Chapter 08 Homeless criminal

Damn. I really wish he wasn’t so confrontational. I'd have at least liked to have made some money from them. I only had the clothes and wallet I showed up in and pants he thrown to me. The shirt on me was so large it looked more like a dress. The pants were so large I just tossed them into a trash can as I walked. Finally the wallet only had two dollars and my I.D. inside.

The name was my previous name from my original universe. Danny Storm. It said my age was eighteen and I planned on exploiting my young looks to the fullest. Those who didn’t know my true age would easily underestimate me and I thought it would most likely make me one of the oldest of the 100. I wondered if there were any cases of Billy Batson going around where a child was converted into an eighteen year old.

I headed towards the park and sat on a bench. I cried even though I felt fine. If I were a bit younger I wouldn’t understand why I cried. It was a compartmentalization of my emotions I developed in the army. While I felt fine on the surface I was overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Anyone who watched me cry would assume sadness but it was just an outlet to vent stored emotions.

I finished up and felt more emotionally stable. I started making a mental list of what I needed to do to secure my immediate future. I needed a base of operations and money to start with at the very least. I whispered to myself.

“First you get the money.”

With ill fitting clothes and a somewhat shabby appearance I looked like a homeless man. Now, if only I knew which way to go to find a bridge to ask questions from my fellow homeless. After exploring for another hour I managed to find a homeless camp in the middle of the park…

Man this reminds me of my home universe a little. I walk the outskirts of the camp looking for a more coherent person not high on drugs with a spark of life still in their eye without the hint of malice.

Finding a somewhat clean looking man with a grill going and some homeless lined up in front I came behind him to talk. After letting the few homeless who yelled out know I’m not trying to cut in line I get directions to the nearest drug den. I scout the outside and notice a few lookouts watching but their all kids wearing light enough clothing I know they don’t have guns.

I waited to see the handoff of money and note the make and color of the vehicle. The few times that police had passed they completely ignored the house except one where a man walked out and handed over a package most likely containing money or drugs to bribe them. In movies the groups would be less blatant but in real life it becomes a predictable pattern.

During my wait I started to shift my hair color to black and was surprised by how easy it was. Making the scraggly looking beard was much harder. It was the same for lengthening my hair with tremendous effort needing to be used. Four hours of waiting the vehicle reappeared and I made my move.

Just as he pulled out the envelope full of money to pass it over I ran between them at full speed grabbing it. The first thing you do when something like this happens isn’t to immediately turn and start shooting, it is to be extremely confused for a few seconds. By that time I was already rounding the corner of the house.

If anyone chased me they didn’t for very long. After opening the envelope it contained 2500 dollars. So they made close to ten thousand a day selling drugs if they sold 24/7 that is. I might make stealing from these fucks a habit. I might have to figure out where the money was going.

I ducked into a Starkmart and bought a phone along with shoplifting some clothes and food. It felt nostalgic to do so as after the war if when you entered or exited a store it would scan your face and if you were to steal they would just charge you for the items.

I searched for local housing within my budget and only got hits for shared spaces besides one. I picked the single first and called the number. By the end of the day I had a new place to call home.

The next week was just living. I went and stole a mini fridge I filled with food from Starkmart. I climbed up the building across from the drug den and followed the car until it turned blocks down the road then followed it again. The final time I followed they headed into a gated building I could only assume was a named villain in the world, probably Penguin or the Manfredi family.

Preparing to rob them blind I did notice a SHIELD agent tailing me a few times. Being peak human and able to change my hair color I was able to evade them so I don’t think they knew what I was doing. As I was planning on what to do next I stepped into a fancy coffee shop and noticed a very attractive redhead.

With a feeling of deja vu I did a double take as I recognized her from the comics. I couldn’t help but put a smile on my face as I recognized the one and only Mary Jane.