The Hero Joint
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Saturday, February 23, 2019
“I don’t know if I’d say you were my type, but…damn.”
Kris had to smile at the look on Lenny’s face when he laid eyes on her. He’d come back with a friend from work, and his date was an absolute knockout in every sense of the word. She stood over six feet tall, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt that showed off toned arms as well as an ample amount of cleavage.
Her jeans hugged her shapely ass perfectly, and Kris couldn’t stop staring. He knew exactly how lucky Lenny felt right now.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Kris teased. “Are you going to tell your girlfriend that she has competition?”
Lenny laughed. “She won’t be jealous,” he said confidently. “It’ll be great.”
He gave Kris a quick kiss before turning back to his friends. “You guys ready to go? We still have some shopping to get done tonight, then we’re heading out for dinner later.”
The other two men nodded. The three of them made their way over to the car where the driver was waiting patiently. They got in quickly, and the driver drove them all home. Kris leaned back against the leather seats, letting himself relax after the busy day.
Lenny sat next to him on the opposite side. Their shoulders touched lightly as they watched the world pass by through the tinted windows. When they arrived at Kris’ house, Kris paid the driver and let Lenny’s friends out before getting out himself. Once inside, he took his shoes off and made his way upstairs.
He found the boys in his room, sitting on the bed and talking quietly together. Kris could see that Lenny was deep in conversation, but the others weren’t paying attention to him. He smiled and went over to sit down between them.
“Hey there!” Kris greeted cheerfully. “Where did you two run off to?”
“Oh, we just came up here to check out the view, boss man,” one of the men said. Kris glanced around, trying to figure out which one. It was the short guy who’d given him the business card earlier today. He wore his brown hair slicked back away from his face, and his skin looked tanned.
His shirt was dark blue like he didn’t want to stand out too much in case he ran into the wrong person outside. The other two guys were older-looking men. One had too thin gray hair and a beard that covered his chin almost completely.
The other was clean-shaven with dark hair on his head. They both seemed like very solid people, but not overly friendly or outgoing. Kris decided he liked them anyway.
“What are y’all doing?” Kris asked again. All three turned to him at once, smiling and making introductions.
“This is Tom,” said Lenny. “He runs most of our operations.”
“I’m Ben,” said the bearded guy. “I handle the security systems.”
“My name’s John,” said the other, with no introduction. “I’m an accountant.”
“Nice to meet all of you,” Kris said, shaking their hands and nodding in appreciation. “We talked a bit at the party tonight, but I never really introduced myself properly. My name is Kris Longknife.
That’s my dad. And those two…” He pointed to Lenny’s friends. “They’re called the Dragonslayer brothers. They’ve been with me since day one. So let’s call this a family reunion of sorts.”
John laughed softly. “Family, huh?” he murmured. “How many more members will you add before you become a real family?”
Kris shrugged. “Only time will tell.”
Ben cleared his throat. “Well, now that you know us,” he said, “can you tell us how you plan to use this technology?”
Tom spoke up immediately. “There are some things I can answer for you, Kris,” he offered. “But the rest we’re going to save for tomorrow when we all get together as a team and go over everything we know. If we’re gonna pull this off, we need to start from scratch and figure out the best way forward.”
“Okay,” Kris said easily, knowing that the Dragonslayer brothers probably had already discussed what was going to happen before they even left. Still, he wanted to hear what Lenny would have to say.
“All right,” Lenny began. “Here goes: You’re going to find yourself in the middle of a battle royale with the forces of evil at our backs, so we need you to have some protection.”
Everyone looked at Kris expectantly. He nodded and waited until everyone was watching him carefully. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the business card John had handed him earlier. As he’d promised, it held a web address for the company website where he could order his own custom costume. He read aloud for them. “‘Custom-tailored superhero costume.'”
He flipped the card over and showed them the address again. “I don’t think I have any other questions. But I’d like to talk more about this on Sunday night after we meet with the rest of the team.”
“Good idea,” Lenny said firmly. He stood up. “You should get ready for bed, Kris. We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”
As Lenny walked out of the room, John spoke up. “You do realize that none of us actually knows anything about you, don’t you?” he asked seriously.
Kris frowned, surprised by his bluntness. He shook his head slowly. “I know you guys have a tough job ahead of you,” he told them honestly. “So if you’re asking me to trust you, then you better show me why I can.”
The two Dragonslayers exchanged looks and then Ben cleared his throat.
“I guess we should go too,” he said.
Kris nodded, glad that they had accepted his decision.
“Goodnight,” he told them. “See you soon.”
Lenny led them back downstairs and out the front door. As Kris locked the house behind him, he heard Lenny speaking into his phone.
“Okay, Ben,” he said quietly, “we’re on our way home.”
***
As Kris walked through the empty streets of the town, he reflected on his conversation with the Dragonslayers. They were being careful and cautious, so Kris was prepared to do the same thing himself. But still, there had to be something more he could do than wait here on standby for the team’s meeting.
After all, he had no idea when that might happen; only that it would eventually happen. It was important that he get as much training and preparation as possible before then, he knew that. So he decided to do exactly that.
As he neared his house, he stopped for a moment and considered all the different people he’d met tonight. From the first moment he saw her at the party, Lacey Longknife was intrigued. She’d seemed to know so little about him, but also that she had no intention of letting him know anything else either.
There was something about her that kept Kris coming back to her whenever they happened to cross paths at parties or functions. He was still trying to figure that part out as well.
On the other hand, Tom and John were just good friends. They both seemed to genuinely care for Kris and wanted to help him in any way they could. Their obvious excitement for this project reminded him of how happy he felt to be a part of this new adventure, even if he had no idea what it would entail.
The whole idea of being a superhero was something new to Kris—and he found it exhilarating.
And finally, there was Ben. He was the one who had invited Kris to come down to the lab in the first place and who had given him the information he needed to make sure this costume worked. But he’d also been there to support Kris as the others had done.
Even though Ben hadn’t known him that long, he seemed to understand Kris’s needs better than most. In fact, he probably knew Kris better than Kris knew himself.
It was almost like these four were his extended family, Kris realized. And yet, despite having met all of them tonight, he didn’t feel completely comfortable around any of them.
That thought troubled him a bit. Maybe because Kris had never really been close to anyone, not ever since he lost his parents in that plane crash years ago. He’d been raised by his grandmother and aunt and uncle, which had helped somewhat.
But still… Kris was used to being on his own and taking care of himself. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had someone to rely on. That thought bothered him even more.
He sighed. It was time to stop thinking about everything else and get back home to see how his costume turned out. As soon as he reached his door, he started pulling off his clothes.
Once he was naked from the waist down, he bent over and pulled on the boots first. Then, once he was sure he could move without falling over, he stood back up and tugged on the pants until they covered his feet.
A soft material slid between his legs and then his arms as he pulled on the jacket. Next, he pulled the black gloves over his hands and tugged them tightly onto his fingers. Once Kris was satisfied that he could bend, reach, and twist without falling on his face, he grabbed the cape from the floor beside his bed and slipped it over his shoulders.
Finally, he put the helmet under one arm and headed downstairs.
As he walked out his front door, Kris paused for a moment and looked up into the night sky. He wasn’t quite sure where he was supposed to change. But after staring up at the stars for a moment, his eyes fell on an empty tree trunk across the street.
He went over to it, picked it up, and carried it into the backyard. It wouldn’t take very long for him to get into costume—he hoped anyway—and there was plenty of room there.
Kris dropped the tree trunk next to the picnic table and stripped off the jacket before bending over it. Then he pulled off the boots and the pants before sliding into his costume, starting with the gloves and working backward.
When he was finished, Kris was dressed in his black-and-yellow costume with matching boots. But instead of heading back inside, Kris sat down on the picnic bench. It was cold out there, he was wearing nothing but thin gloves, and he didn’t have any plans to move anytime soon.
Kris closed his eyes and tried to relax while waiting for Ben to call him with instructions. This was all very interesting and exciting, but Kris was getting tired. Sooner or later, though, he’d get hungry again and then he really would have to find somewhere else to change.
A few minutes passed, and then suddenly, a light tap on his shoulder startled Kris out of his thoughts. Startled, he opened one eye and saw Tom standing behind him. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting,” Tom said quietly.
Before Kris could say anything else, another tap on his shoulder made him turn his head slightly to look over his shoulder at John. The man gave him a thumbs-up signal. Both men smiled warmly as Kris returned their smiles.
Kris nodded and turned back around to look into the night sky. He was tempted to go back inside and change right away but decided it might be wiser to wait a little longer. After all, Ben was a busy guy and had to deal with a lot of things besides the costume project.
Kris knew how much work it took to be an engineer, so he didn’t want to bother Ben unnecessarily. Instead, he waited patiently, hoping that Ben would come to him when he was ready.
The stars continued to twinkle overhead, each one unique and beautiful in its own way. But Kris’ attention drifted away from them as he started thinking about other things. He wondered what sort of training they would need for this new adventure of theirs, and what Ben was going to tell him about it.
There was no telling how long this assignment would take, or where they’d end up going. But it seemed likely that they wouldn’t know everything until they actually got there.
Kris felt the chill of the night air seep into his bones and wondered if he’d been wrong to sit outside in just his costume. He shivered a bit and wished he’d remembered to wear some of his old tights underneath it.
A few moments later, Tom came back and leaned over Kris’ left shoulder, talking softly. “How do I look?”
Kris glanced at Tom’s feet, which were now hidden by the bottom half of his costume. “You look fine.”
John chuckled. “He looks fine. Why don’t we go back inside?”
Tom gave Kris a quizzical look. “Why?”
“Because we’re not superheroes anymore, remember? We should get dressed before someone sees us walking around in our underwear.”
“I can walk around in my underwear!” Kris protested.
But John interrupted him with a quick shake of his head and pointed toward his house. Kris looked over and saw that Tom had disappeared. He shrugged and followed John back inside.
It hadn’t taken more than a couple of minutes for Tom to finish changing back into his normal clothes. By the time the two of them got back inside, everyone else had gone to bed except for Kris himself.
“I guess they decided to go to sleep without me,” Kris muttered, sitting down on the couch.
“They’re probably exhausted from all the excitement,” Ben said, coming over and leaning against the kitchen counter nearby. “Besides, it will be easier for you to talk in the morning since you won’t have your mask on.”
Kris nodded and smiled, trying not to let his disappointment show.
Ben looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Did you like wearing that outfit?”
Kris nodded again. He thought briefly about lying, saying that he loved it, and would’ve stayed in it forever if he could. But he realized that he couldn’t hide the truth from Ben, even under the guise of acting brave. He’d worn the costume because he wanted to help save lives. He’d done what he needed to do and had succeeded, so why shouldn’t he wear the costume?
And he wasn’t sorry that he did. After all, he’d managed to make a difference, and helped save people that otherwise never would have made it. That was enough for Kris. He could live with being a superhero as long as he got to make that kind of impact on the world.
So instead of answering Ben’s question directly, he simply shrugged and changed the subject. “Do you think we’ll ever stop fighting crime?”
Ben smiled. “No…probably not.”
“We can always quit, though…” Kris suggested, hoping he sounded convincing.
Ben shook his head sadly. “That’s not an option.”
Kris sighed and looked down. It seemed like they were stuck with their superhero identities forever, whether they liked it or not. And he was beginning to hate it already.
“Anyway, we have an early start tomorrow. You guys need to rest,” Ben said.
“Yeah…thanks for letting us stay here tonight,” John said, smiling at Kris.
Kris smiled back. “It was fun helping you out.”
Ben nodded and went back to the sink to wash his hands. John and Tom both stood up to leave. Kris waved goodnight after them and watched as they walked down the hallway toward their bedroom. He then turned back to Ben, who was drying his hands off on a towel. “What’s next for us?”
“Well, tomorrow will be busy,” Ben said, looking up at Kris. “There are three of them who we have to rescue, and a whole bunch of others we may want to help along the way.”
“Oh.” Kris thought about it for a second. “Will we have any downtime to train during the day? Or is that going to come first thing in the morning?”
“No, I think we’ll need a break,” Ben replied. “I’ll make sure of it. We’re going to need a lot of training while we’re there, but I also want us to get some R&R in too.”
Kris nodded. “Sounds fair. I’m pretty beat right now anyway.” He rubbed his eyes and yawned again, this time opening his mouth wide.
Ben laughed. “Get some sleep, Kris. You’re probably going to need it.”
Kris nodded and got up to follow his friends toward the door, but stopped in his tracks when he heard footsteps running up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw one of the other men coming down the hall towards him, a look of concern on his face.
The man ran up to Kris and knelt down by his side. He grabbed Kris’s shoulders and shook him lightly, asking quietly, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, just tired,” Kris said, nodding. Then he noticed the concerned look on the guy’s face. “Who are you? Are you part of the team?”
The man smiled warmly and shook his head. “Not yet. My name is Mike. I work with you guys.”
“Oh, hi! Nice to meet you,” Kris said.
Mike nodded back. “You should get some sleep.” He pointed towards the door. “I’ll make sure that the other guys see that you go straight to bed.”
Kris smiled gratefully and followed his friend into the hallway. Before Mike went back to his place, he turned around and said something quietly to Kris.
Kris didn’t catch everything the man said, but he thought he caught the words “worrying” and “about”. As far as Kris knew, none of them had been worried about the fight. If anything, Kris thought the only ones who were really stressed about the outcome were himself and John, because they’d put so much effort and trust in the men in front of them.
But now he was wondering if maybe someone else had been concerned about the situation. Maybe it hadn’t just been a case of everyone being so exhausted and mentally drained from the fight that their worries had slipped away from them.
As Kris started walking down the hall, his mind wandered to who he might have seen during the battle that might have worried about him and the team. It was hard to remember anyone since he was focused on the task at hand, but it was possible one of the men had taken notice and felt compelled to check on him.
As he entered his room, Kris shut the door behind himself and then turned on his lamp beside his bed before sitting down and lying down. His exhaustion hit him immediately, and he felt like he was going to drift off almost instantly.
Kris tried his best to force himself awake, thinking about how strange it was that a person could feel so exhausted but still want to sleep. That was what happened to him. It took every ounce of his strength to stay awake even longer, but eventually, his eyelids finally gave up, and Kris drifted off to sleep.
The End