

"Well it's about time! You need time to rest Tess," I take the customers orders then make my way back to Tess. "So who is this mysterious girl?" She grabs the slip of paper from me and glances at it before passing it through the hole in the wall which leads to the kitchen.

"It's actually a guy," She laughs at my shocked face, "Don't worry. That was my same reaction when he requested the job. He might be your age actually." I tuck my hair behind my ears.

"Oh nice! Someone I can actually relate to about things," Tess whips me with the rag on her shoulder, then tells me to manage the cash register.

For the next two and a half hours, I run around cleaning tables, taking orders, and staring off into space. The sun just set when the bell above the door chimes. I perk up, getting ready to greet the customer only to deflate at the sight of Samuel walking in laughing with two of his buddies.

"What do you want?" I snap at Samuel, pulling out my notebook.

"Wait Hop Scotch, you work here?" He stupidly replies. I make a hand motion pointing to the hat and apron that I'm wearing.

"I'd hit that," One of Samuel's friend says, looking me up and down. I scrunch my nose in disgust while Sam slaps him upside the head.

"I'm actually here to take the job," My jaw falls open. Sam working here? No way.

"Haha funny joke now what would you like to order so I can get rid of you," He holds his hand over his heart.

"You wound me but in all seriousness, I am here for a job." Right then and there, Tess makes her entrance. She smiles warmly at Samuel waving her arm for him to follow her. He does a bro hug to both his friends before following Tess to the staff room.

"So milkshake, you free?" The blonde one speaks. I roll my eyes before answering. Milkshake really? What a dumb nickname.

"Milkshake? What flavor?"

"Wait no I was calling you a- never mind. I'll take two vanilla," He says while pulling out a ten. I turn to make his drinks as I try to figure out why Sam needs this job.

Did he know I worked here? No, he did seem pleasantly surprised. Did he want one for fun? No the guy is loaded. I finish the drinks and the boys pay for them. I look at the clock to see that my shift just ended. I take of my hat and apron while putting them in a neat pile in the staff room. I then spot Tess and Samuel going over the rules of the shop.

"Bye Tess, see you Monday," I say to her as I grab all of my stuff.

"Bye Hun. See you soon," I put my jacket back on and head off to the park.

The park might seem like a weird place to go but it's where a lot of crimes take place at this hour. I look into windows as I walk past the stores and shops. I make it to to the park right at 9 o'clock. The faint smell of popcorn hits my nose as I watch the colorful leaves slowly fall off their branches. The street lights flicker on, lighting a walkway through the park. I gather my brown hair in a messy bun before I start on the path. I text my mom that I am working late tonight so she doesn't get suspicious.

I set my bag on a bench under a lap post and take out my camera. I turn it on, messing with some of the settings so I can actually see the photos. I take a practice photo of the orange, yellow, and brown leaves that fall quietly to the ground. I glance at the picture and smile. Perfect. I go to pick up my bag off the bench to only find it missing.

"What in the world? I swore I set it right here," I say out loud to nobody in particular.

"Oh you did," I freeze, instantly recognizing the voice of the man who held me at gunpoint.

"Turn around Hope." I stay still, my heart hammering in my chest, "I said turn around!" He yells. Then the one sound I was wishing not to hear, echoes into the night. The cocking of a gun. A loaded gun.

I slowly spin around, coming face to face with Mr. Crook yet again. His face is covered in black face paint but I'm still able to pick out his features. He wears a dark blue sweatshirt with a pair of grey slacks. I gulp as he snatches my camera from my hands, tossing it to the ground. I watch as the glass shatters into tiny pieces. A tear rolls down my face as I look back up to face the man yet again with a gun.

I start to panic. The memories of being stabbed in the arm, all the blood. Gosh the blood. More hot tears slide down my face as Mr. crook grabs the front of my shirt pulling me completely off the ground. He hits me upside the head with the side of the gun. A sharp pain soon follows after and my eyes blur by my tears.

"I'm going to blow your brains out and you will never see your family again!" He spits onto my face, "Crazy girl, why didn't you report me to the cops huh? To afraid?"

I don't answer.

"Huh?! Did you hear me?" He violently shakes me.

"Please... let me go," he then drops me to the ground.

I land flat on my back. The pain from my head fades as a new pain of landing on my back arises. My vision still clouded with tears, looks back to where Mr. Crook one stood, only to see a wall of black instead.

"You again? How- How do you keep finding me!" I identify the voice of Mr. Crook but then the darkness speaks. Wait the darkness speaks?

"You are one stupid man to go after the same innocent girl. Don't you remember the bruises I gave you just yesterday?" The mans voice has a velvety sound, almost fake. That's when it clicks.

Holy mother of Apes! It's Double S! I wipe my eyes on my jacket sleeve to see better. I then see the reflection of Double's mask. The horror that sets in on Mr. Crooks face is slowly replaced by a smirk. Because of the position I am in, I can see that Mr. Crook is holding the gun. By his facial expression, he is not afraid to use it this time.

"I know the girl. She's a whiny little bit-," The gunman was cut off by being pushed to the ground by SS. The gun stays hidden under Mr. Crook as he grabs onto it, getting ready to fire. I let out a yell but I was to late.

Mr. Crook fired the gun right at Double S's stomach, and he didn't miss. The shot of the bullet rings into the night air. SS stumbles back, covering the spot he was just shot and glares daggers at my old science teacher. Mr. Crooks face shifts from the smirk to worry. I wouldn't want to be looked at with that intense stare. Double S removed his hand from his wound and held out his palm facing directly at Mr. Crooks' chest.

Next thing I know, a bright green light shoots out and hits the man squarely in the chest. The powerful beam shoots Mr. Crook straight into a tree, his head coming in contact with the bark. The green beam then disappears into the night, and Mr. Crooks body falls limp onto the ground. Double S's hand falls to his side, then he collapses to the ground as a small but quiet groan escapes his lips. He looks over at me and slightly smiles.

"Can you promise me you won't get into anymore criminal activity? I don't want this to become a daily thing." I stare at him in shock. Did- Did he just crack a joke at a time like this?

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" His eyes scan me over again, just like yesterday except this time I was fully conscious. I lash out without thinking.

"Are you kidding me right now? You were just shot and your asking if I'M OKAY?" I deadpan while crawling over to him. I look up to meet his face and whoa. Remember what Kate said about if he was hot? I should not have thought that. But I mean, nice jawline.

His eyes stared back at me with bemusement. He shakes his head and places his hand back over the bullet wound. My eyes follow his hand down to the laceration in his stomach. He still sits on his knees, the black cape draped over him in a scary kind of way. His hair slightly falls out of his hood but he makes no move to hide it. It's to dark for me to make out the color because we are not under a light post but I can tell its not blonde.

Before I can stop myself, I reach my hand out to his and remove it from his stomach. I sharply inhale as I examine his injury. Blood. Lots of blood on his hand. I can't see the damage to his stomach in the dark but I quickly take off my jacket and apply pressure to the injury.

"Shit that hurts," He says quietly to himself.

"Obviously, you were just shot for heavens sake. Also watch your language."

"I am fully aware I was shot. Thanks captain obvious," I scowl at that, "And don't you think it's okay for me to curse just a little since yet again, I am pretty sure I have a bullet in me- Shit woman!" I pinch his arm attempting to distract him from the bullet, to my amazement worked.

"Okay release the jacket," SS says as he makes a grab for my hand. Okay maybe no to the distraction.

"No! You need to apply pressure to the-," He cuts me off.

"Hope correct?" I slowly nod, "How do you think your shoulder was healed?" I stop. He's right. How was my shoulder healed? I was too caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't realize he removed my hand and was attempting to stand.

"Are you crazy?" I all but yell at the young man.

"Absolutely! Comes with the super villain job," That is when I remembered a very key fact. Double S is a super villain, not a superhero. I scrambled back a few steps, putting distance between us. One of his eyebrows raise, taking the mask with it. What in the world is that made of?

"Magic," He says.

"Huh?" I say dumbfound.

"You were looking at my mask were you not?" I nod, not trusting my voice, "Its magic. Whenever I need to become the villain that I am, I can make it appear to hide my identity. It's the same with taking it off. Its even removable, but it's tricky."

Double S then stands up completely and opens his palm to where its directed at his stomach. I almost tell him to not shoot the beam again because well. I take another glance at Mr. Crook to see him still passed out by the tree. My attention turns back to the man clad in black spandex while yet another magic beam that is a darker green from before emits from his hand. He aims it at his bullet wound and next thing I know, I hear the sound of a metal bullet fall to the ground.

I watch as his skin heals, it wasn't like it was replaced like that. No, it started off as a wound then a scab then just a simple scar. Its like the healing process in seconds instead of months. He stops the power and falls to his knees yet again. His breathing jagged this time.

"Uhm... are you alright?" I stand up and walk over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I will be. Just that my energy drains a lot faster when I heal. It also doesn't help that I just discovered it about a week ago and had to use it twice already."

"What happened to you being invincible?" He chuckles.

"Oh I am most definitely not invincible." He makes an attempt to stand as I grab his arm to stabilize him. "I can withstand a normal knife and bullet but whatever that was had to of had some substance on it." He picks the bullet up off the ground and places it in his palm.

Double S then stands up to his full height, making my hand fall off his shoulder because he's tall. If I had to guess, I'd say he's easily over 6 foot. He wanders over the bench under the street lamp where my bag was and plops down onto it. His green eyes wander over the silver bullet, looking for a sign on why it penetrated him.

I turn my attention to my abandoned camera. I slowly pick it up, cringing every time another piece of glass falls to the ground. I examine it closely to see all the damage done to only conclude it was just the glass that shattered. I tuck it into my camera bag, then glance back over to Double S. My phone rings abruptly, making him snap his head up to me. We make eye contact for about two seconds before my phone rings again. I quickly scramble to pull the device out of my back pocket, answering it without looking who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hope, how long are you staying at the Cafe?" My mother says through the line.

"Uh," I glance back over to Double S to see him picking up my bag for me, "Shouldn't be to much longer."

"Alright dear, I'm off to bed. Pizza is in the fridge if you are hungry. Love you honey."

"Love you too mom,"

I hang up and put my phone back into my pocket. I wince as I take a better look at Mr. Crook. His head has an obvious bleed somewhere as blood trickles down his face. His face paint smeared, revealing more of his skin. I turn to SS, He places the bullet into a pocket on his person then starts gathering my things.

"Uhm, I can get that." He looks me up and down before letting out a tsk.

"I am fully aware."

He continues to gather my things. He looks at my now bloody jacket before tossing it over his shoulder, deciding not to put it in the bag. Good. I like that bag. Double S motions for me to pass him my camera. I hesitate before giving it up. He slings it over his left shoulder, opposite of the jacket. He starts off, heading in the direction of the exit of the park. I soon follow after.

The wind picks up, blowing the vibrant red, yellow, and orange leaves all around. I'm on the phone with the cops, explaining the "Incident" in the park; leaving out the super villain part. We pass all the little shops as I agree to go to the station in the morning to explain the incident more. I hang up and fiddle with my phone. After five minutes of silence, I speak.

"How did you know I was there?"

"I did not know." Came his simple answer. More seconds pass before I try again.

"So why did you help me when you're," I stick my hands out, bending my fingers to make quotation marks, "A super villain?" He goes quiet.

The sound of our footsteps echo into the night. The light buzz of cars and their headlights blind me as we make a sharp turn around a corner. I ask the question again, maybe he didn't hear me? I watch his face turn slightly to the right, in the direction of the street, not looking at me. I cast my gaze to the ground, continuing our steady pace.

"Not all of us want to be bad, we just have to hold up a reputation to satisfy people." I whip my head up at his reply except,

He's nowhere to be seen.