As I observed the squad cars pulling up, I maintained my projection of Crystal's finger clutched in my hand. My mask adjusted itself into a better position for talking, and I casually waved at the arriving police officers.

"We're gonna need an ambulance! One of them really messed themselves up," I called out to the police, concerned for the guy wearing the ski mask. Although I wasn't entirely confident about his survival, I hoped he would pull through.

"Good work." Startled by the sudden voice behind me, I spun around to face the newcomer.

Standing next to the unconscious leather-clad man was a figure dressed in silver armor with a helmet completely obscuring his face. It was impossible to determine where their eyes were focused through the visor.

"Night Nurse will make sure they pull through." Said the armored man.

Moving out of the way of the police, he stepped closer to me. His hands swung nonchalantly by his sides.

"New vigilante?" the mysterious figure inquired, their voice muffled by the helmet.

"Yeah, first day," I confidently responded. It was a bold claim for someone who had just taken down two supers, but I wanted to portray myself as a capable newcomer. I didn't bother trying for a handshake since his gloves would prevent any skin contact.

I assumed he must be a local hero. The police mostly worked around him, and the few people trickling back into the area had their phones out, snapping pictures.

He zoomed over to the police, said something, then appeared next to me again. "How about we have a conversation over here? Let the police do their work."

When I nodded in agreement, he ushered me to the sidewalk while more squad cars began arriving. I was mildly concerned about dealing with another speedster. It was a stroke of luck that the last one ran out of juice quickly. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into a fight.

"Name's Anytime," he introduced himself. "I'm with SID. We received reports of a super-powered altercation, but it seems you had things well in hand."

The man's casual tone reminded me of an old friend. I recognized it as a tactic to elicit more information from me, but it was oddly comforting to hear. This guy had experience playing good cop.

"Could you explain what happened?" He asked.

I glanced over at the newly arriving armored vehicle. The back doors opened, and four men got out, each of them wearing that same power armor from the tower.

"I was in the area when those two started throwing around fire. Figured I'd help put a stop to it." The armored men slapped some high-tech cuffs onto the two supers. They covered their entire hands and went up to their elbows. There still wasn't any sign of medical as they loaded the unconscious men into the vehicle.

Anytime's visor seemed to lock onto me, even though I couldn't see his eyes. "You're quite the brave one, stepping in like that. Do you have any experience dealing with supers?"

I hesitated for a moment, considering how much information to disclose. "I've had a few encounters in the past, but nothing too serious. Just trying to do my part to keep the city safe," I replied cautiously.

"I wish more supers were willing to step forward. Most just make my job more difficult. I've already got to worry about my teammates dumping their responsibilities on me. Just cause I'm a speedster, everyone thinks it's fine to give me more work." He complained.

"Well, do your best." I felt a little awkward from his mini-rant.

He nodded, then inquired, "Do you mind telling me what your power is?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, that's a private matter. I'm sure you can piece together a few of the details from the onlookers."

I gestured towards the police officers who had separated to take statements from the pedestrians. Certain specifics of my powers would come out, but I at least wouldn't confirm anything.

Anytime shrugged.

"Interested in joining SID? We're always looking for new heroes." He casually offered.

I considered the offer for a moment before responding, "I appreciate the invitation, but I think I'll stick to working independently for now. It gives me more flexibility."

I had already made my decision. Another team offering me membership wouldn't deter me from the path I wanted to follow. Besides, his complaints didn't really endear me to the idea.

"Fair enough. Just know that the offer stands if you ever change your mind. Unless, of course, you go villain. Then we'd have to hunt you down." He chuckled.

I could hear the smile in his voice. It didn't feel like a joke to me, but he found it funny for some reason.

"Thank you," I replied with a nod. "I'll keep that in mind."

Our conversation lagged for a moment, so I decided to take the chance to gather information. "So, you know who those guys were?"

Anytime didn't even try to hide anything. "The one with the skull bandana is Scorch. He's one of the Blessed. This is his first arrest, so we should be able to get his real name eventually. We haven't identified the other guy. That's pretty normal for the Snow gang, though."

His gaze, which had turned toward the partially smashed building I went through, turned back to me. "You should stop by SID HQ. We offer information packets for any new vigilantes. It's not much, but it'll give you an idea of the supers to look out for while on patrol."

"I haven't really decided if I'm gonna do any kind of patrols, but thanks. I might drop by later." Remembering I still hadn't introduced myself, I spoke up as his attention drifted again. "My name's Dexterous, but you can call me Dex."

I stuck with my old hero name. It wasn't anything special, but I liked its simplicity.

"Well, Dex, good luck. I'll be around Anytime you need me."

Apparently, he was done with me because, a second later, the man zoomed off. I noticed the truck with the two arrested supers was already halfway down the street.

It was a bit of a surprise that he didn't ask me to unmask or even comment on the hands covering my face.

"So, vigilantism isn't heavily restricted," I commented to myself.

I was happy with the result. It would mean fewer problems if I could work without much worry.

Turning around, I left the scene. The police officers cleared a path for me through the now massive crowd. I was thankful for their help since everyone was interested in the new super. I had hands from the crowd trying to stick their cell phones in my face while others settled for blinding me from a distance with their camera flashes.

When the police lost their effectiveness, I gave up on trying to push my way through the crowd. Using the power from Crystal's finger, I flew into the air and over the building I was looking for.

Landing in an alley, I checked that my clothes were still safely tucked behind a dumpster. I prayed that the smell would come out. Miraculously, my purchases survived the initial blast.

A quick change later, I was back on the street minus the hand mask and plus a bag of groceries. The streets were still busy, but no one paid me any attention. Now, I just needed to figure out which way led back to my temporary home.

As I made my way through the bustling streets, I couldn't shake the adrenaline from the fight earlier. The encounter with Anytime and the arrest of the supers left me feeling both exhilarated and cautious.

It always felt nice to catch the bad guys. I knew it would put me on people's radar, but I felt I could handle it.

Pulling out my phone, I found a map app and put in the apartment's address. Instantly, a notification offered to call me a taxi, so I accepted it.

Authors Note:

Head over to my Patreon to read ahead and view a new illustration for each chapter.

Thank you so much for reading my story! Any comments are appreciated!
Please consider supporting me by donating to Patreon or Paypal!