Sell you a Bridge chapter 3 (Patreon)

The next morning mom was gone when I woke up. She usually left early enough that even on school days I didn’t see her before work and I had been up on the roof with Artemis until almost five thirty. I booted up my computer to check on my power but sadly the whole one day rule appeared to be midnight to midnight. I would have to wait until tomorrow to try it again. That said I did dig out my muscle powder and make myself today’s shake, carrying it into the bathroom so I could watch the results.

Since the top actually opened this time the powder, unlike my ability, must count a day as when I wake up to when I go to sleep. After downing the chalky dumpster water though I was treated to the wonderful sight of my muscles expanding slightly. Today most of the effect seemed to go into definition rather than size, my muscles becoming more cut, but I did get a bit bigger. The shirt I put back on was stretched tight on my frame in a way it hadn’t been before.

I could actually see my muscles under the shirt and I looked damn good. Since it was Saturday I decided it was time to set up a bank account. I took a shower and put on my nicest clothes, which granted, were just a button up from good will and a pair of slightly less beat up black jeans, but still. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and once I was sure everything was done I lifted up my bed and slid out the briefcase. I didn’t have an ID yet so I grabbed my social security card and birth certificate and put them in my wallet.

I was about to leave when I had a thought. It was risky and probably stupid but...I was alone. I couldn’t tell my mom about this because she would worry and I didn’t have many other people in my life. I walked up the dingy steps two floors and knocked on a door that looked slightly sturdier than mine. The door opened and Artemis was standing there in a big red football jersey, her hair wet from the shower. She smiled when she saw me “Hey, Morgan good to see you, what’s up?”

I shurgged and tried not to draw attention to the briefcase any more than necessary with the gesture as I responded. “I actually had some errands to run and I was hoping to talk to you about some stuff that’s been going on. You free today?” She wasn’t fidgeting or upset so I guessed her dad wasn’t home, but I wasn’t sure if she would want to spend the day with me. I was worried she might think I was trying something when honestly I just needed a friend to talk to. This superpowers thing was great but now that I had something important to share I realized how lonely my self imposed isolation was.

She grinned back at me “Of course! That sounds like fun. I don’t usually do anything on weekend.” It struck me that despite being fairly popular on a surface level Artemis didn’t really spend time with anyone specific. Everyone said hi to her and offered her greetings when she went by but she didn’t really have any actual friends. Maybe because she was scared to bring them home she stepped out to close the door and I cleared my throat.

She looked at me confused and i flicked my eyes down to her bare and very toned legs. “I uh...think you might have forgot to put on pants?” Her eyes widened and she quickly unlocked the door, blushing profusely. It was a rare sight from what I knew of her. It was kind of cute though, that she’d been so excited to spend time with a friend for once she’d forgotten to put pants on. Not that it would stop me from mocking her about it later on. She closed the door behind her and I heard thumping and rustling for a minute before it opened again.

She’d changed the jersey for a white tank top with a hoodie over it and put on black yoga pants. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she wasn’t wearing makeup because she didn’t need it. Despite my completely platonic intentions seeing that tight little ass in those yoga pants made me do a double take. Good lord that girl was in good shape. Luckily I jerked my eyes away from the thin stretch fabric painted across her perfectly sculpted butt before she turned around.

She was a bit out of breath from rushing but she gave me a bright smile and a thumbs up. “Ok good to go. Sorry about that. By which I mean that we will never speak of this again.” She was still a bit red faced but it looked cute on her. She raised an eyebrow at me running her eyes over my body. “Though speaking of clothes I don’t remember you filling yours out quite that nicely. Someone has been hitting the gym huh? I didn’t even notice last night.”

We set off for the bank at brisk walk. The key to not being hassled in Gotham was to walk with purpose. Fast and sure enough of yourself that people thought you had important places to be but not fast enough to seem like you’re worried about anything. Artemis and I were both residents of this neighborhood so we naturally had the walk down to a science. Once we got far enough away from out side of town and more towards the Diamond District we slowed down to a more leisurely pace and resumed our conversation.

Artemis had clearly noticed the briefcase a while ago and chosen not to comment on it, but she prompted me to at least fill her in on my earlier worries. “So, you mentioned you wanted to talk about some things that have been going on with you. Is everything alright? If you’re having trouble at school or something I can totally help out. I know those guys on the baseball team are dicks to you.” She seemed genuinely concerned and I was touched by her obvious worry.

Artemis and I had known each other for years but we were still new friends. It spoke really well of her as a person. I shook my head though “Those guys are dicks to everyone. They don’t have it out for me in particular. No this isn’t a bad thing...just a big thing...I sort of...kind of...” I lowered my voice to a low murmur “Might have a superpower.” Her eyes went wide and I rushed to explain “It’s a new thing though! I just figured it out yesterday. I just...I don’t have anyone else to tell.”

Her expression had been transforming from shock to suspicion as she looked at the briefcase but it relaxed into sympathy when she heard the last bit. She exhaled and nodded “Ok. Yeah. Big is right. Well, what is your power? I hope it’s not something skeezy like mind reading or pheromone control. The last thing this town needs is a male poison ivy.” She shot me a smile to show she was teasing but I could she actually would have been pretty upset about that particular power.

Luckily my power was much wierder than that. I explained what had happened to me and how my power worked. I didn’t show her what was in the briefcase because we were in the middle of a Gotham street and I wasn’t suicidal, but I did tell her under my breath. I told her about the muscle powder and how happy having powers made me. She was as blown away and confused as I was. My power was weird and complicated. Most metas got the typical flying brick package or something simple and straightforward.

She looked at me appraisingly for a minute. Then her mouth twitched a bit, which turned into a smile and finally she snorted and thew dam broke releasing her uncontrollable laughter. She laughed so hard she fell against the building barely able to hold herself up from the sheer ferocity of her giggles. I looked at her like a crazy person and she managed to gasp out. “I-I’m sorry. But I was j-just thinking about how long you’d wait before ordering some of those male enhancement pills. Since you’re the only person they would actually work for.” Finishing the sentence set her off again and she dissolved into hysterical laughter.

I rolled my eyes but I couldn’t exactly argue. It had been one of the first things I’d considered. I naturally wouldn’t do it until I had some more useful stuff like language programs for daily use but...what guy wouldn’t try out a pill he knew would make his dick bigger? We kept walking after a minute, Artemis giggling nonstop and asking me about wether I could introduce her to horny singles in her area. Stealing another glance at her toned little booty in those pants I was guessing she didn’t actually need the intro.

Finally we got to Gotham National Bank. GNB was the fanxcy rich person bank where people like my dad had accounts. Aside from a very catchy theme song about being “The World Leader in Credit and Banking” GNB also had a reputation for having absolute dicretion when it came to their clients. The bank also employed metahuman guards and was rarely robbed, which was something of an achievement in Gotham.

I walked up the counter and asked to speak to someone, but since I was dressed in beat up old clothes and Artemis and I were sixteen we were directed to the lobby to wait for the next banker. We didn’t have much to complain about, they had a really nice coffee maker and heated carafe of high end coffee for the guests and I helped myself to a cup with as much cream and sugar as possible. Artemis just sneered at me and poured herself a cup, drinking it black.

Finally the banker called me up, looking bored and impatient. At least until I set the briefcase down. I turned it and opened it up, revealing the neatly stacked bills in their bands and the rich interior of the case. I looked him in the eyes “I’ve been instructed to make an account and place this money inside under my own name. If necessary I can contact my employer to have him confirm this but he would prefer to rely on your...discretion.” I made sure to put every ounce of smug arrogant douchebag I could into the statement.

This being Gotham rich criminals using patsies to make accounts so they could dodge taxes was far from unusual. It was in fact much more believable than assuming a pair of teenagers had ripped off someone with this kind of money and emerged unscathed. GNB didn’t ask questions, they were famous for that, so he immediately smiled in a much friendlier manner than he had earlier “No need sir. A checking account doesn’t require anything but the usual verification, do you happen to have ID?”

I handed over my birth certificate, though I kept my social security card, not willing to hand it over unless asked. It never came up however. The man carried the case away and came back handing me a platinum colored debit card with a smile. “Because your initial deposit was seven figures you qualify for one of our platinum accounts. That particular account provides a five percent APY and no monthly fees for the first nine months.” He passed me the shiny card with my name across the front with a smile.

We stepped out of the bank into the crisp clean Saturday air and I couldn’t help but smile. Artemis punched me in the arm with a grin. “So how does it feel to be loaded, moneybags? Anything special you’ve always wanted to buy? I figure new digs are in order but what about for your first spending spree? Gonna get a Ferrari or a limo, maybe hit a strip club?” I just shrugged, I mean I’d planned to buy a condo for my mom and I but other than that and maybe a new computer and some clothes I didn’t have any ideas and I said as much to Artemis.

She chewed her lip “I was going to suggest we do the clothes today but its probably safer to wait until you actually get a new place. I guess we could go apartment shopping but I don’t even know how you would go about that.” She looked disappointed but then she ran her eyes over my much more muscled torso again and they lit up. “Oh! Training! You’re starting to get all buff and stuff but you have no clue how to fight. ”She grinned at me viciously “Come on then rich boy, let’s find somewhere to spar. Time to see what you’ve got.”