“Enter.” Sam walked through a sea of armed men after being kindly escorted there. He couldn’t tell where exactly they had dropped him off, but he expected it was somewhere off to the outskirts of the city near some of the old warehouses. It was a popular spot from what every visit to Star had taught him.
Walking through another checkpoint he noticed the myriad of men walking and moving crates throughout the place. The walls had plates reinforcing the structure, the type that could take a hell of a beating and barely buckle at all. He noticed that some of the crates were stuffed to the brim with weapons he couldn't recognize beyond them being huge. They weren't the type you went hunting with, these were what you brought out when you were expecting war.
After being led underground from a hatch in one of the dilapidated office rooms he started to finger something in his hand but remained calm. He figured he could at least hear them out and leave if the situation called for it. Eventually, the men in front of him led him to a large open area with another circle of men watching over a figure in the center. Whoever it was towered over the people surrounding them, their sheer size and width seeming impossible when compared to the men looking to guard them. The figure stayed out of the spotlight, so Sam couldn’t confirm who he thought it was, but knowing the city he was in he had a solid guess.
“Seems like a large group for a job offer,” Sam said as he casually explored the room.
“This isn’t all for you. You're just a piece that ended up in the wrong city.” the figure, a man, replied. His deep voice seemed to fill the entire room in moments, some of the men further away standing up straighter.
“Oh? Is that right?” Sam peered at the man's face but was hindered again by the lack of light.
“You come to Star, you have to meet the locals, touch base with the players before you get anything done,” the voice declared.
Convinced at the man's identity Sam gave a little chuckle.
“You plan to make me pay for it?”
“In a sense. So for now how about you drop the look, or is this your new favorite skin?”
With a grunt, Sam's form seemed to shatter, the stout man replaced with a slim man with slick back hair and a form-fitting suit. On his left wrist was a watch and in his hand, he held what appeared to be a gun.
“Now ain’t that better? We can speak like men, or rather a man and a clown who likes to run around in an imaginary world.”
“Cute, but if that's all this meeting is going to be I can excuse myself at any time,” Sam spoke, his words clear and concise unlike the voice he had been using previously.
“Feel free to go, but then you are missing out on all this.” Tossing a stack of money at Sam's feet the man continued. “And the money is just the start, my new partner has many ventures that you could appreciate.”
Eyeing the money Sam seemed to think for a moment before he leaned back and appeared to sit down on nothing but air.
“Well, I could hear you out at least.” Sam motioned for the man to speak.
“It's simple, you have a record for moving where you please. You'll be handling transport for a couple of their items and more," the man told him. "Beyond that, there's a resource of theirs that went missing a few days ago and you’ll be working with me to get it back.” Tossing a few photos the man stepped forward into the light, his reddish stone skin highlighted by the light's soft white glow.
“And you need my help for the second one? I would think you could handle it, considering the brand of skincare you use.” Sam reached down and took one of the photos, on it was a familiar face. One he had just met not even a few days ago.
“Lucky karma…” he whispered.
The reddish giant's eyes narrowed as he noticed Sam's reaction.
“You recognize him,” he stated.
“Recognize him? I put him in the suite I was going to be staying in! What type of ‘resource is he? He contagious?” Sam joked as he tossed the photo back at the man's feet.
“No, but he's closer to my type…” Stepping on the photo the man walked up until he was standing right in front of Sam, looking down at the smaller man with a scrutinizing gaze.
“You’ll be in charge of getting him here, and I’ll make sure he’s wrapped up and waiting for our partner.”
“The partner being?” Sam asked.
“On a need-to-know basis for now,” the man answered. “ And what you need to know is that our friend is strong, fast, and durable, so you need to get him here quick and easy. From the reports before his storage facility was lost, he doesn’t mind leaving people in the hospital.” One of the men in the background stepped forward with a laptop showing off the man in question. His wild hair flowing behind him as he ran through bullet fire like it was the rain.
“There's a chance he’s hiding his tricks, the researchers say his durability would spike randomly. From the video, there are times where a bullet would hurt and other times, nothing at all. Some guards punched would be down for the count and others just winded.”
Closing the laptop the man continued. “My job will be to see what he has, how in control of it he is, and make sure he’s wrapped up. But the goal first and foremost is to make sure you get transport set up for a few of our toys.”
“So grab him, don’t get grabbed. Easy enough,” Sam replied. “But if that's the case I need to set up a bit of a runway”
The larger man crossed his arms. “I expect you have a plan that will handle him since you know where he is.”
“Simple one actually. Anywhere I stay I usually place down some of my ‘art’. Gives me room to spread my legs,” Sam mused
“Meaning you have a direct line to him,” the man smirked
“Exactly.” Pointing his gun at a section on the ceiling Sam started to play with a dial on the side of it. “You get your boys ready and when I give the signal.”
Shooting the gun a silver ray of light hit the ceiling and spread into the concrete, the dull grey taking on a more metallic sheen.
“I go say hello.”
“I’m just saying the mix isn’t that popular, why bother.” Kye swirled with the liquid death his fellow employees have dared to label coffee and scoffed.
One of said coworkers seemed to take offense to his handling of the poisonous substance and snatched it out of his hand.
“Because,” She stressed, “It's not about popularity, it's about having something that the truly cultured individual can appreciate.”
“Don’t see how this biohazard could be a part of any culture, but what do I know?” Kye replied
“Exactly! What do you know newbie?” She mocked him. “How could you understand the refined taste that comes with-”
“Dont care,” he cut her off “Plus, pretty sure I know more about you Krissia.” Kye chuckled to himself about all the potential knowledge he had on how this universe worked. Maybe it would come back to bite him, but there was a weird satisfaction about having answers to so many of the questions people from here could have.
“Don’t see how a kid who should be in high school could know much about imported coffee blends. But then again you all struggle with algebra so the bar was hopeless to begin with,” Krissa smirked.
“I’m not a -”
“Hmmm, comes filled with hot air and all. This balloon is precious,” She mocked him.
A retort was quick to his tongue, but he kept it. Getting baited by her was a lesson he failed to learn too many times already.
“Fine!” Packing up the last remaining dishes, he ignored the chuckles from the spectators before heading to the kitchen.
“Bye-bye balloon boy!”
Kye stuck his tongue out, leaning into his supposed teenage appearance. It had been a week of awkward talking, but Krissa had gotten them all talking like war buddies. It was great, but it involved a couple of jabs to his expense when he got around to giving Parvey a couple sets of dishes to cover the ones he had misplaced. Quickly cleaning the dishes he washed off his hand and noted the time. Removing his apron he took out his duffle bag and headed to the entrance.
“Anyway I gotta head out, got a couple errands to run.” he told the remaining people in the shop.”
“Not gonna spend the night with our lovely little family here?” Krissa asked.
“Thanks, but there's a bit I gotta square away first. When my living situation is more stable we can party however we want.”
Leaving the diner Kye walked down the now familiar streets of Star city looking for a clothing store. He had talked to Daryl, another coworker, into helping him move things for a warehouse job with his truck. The combination of his strength and stamina and someone able to transport things doing wonders for time. Now with a relatively healthy wallet and a steady paycheck, he had to find an outfit that could give a good impression to the lady who owned the place he hoped he would be staying in.
He wouldn’t mind staying in the hotel, its view doing wonders for the nights he got too wrapped up in his thoughts, but the price tag ended that quickly.
Entering one of the last remaining open stores he found a nice black polo shirt and a decent pair of jeans. It was strange getting fit it a couple of sizes smaller than he was used to, but now that he had a couple sets of clothes besides the rags and the uniform he was kindly given.
Ok, think I’ve gotten everything important, just gotta meet the lady and I’ll be set.
Checking the time again he slipped into a quick jog to his lovely little hotel. Ignoring the looks the front desk was giving him he went up to his room and threw his duffle bag on the bed. A quick shower and he had changed into his new set of clothes, slipping on the same pair of sneakers.
Looking in the mirror, Kye touched his hair. He had gotten used to it and it was growing on him, but maybe it was too wild for a first meeting.
Don’t want a trim, hair tie maybe? Think that should be fine.
Tying his hair with one that he uses at the diner he gave himself a once over.
“Not bad, looking much better than earlier,” he joked to his reflection.
“Damn better than in the past.” the reflection of himself said. “Maybe a trim though, that hair looks impossible to handle.”
“The Hell!?”
The mirror copy reached out and before he could react pulled, ripping him from the room bag and all and into the mirror.
Thanks for the Chap
Thanks for reading!
Another good fanfiction into hiatus.