The Library of Powers

Chapter 12 - part 3

It was a much longer bus ride to Jackson's final destination, as this time he had to not only take the H line through Two Bay Park onto the Penninsula but transferred onto the 117 towards Northshore. And before he knew it, he was in the abandoned square next to Dino & Sons.

The string lights in the courtyard were lit, providing the last bit of resistance against the light-polluted, inky-black sky. As Jackson approached the door, he hesitated. Was it strange to show up unannounced? Maybe so, but he wasn't sure if he even cared about being strange. Jackson knocked on the door.

He heard a muffled yelp from inside, then someone rushing over to the door. "We're closed!" Ivory yelled.

"It's Jackson."

He heard another muffled yelp, then someone opening the door. Ivory greeted him with a little bit of a grimace as she tightened something over her chest. It took Jackson a moment to realize what it was. A bulletproof vest. Ivory finished strapping it on, and then finally addressed Jackson. "What are you doing here? I have to leave soon."

"I figured it out," Jackson told her, "I know what my superhero name is going to be. In fact, I know the whole persona," he held up a large shopping bag which held his costume.

Ivory cocked an eyebrow. Jackson showed her the contents of the bag, and this time Ivory grinned. "Let me guess, Marc?"

"I, uh... I had," Jackson stuttered, "I had to force him to give me this stuff. I remember how you told me he was selling your stuff to supervillains."

Ivory turned around and beckoned him inside. "Don't sweat it. The dude was doing some pretty shady shit."

"But you're," Jackson started, still on the doorstep, "I mean, we're superheroes. Does that give us the right to do crimes?"

"Jackson." Ivory sighed. "I don't have the time for this right now. Do you know why superheroes are allowed to operate? With so little oversight? Because they need us to. The world needs superheroes to do what the police and the justice system can't. I'm not saying punishing corrupt bankers like Red Scare, or putting down coups like Batallion. I'm saying doing the things the police literally can't do. Stopping people they don't have the resources to fight. Getting to criminals they can't get to in time. Not keeping the city safe, but making sure the citizens feel safe. And if we have to take revenge on an asshole salesman to do it, well that's the price."

Jackson stayed in place, looking down. They were silent.

"C'mon, go throw on that suit in my bathroom.  You can come with me on this one. It's real simple, don't worry. And with the pay you can even pay Marc back, as little as he deserves it."

Jackson might not have agreed with Ivory, but she was the one with experience. He was willing to trust her for now.

***

When Jackson walked out of the bathroom, Ivory was also in full costume. If you could call it that. Ivory wore a grey baseball hat, green bomber jacket, and black motorcycle pants. Jackson assumed they were artifacts, but that's not where the outfit got strange. In her hand there wasn't any sort of weapon, but an umbrella. And last but not least, her contacts were gone, bright red eyes piercing through the dimly lit shop. She wore no face disguising apparel, which Jackson thought made sense. People would focus so much on her eyes it would act as a great disguise. Still, Jackson thought the costume was unlike any he had ever seen. In fact, it wasn't one he had ever seen. Meaning Ivory probably didn't make the local news that often.

"Hmm. Well, despite how much of a dirtbag he is, Marc did well," Ivory said as she gave him a once over. Jackson's outfit was much simpler. Form-fitting but well padded, Jackson looked nondescript, but definitely like a superhero. "What's your name?"

"Jackson pulled the plastic stopwatch out of a pocket in his utility belt. "Stopwatch?" He posited, prodding for her opinion.

Ivory chuckled, "We can do better than that." She turned towards a cupboard and started randomly opening cabinets. "Oh, not the name, I like that," she qualified. When she found what she was looking for, she held it up to Jackson. It was a silver stopwatch on a long chain. Like the one Jackson had, it was digital, but this one was significantly nicer.

"It also buzzes when danger is approaching. Which could help you quite a bit, since you haven't had the time to figure out how to tell if something is dangerous."

Jackson accepted the gift, affixing it to his belt. "One more thing," Ivory said, grabbing the Domino mask off his face. "Your hair is too long for a domino mask. Doesn't look good. Try..." she grabbed a pair of sunglasses from a rack nearby. "This."

He held them in his hands, a little unsure. They were aviators, and not particularly nice ones at that. "How will I be able to see at night through these?" he questioned.

Ivory grinned once again, "Jackson, you'll only be able to see at night through these."

Testing her claim, Jackson put the sunglasses on and was instantly greeted with a very bright room. It wasn't night vision, there were too many colors for that. It was as if every object in the room had a light emanating from inside it, and shadows didn't exist. Jackson stepped outside and was greeted by a sky full of stars. He took them off and looked towards Ivory, still inside. "This is crazy! Why don't you wear them?"

Ivory tapped her temple and joined him outside. "These two things do the same, if I want them to. They're hell most of the time, but they have their perks," she closed and locked the door to Dino & Sons. "Ready to go?" she asked, "It's a super easy job, no fighting necessary. It's actually pretty good timing, this is a good way to show you what to expect."

Jackson put on his new sunglasses in the coolest way he could. Or, he tried to, accidentally dropping them after jabbing himself in the eye. As they fell, Jackson slowed time down, grabbing them in midair, and carefully placing them on his head before returning to normal. Ivory chuckled at the sight, then started heading out.

"Oh, and remember to call me by my superhero name while we're on the job," Ivory said.

"Which is?"

"Well, Stopwatch, I'm Urbanity. Nice to meet you."