Chapter 6

It took another week to get everything up and running. Harry and a few others helped move all of the mats and everything over, and I was working on setting up my living quarters and the front done up.

One of the mutants I was trying to teach was Jennifer. She was 42, and thanks to what happened to all of us now had lost her job. She had been a waitress, but she now sported a dark green skin, and had two curving horns just below her hairline on her forehead.

But so far as we had been able to tell, absolutely nothing else. Her boss had let her go, claiming it was a slowdown in business since the Night of Madness. And unlike most other groups, mutants like us were not a protected class. She asked me if I knew anybody who was hiring, and I shocked her when I hired her myself.

“Jenny, look at these hands! I need somebody who can actually run the dojo for me, as I can barely do a lot of the paperwork and other tasks anymore. I can’t use a computer, I can’t use a cash register. Forget filling out checks or paperwork, I write notes on cut up boxes for goodness sakes, with a giant felt marker! In short, I am just so big a lot of things I did myself I just can’t do anymore. I can’t sweep or mop unless I do it on my hands and knees. I have never even been in the office upstairs! Think about that, there are three offices up there that I will never see. I really do need somebody to help me out, and I want it to be you.”

Well, thankfully she could use a computer and knew more than I did about doing a checkbook and things like that. She thanked me, and after going upstairs came back and said she needed some things.

“Well, you are right. That is not an office up there, it is a pile of garbage. I am going to need new everything up there, even the chairs are broken.”

I told her to grab Harry when he returned from the plumbing supply store, and they could use the truck to go get all the things out of my office and put them up there. “It’s not like I can use that desk anymore. Or chair. Or even a computer or anything. Go ahead and set them all up there, and get anything else you need.”

When the first day of mutant registration opened, I at least had transportation. Thanks to Harris and some buddies of his we had kludged together a large trike. It had a large block V-8 from a Chevy truck, was sluggish, and had almost no suspension to speak of. It was largely just the rear end with a cut down drive shaft, the body cut out of an old VW, and the front half was an antique they had come up with from somewhere.

It was not the usual telescoping fork, but an old swing arm that came from some old bike in the 1950’s or something. They did a lot of playing with it and finally got it so that at least the front had some suspension. Otherwise, there was a chance that any bump could rip the handlebars out of my hands. But they were still working on the back, with shocks from a truck no less.

But at least on that day, I was able to drive myself downtown. And boy, did I get looks for that! And even though one cop did do a double-take, he did not follow me. Of course, he could have pulled me over because that contraption was not only not street legal, it was not registered. And helmet laws? I had a grape that was now far larger than any helmet ever made! But I think Harris had warned everybody about this, and it was not like I had any choice.

Or could take the bus. Or even walk, as until they replaced the bridge, it would be a 15-mile walk to the next bridge and across the river to get to the Downtown area. There were a bunch already waiting in front when I got there, most of them obvious mutants. A couple I even recognized, two of them being Jennifer and Glenda. At 9 sharp they opened the doors, and we all headed inside.

There was a desk set up, with 4 people at it with laptops who had everybody form lines in front of them. I waited in one for maybe 5 minutes before I heard somebody call my name. I looked, and it was an Asian guy. Around 40, and he smiled and asked if I could follow him. And when I tried to say I needed to register, he laughed. “I am Doctor Tran and am the District Supervisor for this office. Trust me, all they would do is take your name and send you to see me anyways. You are obviously Paladin Class, so no need to go through all of that stuff. In fact, we already have a file started on you, we just need you to fill in the blanks.”

Well, thankfully they had a large freight elevator, but it still felt silly because I had to stoop to get into it and stoop down the hallway until we got to a conference room in the basement. There, Dr. Tran sat in front of a computer, and I sat on the floor.

“Forgive us, we are still trying to find more chairs. We have some on order you should be able to use soon, but they are not here yet.” I said that was fine, and crossed my legs as a woman came in and set up two cameras.

“Mister Lee, this is Miss Smith. She is here simply as a witness, and the cameras are only for our own archives. Tell me, what do you remember of that night?”

They both nodded as I described the pain I felt, and I saw them make notes. Then we went over what powers I had. Both seemed impressed, and Miss Smith even handed me this device I was familiar with from doing rehab. It was a grip tester, with a dial on it. I grinned, and held it between my thumb and pinkie, and squeezed. And they both looked impressed when just my pinkie maxed out the 200-pound scale.

“OK, that is more than sufficient. And yes, we are having better equipment made now. What you just showed us by itself is enough to qualify as Paladin level strength. As for your other abilities, we have the tape you made which showed you running and jumping. And when they took your blood sample. Mister Lee, you are indeed now a Paladin. Now, let me tell you what we have to offer you in return.”

And it was as they had said in the news. I do at least three patrols of 3 hours or more once a week, four of 2 hours, or any combination that adds to 12 hours, and I was a registered Paladin. $10,000 a month, and other assistance I may need. To include housing.

“OK, that is one thing I may have a problem with. It is not a problem yet, but it can be. I have already had to move out of my apartment, it is just too small for me now. I am setting up living quarters in the back of the store I use as my dojo, but it is not zoned for residential.”

Dr. Tran nodded to Miss Smith, and she smiled. “Oh, not a problem. Give me the address, and I will draft a letter right away. We are a Federal Agency, we will simply tell the locals that your place of business is a recognized Federal facility. We can ignore such laws, as Federal trumps Local.”

“Wait, you want to take over my dojo?”

“Relax Mister Lee, not at all!” She had a delightful laugh, deep and husky. “No, we do not need to own it, simply that we recognize it as such, and it therefore falls under us. And trust me, you have made that so easy! We have already discussed this, actually. Most times, finding some loophole would be needed. But as you already volunteered to train any mutants, it is a slam-dunk. In fact, keep track of your hours doing training, and remove it from your mandated patrol hours.”

Dr. Tran nodded. “In fact, if you want to spend 12 hours a week training others, you do not have to do any patrols at all. And tell any that attend those sessions that the same applies for them. Train with you for say 2 or 4 hours a week, it counts as street time. And we are still talking about other classifications, but as of now it is just full Paladin.”

“Other classifications?” I asked.

“Yes, some do not want to actually be Paladins on the street. We have one who is actually a Nun, we are working with her on this. She refuses to do patrols but said she can be called for an emergency. Others are doctors, students, housewives, people who can not or will not do patrols. For them, the hope is we can arrange another tier. They will be on call for say a disaster and be paid if they do respond. No stipend, but still recognition.”

“OK, so like non-combatants in the military. Clergy, medics, people like that. I can respect that, not everybody is cut out to be a fighter.”

“Exactly! But in say an earthquake or landslide, such people like yourself could still be called in to save lives. The Mutant Act is only the first step, we are still working out the details though. And if I may, I would like to offer you a job here.”

I shook my head. “No, sorry Doc. Oh, I will train any you send me. In fact, I will do some patrols, but I ain’t working for the Government ever again. Nothing personal, I loved my time in and have mostly good memories of it. But the red tape, the stupid rules, I ain’t having it.” I then explained why Dale and I started the school, and I saw them both nod sadly.

“Yes, we are hoping to prevent that kind of nonsense in Control, but some are saying it is a lost cause. But fair enough, Anything else we can do for you?” I mentioned my issue with the trike, and they both laughed again. “The same thing, Miss Smith will do up the paperwork, the cops will leave you alone. Your trike will actually get Government plates like Federal law enforcement has. It is still yours, we will be doing that so they can not bother you. And as such, can not pull you over if you are speeding or running red lights to get to the scene of an emergency. But this will be provisional, we will need to eventually make sure it is safe to drive.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I want the same thing, but I had to do something to get around. This is only the first model, better ones will be made in the future.”

A few hours later, I walked out with more than I expected. Miss Smith even had somebody run to their supply room and came back with 2 cartridge belts and a fanny pack. GI issue no less. With the two belts I was able to fasten it around my waist, and put in the new ID they had given me. Along with a credit card and papers covering my home and the trike.

When I left the building, I saw a bunch of reporters were outside filming it all. Two of them came up and started asking questions. I grinned and reached into the pack around my waist and pulled out my new ID card. “Yes, I am now a registered Paladin.”

“Mister Lee! Do you have a code name?”

I laughed. “Please, not Mister Lee, just Clint. And yes, as you can see on the card, I am now ‘The Sensei’. But call me that, and I may spank you.” They all laughed and asked me why I picked that. “Well, it is the title my students use for me, and I figure it is appropriate. I will not be patrolling much, but be spending most of my time teaching others.”

“So like Master Splinter!” one of them said, and we all laughed. “No, not like Master Splinter. He walked with a limp and used a cane. Thankfully, I no longer use my cane and no longer walk with a limp. But it is an apt comparison. I will be teaching all the others, and hopefully not fighting myself. But remember the movie and comics, Mister Splinter could still be a bad dude to mess with if he decided to get involved personally.”

I chatted with them for several more minutes, then swore when I got to my trike and saw them start to haul it onto a flatbed tow truck. “What in the hell are you doing?” I asked, and I saw the cop and driver both flinch. Thankfully, all I had to do was show them the letter from Miss Smith, and they both apologized and started to lower the trike.

“Look, I am not mad, you all are just doing your jobs. But get used to seeing this, it is the only way I can get around. And it will have plates in about a week, just please go easy on me until then.”

The cop asked me about a helmet, and he grinned when I laughed. “Sure thing, but if you saw that is in the letter also. Control is working on that, but there is nobody that makes a helmet big enough to fit me. Once again, just give me some time. Oh, and you might want to mention this to others in your precinct. Go easy on us, this is all as new to us as it is to you guys. We are on your side, but some like me will need a little time until we can be fully legal.”

I drove back to the dojo and saw they had been busy while I was gone. I called Jenny to the front and told her there was $25,000 in the bank she was free to use. “Get everything you all think you need. If that is not enough, just let me know and I can get more.”

“Clint, can you afford that?”

“Jenny, trust me. That is my savings, but I have $10,000 in a new bank account and will be getting that much a month. In addition to what I make from the school. But we need to get it finished so I can reopen.” We walked around, and I gave them my ideas for more changes and they both liked them. Nice seating, an actual ring in the back corner for boxing and wrestling, the juice bar, and the video area.

“I want to get some videos made, and use it both for entertainment, and instruction. Plus, I will want to see TV and movies myself. Why not make a home theater here, since this is now my home? Oh, and for the front. Get a contractor, I want the doorway in the front enlarged enough so I can use it also. And some sort of system so I can block off the front. If I want to come out here in my underwear and watch a movie at 10 at night, I want to be able to do that. Just like anybody else.”

They both laughed at that, and Jenny said that was only fair. “I will see about getting the permits right away. As this is open to the front, that will be more of an issue than what we are doing in the back.”

I handed him the letter and said not to bother. “Trust me, we pretty much have carte blanche to do whatever we want. Oh, it still mostly has to meet code, but Control is basically cutting the fucking red tape with a chainsaw. If I think I need it done, do it. If anybody complains, I just send them to Control. As far as codes, it does need to meet the safety ones. But a lot of the others, like maximum door size and those that are purely cosmetic we can ignore. So go ahead and start making the calls.”

Harry grinned, then pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Here, they finished this about an hour before you got here. This will open and close the big door in the back. It also locks when fully down, so you do not have to worry about that.” I thanked him for getting that done so fast and went in the back to try it for myself.