Chapter 13- Where to Shop?

I did not wind up taking the computer from the Russian guy. I ran out of time. besides, it was too much trouble, and of course, it wouldn't be useful until I had the lair set up with basic necessities.

The first of which were power which the lair did not have, and internet access, which was also not a thing. Sitting in my lair (which I loved that I could say I had one), I Resonated with Winston to think about the problems. I could probably tap into the city's power grid for power, but what if I wanted more power? I couldn't leave too many traces, not just yet.

As for internet access, that was a little trickier. Winston's solution was to send up a telecommunications satellite, but I obviously couldn't do that. after Winston's time ran out, I went with Sombra. Her solution was a little simpler. That was to hack all existing satellites and make multiple access points to hide the trail. Make it seem like my signal was coming from all over the city.

As the Resonance faded, another thought came to me that really put a smile on my face. I needed funds to buy materials, and I knew an idiot that was, in a few years, going to lose a lot. Justin Hammer, the villain enabler from Iron Man 2. All I needed to do was hack his bank account and order myself the materials to a warehouse at the docks. A quick smash and grab and bada bing bada boom. Nobody will have any idea what is going on. Nothing to connect me to it.

Of course, I needed to put a shopping list together. Too bad I hadn't thought of that while I still had Winston online. I couldn't remember how to make his power source. Or I could hack Stark industries while I was at it and find the specs for an arc reactor. Hmm. I had to wait to be Winston again to figure out which would be more practical.

Well, I had time to wait, so I walked from the lair and took a walk. I took out my notebook and tried to get ahead on the work.

It actually took the full fifteen minutes that it took for Winston to come off cooldown for me to accept that I was the relative idiot that didn't know what was going on. I immediately Resonated with Winston and continued walking the street, writing furiously in my notebook. A couple of times, I ran into people, and just gave a polite "hello" and let them move on. It wasn't yet the time where everyone had smartphones (Iphones came out in 2007 so still two years to go), and all that would happen was rumors of "talking gorillas." Add that to the list of rumors about me. Glowing green cyborg ninjas, a man in black with a skull for a face, and an old soldier with a glowing red visor, a talking gorilla wasn't going to mean much more.

You know, probably.

Well, I now had my shopping list. I did a quick sweep for security cameras and let the Resonance go when I confirmed it was safe. Of course, I needed a computer to hack from. This was going to be a problem. I couldn't use the lair, because I had no computer there and no way for it to work even if I did have one there. If I used my home computer and made any sort of slip, I would be found out. Of course, I had confidence in Sombra's abilities, but in the business of a world of superheroes and an organization in the shadows like SHIELD, a little paranoia was warranted, I think. I decided to look into internet cafés in the area. If not, perhaps I could go back to the Russian, tie him up for a while and use his computer. Or find someone else to "borrow" a computer from. I was sure if I looked, I would be able to find someone deserving of a scare.

I yawned. I guess it could wait for a couple of nights. For now, sleep was more important. It was enough that I had a plan. I Resonated with D.va and flew across the river. With a short walk and Genji's help climbing up to my window, I was asleep within the hour.

"What is it, agent?"

"Sir, there are strange reports coming from Hell's Kitchen, New York."

"Strange events are what we deal with. What makes Hell's Kitchen special?"

"As of a month ago, there are suddenly lots of rumors of strange people causing chaos in the neighborhood. Two men ambushed some drug dealers at the docks, and one was reportedly a black ghost, and the other was a man that shot blue bolts of energy at people, downing them in one shot. Then, there are reports of the drug dealers on the streets getting ambushed by the black ghost and a 'robot ninja.'"

"Any more information? That's not a lot to go on, agent."

"I know, sir, but they all appeared at more or less the same time. There are also reports of unidentified objects flying around Manhattan, which also started at more or less the same time. While most of the information is not well substantiated, there is still clearly something going on there."

"I have no idea. A sudden awakening of Gifted? Alien scout team? Can't be sure. That's why I think someone should be sent there."

"Hmm. I'll take that into consideration. Anything else to report?"

"No, sir, that will be all."

The agent backed out of the office. The man remaining closed his eye. After a bit of thought he pushed a buŧŧon on his phone.

"Please send in Agent…"