Prologue (Part 1)
Prologue (Part 2)
Prologue (Part 3)
The Girl Downstairs
Homely Feel
Wraith Begins
Duty Calls
Truth Hurts Sometimes
Don't Be Late!
Introductions
Meeting With The Mob
Wraith To The Rescue
Questions
Errands Of A Superhero
Saturday
The Big Day
Our Time Together
Friendly Competition?
HELP
A Hero's Secret 
Returning The Favor
Lousy Morning
Chasing A Lead
Superhero Undercover
Feelings Are Complicated
Love Is A Wonderful Thing
Interlude: The Queen Of A Colorless World
The Calm Before The Storm
The Beggining Of The End
Interlude: Payback
The Final Showdown
Saturday
New York, Queens

New B.L.U. Facilities

18:05

"Hmm... should I just cut this wire or..." Dr. Steinn's slight murmur of a monologue is interrupted by a knock on his door.

"It's me... again." Aaron voices as he swings the door open and walks into the scientist's lab.

"How many times do I have to tell you, kid?" The grown man voices, hands on his hips.

"But I knocked." The teenager shrugged as he took a sit on the couch again. "You called me and said I should come by, so what's up?" He casually continued.

"Ah, yes! Rejoice, young man! For I, have bestowed this masterpiece upon you!" Steinn said dramatically as if he was a casting member of a Shakespearian play. He quickly moved to the back of the room as he brought out a black matte briefcase.

"What is this, exactly?" Aaron inquired while cocking his head to the side.

"Your brand new suit." Voiced Steinn proudly while crossing his arms.

"No way!!! How do I open it, how do I open it?!" The teenager said excitedly.

"You just flip the switch here, and boom! Cool, right?"

"Cool?! This is awesome!!" Aaron said as he took the jet black suit in his hands.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go on, try it on."

...

"This seriously is amazing..." Aaron voiced as he took a good look at himself in the mirror. The suit was a jet black color, with hardened thin metallic matte parts at the abdomen, chest, and shoulder area, as well as a triangle button like part inside a bigger circle around it. Apart from that, the only thing that didn't remain the same in his suit was the fabric, design of his mask, which had a big weaved in outline of a smile with a bumpy line in a white color, and some new suit features that Steinn had yet to reveal. "The feel is great but, why is it so baggy?" The teenager asked as he noticed the suit wasn't skin tight like the last one.

"Oh yeah I didn't mention that..." The scientist said as he walked up to him and pushed the button-like triangle on his chest. The moment he did, the suit shrunk to fit his exact body shape, clinging to him even better than the last one did.

"Woah... I'm seriously in love with this suit!" Aaron exclaimed as run his fingers through the suit's smooth fabric. "This is the best upgrade ever!" The young man cried out in pure bliss.

"Wait that's not the upgrade..." Steinn voiced as he pushed yet another button next to the teenager's neck.

"Welcome, Wraith." A female, robotic, yet cozy voice echoed through the mask's innate speakers.

"Wait what?!" Aaron turned to the scientist completely stunned.

"THIS is the upgrade. Shannon you can turn off now." Steinn spoke and the AI shut down.

"Wait I have my own personal assistant AI?!"

"Not exactly. Her name is Shannon."

"...Why is her name Shannon...?"

"Because I named her that."

"You should have asked me before giving her a stupid name like that..."

"Apologize to all the Shannons in the world, kid!"

....

"Anyway, so the features available to you by Shannon are pretty vast. She can detect things using the micro cameras around your suit, informing you of what exactly it is you're looking at. She can also help you bypass tight cyber security measures and many more things, so feel free to experiment with her." Steinn explained while gesturing his hands around.

"What about the teleportation problem?"

"Oh yeah, that. Already fixed your watch just as we talked about. It's in the briefcase on the right. It appears you can't teleport endlessly though so keep that in mind."

After the scientist was done with his scientific explanations that made zero sense for Aaron, he took off the suit and placed it back securely inside the briefcase.

"That's all for today. You better get going because adults have got work to do." Steinn said as he waved Aaron to the door. "...I bet your girlfriend is waiting for you." The scientist gave a sneaky smirk as the young man suddenly remembered the reason he was frustrated the first time he came to the lab.

Aaron replied after a long sigh "She's not my girlfriend... I can't even ask her out on a date for crying out loud..." He let his thoughts spill out.

"It appears I hit the jackpot there with that guess..." The scientist commented before turning serious. "I don't think it would be wise for you to have such intimate relationships with people... Your life is far from normal after all." He voiced sternly as Aaron's head dropped.

Yeah, maybe it's better that I don't get involved with Olivia in that way after all...

"...Maybe you're right..." Aaron replied in a low voice.

"But if I were you, and that's just me thinking out loud here, I'd ask her out on that date. I mean who said I can't be doing both?" Steinn said as he turned his back to Aaron. "...Love is a wonderful thing after all...." He said with a tone of hurt in his voice.

"Thanks... Mr. Steinn." The young man smiled to himself.

"I don't know what you're on about. I was just thinking out loud."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So, you going home?" The scientist asked in a different tone this time.

"Yep" Aaron replied popping the "p".

"Cool, I was just about to wrap it up here, so wanna grab dinner?" The grown man asked as he picked up a bag from the ground.

"Didn't you say you had work just a minute ago?" The teenager voiced with a wry smile.

"Did I? Must have misspoke! Are we getting that dinner or what?" Steinn said as he walked to the door.

"Sure!" Aaron replied after a light chuckle.

"That's good cause I know that crazy good Chinese that makes a mean bowl of noodles!"

"I've been dying for noodles, man!"

New York, Queens

Yao Shin's Chinese

22:42

"And then he told me "That's no elixir, that's my lunch!"" Steinn said imitating his colleague as they both burst out laughing.

"Aaaah... should we pay up?" The man proposed after their good hearty laugh.

"Sure, why not?" Aaron replied as he motioned for the waitress.

"It's 27.30 altogether, sir" The waitress replied after she looked at the bill.

"Okay so, uhm... here's 11..." The young man said as he took out his wallet but Steinn quickly handed his card.

"It's on me, kid." He said as the waitress took the card.

"You don't have to do that, Mr. Steinn..." Aaron replied while smiling and retreating his wallet.

"I'm not doing it because I have to, idiot! I'm doing it because I want to." The man replied as the waitress handed him his pre-paid card back.

"Thank you, now let's go." He said as they both got up and left the Chinese restaurant.

...

"Thank you so much for treating me to dinner, Mr. Steinn." Aaron voiced as soon as they were both out of the restaurant.

"Stop saying thank you already, kid!" The man replied as the teenager laughed.

"Well then, goodnight Mr. Steinn." The high school student said with a smile.

"Goodnight, kid." Steinn voiced as Aaron walked off. "Oh and Aaron..." He called out before the young man could walk away completely. "Thanks for the company." The scientist said with a hearty smile. In response, Aaron smiled back as he continued down the road, with his briefcase at hand and his backpack strapped on his torso.

Dr. Steinn can be really cool when he wants to... And he is almost always fun to be around... He kinda reminds me of dad in that sense. And he completely cheered me up and gave me the boost I needed, as well! I'm not gonna wait until tomorrow...

Aaron thought to himself as he tapped away at his phone and texted Olivia.

Can I talk to you in 20?

Sent

Sure, in 20 it is then!

Sent

New York, Queens

Aaron's And Olivia's Fire Escape

23:01

"Hey, so what did you want to talk about?" Asked Olivia who had just sat down on the steel staircase.

"Uhm... I was thinking..." Aaron voiced awkwardly

"You were thinking...?"

Come on man don't be getting cold feet now!!

"Saturday, uhm... you got any plans?" He finally voiced as he steeled himself, but still came off a bit nervous.

Why does my effing heart beat so fast all of a sudden?!

"No, I don't actually..." Olivia replied with a soft smile, knowing exactly where the conversation would lead.

"For real? Okay then-" "I'd love to go on a date with you!" She cut him off before he could even propose the idea of the date, before her face flushed a deep red color, which she hid inside her hands.

"T-That's what you wanted to say, right...?" She asked in a low voice, her tone embarrassed.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to say... but..." Aaron said softly as he gently removed her hands from her red face, without letting go of them.

"I'm sorry but since you liked like you were struggling I thought I'd say it myself... But it was harder than I thought..." Olivia tried to explain herself as she got redder.

"Can I be the one to ask this time?" Aaron flashed a smile as more heat rose to her face with each passing second.

"S-sure..."

"Olivia?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Would you like to go on a date with me, this Saturday?" Aaron asked, this time not stuttering in the slightest.

"I'd love to." Olivia managed to say as she gripped Aaron's hands back.

...

After the two of them exchanged a "goodnight" they retreated back to their rooms with only one thought in mind...

Saturday... 

© Nikos PD,
книга «Wraith».
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