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Language:
English
Series:
Part 10 of Danny May 2021 , Part 1 of Danny in New York
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Published:
2021-10-03
Words:
1,332
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
16
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493
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18
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4,055

Even in the Summer, Superheros Don't Slack Off

Summary:

Of course, Danny is homesick during his summer internship in New York. But it turns out that some things never really leave you.

Or

Danny still ends up saving the day while in New York and maybe sort of learns a valuable lesson.

Notes:

May 10, 2021: Shadows

I unintentionally let this one story spread into a whole collection of one-shots (Danny in New York).

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Shadows

Danny was having a great time in New York on a summer-long engineering internship. It felt different being in a large bustling city — all of the commotion and action. You feel as if you are unimportant but at the same time significant. You have a purpose in that city, and you are making a difference. Danny also enjoyed the fact that he was able to appreciate a brand new landscape practically on his own. He was independent. So far, he had sought out the best diner in the city along with the coziest coffee shop. But, not everything was as great as he pictured it to be.

He was away from home and alone. And while at first, it seemed exciting and wonderful, homesickness continued to creep upon him. He worried about how everyone was doing. Was everyone okay? Was the town okay? Were they safe without him? Danny had begun calling habitually each night to check in. But as Danny was in New York even longer, a significant amount of his homesickness was about missing and yearning for the place as a whole. And there wasn’t much Danny could do about that because it was a fourteen-hour drive away.

That evening, Danny was in the cozy cafe he found and was drinking coffee despite the hour. Even though he had been able to get more sleep being away from all the ruckus at home, his coffee habits died hard. Danny had begun a sort of evening routine: coffee while reading the book Jazz had been nagging him about, make a call home at the payphone a block away, and then head back to the apartment he was staying at. He had already finished the chapter that he promised himself he would read, so all he had to do was finish his cup of joe.

When Danny looked around the cafe, he noticed that the array of people was the same as the previous evenings; the people there were people of habit. Habits were an odd thing, Danny thought. They gave you a sense of normalcy and home when you otherwise couldn’t have those aspects. And, deterring from a habit often hurts. Danny guessed that was why he picked up this habit so quickly; it was an escape to home.

When Danny finished his coffee, he walked down the lamp-lit street to the phone booth that Danny had previously discerned as the one in the least habited area around, which was nice because it gave a sense of privacy. The shadows had deepened when he arrived there. Danny considered calling Jazz first because he called her last the night before, and he knew that she was often the busiest. He slipped a quarter in and dialed her number.

Jazz picked up immediately with a “Hello!”.

“Hi Jazz, this is Danny, if you couldn’t tell.”

“I figured that it was you, you call on the same phone every night, so it's the same number. And, I was expecting you. Was I your first call tonight? I feel so loved.”

Danny laughed, “Well of course I called you first. I mean, I don’t even think you realize how busy you are. I have to make sure you get enough sleep.”

“Ah, enough of that. I am the one who should be watching over you, little brother… So, what have you been up to?”

Danny rolled his eyes, despite Jazz not being able to see it. “The usual,” Danny said as he looked out of the smudged phone booth glass, “I just helped around the building, giving some of my opinions. I did see a cute dog today, though. It was a little cocker spaniel who was extremely interested in the hot dog stand. I wish you could have seen it. So what did you do?”

“That sounds so adorable! I wish I could have been there. So, today I just did my summer class and then worked in the college office. Just a typical day. I miss you, Danny.”

“Me too, Jazz … How about when I get back, we set up a day of fun just for us?”

“That sounds great! I’ll put it on my calendar. Goodnight, Danny.”

“Goodnight!” The dial tone sounded as Jazz hung up.

Danny went to place another quarter in to call Tucker when he noticed a suspicious character in the shadows nearby. Then he saw a young woman who was obviously dressed to go out to a fancy dinner, despite her right arm and leg being covered in casts and using a crutch. Some internal instinct told Danny that the shadowy figure’s intention was to rob the woman of her expensive jewelry and the contents of her purse. He couldn’t let that happen. Danny put the telephone down and stepped out of the booth towards the shadowy figure who was advancing towards the unaware and seemingly defenseless — except for her crutch — richly dressed women.

“Stop Mr. Shadowy Guy — leave her alone,” Danny said in his most forceful voice. The shadowy figure looked at him with astonishment, and the women finally became aware of the situation.

“What are you going to do about it?” the shadowy figure asked rhetorically as the woman momentarily froze in place and then began to shuffle away as fast as she could with her injured limbs, “A beanpole like you can’t stop me.”

“Well, first of all, looks can be deceiving, and true capabilities can hide in the shadows.” Danny couldn’t help but use a pun — “Second of all, just leave her alone. If you are so desperate for riches, you can simply have my money.”

“Nah, her jewelry is definitely worth more than any money you have. Good luck stopping me, beanpole.” The shadowy man started to run after the woman who, sadly, hadn’t been able to make it that far in her incapacitated state.

After realizing that he couldn’t just transform right then and there, Danny resorted to running after the shadowy figure. He caught up rather quickly, affirming it to his nimbleness and habit of chasing after fiends. When Danny caught up to the man, a punch suddenly swung towards his face, catching him off guard. But, luckily, he was surprisingly able to dodge. If we are playing that way, then I’ll start playing that way. Danny thought. Danny threw a punch at the shadowy man. It connected and sent him flying into a nearby wall. The man was temporarily knocked out from the superpowered blow.

With the man currently immobile, Danny turned to the young woman. “Are you okay?” He asked with the kindest voice and expression he could muster; he knew that she was probably scared out of her wits.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” She replied wearily after a short pause. She held her crutch tightly as if readying it for an imminent attack. Danny could understand her approach to her response and knew how anxious she might be. It's hard to trust someone who just knocked another into unconsciousness. He took a few steps back to give her some reassurance.

“I don’t know how safe it is out here, so if I were you, I would head over to the cafe that’s a block over. Maybe wait for whoever is supposed to pick you up there.” She still stayed silent. “Also,” Danny added, “They have a really good coffee and a pastry selection.”

“Thanks,” she said timidly.

“No problem,” he responded. Danny, figuring that she wouldn’t turn around to the cafe until he was turned and out of sight, started walking away from the direction of the cafe — despite his new direction being opposite of what he needed and was out of his habit. “Stay safe,” he called back.
After a few moments, Danny then looked back to make sure that no other incidents in the shadows of the Big Apple would occur and noticed that the young woman had safely made it to the cafe.

Sometimes, Danny supposed, it is important to break your habits.

Notes:

Thank you for reading! Have a great day!

If you have any suggestions for a better title, please let me know. :)

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