"This isn't my doing, I swear. You're in the real world." Athena said when I looked at her like it was her fault.
"Hey, calm down. You're in the hospital and you've been in a cocoon for 6 months." a female police officer said.
"Who are you, if I might ask." I said whilst calculating the time dilation I'd had because of being in the mind space.
"The name's Maura. I'm a detective." Maura said.
"He didn't do anything, I swear!" Athena screamed thinking that I'd absolutely done something wrong.
No one heard her because she is a spirit that only I can see thanks to being bonded to the pen. I really need to find out if it's possible to give her a physical body.
"What are you doing here, detective?" I asked. She looked like she didn't know what to say.
At first she'd done it to have a witness but after awhile this turned into her safe space, where she could relax and still be 'doing' her job.
"Did you perhaps learn something about someone who goes by the name The Whisperer." she asked. She had decided to go with the witness routine.
"Other than the fact that the guys who attacked said to my father that The Whisperer wants my family dead?" I asked. It was one of the only things I had managed to hear when I started running.
In 12 years I had worked through my grief a bit and even been able to talk to a copy of my dad's soul so I could accept that my family was killed.
"No other questions? Well then I'm going to eat, I'm starving." Yes, the first thing I did after getting out of my own mind was eat.
Can you blame me? I had literally been in a cocoon for 6 months without eating food in the real world. My belly was empty.
After going to the cafeteria I remembered that I didn't have any money. Luckily Maura came to my rescue. I ate the unhealthiest thing on the menu. A good old hamburger.
While I was eating I talked to Maura. "So what are you going to do now? You have no place to live and no job." she asked.
I was homeless. That realization hit me like lightning. I hadn't had to think about a house for the past 38 years if you took my time in my own mind into account.
"I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to go find the whisperer." I answered. She knew what I wanted to do.
"I'd recommend getting a superhero-license if you're going to kill him. At least that way you'll not be prosecuted when you kill."
Yes, that's how common it is for superheroes to kill criminals. If you want to kill a criminal, just get a license.
"I still haven't solved my housing and job problem with a license. Only celebrity supes get paid so it's not a viable job. Wait, have you heard about the game 'The Order Of The Fox'?"
"Yeah, it sold extremely well. I heard that the creator is working on a sequel." she answered.
"Wait, the creator came forward?" That didn't make any sense since I made the game.
"Yeah, he's called Stephen Jobman. He got a lot of money." I got really angry. I knew Stephen, he hadn't done jack shit. He was one of the Beta-testers.
"I'm going to go pound a thief into the ground." And with that I left. Maura couldn't help but be confused. 'What was that all about?' was the question she wanted to ask.
I found out quite easily where he lived. Being a public figure was a what would be his downfall.
I flew to his house and after seeing him through his bedroom making love with his palm I burst into his bedroom.
"STEPHEN, YOU FUCKING THIEF." I yelled. He nearly died of a heart attack.
"L-l-leo, nice to see you man." he stuttered. "It isn't nice to see you. I have been in a cocoon for 6 months and what do I find when I wake up, that my life's work has been stolen by a little bitch like you!"
I actually really used to like him, he was a good friend so I had given him admin rights on my website and he had used those rights to steal from me.
"Calm down Leo, we must be able to work something out. I mean, you obviously have superpowers now so why don't you just capitalize on that?"
Now I was really getting pissed off. I had worked years on that game. I had started on it when I was in middle school and this guy, who knew how long I had worked on it by the way, didn't think he had done anything wrong.
"Stephen, if you don't make a video confessing what you have done and upload it right now then I'll cut your balls of, if you don't do it after that, well let's just say it won't be pretty." I said.
"I have been living the life since you've been gone. Do you really think I'm going to give that up because of some empty threats?" he asked.
After hearing that I cut his balls off.
"Sorry what did you say?" I asked. Oh, did you also think that was an empty threat? Sorry, I don't do those.
"What the fuck man. I'm going to call the police right now." He was crying in pain when he reached for his phone.
"I can heal you, meaning you get those back with full functionality if you make that video or I can cut your hand of to. What will it be."
I wouldn't be this aggressive if I hadn't been trained by Athena and if he hadn't stolen my life's work.
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I suddenly got a news alert.
[Gaming scandal, TOOTF wasn't made by Stephen Jobman!]
After reading the article and seeing the video I knew why Leo was so angry.