Chapter 33: Chapter 33
That was weeks ago. Ever since then, things had become awkward for Cameron and he tended to avoid Aero. Not that Aero blamed him, he made sure to keep his distance in hopes that this might eventually pass.
"Alright people." Maurice said, loosening his tie. "Close it up and you can go home. Debra, be sure to sweep up the trash on the floor. Jason, go take care of the booths, make sure they're spick and span. Nathaniel, you done with those tins?"
Aero stood at the sink without answering, too distracted rubbing one of the tins with a rough sponge.
"Nathan...Nathan!"
Upon seeing that he didn't respond, Maurice walked over and lightly shook his shoulder causing Aero to jerk back to reality.
"Y-yes?!"
"I asked if you had taken care of those tins yet." He glanced down at the dish in Aero's hands practically sparkling at this point. "That dish is fine son, you don't need to keep scrubbing it."
"Ah...right."
Maurice knitted his eyebrows together, carefully scrutinizing Aero. "Are you alright? You seem distracted recently. I appreciate you staying late, but if it's causing you to get lack of sleep you should take better care of yourself."
"No no, it's not that. It's just, well, I guess you could call it friend problems. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Hmm, well if you're sure. In any case, we're all done here so you're free to go. Thanks for staying later than usual."
Aero muttered a brief thanks, getting his stuff and leaving the shop. Looking up at the night, he let out a sigh. Things had gotten awkward with Cameron since his revelation about being someone else. In an attempt to make things easier, Aero had made himself scarce to try and give him space, but it had been a few weeks and nothing really changed. Aero really couldn't blame him though. Pressing the button at the crosswalk, he waited for the light to change.
"I wonder if the real Nate is in my body..." the huntsman frowned as he thought of this. "If so, he probably freaked out even more than I did. Especially after being pushed to enter Beacon." The crosswalk lit up and Aero continued on. "So this makes it the SECOND time I wasn't able to enter Beacon. Can't imagine mom will take that well." He frowned, thinking of his mother. "Poor mom. I wish there was a way to tell her I'm fine and happy in this new world. She must be worried sick, I-"
*KYSSSS*
Aero was interrupted after hearing the sound of glass breaking. His head immediately turned to the noise coming from a house about 80 feet away. He frowned, making his way to the house to investigate. Coming upon the house, he noticed one of the windows was broken and outside of it was an evidently thrown potted plant, putting him on alert. Aero moved stealthily to the window, hearing muffled noises inside.
"...Guh! Should've just quietly given up, would've made this so much easier for you." The was a clicking sound as the masked man pointed a gun at the downed victim followed by another voice.
"We're not shooting him, we probably already caused a commotion as it is. Besides, the police aren't gonna put in much effort for just a robbery. We kill someone and then it turns into a manhunt for us."
"Tch." the first guy clicked his tongue in irritation, giving the guy on the ground another kick. "Lucky bastard."
"C'mon let's get going."
Waiting until the two robbers had left the room, Aero pulled himself up through the window quietly taking a few shards of glass with him. The beaten victim's eyes were dull at first, but then widened in surprise when he saw him appear. Aero quietly put a finger to his lips, moving towards the living room, and peeking around the edge of a corner, spotting the two men gathering everything up to leave, causing him to smile. "Good, so there weren't any more hostages." Aero walked from behind the corner, startling the two.
"What the hell?! I thought this guy lived alone!" He reached for his handgun, but Aero was ready, quickly flinging one of the shards of glass. "Ah! Fuck!" the man cursed, dropping his weapon and holding his bleeding hand. The huntsman quickly closed the distance between the two. Moving his head to avoid an attack, Aero brought his fist into the man's stomach. In one swift move, he swept his foot behind the man's foot and shoved him hard, causing him to lose his balance and land on his back. The other guy launched himself towards Aero in an attempt to tackle him. Solidifying his stance, Aero thrust his elbow out, holding it in place with his other hand. The elbow slammed into the man's solar plexus and his face became pale in an instant, immediately dropping to the ground unable to make a sound.
"You...you little bastard!" the man who had been shoved onto his back growled, attempting to stand, before getting kicked in the face.
"Well, that was easy." Aero said dusting off his hands. "I wonder if I can find some rope, but first..." he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I should call the authorities." As Aero was beginning to make the call, he heard the door to the house open behind him. He turned around seeing a third robber with a gun already having his gun pointed at him. Aero moved to dodge, but the man fired, hitting him in the head and causing him to fall in surprise.
"I was waiting for you two to get to the vehicle when I heard shouting. You idiots were having trouble because of a single kid?!"
"He's...he's not...a normal kid." the other guy responded, still wheezing and holding his stomach. "He's..." He stopped speaking as Aero picked himself off of the ground. Everyone froze in shock at the sight.
"Dang it." Aero muttered "If this were my normal body I'd have dropped that guy before he could even fire." he shook his head. "Maybe I should start working out again..."
Although shocked at Aero getting to his feet, the man aimed his weapon at him, however, the huntsman had already made it to the man. Pushing the gun to the side at the last second, the shot missed him as Aero's fist hit the man's throat. His eyes bulged, grip softening on the weapon. Aero snatched it from him, cracking the robber on the back of the head with the gun and knocking him out. Putting his finger on the trigger, he pointed the gun at the only conscious robber.
"I-I give! Don't shoot!"
"I don't want any more surprises, are there more of you left?"
"No, it's just us, w-we weren't expecting any resistance..." the huntsman nodded, satisfied as he lowered his gun. The man relaxed somewhat but was still bewildered. "What...what the hell ARE you?"
Aero merely smiled, pulling out his phone and making a call. "Just a student."
*********************************
The police arrived on the scene not too long after. Two cop cars pulling up to the house and officers cautiously walking out of them. The owner of the house still rather dazed however, so Aero walked up to meet them. The officers shined their flashlights at him upon seeing someone step out of the house.
"Hello officers." the huntsman moved over, extending his arm for a handshake.
"Are you the one who made the call about the break-in sir?" A tall officer glanced at his hand but didn't shake it. Aero frowned, but continued.
"I am. But I'm not the owner of the house. He's inside and injured, the culprits have been beaten and tied up."
The tall officer gave his partner a confused look before turning back to Aero. "Come again?"
"The bad guys are taken care of. You can go arrest them now."
"Oh, CAN we?" the tall officer's partner crossed his arms. "Sir, who are you?"
"Me? Don't worry, I'm a hu...man who's just doing his civic duty." Aero said, stopping himself.
"Uh-huh..." the officer motioned for his partner to enter the house. "Sir, we're gonna need you to come with us for a testimony. We received a few reports about gunshots being heard in this area. You said the owner of the house is inside, but injured?"
"Yes. He's a bit banged up, but nothing serious he should-"
"Bill!" the officer inside the house shouted, getting the attention of his friend. "You're gonna wanna come see this." He pulled out the radio on his chest. "This is officer Mayers on Orengana Ave. and 1st. Yeah, we're gonna need back up for the suspects..."
*********************************
"Okay..." A middle-aged man sighed, rubbing his forehead. "So in short, you had just gotten off of work when you heard the sound of breaking glass and went to investigate. Upon noticing the trespassers breaking and entering as well as assaulting the owner of the house, you decided to take action. Dispatching the assailants by yourself before calling the police. Is that everything?"
"Yes." Aero sat with his hands folded in his lap while giving a nod. "That's about it."
"Son, those men were dangerous people, two of them were carrying a gun. Thankfully the victim of the break-in came to and was able to answer our questions. His testimony seems to match yours, so there's no need to drag this out at such an ungodly hour..." the man muttered, grabbing his mug and taking a sip of coffee. "Still, while I respect your bravery in taking action, you should really leave this to the professionals."
"Will all due respect sir, those three would have gotten away before the police arrived. The gunshots only occurred because of my interference. It probably would have been hours before the owner overcame his injuries made the call himself. I knew I could stop the assailants, so I did."
"Ho boy..." the detective sighed again before an officer came.
"Sir, we called the number he gave us and a 'Cameron' is here to get him."
"That's your cue to go." the detective made a shooing motion with his free hand to Aero. "Remember son, there's a big difference between bravery and foolishness.
"There you are!" Cameron stormed in, immediately addressing Aero. "What the hell do you think..." the boy stopped, noticing the detective and let out a light cough. "Uh, sorry. I'll save it for when we're gone. Again, I'm sorry he caused you trouble." Cameron grabbed Aero's wrist and pulled him away.
"One more thing." the detective said, stopping them. "The perpetrators are claiming they saw you get shot in the head with a gun and just shrug it off. It's hogwash, I know, but I gotta do my job and ask anyway."
"That..." Aero briefly glanced at Cameron before continuing. "...Obviously did not happen."
"Hmph, thought so. Buncha loonies..."
"If you'll excuse us." Cameron said, giving a polite nod before the two of them left the station. But as soon as they were in the car, he continued. "I got a phone call from the police and guess what happened. You can't just get involved in police business like that, it's too dangerous!"
"Dangerous?" Aero raised a brow. "I've beaten far more dangerous things than three thugs."
"You can't just run around and fight bad guys like in that other world of yours, this is different."
"And why not? Thanks to me, that guy wasn't robbed, and three criminals were put in jail. If I hadn't acted, those three would have gotten away long before the police arrived."
"That's beside the point! Look, you don't have any authority in this world. Just let the police do their job."
"So this law enforcement investigates and takes care of all crimes without assistance?"
"Yes."
"And what happens if part of the law enforcement itself becomes corrupt? What then?"
"I..." Cameron hesitated. "Well, yeah. That is a problem that sometimes happens..."
"See?"
"But that doesn't mean you can just go around and perform vigilante justice!" He jabbed a finger at Aero's chest. "And don't make me remind you whose body you're in! You don't have the right to put it in danger!"
The huntsman shut up after hearing that, having no further words of retort. The car was silent for a moment. "Look...I. This is partially my fault." Cameron continued. "It's probably hard for you to adjust to all of this, and I haven't exactly been helpful either. You and I haven't really spoken that much since...then. It really isn't your fault you ended up in Nathan's body, but...you have to take care of it, alright?"
Aero thought for a moment before nodding and extending his hand. "Truce?"
Cameron gave a bitter chuckle before taking his hand and shaking it. "Truce. C'mon, let get out of here before these guys decide to keep you for more statements." He started the car, before remembering something and turning to Aero. "You didn't ACTUALLY get shot in the head right...?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
EternalEden
EternalEden What would be a good superhero name for Aero? I can't think of any catchy ones involving glass.
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