Work Text:
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
… It seems like the alarm is blaring louder than usual this morning...
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Alright, already! I'm up. I'm up…"
The man slammed his hand down on the alarm, to stop it's incessant ringing! He then took a deep sigh, and began rolling off of the side of the bed…
"Oh my, Eru… I can't do this today, "The man dreaded aloud. "And of course it's my day to open up!... You know, I'd like to meet whoever it was that decided to have the work day beginning so early… Boy, I'd sure give them a piece of my mind!"
The man finally then raised himself to a sitting position, on the side of his bed. His slippers were on the carpet next to him, and his robe was laid over the back of a rocking chair- in the corner of the man's room. The man first slipped on his slippers - one foot first, and then the other - and then the man slowly walked over to the chair, to grab his robe.
As the man exited his room, and made his way down to the kitchen- He continued this morning's routine of griping, and complaining, about the mundane existence that is- his life...
"Get this coffee going, get myself washed and ready... and all for what? To sit at my teller window, all day, telling these people to 'have a good one'... For what? A meager little 'paycheck'- every other Friday!? I can't do this today… I just… I want to do something exciting! Man, all growing up I thought I could be a professional athlete, or an explorer! But now… Now, I sit at a desk, and cash other people's checks, all day… I never thought I'd be doing this for a living…This is so boring!"
The man then started his pot of coffee, and then he went to the bathroom, to start getting himself ready for the day…
…
Once the man had finished his shower, and after getting himself dressed in his work attire, the man returned to the kitchen- to fill his thermos full of coffee,
"This is the only thing that keeps me going throughout the day, I swear," the man said.
After filling his thermos, and tightening the lid, the man made sure he hadn't left anything on, and then he left his house, to head into work. The man got into his automobile, and he soon began the short, but congested, commute from Gotham City, over to New York City.
"Just had to take this job at the NYC Bank, didn't I? 'Oh, but it'll look so good on a resume'... Please," the man sighed, "I can't believe I agreed to take this job... Not to mention- If the boredom doesn't kill me first, I swear to Eru that this traffic will do it!"
As the man started approaching the bank, he could see a constant stream of red and blue, flashing lights, speeding towards, and around, the direction of the bank?
"Some jerk must be up to no good this morning… Too bad 'The Batman' doesn't operate outside of Gotham," the man thought to himself.
The man then, finally reached the employee parking section, in the back of the NYC Bank's parking lot. He parked his automobile, but before going into work, he sat in his car for one last "motivational speech" to himself,
"Alright, man. We got this! Just eight hours… Well, ten hours- since I'm opening… Smile, count right, and it'll be over before you know it… Eru, please… I just need some excitement in my life…"
The man again sighed, and then offered himself one last, "I can do this!"...
...The man then walked through the parking lot, and up towards the bank...
"I even have to be here early, for a couple of extra hours, just to make sure that the money that was counted last night hasn't mysteriously walked away, or something… I don't know why I need to be here to unlock this place so early... I need a vacation…"
The man was so focused on his complaining, that he failed to notice the several police cars that were parked at the front of the bank. The man just kept his head down towards the ground, and he was intentionally trying to block out any, and all, surrounding noises…
"I just hope today goes fast… Get in, do my job, go home…It's not like anything out of the ordinary is going to happen, anyways..."
Keys in hand, the man raised his hand to unlock the back, employee door. Once inside, the man noticed that it was far more quiet than normal? A few of the lights were on- which was strange… And the trash hadn't appeared to have been removed by the night's cleaning crew?
"Oh well," the man said to himself, "Guess it's just going to be one of those days…"
As the man started to go through his cash register - making sure all of the totals were exactly as he had left them the day before - he heard a commotion from around a corner of the lobby - that was hidden from his view - and also from the street out in front of the bank!
POW! CRASH! POW! POW! POW!
The sounds of shattering glass, and gunfire, echoed through the bank's lobby! It was then that the man was grabbed from behind!
"What's going on here! Let go of me! Put me down! Who are you!" the man demanded in protest.
But his attacker didn't say a word…
His attacker was huge. A very large, abnormally buff, and muscular, person. The attacker wore a giant metal dome over the top of his head? The man had thought that his attacker looked familiar… but he wasn't sure why? The attacker quickly dragged the man to the roof of the bank!
The man was pushed out, to the ledge of the roof! As the man stood there looking down, over a sea of police, heroes, and onlookers, he let out a horrifying, frightened scream!
It was then that the man's attacker first spoke,
“The Batman and this, Human Torch, think they can stop us!? We are the Mutant Liberation Front! For years now, our people have been placed in bondage, and experimented on. We have experienced genocide, and have been forced in to a near extinction. A new day is coming! Banks, like this one here, have been secretly funding an ancient empire. One that has manipulated, and used mutants for centuries. No more! As the new dawn rises, so do the mutants!”
The attacker then pushed the man off of the ledge of the roof!
"Ahh, somebody help me, please!" the man yelled, as he fell towards the sidewalk below…
Just as the man was set to smash into the ground- a winged man came flying to the man's rescue! The winged man had caught The Bank Teller, and safely returned him to his feet; far from any more immediate danger.
"Thank you… Th- Thank you, sir." The man said. "Are- Are you a Beyonder? Are you the Beyonder? Eru! He heard my prayers!"
"My name is, Angle," the winged man tried to explain. "I am no Beyonder… But I am a mutant..."
"Whatever you say, sir," the man said, still trembling from his freight, "Just please… If I ever pray for more excitement… Remind me of this!... I don't need anymore excitement, I don't think… In fact, I think I've had enough!"