Chapter 229: Prison Cage

Having just finished dropping off Mom's lunch, I exited LexCorp and walked down the always bustling street of Manhattan; it was a chaotic yet, ironically, somewhat peaceful experience.

'It would be better if I had someone with me.' Mused Tut lightly as he walked down the street with his hands in his pockets, only to pass by a group of children.

Eyeing the basketball in the child's hand, I clicked my tongue and quickly pulled out my phone, calling my homeboys as ever since the Kryptonian invasion, I hadn't had time to play ball with them.

"Huh, well, I'll be damned if it ain't the Lil nigga. The hell you been? We haven't been able to get in contact with you for months; we seriously thought your black ass died or something." Said Darius with a faint smirk as he leaned back on the sofa, speaking into his phone while flipping through the channels on his TV.

"Man, shut your ass up nigga; who you calling lil nigga? Ain't you like 5'9? Short ass nigga, wear some stilettos; oh, I forgot, ain't that why your ex-left you?" Remarked Tut with a smirk as he laughed while quietly snickering, causing Darius to roll his eyes.

"Ayo, we don't need to go there; besides, I was happy to see that hoe go. She was an annoying ass bitch, but damn, she for sure knew how to make a nigga feel good; I ain't never last more than three minutes when hitting from the back." Stated Darius with a scoff as he lightly shook his head while leaning forward, only to lustfully lick his lips.

"Chill nigga, I don't need to hear about your weak sex game. Though I won't lie, that ass of hers was SOMETHING; I know she's put niggas to sleep." Shiiiit nigga, you ain't never lied." Said Tut and Darius, respectively, as the former faintly smirked and nodded while the latter chuckled.

"Anyway, I've been busy with school and volunteering with rebuilding Manhattan after the Kryptonian Invasion. I got to give back to my home, you know that." Added Tut lightly with a wry smile as he walked down an alley before leaning against the wall, prompting Darius to nod.

"Ah, I fuck with that. See, that's why I always liked your lil stupid ass the best. I've been helping the community as well, where I can; thankfully, I was far away from the fight, but some people lost their cars and their jobs thanks to those aliens." Said Darius with a faint smile while leaning back and glancing out the window, only to shake his head, sighing.

"I know, but at least Blacksteel is on our side; can't imagine what Earth would be like without him, or worse if he were on their side." "Shiit, no need to imagine, I can tell you… We'd all be fucking dead. Earth ain't got the capacity to deal with those three fucking Kryptonians, and Blacksteel was fucking dog-walking them WHILE doing his best to protect us!" Remarked Tut and Darius, respectively, as the former slightly cringed while the latter passionately replied.

'I mean, Darius ain't wrong. I was fucking dog-walking their bitch asses.' Thought Tut with an amused smirk as he faintly nodded in agreement.

"Ay, real shit, though. I've never been one to believe in god and shit like that, but after seeing Blacksteel and the things he's capable of… He's fucking a God. With a capital 'G', nigga." Stated Darius solemnly as he clicked on the news channel, which was discussing Blacksteel.

"Heh, I don't know about all that; the capital 'G' pushing it." "Yeah, you're probably right, but still, in my eyes, that man is a fucking god." Stated Tut and Darius, respectively, as the former lightly shook his head while the latter nodded.

"Anyway nigga, I'm calling 'cause I'm trying to play ball; we can get Kris, you, me, Cage, Jason. You know we need Jason; he a COLD-ass white nigga with them assists." Said Tut with a faint smirk as he began playing imaginary basketball in the alley, only for the line to go silent for a few moments.

"Ah, I see you ain't heard news, have you, Tut?" "Nah, what news? What's going on?" Asked Darius and Tut, respectively, as the former softly sighed while the latter furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Cage… The nigga's in prison."

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After finding out Cage got sent to prison, the first thing I did was ask what prison was before heading right to it. Apparently, he was in prison for killing a man, and immediately, I knew something suspicious was up; that man hadn't ever killed anyone.

I knew Cage, and while he was usually a gruff and stern man who only tended to let himself go when playing ball, he wasn't someone who would kill, at least not so easily. The man used to work as a cop, only quitting after he found out how corrupt the police were, so he wasn't a bad dude; hell, I played street ball with him for hundreds of hours, and sports is a great way to really learn someone's nature, especially when everyone is passionate about it.

"Nah, I ain't buying it." Muttered Tut with a frown as he sat in the prison, waiting for Cage.

As I sat in the visitor room, which was being watched by nearly twelve guards and several security cameras, I patiently waited for Cage, who was approaching this room with two guards. After a few more minutes, the door in the corner of the room was opened, followed by Cage entering with chains binding his arms and feet, leaving only enough slack for him to walk.

"You've got 20 minutes." Stated the guard sternly as he forced Cage into the seat while glaring at Tut, who frowned.

"But the dude up front said 30." "I don't care. I said 20, so you get 20, boy." Said Tut and the guard, respectively, as the former looked at the latter in confusion, causing him to grunt before turning around.

With a twitching expression, I waited for the guard to turn around before swiftly moving and tying his shoelaces together, only to return to my seat, causing the guard to fall face-first into the ground in front of everyone.

'Oh, that's got to hurt!' Thought Tut with a faint smirk as he glanced at the guard's dislocated nose while suppressing a chuckle.

"F-Fucking bastard! You did this, didn't you!? You filthy monkey mutant! We've got you on camera; you'll be right in here with him!" Stated the guard furiously as he held his broken nose and glanced at his shoes before glaring at Tut while slowly walking away with a wicked grin.

The joke's on him; the cameras in this prison only record at thirty fps, meaning I can do so many things in between each recorded frame.

'Heh, shields camera records at 120 fps, and I can still effortlessly conceal myself between each frame.' Mused Tut with a confused expression, which he used to hide his smile.

"Did you do something to him?" "No, but I wish. Dumbass is probably more concerned with being racist than making sure his shoes are correctly tied." Remarked Cage and Tut, respectively, as the former skeptically eyed the latter, who shook his head with a scoff only to faint smile.

"Anyways, how you been holding up nigga? I heard the shit from Darius. Got you in here without even a fair trial; them fuckers dirty." Asked Tut with a faint smile as he looked at Cage, dapping him up only to shake his head while clicking his tongue in anger.

"Dirty is an understatement. I was framed for killing a cop." Said Cage with a grunt as he glanced at Tut while flexing his muscles in anger, only to heave a sigh.

"Who did it? You don't talk much about your past, but I wouldn't be surprised if you made a lot of enemies because you weren't a corrupt cop." Remarked Tut with furrowed brows as he folded his arms and eyed Cage, who frowned before shaking his head.

"You don't know who did it?" "No. I know. I just won't tell you." Said Tut and Cage, respectively, as the former frowned while the latter once again shook his head.

"And why is that?" Asked Tut blandly as he leaned onto the table while eyeing Cage, who pointed at him.

"You're only 16; I don't want a young black boy like you being on the news. I can handle this shit myself." Replied Cage sternly as he looked at Tut, who reluctantly nodded in agreement before clicking his tongue.

"For the record, I'm 17. Also, I wasn't going to do anything." "Then why did you want to know?" Remarked Tut and Cage, respectively, as the former side-glanced the latter, who blandly looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, you caught me. But are you really just going to stay in prison? You a big dude, so I ain't worried about the inmates, but niggas like you, who supposedly killed a cop, the guards will love fucking you up." Asked Tut in concern as he leaned closer and stared at Cage, who nodded with a faint smirk.

"I've been in several fights; I can take a beating. Besides, I don't plan to stay locked in here for long." Replied Cage with a faint nod as he eyed the windows with a faint glint flashing through his eyes, causing Tut to lightly nod.

"Alright, whatever you say nigga." Muttered Tut with a sigh of defeat as he leaned back and shook his head.

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I mean, shit, the nigga ain't wrong; Pharaoh is pretty much akin to a god, though I wonder how those niggas up on Mount Olympus are going to take it? I don't know, I feel like a nigga or two might want to come down and box him.