The cheesecake was gone, the fork licked clean, and New York pulsed below his balcony like molten caramel under a blowtorch.
Kai leaned against the railing, shades catching the city lights. Behind them, his eyes glowed faintly. He'd said it: no more casual saves. From tonight on, he was going to be a hero.
Ava's voice came through his watch, smooth and calm. "If you're serious about this, procrastination via dessert reviews won't count as heroics."
Kai popped the last crumb of crust into his mouth. "Dessert reviews are a public service."
"Secondary. Suit up."
He laughed but turned inside. The black uniform waited in the wardrobe: sleek jacket, fitted pants, soft boots. And the blindfold—dark fabric infused with Ava's enchantments.
He shrugged into the uniform, rolled his shoulders, and tied the blindfold with practiced ease. The enchantment hummed alive, scrambling optics, shifting his hair to black. The mirror reflected not Kai, not the Honored One, but something new: a tall, faceless shadow with a grin.
"Introducing…" he muttered, hands on his hips. "Blindfold."
Ava chimed: "Alias confirmed. Optics scramble active. Hair-shift stable. Ready when you are."
Kai grinned wider. "Then let's go to work."
He stepped off the balcony into the night.
Rooftop Warm-Up
The city smelled like rain that hadn't decided to fall. Kai vaulted from building to building, One For All pushing at 3%, Infinity wrapped around him like an invisible jacket. His feet whispered against the rooftops.
"This is surreal," he said, pausing on a ledge to look down at the streams of headlights. "I'm actually patrolling. Like Batman. But hotter."
"You are unfocused," Ava replied. "Adjust stride. Save commentary for later."
He chuckled and kept moving.
Then he tried something new.
He flicked his fingers, and the air dimpled with Blue, a tiny singularity tugging at the world. Kai leaned into it—stepped—and space folded. In an instant, he was three rooftops farther along. His stomach flipped, then settled.
He grinned under the cloth. "Never gets old."
"Burn rate moderate. Limit to a dozen tonight," Ava said.
"Limitations are for people without style."
"Kai."
"Fine. A dozen," he said, but he was already making another.
First Crime Scene
Two blocks west, Ava flagged movement. "Four males. One victim. Alley. Coordinates locked. Recording enabled."
Kai landed silently on a rooftop overlooking the scene. Four thugs had a delivery worker pinned against a gate.
"Hand it over, man," one snarled.
Kai dropped lightly behind them. "Gentlemen, really? On my first night?"
They spun. One barked a laugh. "What are you, Daredevil's knockoff cousin?"
"Close," Kai said. "Blindfold."
The first lunged with a knife. Kai flicked Blue; the blade jerked sideways, caught in the tug of his tiny gravity, and clattered harmlessly against the wall.
Another thug charged. Kai tapped Red. The man flew backward into a trash can with a satisfying clang.
The third pulled a pistol. Infinity thickened, air warping. The shot cracked—but the bullet slowed, wobbled, and fell like it lost interest. Kai bent, picked it up, and set it on the guy's shoe.
"Dropped something."
The man stared, pale.
The fourth swung wild. Kai tugged Blue at his laces. They knotted instantly, sending him sprawling face-first onto the asphalt.
The alley was silent except for the delivery worker's shaky breathing.
"You okay?" Kai asked.
The worker nodded, wide-eyed. "Y-yeah. Thank you. Who are you?"
Kai tilted his head. "Blindfold. Tell your friends."
Ava's voice cut in: "Evidence captured. Faces scanned. Dispatch alerted. NYPD en route. Response time: three minutes."
The worker blinked. "You… called the cops too?"
Kai smirked. "Full service." He stepped into a Blue warp and vanished onto the rooftop above.
Little Corrections
The rest of the night blurred into small saves.
A teen tried to yank a backpack from a younger kid. Kai snagged it midair with Blue and returned it without breaking stride.
Two drunk men escalated into shoves; Kai nudged Red, and their fists missed by miles, turning rage into confusion.
A woman was cornered by "friendly" strangers on a dark corner; Kai dropped from an awning, said, "Not tonight," and let Infinity discourage their hands from getting closer.
Each time, Ava captured video, logged time and location, and pushed anonymous tips to police dispatch. By dawn, three arrests had already been confirmed.
"You're not a rumor anymore," Ava told him as he crossed a final rooftop. "You're evidence."
Kai laughed. "Evidence with style."
A Harder Case
Toward midnight, he spotted a van sliding up to a closed storefront. Three men moved to drag a teenager inside. It was quick, quiet—the kind of crime that didn't like witnesses.
Kai's chest went cold. He dropped onto the hood of a parked car hard enough to set off the alarm.
"Evening!" he called. "Didn't know kidnapping was on sale tonight."
The men froze. The teen kicked wildly, catching one in the shin. A gun flashed.
Kai's Infinity stretched thin. The bullet left the muzzle, but Ava had already marked the weapon, logged the shot, and pinged dispatch.
"Coordinates sent," she murmured.
Kai yanked Blue into the van's doorway; the sliding door slammed shut like a trap, crushing the gunman's fingers. He howled.
"Run," Kai told the teen, and flicked Red to launch him two steps clear. The kid bolted down the block, screaming for help.
The would-be kidnappers bolted too—except one, who swung a pipe in panic. Kai let it hit Infinity and rebound, then tugged Blue at his wrist until the weapon skittered away.
Police sirens howled into the street seconds later.
Kai crouched on a fire escape, watching as officers swarmed. Ava overlaid status updates in his ear: "Three detained. Teen safe. Statement logged. Casefile created."
Kai exhaled, relief sinking deep. "Not bad for day one."
Reflection
Back at his apartment, Kai pulled off the blindfold. His hair washed white again. He slumped on the couch, sweaty and buzzing with adrenaline.
"Four incidents. Zero civilian injuries. Collateral minimal," Ava reported. "You used Blue nine times, Red three, Infinity continuously. Grade: B-plus."
Kai threw a pillow at the desk. "B-plus? I was amazing out there!"
"Showmanship docked points."
"That raised the grade," he countered, then laughed. "Okay, fine. I'll take it."
He shuffled into the kitchen and started making pancakes—because sugar was the best cooldown. He piled whipped cream and syrup high, flopped cross-legged on the couch, and ate like he'd just run a marathon.
"You did well," Ava said softly.
Kai froze, fork halfway to his mouth. Then he smiled. "Thanks."
The Morning After
Sunlight poured through the windows when he woke. Notifications buzzed his phone. Headlines scrolled across news sites:
"Blindfolded Vigilante Stops Midtown Muggers."
"Who Is the New Meta on the Streets?"
"Footage Glitches as Mystery Hero Intervenes."
Social media debated his name. Some called him "Blindfold," others "Glitch." Memes had already sprouted.
Kai flipped through them while eating a bowl of cereal topped with strawberries. He laughed into his spoon.
"They're already obsessed."
"They're already watching," Ava corrected. "The city now expects you."
Kai set the spoon down, wiped his mouth, and grinned. "Good. Blindfold always delivers."