Gryphon – The Swordsman

“Optimus”
“Yes Garrick,” replied his custom coded AI he’d been working on to mimic an old cartoon Robot Truck he had seen in historic videos.
“Can you bring up the CSPD website for the CHIMERA Affiliate Application?”
“Yes Garrick, here you go.”

Garrick looked long and hard at the application realizing this may be the only way to save himself from a no win situation he had just landed himself in. Even Horace Sharma, his gaming buddy from work would call what happened to Garrick just screwed. 90 minutes ago Garrick or should one use the “Hero Name” he had just branded himself with: Gryphon. Well, the Gryphon had just saved a lady from a car jacking in Brisby Flats District. All of this craziness started with Daedalus Industries and the Gryphon knew he had been lucky to get away from the CSPD officer that had arrived on scene.

Hiding in an abandoned building he set his mobile data slab to ‘null mode’ and watched the room go dark. His hand instinctively fell upon the hilt of his new sword: Ashmadiel. He began a conversation in his mind.

Hey darlin’ take me to the square if you think I went to far on that punk, daisy.

You must be scared to use such grammar. You came close to taking it to far according to the rules of this society. He will likely need medicinal help to recover from those burns.

He fell back into a trash can! How’s that my fault?

You hit him with two fireballs and he tripped trying to run from the third. You did save the woman from defilement or death. However, your city-state has rules about villainous apprehension. The third fireball hit an abandoned building. What if the building had innocent lives in it? You need training and the best way is to find a mentor.

I can’t go back to Gramercy, I don’t know if I trust CHIMERA, if it means working with Alpha Prime. The rumble is that Mayor Zardona ain’t gonna be able to stop the FED from coming in at his end of term.

You never did find out whom was behind your shortened stay in the ‘Devil’s Rock’ or why the shortened parole?

Nope, the warden just said I had friends outside. Then a guard gave me some glad rags and I was let loose.

Your former associates must be thrilled you never expounded about them, certainly.

Heck, Snitches get stitches, no way darlin’ and I ain’t gonna take a dirt nap early. Besides they have never contacted me probably to avoid any investigation into the heist that freed you almost a decade ago. Got a lot to atone for and, um, and make the world a better place.

Glad to hear that positive tone once more, now get back to that silver steed of yours and let’s get home. Take some time and study what can you do better next time.

Garrick nodded and swung out and back at his neck. To someone watching and unfamiliar with the sight it might look like suicide by decapitation. However, the second the edge hit his skin the whole weapon explodes into a wave of golden mercury! Shrinking into and solidifying into a twisted wire torq with twin eagle/gryphon heads set with ruby eyes. Garrick also looked much smaller at 5’8″ rather than the 6’4″ he had just been. His clothing appears different and more in line with someone that works for a living. Garrick moved over two buildings to where he had stashed his truck and drove far out of his way to get home via safe routes.

The night had been so weird Garrick knowing he had just done something heroic was mind blowing. He thought his life had begun to stop plummeting when his sentence was reduced from 12 years to 3 and 3 years parole. He thought his father had been watching out for him when the Zarvosky family showed up at his release on August 4, 2019. Well, their butler and driver explaining the home and truck they had purchased and furnished in Garrick’s name so he could begin rebuilding his life and credit. He had missed the Bloody Monday riots by just about four weeks and often just tried helping out at food kitchens to get in good with the neighborhood and eat when times were tight.

Then on March 15, 2020 Garrick found a robotics company calling themselves Mallic Robotics Inc. looking for a footprint and he submitted his building for the location. He won the bid and set all of the money from leasing to a blind trust to repay the Zarvosky family. He was also hired as the senior programmer for infrastructure maintenance. It’s at the low end of what a senior programmer should be getting for pay, however, he didn’t care because he was on parole at the time. Even now he earns $66,000 a year plus benefits. When August 4, 2022 rolled around and he received his papers detailing his case was now officially closed and he was no longer and active felon. At that point he still could never have imagined his life turning out the way it did tonight.

It was a cold night January 31, 2023 and three days prior he had visited the first hiding spot for one of the two boxes from the truck heist. That location had been cleared out and demolished. This night he was determined to see if that spot behind the Zericho Wax Museum in Brisby Flats was still hidden. Not only was the box there, but the box looked un-disturbed! Perhaps whomever found the other box did not think there was a second stash. At night he could almost move undetected to an abandoned warehouse. Quietly he opened the box…
…Now it was March 31, 2023 and he had just saved a woman and gave a bad guy 3rd degree burns over 75% of his body. Being a hero had so many nuances to it that he was not sure he could quantify all the situations he might get into. While the feeling of being a hero was uber-euphoric! Garrick couldn’t help but wonder how his life would have changed if he had been on the receiving end of those fire ball blasts. He knew he had to find some friends to train with and against so he did not harm innocents or needlessly damage property. As 2024, our modern year begins, Garrick is watching a news report on how Century Station has come a long way toward improving. Mayor Zardona is nearing the end of his 5 year term and his programs, though they’ve helped immensely. Those programs still have a long way to go in order to satisfy the requirements given to the mayor by the Federal Government.

Garrick wondered if maybe the heat had worn off and the Gryphon might try fighting crime as a private investigator. It was worth investigating at the very least.

All art by AZ_Rune Art