The Caped-Crusader Caper - 2. Chapter 2

It was a warm evening, and they stopped at a street vendor only a block from the hotel. They had to do two blocks west before heading north, and Justin could already feel the dampness inside his costume. It would now have to be washed before he could wear it again the next day. Stupid hotel people!

The cart sold drinks. The old guy standing by the cart was calling out that fact, and looked hot himself. They'd observed him taking a swig off a dripping bottle of orange drink as they walked up, which was what prodded them to stop in the first place.

"What're youse guys supposed to be?" the man asked, shifting his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. It rolled neatly beneath his gray mustache, and Justin thought the dexterity of the move pretty awesome. A tongue like that could be damn useful!

"I'm Robin, and that's Speedy," Kyle said, as he fished his wallet out of Justin's quiver.

"Yeah?" The vendor gave Kyle a once over and nodded. "Like Batman and Robin? Who'd a figured?" The man's eyes turned to Justin. "Who's this Speedy guy?"

"He was Green Arrow's sidekick," Justin said patiently, as Kyle pulled three dollar bills from his wallet and handed them to the vendor.

"Old school," Kyle added, smiling sideways at Justin. "Golden age."

The old man looked surprised, and then squinted anew at Justin. Again, the cigar rolled from one side to the other. "Hey! I remember that! Roy...Harper! Yeah! Roy Harper! Hey, I read about you when I was just a yonker!"

Justin's eyes widened, and then he grinned. "You're right!"

"Hey, they were some times!" The vendor nodded, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Sure, Green Arrow and Speedy! I remember when youse guys fought against the Clock King!"

That was a Silver age story line that Justin was familiar with from his granddad's collection, and he laughed. "That was a rough one!"

The old man opened his eyes and looked down at the dollar bills, and then handed them back to Kyle. "Hey, I can't take your money fellas. Here, this one's on me! What'dya have? I got Coke, Pepsi, root beer, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, that Zero stuff, Orange, and Mountain Dew. And I got the diet types of them drinks, too."

"We can't take them without paying!" Justin protested.

"Aw, sure ya can! Hell, youse guys is out savin' the world every day - who am I to begrudge ya a cold drink on a hot summer evening?" The old man flipped open the top of the cart and rummaged around inside, and pulled out two cold drinks. He grinned at them as the cigar magically rolled side-to-side once more. "Come on, fellas, what'dya have?"

Justin looked at Kyle, who just shrugged. "Coke."

"I'll take a root beer, I guess," Justin added.

"Comin' right up!"

Kyle returned the bills to his wallet and pushed it back into Justin's quiver. The vendor brought out the drinks and handed them over, and then smiled as they opened them and each took a long swallow. The old man clapped his hands together and chuckled.

"Yeah, those were some times, fellas. Me and my pal, Benny Brewster, we'd walk up to the emporium on Clarke Street and buy us a couple of them comic books, and then go back home and sit out on the fire escape and read 'em. Ten cents they cost! But they was worth every penny!" He shook his head, and then sighed. "Yeah, those were some times. I wonder where Benny is now?"

The boys simply waited, sipping their drinks and smiling. Whatever was going on with this guy, he had to finish it himself. The man remained lost in thought a minute more, and then suddenly noticed them again and laughed. "So where youse guys headin' next? Off to bust the bad guys?"

Justin smiled and pointed in the direction they had been going. "We're heading that way."

The man turned and squinted off into the distance. "Yeah? Bet there's all sortsa stuff goin' on that way, too. Lotsa adventures to be had." He turned back and smiled at them, and the cigar did its roll a final time. "You fellas be careful, you hear?"

"Thanks for the drinks," Kyle said, holding up his Coke. "That really hit the spot!"

"Hey, it's nothin'! Least I can do for Gotham's finest!" The old man winked. "Thanks for the memories. Go get em' fellas!"

The boys nodded, looked at each other, and then started off.

"What the hell was all that about?" Kyle asked, once they were out of earshot.

"I don't know. But it was kinda cool, really."

The crowd easily reabsorbed them with very little attention, just two more slightly odd elements of a city that understood odd all too well. The attention they had been expecting simply had not materialized. A few people smiled at them in passing, someone would laugh now and then; but otherwise they had been largely ignored. Being part of a crowd in the city granted an anonymity that few other situations could match.

And, their own initial feelings of drawing attention to themselves had caused them to look more closely at those around them, and it was with some surprise that they had seen that a lot of people they passed were pretty oddly dressed, themselves. So after a few blocks of causing less than a ripple in the crowd, they had managed to relax a little and simply concentrate on the task of walking.

"We go left up here at the next corner," Justin said after a while. He moved them toward the curb, out of the main flow of pedestrian traffic, and finished his drink and tossed the empty into a nearby trash can.

"I know." Kyle tossed back the last of his own drink, disposed of the can, and leaned closer to his friend. "We're being followed."

Justin sat hard on an impulse to turn and look back the way they had come. "What?"

"Yeah. Two guys. They stopped by that lamp post a ways back, right when we did."

Justin sighed. "That doesn't mean they're following us."

"Well, I saw them back by that drink guy. They were pointing at us. And they've been back there since we started walking again."

"It still doesn't mean they're following us."

"They stopped when we did."

"So? It's a free country, mostly."

Kyle looked exasperated behind his mask. "I tell ya, they're following us!"

Justin held up a hand. "Okay, don't get mad." He turned his head and looked on the way they had been heading. "Let's go to the corner and turn, and see if they turn, too."

They resumed walking, and edged back into the crowd. As they reached the corner they had to dart through people going the opposite way to make the turn, and a big guy in a business suit and wearing a cell phone headset stopped short to let them pass. He stared at them briefly, and then grinned.

"You'll never guess what just happened," they heard him say into the microphone. "Coupla caped crusaders just cut me off!"

And then they were around the corner, and it was a straight shot to home. Kyle turned to Justin, a big smile on his face. "You hear that guy? Caped crusaders!"

Justin had to smile himself. "Yeah. The Batman would be proud!" Justin turned then and looked down the street. "Come on. We'll get in that next doorway and wait to see if they go past."

They hastened to the next store, which had a recessed double doorway, and stepped around the corner of the display window. Kyle turned to the glass inside the cubby and peered through both panes at the stream of pedestrians they had just left. "Here they come."

Justin stood on tiptoe to peer over his friend's head. "Where?"

"Right there."

Justin squinted, but couldn't see two men walking together towards them anywhere. "I don't see any guys."

Kyle made an exasperated sound. "One's got a red shirt on, and the other has a blue one. They're almost here!"

Justin peered again...and then he saw them, and a short laugh escaped his lips. "They're just kids!"

The two boys, maybe nine or ten, were hustling towards them, heads leaned forward, their eyes searching. It was obvious that they were looking for something or somebody...but...

The two reached the doorway where the caped crusaders were lying in wait, and Kyle simply stepped out in front of them and raised a hand imperiously. "Halt! What are you up to?"

The two boys stopped suddenly, and both reflexively backed up a step. Their faces were painted with alarm now, and one turned as if to run, but the other snaked out a hand and stopped him.

"Are you following us?" Kyle demanded.

"No!" the runner said, defensively.

"Yes!" the other said at the same time, and then looked at his partner and frowned. "We are, too!"

The runner gnawed at his lips, his eyes on the two costumed figures before him. "You were following them! I was just following you!"

Kyle crossed his arms, looking stern. "It's not nice to follow people."

Justin snorted then, and moved to stand next to his friend. "What's up, guys?"

"Nothing, sir," the runner managed. "We'll just leave you alone now."

"We need help," the other said, and then glared at his companion. "Shut up, Nick!"

That seemed to break the runner out of his fright. "Who you tellin' to shut up?"

"You! It was your idea to follow these guys. Now shut up!"

Nick's face crumpled a moment, but then he just nodded. "Okay."

"What's up?" Justin repeated to the talker. "And what's your name?"

The first boy's head bobbed up and down. "I'm Andy, and that's Nick."

Justin nodded. "Okay, Andy and Nick. For the last time, what is going on?"

Andy looked them over and frowned. "You're superheroes, right?"

"I'm Robin, and that's Speedy," Kyle said, with just enough self-importance to cause Justin to smile.

"You fight bad guys?" Andy asked.

Justin would have counseled caution in answering that question, had not Kyle spoken first. "That's our business, yes!"

So Justin just held up a hand. "Wait a second. What sort of bad guys?"

"Bad ones," Andy answered.

"Real bad ones!" Nick added in.

Justin closed his eyes a moment. Just what they needed! All they were trying to do was get back to Justin's apartment. That was all. Very simple, very straightforward. Get home, eat some dinner, watch some TV, then go to bed.

He smiled. Bed. Bed with Kyle was another adventure, one Justin had come to love. Bed with Kyle at night canceled any of the small things that happened during the day that sometimes put a strain on their friendship. Their most unusual friendship, actually. Really, they were not very much alike. Justin was easygoing, and not too serious; while Kyle was often too serious, and sometimes overbearing.

Take this superhero stuff. Comics were fun, and cosplay was even better. It was fun because it had never not been fun. But sometimes Kyle went too far in his playacting at being a superhero. Sometimes he took it too seriously. Getting involved with real bad guys did not sound like fun at all...

Kyle prodded Justin with an elbow, and Justin opened his eyes. His boyfriend was giving him a worried sidelong inspection, one that said, Don't go all spacey on me now!

"Who are these bad guys?" Kyle persisted, turning back to the two boys.

"We were heading home," Justin reminded then.

Kyle held up a hand for silence. "We're needed." Like that should be enough.

It seemed to be enough for Andy. "They took our clubhouse."

"Yeah!" Nick agreed. "We made it! They stole it!"

"Who stole it?" Kyle asked, finally sounding a little exasperated.

"We don't know their names," Andy said. "They're from another neighborhood."

"Not ours," Nick agreed. "They came and saw what we had, and they swiped it!"

"They physically moved it?" Kyle asked.

Both of the younger boys shook their heads vigorously. "No, it's still there. But so are they. We can't get in. They won't let us!"

"Turf war," Kyle said, shaking his head. "Not good."

Justin gave his head a little shake. "It's just little kids fighting over an old crate or something!"

"It's not a crate!" Andy put in then, sounding mad. "It's a clubhouse, and it's ours. We made it. And these guys took it!"

"Where is this clubhouse?" Kyle asked.

Andy's eyes lit up, sensing some action might come from this after all. "It's over there!" He turned and pointed to the east of the direction they had been heading. Away from Justin's parent's apartment.

"How far over there?" Kyle asked, patiently.

The two smaller boys looked at each other. "Three blocks?" Nick asked.

"Four," Andy corrected.

Justin looked that way, and swore silently. People not used to the city always gaped when locals talked about walking everything in 'blocks' The city was very regular, gridlike, and the blocks were almost all the same. But they were not square, they were rectangular. Walking in a north/south direction, like the way they had come from Justin's apartment, you walked the 'street blocks', the short sides of the rectangle, and the rule of thumb was that sixteen of these blocks equaled about a mile.

If you walked in the east/west direction, you were taking the long side of the rectangles, the 'avenue blocks', and it only took four of these blocks to equal the same mile. So when Nick said their trouble was four blocks to the east, he was saying it was just as far as the walk back to Justin's apartment!

"We don't have time for this!" Justin whispered.

"Sure we do," Kyle countered. "It's only about five-thirty. It'll be light out until nearly nine o'clock."

Justin looked down at his costume, and then over at Kyle's. "I mean - we'll be out here dressed like this for hours!"

Kyle took a deep breath, and then put his hands on his hips and adopted his superhero stance. "No one has complained. Who complains about crime fighters?"

Kyle's manner was serious and demanding, but something in his eyes was pleading. Please? Let's do this!

It took Justin a moment to see it, but once he did he felt his resolve soften. His boyfriend sure could be a little nuts, but he meant well, and his heart was in the right place. Justin looked again at the two kids who had followed them, saw the hope and the need in their eyes, too...and caved. He felt his sense of reality slip a little, and realized that this was a matter of putting up, or shutting up. Superheroes did not run away.

Even when the mission was a little nutty!

Justin squared his shoulders and hefted his bow. "What sort of fellas are these bad guys?"

"Big kids," Andy said, a note of contempt - and fear - in his voice.

One of Kyle's eyebrows went up behind his mask. "How big?"

Again, the two smaller boys looked at each other. "Twelve?" Andy asked Nick.

"Naw. They gotta be at least thirteen!"

Kyle's eyebrow dropped. "Uh huh. How many of them?"

The two smaller boys replied in unison. "Three!"

A brief look of relief crossed Kyle's face, and then he smiled. "They sound mean, but I think we can handle them. Right, Speedy?"

Justin couldn't help a small laugh, but squared his shoulders and nodded. "Right, Robin!"

Kyle waved a hand at the two boys. "Lead the way!"

And so they were off.