Mr. Thompson (part 2)

            The door started to open. Mr. Thompson rushed forward to slam it back shut. “You can’t have him.” He braced his back against the door and pushed with his legs, trying his best to bar the entryway.

            How stupid. Mr. Thompson felt the door move. “You know this is just a waste of time, don’t you, Count.” Mr. Thomson continued to push, but his feet were sliding across the carpeting now. He heard the chain on the door snap off and fall to the floor, taking small pieces of the wall with it. Mr. Thompson tumbled forward, landing on his back and looking up at the door. It swung open and in its frame stood one of the strongest men on the planet, the one finger he used to push open the door still raised.

            Captain Shield looked down at Mr. Thompson lying on the ground. “If Kyle isn’t home, I still think it best if I waited inside.” He stepped over Mr. Thompson and headed toward the living room. “I did try to avoid breaking your door too much.”

            Mr. Thompson sighed. There really was nothing I could do, he thought as he took a swig from the bottle he managed to avoid spilling.

            When Mr. Thompson managed to get back to the living room, he found Captain Shield sitting on his couch in full costume, the suit he wore now torn in half and lying on the floor. It was the same tight fitting spandex, boots, and cape he always wore, except the colors were now black and gold instead of blue and silver. “Why are you wearing that?” Mr. Thompson said as he took a seat on the chair opposite, with the coffee table separating the two of them.

            Captain Shield smiled and brushed his hair back. “It wouldn’t be polite to introduce myself as Captain Shield without looking like Captain Shield, would it Count?”

            As the two of them waited in the living room for Kyle to come home, Captain Shield and Mr. Thompson reminisced about the days when they were both in The League. Well, Captain Shield talked while Mr. Thompson finished his bottle and started on another.

            “You know,” Captain Shield said, trying to change the subject, “we’ve also made significant improvements in training new recruits as well as providing them with the best gear for when they become full members.”

            Mr. Thompson finished his bottle and placed it on the coffee table. “Unless you want to tell me that you finally found out who killed my wife, stop talking and leave.”

            Captain Shield laughed. “You know full well that there’s nothing you could do to make me leave. I’m staying until I get a chance to talk to Kyle. Especially since we both know you’re trying to keep him from getting anywhere close to The League.”

            Mr. Thompson glared at the superhero and took another swig from a bottle he pulled from the cabinet next to the couch. Captain Shield was right after all – even when he had all his abilities, they didn’t match up to Captain Shield’s.

            “I’m home,” Mr. Thompson heard Kyle call as he entered the house, but the only thing he wished was that his son would turn around and go right back out like he usually did. “And no, I didn’t go to the recruiting station.” His voice was getting louder now as he came down the hallway. “I actually decided to sleep on it like you asked –”

            Kyle paused, mouth agape as he stared at the superhero sitting in his living room. Mr. Thompson looked at his son, then to Captain Shield, and then back to his son. “Kyle, why don’t you take a seat and tell Captain Shield what I told you this morning.”

            But Kyle didn’t move. Instead he continued to stand and stare at one of the strongest men in the world. Captain Shield smiled and stood. “It’s nice to meet you, Kyle,” he said as he shook the boy’s hand. “As you can see, I am Captain Shield and I’m here to offer you membership into The League.”

            Kyle and Captain Shield sat on the couch and he explained to Kyle the trial process for membership, the training he would endure to achieve his full potential, and even setting him up with a room in The League’s headquarters itself. “After all, it’s you youngsters that will be leading The League in the future.”

            Mr. Thompson stood and grabbed Captain Shield by the collar, trying to lift him off the couch and to the door. “Okay, you’ve said your piece. Time to leave.” He pulled as hard as he could but still Captain Shield never budged. Mr. Thompson continued to pull, but he knew that he would only stand when he wanted to.

            “Hold on, Count. We still haven’t heard if the boy’s accepted my offer. Why don’t we see what he has to say?”