“Coffee.”

Jennifer’s body moved automatically. She poured a cup for her father. After what he had done, it was the least she could do. Jennifer silently looked on as her father sipped the coffee. She glanced at the two unconscious robbers at the far end of the diner and wondered how she could so wrong.

Her father was a stud!

Before today, Jennifer had always assumed that her father was nothing but a glorified thug. A delusion man who seek to punch with men far above his station, but today’s event had proved her wrong. Her father was unarmed, but still managed to easily beat two armed gunmen to a pulp. She looked at the two guns her father had placed on the counter and wondered how the internet could call this man a joke? She would like to see who had the balls to say that to his father’s face.

“Nice place you got here.”

It took a while before Jennifer realized her father was speaking to her. “Thanks.”

“You okay?”

“Yes … thanks to you.” Jennifer smiled. “Glad you came around. You … were passing by?”

She could see the question slumping her father a little. Finally, he just shrugged, and lied. “Yeah. Just passing by.”

You would think a villain would be a good liar, but her father proved her wrong again. She knew there was no way he could be passing by just as a robbery was in progress. Her father was obviously keeping an eye up on her, but Jennifer wasn’t going to call him out on it. She didn’t know he ever cared, and who knows what would have happened if he wasn’t around? She was just glad he was around.

Time seemed to stand still as no one moved expect her father. Once the coffee was finished, Jennifer poured another cup for him. Then the police finally showed up.

The hero entered first. She was wearing some sort of metallic armor with a blue colored leopard logo in the center. Her head was covered by a black hood, and she wore a mask that covered the area around her eyes. Two uniformed police officers followed her immediately. They had their guns drawn as if they were expecting trouble. All three looked more than a little surprised by the calm of the diner.

“We had a report of a robbery in progress?”

The hero shouted to the diner, and a few customers immediately pointed to the two unconscious men on the ground. She saw the men and noticed the guns on the counter. Her father had placed the guns right beside him, and Jennifer saw the hero eyeing him warily. As the two police officers went to take the robbers into custody, the hero came to the counter and took possession of the guns. She kept an eye on her father the whole time, as if she was expecting him to object. Jennifer was glad that he didn’t.

“You were the one who stopped them?” The hero asked her father. He didn’t response so the hero tried again. “They call me Night Leopard. I am a hero and a police officer. I hope you can-”

“What?” Her father finally reacted, and he did not sound pleased. “You are both a hero and a police officer?”

“Uh … yes.”

Night Leopard’s mask didn’t cover much of her face, so her surprise was evident. She didn’t understand why her answer got such a response, but Jennifer did. Her father had been in prison for the past twenty years. Things were different back then.

“Heroes are now fully affiliated with the police department. This hero is a member of the Velocity Police Department.” Jennifer explained to her father who reacted in disbelief.

“She is? How is that possible?”

“You are academy trained?” Jennifer asked the hero who answered with a nod. The hero still didn’t understand what the problem was, so Jennifer explained it to her father. “About fifteen years ago, various heroes’ academies began a pilot program with some police departments. After graduation, their students would be sent to police departments to learn the ropes. It was to promote better cooperation between heroes and the police. The pilot program was so successful and popular, it went nationwide and now most countries are doing it.”

“You are kidding me?”

“Nope.” Jennifer told her father. “Most academy trained heroes are now affiliated with the police. If they have a registered superpower, they can also join the military or private security companies, but there are almost no independent heroes nowadays. Some countries in the Far East had even outlawed independent heroes altogether, calling them vigilantes.”

Her father shook his head, his views on the matter clear for all to see.

“Sir, I need to ask you some questions.” Night Leopard didn’t give up, but Jennifer knew her father wasn’t going to give the hero anything. He was old-school, and the line between villains, heroes, and the law was very distinct in the past. So, Jennifer intervened.

“I’m Jennifer. I am the owner of the establishment. I saw everything.”

Jennifer began to give the hero a run-down of what happened. How the robbers came in, how they wanted to rob the place, and how they were stopped by the old man who walked in looking for some coffee. As Jennifer spoke, a small drone floated above the hero. If she didn’t miss her guess, the drone was police issued, and it was recording everything Jennifer was saying. There was also a possibility of Blue Leopard being a technology-based hero and the drone was her private invention, but either way, the drone was recording so Jennifer made sure everything she said was the truth. The hero asked her a few follow-up questions, and once she answered them, the hero got back to her father.

“Sir, may I know your name?”

“I got nothing to say to you hero. Or is it officer now? What do people call you people now?”

Her father’s tone carried an insult, and Jennifer could see it affecting Night Leopard. The hero was getting angry, and Jennifer wondered why. Was it wrong for a hero to be a police officer? Before she could mediate, someone else did it for her.

“That’s enough, Leopard. Bring the two suspects to the station. I’ll take it from here.”

Another uniform police officer had entered the diner. This officer was older with streaks of white at the sides of his hair. The hero said his name with a curse.

“Sergeant Filler.”