Sudden Superhero

9. First Appearance

WHEN I OPENED the box yesterday, I had neglected to notice its considerably large size. It was Saturday now, and I was in my room rifling through the contents while Mom was busy with her morning cooking shows. There were more items inside than I originally thought, and I had no clue what half of it was.

There was the jacket, a shirt to wear underneath it, the pants, the mask, gloves that latched onto the jacket sleeves, a head mask-helmet hybrid thing, a pair of shoes, and that was where my knowledge ended. Everything else was beyond me.

I stared into the box, dejected. How could I practice when I didn't know what or how to practice? I flipped over Kavanagh and Castro's note to find a phone number scribbled on the other side. I'd noticed it earlier, but I didn't know whose number it was, so I hadn't called. But now that I was thoroughly confused, there was no use in not calling.

I dialed the number and waited. When the ringtone stopped, I immediately said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Peter."

"Who's this?"

There was silence on the other end. And then, "Seriously?"

"You never signed your name," I said defensively. "I just want to be sure!"

"I'm sorry," Kavanagh said, "but that note was from two people, and do I sound like Mrs. Castro?"

"No."

Silence again. "Is something wrong?"

"No," I repeated, but I stood and paced around my room, keeping my eyes on the box. Technically, nothing was wrong, but there was a pit in my stomach telling me that if I couldn't even figure out my tools on my own, I would be an idiot of a hero.

 I swallowed my pride and sighed. "It's just that I don't know how to use any of this stuff."

"I'll send Jenny."

"Wait!" I lowered my voice. "I can't do it at home, Mom's here. Nowhere near her bakery, either. Where should we meet?"

"Pick an alley. Goodbye."

"Wait! Don't you want to know which alley?"

"Don't need to. There's a tracker in your suit."

With that, he hung up, and I looked at my jacket accusingly.

☆

At night, alleys can be scary places. I didn't spend any nights in them to speak from experience, but I'd seen enough movies and read enough books to know what kinds of things could happen in those hidden spaces between buildings. In the daytime, though, when it is only a space between buildings with nothing but a dumpster and zero shadows, they may as well be sidewalks. I've been through plenty during the day, and the scariest thing was the occasional jumpscare from a street cat.

I walked to an alley where the nearby businesses were all shut down and the adjoining sidewalks were devoid of people and set the box down. Now that the jacket was stationary, Jenny should realize I had found a spot and was ready to meet.

I waited, tapping my foot lazily, looking up when birds flew through the rectangle of sky above me. I glanced at the box every few seconds to make sure it hadn't sprouted legs and ran away. It remained where it was, soaking up some alley juice at the bottom corners. 

I'd given some thought to its contents. My first challenge would be figuring out how to keep my supersuit with me. Wearing it under my clothes was not an option: both the jacket and the pants were too thick to be underlayers. Those two items, I'd have to carry with me, along with the mask. And the shoes...they could pass as regular sneakers, but wearing them all the time in case a crisis popped up would wear them out. They would also be difficult to carry around; at least the jacket and pants could be folded up.