Adventure of the Mirage

    Not all great men are good men, you can find some moral failing in most.  The best one can hope for is that they are an honest man.  The honest man can be a good man, even great, but it takes drive to stay true to that.  Most people consider themselves to be good people, that they make the right decisions.  Only egotistical men consider themselves to be great; usually at the cost of putting themselves above others.  If you’re looking for a place with more egotistical men than honest men welcome to New York City.

    New York City, contrary to popular belief, is not filled with superhumans; everyone knows they don’t exist in reality.  It’s a place that is filled with average people, people who consider themselves good.  These people can find the extraordinary courage to do great things; everyday heroic action.  Everyone has the potential to do great action but not everyone has the means to act on that potential.  However, when someone has the means and the drive to act on that potential one must be sure they stay true to their drive.

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A small computer repair shop sat in the middle of a block, sharing a small alleyway with an apartment building.  Inside the shop, two robbers had busted in three minutes ago setting off a silent alarm.  Just as they were finishing putting as much as they can into two large backpacks the one closest to the exit thought he saw a glimmer of light move.  He looked to his partner to see if he saw anything but he was busy zipping up his bag.  Zipping up his own bag, he let his partner go ahead of him to act as a lookout.  Hearing a sound behind him, the thief turned to see someone standing there.

Behind them stood a man tapping his foot, as if he were waiting for them to notice him.  He had on a light gray helmet with tinted glass, a light gray running jacket, gray gloves, black running pants, and black shoes.  He had rocket boosters attached to his shoes and gray Energy Pulsers on his wrists.  He cocked his head to the side while the thief got his partner's attention.  He looked back inside about to tell his partner off and saw the man standing there.

“You know I hear that this place opens at nine in the morning.” The man said mimicking checking the time.

The thief, already in the doorway, pulled his partner out the door yelling “Come one, let’s go.”

Turning from the shop, into the alleyway, the man followed them as they approached a fence.  Using some crates, next to the fence, the first thief got over the fence and looked back for his partner.  A moment or two of silence passed before he heard his partner getting on the creates.  The boxes creaked while he paused, suspecting his partner of looking back at their pursuer.

“Hey, where did you …” the thief said before an energy pulse was heard firing.  The first thief took off again when he heard his partner hit the ground.

Before he could get very far the man was standing in front of him, with a slight glimmer around his edges.  The man shrugged his shoulders and shook his head before pointing his right arm at him.  A grappling hook shot from the Energy Pulser grabbed the backpack and brought it back to him.  Putting it down at his side he suddenly turned invisible.

“You know you should take this as a lesson really.  I know I would.” The man said and fired an energy pulse at the thief.  Shaking his head as the thief fell to the ground, he put his hand to the side of his helmet and asked “Soothsayer how close are the police to my position?”

Becoming visible again he shot a grappling hook, from his left arm, at the apartment building.  Riding it up a woman’s voice said into his earpiece “There’s a car only a minute out from you Tyler.  I would say it must be a busy night but even we know that.”

The grappling hook only got him halfway up so he used the rocket boosters to get to the roof of the building.  Making sure he was hidden by shadow he looked back down at the ground and said “Yeah, here come the boys in blue now.  I’ll probably come back a little early tonight; maybe Jason will have something interesting to tell us in the morning.”

Tyler turned invisible just as one of the police officers shined a flashlight up in his direction.  He rocked away the moment the light was off him and the police officer was none the wiser.  The short flight took him to another apartment building that got him closer to Central Park.  From there he went from rooftop to rooftop and as Tyler got closer to his home with Serene, a computer a.i., updated him on the distance.

Approaching Central Park West, he used his rocket boosters to get to his third-story window.  It opened just as Tyler was in immediate proximity to it.  Going through the window he landed on the floor as quietly as possible.  Pushing a small button on the windowsill the window closed itself.  Taking off the various parts of his outfit he put them away in a bench under the window.  Getting changed for bed he glanced out the window thinking he could be doing more.

Morning came only four hours later but Tyler was getting used to the lack of sleep.  Getting up, he got himself dressed and fixed his hair.  Meeting his sister outside her room, on the second floor, as she reviewed their work from last night on her phone.  Giving him a look he knew all too often anymore their father shouted for them from the kitchen.  Making their way to the kitchen, their dad was finishing making eggs and bacon.  As he put the food on plates, he asked how they slept.

“Well enough, mom already head out?” Susie asked taking her plate.

Taking his own seat, their dad answered “Yeah, my day to stay behind.”  He looked at his son and said “Looks like you need to get more sleep their champ.”

Taking a bite of bacon, he said “Probably could use another hour or so yeah.”

Mr. Smith nodded and then started to eat his own breakfast.  The breakfast was relatively uneventful until he grabbed the morning newspaper.  The front page had an article titled “Who is the Vanishing Man?”.  Susie shot a look at Tyler and the two returned to their breakfasts.  Mr. Smith folded up the morning paper and looked at the clock on the wall, six-fifteen.

“You two better get going.  Can’t have you late for school.” Mr. Smith said getting up.  The two children finished gathering their things, Tyler grabbing the newspaper, and headed out the door. On their way to school, Tyler read the news article out loud.

The article read: Who is the Vanishing Man?  That’s the question that reporters are starting to ask as more criminals are brought in by this vigilante.  Police records show that this vigilante has been operating for at least four months.  They have “helped” many people and stopped a number of break-ins.  The people this person “helps” bring in have nothing linking them and the level of crime they commit runs the whole gambit.  While they have taken people off the streets, they have also made police work harder in the process.

We say he vanishes because that’s what all of the people he takes off the street say.  One minute they’re there the next they’re nowhere to be seen.  Apparently, he also never lays a finger on anyone yet police always find his ‘victims’ unconscious.  How exactly he does any of it is a mystery but it’s unlikely that these many people have the same story without there being some truth to it all.  One report this paper had access to said “It’s like fighting a mirage”.

While Tyler was reading the article Jason got behind them.  He was someone both of the Smiths knew almost as long as they have lived in Central Park West.  He was a kid who tried to keep up the appearance of not being concerned about his appearance; however, his well-kept black hair and well-pressed clothes suggested otherwise.  Just as Tyler finished reading the front-page part of the article, he taped the two on the shoulder and said “Interesting article isn’t it.  Liked how they described him at the end of that section.”

The two siblings whipped their heads around and breathed a sigh of relief.  Folding the newspaper under his arm again Tyler said “The guy’s only sometimes visible and never touches anyone; sounds like a mirage to me.”

“Speaking of this Mirage character, did your dad say anything about him when you saw him this morning?” Susie asked.

“He brought in two guys last night actually.  Apparently, there were robbing a computer repair shop.” Jason said as their school came into view.  He paused for a moment and continued with “Dad’s not much of a fan of this guy.  Apparently, those guys he stopped last night were actually part of a sting operation that just got way more complicated.”

The two siblings shared another look as they entered their high school.  With that, they separated to go to their respective classes.  The day progressed normally from that point till lunch.  Tyler had noticed that Jenifer wasn’t in today and that some people were talking about someone new moving into a nearby apartment.  He sat with Susie and Jason and finished reading the article for the small group.

The rest of the day passed with much of the same normality.  Tyler and Susie did hear multiple people talking about the vigilante throughout the day.  Most people weren’t sure if he was real or not with one student saying they saw the vigilante in action just last night.  Making a note to talk to the person later, the Smith children were once again home.  Their parents talked about their day at The Lab, with Tyler only half paying attention, and then they mentioned someone new going to work in the facility.

Snapping to attention he asked, “Someone new is working in The Lab?”

His mother answered “Yes, a new research assistant.  They haven’t been assigned anywhere yet.”

Susie looked up from her plate and asked “Do you know if they have any kids?  I heard there will be a new student in the senior class.”

“I think he mentioned having a daughter, so it could be her.  If so, they might be as bright as you two.” Mr. Smith said cutting some of his food.

The rest of the evening was uneventful as the Smith family went about their business.  The parents went about doing more work while the children set up their heroing for the night.  Susie made sure that her dual-monitor computer was connected to the right server while Tyler made sure that his gear was all ready to go.  Taking in a deep breath Tyler looked over his gear and left his room.

Knocking on Susie’s door Tyler asked if she was ready to go out soon.  Getting a yes, he went downstairs and said “I’m going to head up.  I’ll be working on some things and then I’m going to bed.”

“Come here sweety.” His mother said.  She gave him a kiss on the forehead and said “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you burning both ends of the candle.  Just be careful you don’t burn yourself out.”

Giving her a hug, he said “I will mom, promise.”

Back in his room, Tyler put on his gear and headed out his window.  It was just past nine when he was going from rooftop to rooftop.  Not seeing anything he put his hand to the side of his helmet and said “What do you think of that name from the newspaper?”

“What, mirage.  It is an accurate description I suppose.” Susie said.

“I was thinking more The Mirage actually.  You know so that it’s a definite article.” Tyler said scanning the immediate area.

Susie leaned back in her chair and answered “I think that can work.”

Hearing a window smash nearby Tyler said “Got to go, duty calls.”  With that he took off down the side of the building, running toward those he could help.