Chapter Text
“Kid, you’ve gotta let the High Five Guy go!”
“I literally have him! I’m not letting him get away!”
Today’s villain? High Five Man. A relatively new character, not a super big deal, at least not yet.
His elasticity superpower was proving to be very annoying, though. He kept trying to stretch his arms out to grab parked cars and throw them at the bank. The key word was trying, because just having elastic skin was proving to not be enough to pick up a car. You also needed strength to do that. And with an average man’s strength, there was no shot in hell he was going to be able to throw a car.
Still, he was terrorizing the city, and the vigilante Kid with Crocs was not going to let that slide just because he was bad at it. Using his crocs modified to have retractable roller skates at the bottom, he chased after the villain, trying to detain him before the police got there. John was on standby, talking to him through an earpiece.
“NYPD is coming down fourth and you need to be out of there before they reach the scene.”
“The NYPD won’t be able to worry about me until this guy is taken care of, and they won’t be able to take care of him unless they send someone from BUNCH. They’ll need me here until then.”
Kid with Crocs weaved past cars, matching pace with High Five Man. He just needed to get him to stop moving.
“So what's your plan then, Kid?”
“I’m going to see if I can hit him with the binding net to stop him from stretching out.” Kid with Crocs panted for breath, readjusting his earpiece as he glided after the villain. “Then I’ll test drive our portal upgrade and get the hell out of here.”
“And if a hero shows up?”
“Let them. Croc’s portal upgrade. I’ll be okay. I’m not afraid of their ‘Bureau of Undercover National Crisis Handler’ losers.”
“You’re putting a lot of faith in the shoes.”
“It’s going to work, old man. We tested it for months.”
John sighed, and Kid with Crocs took a sharp turn following High Five Guy down sixth street. He had switched to using his elastic limbs as a grappling hook, swinging off traffic lights and street lamps.
As he continued skating forward, Kid with Crocs reached down into his leg pocket and pulled out a bulky net shooter. He propped it up on his shoulder and pointed it at the villain, struggling to keep him in the scope with the bumps in the road.
“Police are about to be behind you. BUNCH will be there in 60 seconds. You have to get him right now or leave.”
Kid with Crocs swore under his breath and slowed down, needing to better line up his shot. He steadied his hands and forced himself to lock in.
Aim…
Aim……
Fire.
A pop is heard as the net shoots out of the device, unfurling and blanketing itself over the villain. Detecting an arcane force, it automatically wraps itself tightly around him, restricting further movement. A police vehicle whips past Kid with Crocs with its sirens on to detain him. Kid with Crocs stood far back, watching as they handcuff him through the netting and then chuck it off.
The job was done.
Any feeling of victory Kid with Crocs had was stripped away by the voice in his earpiece.
“BUNCH is here. Rank number two, Force. You might have trouble.”
Kid with Crocs groaned. Why in the world would they send a top 5 hero for this job? The villain was hardly even a threat, not to mention that the job was already done! They didn’t need to call Force.
In any case, he needed to dip out. As quickly as he could manage, he ran past the police to take back his binding net and made for a nearby alley. It was then the NYPD finally registered his presence.
“Illegal vigilante activity on Sixth!” he heard a cop shout, and he held back the eye roll that threatened to escape him. Not that they would see it under the ski goggles he was wearing. Maybe he should roll his eyes—
His thoughts were interrupted by a hoverboard passing in front of him. Force was literally right next to him.
Fuck.
Kid with Crocs took off into the alley, his croc wheels taking him as fast as he could go. The police had stopped their pursuit of him, but when he dared a glance over his shoulder, Force was still following him.
“Leave me alone, man!” Kid with Crocs called out behind him. He needed to reach down to activate the portal mechanism in the crocs, but that was difficult when he was being chased.
Faster than he could blink, a dumpster was pushed in front of him from Force’s arcane telekinetic power, followed by another one on top. He was trapped in.
“Kid with Crocs, right? Teenager or something?” Force asked him, his voice distorted from the helmet he was wearing.
“Common misconception.”
“Preteen?!”
“What— no! I’m in my twenties!” Kid with Crocs defended, his ears going a little pink.
Kid with Crocs had always made a point not to idolize famous people, especially superheroes. While they did a lot of good, they aren’t a perfect system, and you never know who is behind the mask.
That said, Kid with Crocs would be a liar if he didn’t have a little crush on Force. Scratch that; he had a big, parasocial, celebrity crush. He was certain before he wouldn’t encounter him, let alone speak to him. How wrong he was.
Thank god for the mask he was wearing. He was sure his face was embarrassing right now.
Force sighed, running a hand along the side of the helmet as he got off his hoverboard. “Then you are aware of the laws forbidding your actions, not to mention the risks tha—“
“—The risks that come with being a vigilante, yes yes I know. The cops have said it to me nearly every day since I was 14,” Kid with Crocs interrupted. “Are you here to lecture me or are you going to arrest me?”
“Do you want me to arrest you?”
Kid with Crocs cocked his head. “Would you want to see me in handcuffs? I bet it’d be quite the sight.”
“Okay! Definitely not a child!” Force stuttered out, and Kid with Crocs smirked under his mask. He could work with this.
“I just don’t get why I’m put on the same lists as High Five Guy over there. We are nowhere near the same.”
“Vigilantism complicates my job.” Force replied, a little irritated.
Kid with Crocs threw his arms out. “Today you didn’t even have to do your job, I did! And you’ll still get paid for it! That doesn’t sound too complicated to me!”
“You’re lucky I don’t arrest you right now.”
“Why aren’t you, anyway? Do you think I’m pretty?” Kid with Crocs asked, leaning against the alley wall.
“What?! I didn’t, well, uh—”
Kid with Crocs kicked one of his crocs, starting the portal sequencing. “Listen, this has been great, and you have been so fun, but I need to bounce now. I’m sure you understand. We should do this again sometime!”
“Wait, what?!”
A yellowish-orange portal opened beneath Kid with Croc’s feet, and he waved Force goodbye as he fell in. The portal closed as quickly as it had opened, leaving him in a temporary void of light and color before spitting him out.
With wobbling legs, Kid with Crocs stood up and checked his surroundings. Fortunately, he had landed in his van like he’d intended. He stablized himself with a nearby counter and caught his breath.
The van parked in his grandfather’s backyard served as his personal headquarters. It stored all the equipment he had manufactured over the years, lining the walls like decoration.
In the back there was a clothing rack where his previous identities hung. Cheeseball Man, The British Bucket, Perry the Platypus, they were all here.
The Kid with Crocs uniform at its spot beside them all. The hoodie, the crocs, the goggles, all of it came off and joined them on the rack.
24 year old Anthony Po had only been Kid with Crocs for about a month and a half. His previous identity, OkBear, was getting too much media attention, and he had to retire it to avoid getting his identity released. The minute the police know that he’s a vigilante, and uncover just how much work he has done, they would undoubtedly have him arrested. They would make him an example, discouraging others from doing the same. Still, he wouldn't let the chance of being arrested stop him from helping people.
Anthony had just finished putting back on his civilian attire when there’s a knock on the side of the van.
“Come in!” Anthony called, recognizing the knock.
His grandfather, John Po, entered the van, clicking the door shut behind him. He takes the battery out of his headset to charge and puts it on the van’s counter.
“You were later than I anticipated you being. Was there an issue with the crocs?”
Anthony shook his head. “No, no. Uh, Force found me.”
“Did he try to arrest you?”
“Not very hard.”
John chuckled as he gestured to the chair against the wall, and Anthony pulled it out into the middle of the van before taking a seat. John rolled up Anthony’s sleeves, looking for signs of injury from the night.
“You know, back in the day, when I was still Chungus, we had no problem with vigilantism at BUNCH.”
“So you’ve told me.”
“I think the power is getting to their heads.”
John ended up finding a scrape on Anthony’s elbow. After cracking his knuckles, he laid his hands over the injury, and a few moments later a bright yellow light illuminated from them. Anthony felt warmth spread through his arm as his grandfather’s light magic healed his wound.
“It’s just very frustrating that they won’t let you help.” John continued. “They obviously need the help, they’re so understaffed they sent out Force of all people for a petty crime tonight.”
“Why would they? I don’t have powers. I’m a liability in a serious fight.”
When he was younger it used to bother him. A lot of his family had been superheroes with BUNCH, and he spent a lot of his childhood dreaming of doing the same. When they had realized his powers were never going to come in, his grandfather encouraged him to take a different route.
“You’ve proven time and time again that you’re not, don’t let them convince you of that now.”
The light dimmed, and John lifted his hands, revealing a now fully healed elbow. Anthony stood up and grabbed his jacket, throwing it over his shoulders. His grandfather clapped him over the shoulder.
“I’m proud of you, kid. Go get some rest.”
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Anthony quietly clicked the lock as he slipped back into his apartment. He stood in front of the door, listening for his roommate, Will Wahony. After a moment of silence, he was confident that his roommate was either out late or just asleep. He finally let himself relax, the tension in his body releasing as he entered his home.
He flicked on the lights in their kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets for something to eat. He found a half-eaten bag of chips and decided it would be good enough for tonight.
The chips were eaten in silence at the table until his roommate came back home. He seemed exhausted.
“Did work run late or were you out having fun?” Anthony asked him before he had even gotten his shoes off.
His roommate sighed. “Well, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”
“Will, you hate your job.”
“Yup.”
Needing a drink, Anthony grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and began filling it with water from the sink. While he did so, he accidentally knocked his elbow into the bag of chips, and they fell into the sink. When he pulled the bag out it was dripping wet.
“Ha, wet Doritos!” Anthony tried to joke with a weird voice, but it didn’t land, and he was instantly embarrassed. “Okay I’m going to bed now.”
Will caught his arm as he tried to walk off. “Hey, before you go actually. My friends Hanbon and Coy were wondering if they could come over tomorrow night. Is that fine with you?”
“Yeah, go for it man. Do you mind if I’m there?”
“They seemed pretty excited about the idea of meeting you, actually.”
Anthony wasn’t aware Will even talked about him that much. They’d only recently moved in together, and with their weird schedules they haven’t had much time to get to know one another. Still, Anthony was flattered.
“Well, I’d be honored to grace them with my presence.”
Will laughed. “On second thought, you’re uninvited!”