Bain ambled through the Tower, not really doing anything with much in the way of an objective.

Apparently, the Tower had several gyms as well as the training rooms Bain had been so thoroughly introduced to. Whatever metals the Tower's suppliers used, it was ridiculously dense. The dumbells and weights he'd seen, even if only for a short time, were marked down in hundreds of pounds instead of pounds. Of course, the ordinary weights were available as well, but Bain hadn't been allowed in the smaller gym. Apparently there was a height limit to prevent the lighter weights from being obliterated.

He wondered if Stitches used the weights, or if he just practiced with whatever his powers were.

Speaking of whom...

"Hey, Bain. I finished breakfast and I'm not going to be caught deader cleaning whatever mess you made in there, so I'm going to head out for some hero work. You coming?"

Stitches walked up to him, his stomach quite clearly feeling the results of a large breakfast as he patted it. He was wearing his pajamas still, and Bain looked at him curiously. "You're doing hero work in those?"

He waved the question away. "I'll get changed in a bit. Until then-"

Bain interrupted him excitedly. "Are you going to put on your hero suit? I've been wondering about this since I read your letter! Is it an applicable supersuit, or is it just a costume? I mean, it must be ancient if it's your original-"

Stitches cut him off, waving his hands around. "Nope. Nope. And in case you didn't hear the first two times, nope. You couldn't force me into that suit with a million-dollar bribe on the line."

Bain slumped, disappointed. "Oh. Okay, then." His brain caught up to what Stitches had said and he rushed forward, leaning right up in his face. "Did you say hero work? I can come? Like, it'll actually be an honest sidekick-and-hero mission?"

Leaning away from the excited Bain, Stitches complained, "Yeah, hero work. Emphasis on the 'work', by the way."

It didn't matter to Bain. He was going to go on his first patrol!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bain stared at the construction site, a look of obvious confusion on his face. "What are we doing here?"

Stitches pulled on a neon yellow hard hat, smiling widely. "Hero work. Weren't you listening?"

Bain scratched his head mildly, looking at the skeleton of the building undergoing construction. "Well... yeah, but I thought we were going to go on a patrol. Wait for some crime to show up, and... I don't know. I guess I was expecting some action."

Indicating the site, Stitches told him, "This is hero work. We're helping these guys do this safely and securely. And a patrol? Bain, we don't even have a territory. Given how most people react to you, we'll want to make sure we establish the fact you're not a villain. Besides, being a hero isn't all fighting. In fact, it's mostly helping people out with odd jobs."

A slightly overweight man with a scraggly brown beard and a hard hat walked up to them, smiling. "Ay, Stitches! How'za doin..." He trailed off as he took in Bain's enormous form, one eyebrow lifting slowly as he did. "Ehhh... this fella's on our side, right?"

Stitches nodded his confirmation. "Sure thing, Joel. This is Bain, my new sidekick. Kid's been applying for hero for more than six years. You can trust him."

Joel shrugged noncommittally. "I'll be the judge of who I can and cain't trust, aight? You, I trust. This lug? I dunno. He's a bit menacing, ain't 'e?"

Patting the nervous man on the shoulder, Stitches told him, "Sure he's menacing, but he's been dealing with it his whole life. D'you really want to add one more criticism to that pile?"

Bain said plaintively, "I'm happy to do whatever you need me to do. Just name it and I'll get right on it."

Joel itched his neck. "Eh. I dunno about this, but Stitches is vouchin' for ya. Gotta warn ya, though, some of the guys here ain't exactly particular towards..." He indicated Bain's general appearance. "..all o' this. Ignore 'em if ye can, but if they need ya to do somethin', ye'd best be gettin' to doin' it."

Bain nodded his confirmation. "I completely understand. How can I help?"

With commands to give, Joel pointed out a pile of steel beams. "Go move those over to the lift, aight? Normally we got ole' Stitches here to do it, but I gotta talk to him."

Regardless of the fact he was essentially doing construction work rather than, say, rescuing someone, Bain was still more than happy to be of help to someone. Most people didn't want his help.

Swaggering over to Stitches, Joel whispered loudly, "Hey, uh, you're sure we can trust this guy? I almost crapped myself when I saw those claws."

Stitches snorted. "I don't blame you, Joel. He certainly is quite a terrifying package. But I haven't seen his level of enthusiasm in I can't remember how long. It's honestly refreshing to see someone so excited to be a hero, and he doesn't know squat about Rep-boosting or tailgating. He's not doing this for the money, I'm sure of that."

Joel nodded distractedly. "Yeah, but... you're seeing this too, right?"

Bain was holding a beam, each of which was around thirty feet long and likely weighed several tons, in each arm and was quickly stomping back and forth between the lift with a vigor that was frankly horrifying.

Stitches shrugged. "What can I say? He's an enthusiastic dude."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hefting two of the beams in his upper arms, Bain carefully maneuvered himself up the building to the top floor, using his remaining limbs to easily climb the smooth metal. Pulling himself onto the supports, he cautiously placed the beams in the places Joel was directing him. Off to one side, the crew was glaring at him as he efficiently and easily placed the several-ton beams in their respective positions.

To his surprise, Bain was actually enjoying this. Not only was he being helpful, but he was being a hero for doing it! Maybe it wasn't as exciting as chasing Boom Mike, or as adrenalizing as fighting Stitches, but it was hero work regardless. His first hero job ever, and he felt as though he was doing a good job.

Joel seemed to agree, his earlier reservations mostly gone. "Dang, Bain, you can really move that stuff. Stitches usually just sits in the corner and waits for us to be done for the day."

Grunting from the effort, Bain forced the metal I-beam into its slot. "What is that supposed to mean? He destroyed me when I fought him in one of the Tower's training rooms."

Joel snorted loudly, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah, right. If e' budged six inches on a worksite, you could color me impressed. He ain't doin' no construction work, that's for sure."

Popping his neck, Bain stood, admiring his work. "I don't know why he wouldn't. He's way stronger than I am."

Joel spread his hands apart. "Well then. Mebbe I'll hire ya and leave the corpse at home." Although he didn't really notice, the crew tensed.

Bain definitely noticed and shook his head. "That definitely won't be necessary. I'll try to talk to Stitches about working a little harder."

A short laugh exploded from the overweight manager. "Good luck wid' that, mate. I don't think Hallow hisself could talk Stitches into doin' a lick of work he didn't wanna do." His phone rang, and he checked it mildly. "Oh, hang a tic. I gotta take this." Without any apparent regard for the hundred-foot drop to the ground, he idly walked along one of the beams, chatting amiably as he did.

As Bain began to climb back down for another trip, one of the men spoke sharply. "Hey, monster. We know what you're doing."

Bain winced. "Actually, my name is Bain. Just calling me 'monster' is a bit... I don't know, hurtful?"

The man hopped off his perch. "Well, you're a monster, and I don't give a flying crap if your feelings got hurt. The fact of the matter is, we don't want you here." Behind him, the rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

Bain frowned. "But Joel said..."

The man shook his head angrily. "I don't care what Joel says, I ain't working with no monster."

Pulling himself back up to the floor, Bain dusted himself off. "Why not? I'm working hard, aren't I?"

Irritably, the man shook his head again. "That's the issue! If you're doing all the work, what are we supposed to do? We're only getting paid if we're working!"

In the back of his mind, Bain wondered if that was why Stitches didn't help out. This hadn't been a foreseeable event at all. "Well... I could work less."

He snorted. "And be lazy? What would you even be here for, then? No, we want you to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and stay there."

In spite of himself, Bain felt a slight rise of temper. "So you don't want me to help at all, because... I look different?"

The man nodded stubbornly. "Dang straight. You don't belong here."

For a moment, Bain had a short flashback to his conversation with Hallow that morning. Was there a website or something where people got together to find out the best ways to make him feel worthless?

He sighed. "Well, I'm Stitches' sidekick and I'm not going anywhere."

The man's jaw was set. "Yeah, you are. If no one accepts any work from you, you'll have to quit sooner or later."

Bain literally did not understand why this man, or Hallow, or any of the other numerous hecklers he'd met over the years hated him so much. If they spent even a minimal amount of time with him, they'd be sure to find out what kind of person he was, but none of them ever took the time. They saw his claws, they saw his size, and they made their decision right then and there.

"Look." His voice was sharper than he was used to hearing it. "I've been trying to be a hero for almost my entire life. I lied about my age so I could apply earlier than I was supposed to, I found pamphlets on how to be comforting under stressful situations - I even considered dyeing my carapace."

He had their undivided attention. "I am not going to stop being a sidekick now that I've finally got my chance. Not for Hallow, not for you, not for anyone. So I'm going to help you whether or not-"

His passionate speech was abruptly cut short by the entire building shaking. Everyone grabbed onto a nearby beam, shouting in surprise.

Looking down, Bain saw Stitches. He was fighting, and he seemed to be losing.