Instead of resting like a sane person, I decided to go back to the Quarter. If you read the last post, you'll know that I got my ass handed to me (and shot.) Like I said, my costume will take a while to fully repair, so, I went with the casual option.

Green morph suit, with a pair of boxer briefs on top, just cause I gotta resemble a hero somehow, and pants-on-the-outside is the easiest look to put together.

Can’t forget my daredevil-season-one style bandana! Eye holes added, don’t have any super senses to speak of.

Jumping around town like a frog is pretty freaking cool, especially since I can skip the crappy tiled roofs with a thought-out long jump (Thank you super-durability!). In a months’ worth of practice, I’m hoping to get more confident with parkour so I can do this sorta stuff on the fly, but for now it’s awkward leaps towards the nearest hardware store.

I brought 16.50 euro with me on my errand to buy the tool for today’s operation. I got a lot of weird looks going into the store. I tried to ignore them, but couldn’t help contorting my mouth into a weird smirk.

I waddled over to the paint section of the store.

Green’s the right colour to pick, yeah? Gotta stay on brand. On my way to the counter, I spotted a lady talking quietly on the phone, and considered the fact that she was probably calling the police. I asked the clerk how much the can of spray paint would cost, and he told me to leave.

I asked him if 15 was enough and he said the police were on their way. Had he phoned them too?

Obviously. Did I really have that much of an intimidating presence?

I was hoping to have some change left over to get a deal meal at the super market, but I didn’t want to rob the guy, so I gave him all my money and ran.

You can get a Lucozade sport, tayto cheese’n’onion, and a frozen BLT for 3 Euro. But alas, when I donned my cape, I swore an oath that I would never end up like The Boys or literally any Worm character.

I started hopping again, now on route to the glass roof I smashed last post. The front door was closed, as it was the middle of the day, so I decided to let myself in through the giant gap in the roof.

I really didn’t want to get shot this time, so I looked before I leaped.

Holy hell.

I forgot that jumping is basically pushing yourself off the ground. I pushed hard. The floor of the third-floor had caved, meaning I broke more than three tubs that night. The toilet in the corner was still firm on a piece of flooring that had survived my quads.

Now I know why plumbers get paid as good as they do.

The ladder down into the green room was intact, not that it led anywhere. This might be a good enough place to spray though. A clean-up crew will see it at the very least. I wasn’t placing any bets on clover finding it today but, whatever. It was just an idea I had to try and get to ‘know thine enemy’.

I got to work spraying the numbers on to the wall from my perch on the ladder.

Shit, that looks a little more like an 8 than a 6. No biggie, I’ll just spray it out again.

Crap, I can’t even read half of this. One more try.

It took me a few attempts, but I managed to spray out the number as I had written it down on my note pad. You may be thinking, why not just leave a note?

Well, she might know someone who can identify me by my stench coming from the paper.

I don’t know, ok?

Took an hour out of my day that I could have spent doing something productive, and I will not admit that I wasted my time with the spray can.

.

.

.

I jumped on to the roof of the local Mc D’s it was getting cold and dark quicker than I had thought it might, and I was caught in my morph suit. One particularly crappy night I had been caught in the rain and in search for cover while I got a sense of direction in the rain, I stopped under a little bit of cover on the roof, that also happened to let out some heat.

I honestly don’t know what this thing is, or if the gas coming from it is bad, but, baby it’s cold outside. This is also where I’m gonna keep my phone. It’s not a smart phone but I’m pretty sure you can still track it through the cell reception? Better safe than sorry. I whipped it out from a hiding place on the roof. I left some clothes here, a jacket and gloves, but my Irish sense was telling me rain was coming, and I didn’t feel like dancing on the golden arches in the rain.

I hunkered down in a position I thought would keep me a little comfortable, and checked to see if I had a text.

>>>??

I did. However, it could be anybody I’ve given my number to.

So it was Clover.

>>> ?? Lol think I’d remember that??

>>>Uh

>>>I don’t think so??

Huh. Maybe this was just a worker after all.

>>>YOU DUCKING COUNT ASS BUTCH!!

>>>I DID NOT SHOOT YOU IN THE DICK??

>>>ASS, STOMACH, HEAD, THATS ALL I REMEMBER

>>>HAHAHA LOL IS YOUR D O-KEY??

>>>YOU’RE PRIMARY IS LIKE SUPER DURABILITY, RIGHT??

>>>SHIT BESTIE, DIDN’T MEAN TO CASTRATE YOU LUL

Never mind my dick, is she ok?

>>>TRUE, TRUE HEHEH, SO WHAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT ROCKY

Did she just nickname me? Guess I did do the same to her.

>>>What the fuck?? Capslock was on the whole time and you didn’t say anything??

>>>No?? ?? You didn’t touch most of my product, and u helped weed out the weaker links in my operation.

>>>BTW When my guys come down from up north, don’t expect much more of this kiddy shift. Real road man gan’sta’ type swift.

>>>They’ll go in for that kill, bruv. Pratt-pratt, know what I’m sayin??

>>>See Rocky, you get it. The worst filth this rock has to offer, and they don’t even have powers. You ain’t seen scum with power yet.

>>>No Lol, fact about scum is its so dense it doesn’t see it’s self as scum.

>>>They don’t know whose on top. Drunk on what they’ve got.

>>>Fuckers like Belfast and Jack Channler.

>>>Wait, did you just call me scum?

>>>I’ll tell you about only one. Because duck you, I'm a great person.

>>>Both very much.

>>>But you only get info on one. Because duck you.

>>>duck you

>>>duck. you.

>>>Duck! Ducking autocorrect!

>>>Oooo bad choice, not much to tell

>>>he kicked me out of the north, rules the under-world their completely, iron grip.

>>>Everything naughty and not-so-nice, is his area. Child trafficking and shit

Well, it was good to know that she was above that at least.

>>>Asshole stole my territory and won’t let me back in. This was months ago, I lived over in England before I came back to this rock. He beat me really bad, don’t know his powers or his name. I just know he’s from Belfast, and can eat a skyscraper.

>>>IDK, luck ain’t so good against overwhelming power. Good thing ur just whelming LUL

>>>Honestly, I brought it on. I had a grasp on the north except his spots in Belfast. So, I threw my hat into the ring, and got a ducking bowling ball thrown back. Don’t know if he’ll follow me. But if he does, he’ll come for blood. Lol

I sensed she wasn’t loling.

>>> aww :] that’s sweat

>>>but honestly, I think the King has a better shot than your dumbass

She talked about this King guy last night, gave off the impression that was a title and not a name.

>>>NO

>>>He’s the greatest man on this shitty planet. He’s probably the only person working with others in mind.

>>>1. His name is Bastard, some sort of nomonial tradition. 2. It’s a conspiracy. duh.

>>>The greater good. A million wrongs to make the world right.

>>>only reason you aren’t dead is because I haven’t told him about you. He doesn’t have to do it himself. He has an army in the hundred thousands, counting my guys up north, and the other Units' boys around the world.

>>>people do know about this? Most people choose not to believe in this dumb swift. Preconceived notions brought about by established facts in science. Maybe they think the only true mystic power is God; all other beliefs are crazy. Or they’re a conspiracy nut who can’t get it to fit with their theories. Normal people are ignorant.

>>>Point is, people try to rationalise what they see or hear about to fit a narrative. CGI, lies, an act of god, a scientific unknown, whatevS lol

>>>LMAO YOUR STRAIGHT TO IT, GREEN BEAN! YOU ON THAT GRIND!

>>>WHATEVER I DON’T MIND TELLING YOU ABOUT THAT, MAYBE YOULL WISE THE FUCK UP AND STOP DICKING ABOUT.

>>>Thanks, lol

>>>Globally, we have 90 powered Units, some I wouldn’t count as people. here in europe there’s about 30.

Nearly a hundred? And they’re like her? Or that Belfast guy? I might actually be getting into deep shit. I don’t know if I can handle country level.

>>>yeah, you do. Only other faction that rivals us in numbers and power is Russia. I guess China, but Bastard isn’t dumb enough to truck with him.

>>>Nah you don’t need to know about Schism, not until you get the letter.

>>>put a lid on it, dipstick.

>>>Its different from your crap, and you know it. Schism is just the name the chinese government call him in front of his enemies. Its best if his private and work life don’t mix, for whoever’s trying to stir the pot.

>>>Of course, most know, they wouldn’t still be countries if they ignored it. Russia and china have firm structures for powers, like Schism, or the Mladentsy.

>>>Shit and theres the Internationals, promise you won’t talk to those fucks.

>>>Just don’t talk to them right now k??

>>>Whatever, junk monkey.

It was a while before she texted me back. Had I touched a nerve? Were this Internationals really that bad? I didn’t want to pry, and honestly, I was getting a little more than muddled with this poor excuse for exposition.

>>>lol

>>>I’m at mc Donald’s, wanna drop down?

What? What? I stopped for a moment to stare wide eyed at my surroundings. The rain shower turned out to be a quick one, so the night sky was clear now. I could see the streets below, illuminated by lights. The car park was empty, only filled by the buzz from the road beside it. I was spooked.

>>>No?? ARE YOU HERE NOW?? ARE YOU THE GREESY FUCK ON HIS PHONE??

>>>THERE IS ONLY ONE MCDS IN THIS DUMP YOU JUST SAID SO YOURSELF!??

>>>Fine by me, Idc if you starve dipshift.

>>>??

>>>You’re already fucked in the head like.

I furrowed my brow reading that. This was coming from the person who was sitting in a mc Donald’s, apparently laughing out loud whenever she thought about shooting me in the dick.

I tried to stealthily come down from the roof, to peak through the window. Sure enough, I saw a figure about the same height as Clover stareing down the spotty young man working the register. I couldn’t be sure it was her; the figure wore a padded coat with army green hot pants and to obscure their face from me, a hood.

I had no choice but to go in.

It was baltic outside.

Walking in, the spotty worker stopped trying to avoid the figures gaze to look at me, looking sadder now. The figure noticed and turned to face me.

“AHAHAH-HAHAHOLIECRAP-AHAHAHA.” I went a little frog faced.

The figure was infact loling in the middle of a mcdonalds thinking about someone she’d shot.

...

I think the burger was called the mc cheesey? On account of the cheese seeping from it. She spoke to me while she stuffed her face. The whole thing was bizarre, seeing this woman I thought had some class, stuffing her face. “Whumph da fumph aroo yoo dresshed lii dat??” I could make out what she was saying, barely, and replied, “Because of you, remember? You can’t expect me to jump around the city with holes in my crotch area. I’d look like a lunatic.”

“HNNPTH,” she snorted out a laugh before swallowing her bite, “Yeah, yeah, but didn’t I lodge a few bullets in your skull? Shouldn’t you be sleeping off those migraines, yeh softhead.”

“Only the damage from the first bullet is still there. You’ll find the other bullet with my dead body.”

She looked up at me before taking another bite of her burger. “None-fucken-existent??” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry, watching her eat that fat.

“Maybe.” I folded my arms, still chilled from the outside air.

Clover was making dumb food noises as she ate. I watched her, thinking about the question I wanted to ask next. “Clover?” She stuck her fingers in her mouth to clean them of cheese, “UHN?” I started to speak. “You said you didn’t tell your boss about me, you said he could have took me out by now.” She looked up to me with her big eyes “…Mhhmm.”

“Why didn’t you?”

The chair beneath squeaked as Clover leaned into it, “I don’t know. I’m alone out here really. Friends are back home. I’m the only Unit stationed on this crummy island. Guess it just seems good to have someone around, (even if he is wearing a nappy); to be there if something bad happens.”

I felt that. I’ve always been alone. Not for lack of trying, maybe that was my problem. I tried too hard to back people up when they were in trouble, took on burdens I shouldn’t have. Wanted to play the hero. But now’s different. I am…

“Clover, I’ll help you when you’re in trouble. I swear. I will protect you. For no reason. Even if you’ve done bad things, I’ll help you be better, get better. Even if you do try to kill me, pull out a piece and start shooting, I’ll only think of others. Like that poor kid working the night shift. Because that’s who I am. I’ll do anything, to help everyone.”

I’ve told people that I’d help them before, but none of them would give me the time of day. But that girl seemed like she felt my words, her cheery persona faded and then returned. “Well, aren’t you a ball of cheese… Well, if whatever that was is true, then you've got the whole 'capacity to forgive' thing down pat. If someone shot me in my hypothetical balls, I'd kick their ass. Eventually.”

“I’m still going to disrupt your illegal affairs though,” I defended against her complement, trying not to look embarrassed.

“What you do, what you sell, hurts innocent people.”

She broke her stare, and turned to the window. “I know. I’m a villain and you’re the hero. Aren’t you? But the thing is, hero, no one is pure. Not past the moment their da’ spunks in their mammy. I can’t wait to see you at your worst.”

Her face was still bright, if a little dimmer.

“Clover…”

“Uh-hu??”

“If you- only wanted me when you’re in bother, why did you ask me to come to McDonald’s?” She looked over to the spotty staff, then to me.

She took a moment to think, “Because-” she began, “Any idiot knows that before you can ask someone to help you out of your bad moments,”

A sunny smile slowly spread across her face.

“-You need to share a little bit of your good with them.”

We didn’t talk about anything you guys need to know about for the rest of that night.

Just normal stuff.