Chapter Text
The art of sewing, the art of making clothes and costumes, the art of being a stylist, and the art of being a tailor.
Making clothes had been part of the human kind since the era of the ancestors who usually would need to cover up themselves from the cold or protect their bodies from the scorching sun.
But to cosplayers, it had been what drove them to enjoy every single dream of them becoming their favorite characters…
“There you go.” A teenage tailor said as he watched a father wearing the cosplay of All Might while his youngest kid took the yellow ripped scarf that clearly imitated the cosplay of Midoriya in one of his hero costumes.
“It looks wonderful.” The father said as he saw the kid playing and doing the poses of My Hero Academia. “How much for it?”
“Since it’s a comic con event, I should be charging you 50 dollars, but since you brought me the material, it was quick to make. I will do it half the price.” The young tailor said, as he could see the grateful expression from the man himself.
“Thanks, this is my son’s first Comic Con, and I wanted him to enjoy his great experience.” The All Might cosplayer said with a big grin on his face while handing the young boy the bills, which were clearly enough for his services. “You were really a lifesaver."
“Heh, it’s alright, I like doing cosplays as well…” The boy commented as he saw the father staring at him with his eyebrow raised. “However, the fabrics and the material were expensive to make all the cosplays I want, so sadly I have to be focused on working as a tailor around Comic-Con."
“Well, it’s good work; at least you are here to enjoy the Comic Con," the All Might cosplayer pointed out as many people seemed to be dressed as cosplayers would be, enjoying their experience.
“True, but I think I already took too much time from you and your kid. Enjoy the Comic Con.” The tailor said as he could see the man giving a handshake.
"May I at least know the tailor’s name?” The father commented as the duo saw the young Midoriya cosplayer play on the floor while shouting Smash.
“Leon…” The tailor’s name was said as he gave a written business card. “I was out of ink, but I think it was good enough for the start.”
“Leon E. Mode” The man said with his eyebrow raised. “Isn’t that like from the Incredibles?”
“Yep, it was my funny way to make a cosplay of someone; nothing better than her thought.” Leon joked as clearly both of them chuckled and once again gave their departure. “And try not to get attacked by All For One.”
“Not promises.” All Might called out, which made the young tailor give a happy sigh before staring at the tiny exposition he was doing: a sewing machine, a few fabrics, and an empty cup of noodles.
And for a day that had been such a slow day…
“Leon, there you are.” Until a voice came to him nearby, which made the young tailor see his friend, a young boy who was also dressed in humble clothes. “We got it; we got a score.”
As soon as the boy had said that, Leon looked slightly from one side to another, and thankfully the area there was the stock of the fabric, which was under the curtains, which is what he did to close quickly.
And from giving a nod, the young boy smiled as he placed from under his shirt a few wallets. By taking 300 dollars, Leon smiled at his friend; indeed, they had scored big from their thievery.
“Take all the money bills you can and hide them in the underwear, then go to the bathroom and place all of them behind the toilet, and don’t press the flush.” Leon instructed as the young boy nodded his head with a full smile on his face. “And be careful, Juan; don’t expose yourself like that. If they catch you on the camera, you are done for.”
“It’s alright; here is your part of the score. Thanks for finding a way to get me inside.” Juan said as he gave a hug to the tailor before obeying the words spoken by his friend.
And by leaving, Leon reopened the curtains while remaining with a look of boredom on his face…
Since childhood, Leon had always had to fight to survive since his parents decided to dote more on his younger brother than him, to the point where, from nowhere, he was disowned from his family… He never knew why, nor did he care… after being kicked from his house, Juan had been the only friend he had since he remembered.
A boy who lived inside of an abandoned and bankrupted comic store… Both of them had lived in secret in that abandoned area, even as it was labeled in danger and the damaged comics… Which they even managed to use for nothing more than stealing money for them to eat…
And one big stroke of luck was having found a cellphone on the streets, which they used around the free wifi area outside of the Starbucks.
Being their hobbies nothing more than comics, manga, and anything that could be an escape from their reality…
As they found more and more machines thrown in the dumpster, they could tell it was their way to have some score, even from their point of view. Leon enjoyed making clothes more than anything.
But he knew the reality would never allow him that… since the society would always be against people like him and Juan…
And Leon knew it was just a matter of time when people would find out they were inside the Comic Con in a clandestine way… Which means it was his only chance to leave.
He knew Juan would find a way out… but it would cause some suspicion…
And by simply writing a close sign… Leon calmly walked away from each member of the security who seemed to be slowly approaching the people and asking questions.
And by having his cellphone with him… He knew a trick that would always work. By wearing a sling around one of his arms… And having a cellphone nearby his ear.
“No… No… NO, LISTEN HERE, I JUST GOT HERE AT THE COMIC CON. DID YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I PAID FOR BEING HERE?” Leon did his best to give an angry voice, and the group of people who were walking nearby him started to look at him. “No, NO, NO, NO, what do you mean that she has more priority? You always do that…”
Then he approached the security guard, who paused upon seeing him.
“What she had done that is so much im—" Leon was very annoyed until he suddenly stopped… “Again? You gotta be kidding me.” Leon said as he looked frustrated and on the verge of admitting defeat… “Fine… I will be there…” And with that… Leon turned off the cellphone and looked defeated.
“Is everything alright, sir?” The security looked wary as he even saw the boy looking very distressed, and he couldn’t help but show concern for him.
“My sister's water broke… again… and my parents want me to get out from the Comic Con just to take her to the hospital.” Leon said, as it made the security guard stare at him with his eyes wide open. “That’s the second time they did that; they did that to me last year, and they did that to me this year… I know they are lying just to make my day worse…” Leon said as he was showing more and more anger but then gave a sigh… “Can you just point out where the exit is, please?”
“Oh… sure… I will lead you there.” The security guard nodded his head in compassion since he saw the distressed and defeated look from one of the people around there… “Sorry to have to deal with that.”
“It’s alright. I just want to go…” Leon said as he remained in silence, and the security didn’t even try to see the bracelet, which only allowed people who would go inside of the Comic Con to wear…
And with the few minutes and the security seeing Leon being scouted to the outside, nobody had asked questions about what was happening.
But still, it was a simple score for Leon, and after he would only walk away from there…
*HORN*
That was until Leon realized too late he was hit by a giant bus…
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, BLURGH…” Leon’s first reaction was to scream in panic; then after the said scream, he vomited all the Cup Noodles he had eaten onto the dumpster…seeing nothing but darkness, and his nose was immediately assaulted with the stench of trash. Gagging, he pushed himself up; his head hit the lid of the trash container, but he pushed himself up, taking a deep breath of fresh air and vomiting again.
Wherever he was, the air was choked with smoke. He coughed a couple of times to get the accursed taste out of his mouth, finally surveying his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was when he just got hit by a bus, and then he had no idea how he ended up here.
“Where am I?” Leon mumbled as he took a few deep breaths and decided to be in movement… Always in constant movement outside. But realizing the location he was before, it was obvious he wasn’t at San Diego anymore.
He walked out of the alley he found himself in, trying to find his location. The bustling street and the air heavy and black with smoke weren't familiar to him, but at least he was in America.
Then all he could try to do is to find the nearest newsstand… just for him to check in his pockets to see if he still has any money on him. And thankfully the last score he and Juan had was enough for him to eat something and also good to check a newspaper.
The names Gotham News, Gotham Gazette, and Gotham Times, all in the year of 2003… were the names the youngster Taylor couldn’t help but blink at. He knew sometimes when it came from the DC section of the exposition of Comic-Con, it could be creative like that, but from the smell and the people around dressed casually, not even taking pictures over the stand, it was not.
“You gotta be kidding me…” Leon said that from all the places he would appear, or wake up… he was at the sewers of the DC Universe. He didn’t even take a newspaper; he continued to walk away just to always be in movement. He couldn’t stand alone… not in a place like that. “I need to survive here…”
And with that, he decided to take a walk around, memorizing the signs, shops, and everything easily recognizable to find this place again, should he need to.
No sign of the famous brands he knew, nor anything remotely familiar. His long walk eventually took him to a building, more of a tower really, with a giant “W” at the top, glowing neon green.
“Is that Wayne Enterprises?" Leon thought, as it was indeed immense in comparison to both the cartoon and the comics he read before… And now he was there, in the city where the corruption runs so wild, in this oppressive atmosphere of hopelessness that breeds eccentric supervillains. And now he was there… But somehow, as strange as he found himself… maybe a good part of him knew why he belonged there.
“I’m not a hero… but I have to not be a villain either.” Leon said as he quoted one mantra of one of the influencers he had so high regard for. He was far from perfect, and he committed crimes for survival and to have food to stay alive for another day. “But in Gotham… the worst thing that can happen to me is for me to be found by either a cop, a thief, Batman, or even Joker…”
And what usually had always helped Leon in his life had always been his quick thinking and being quick on his feet. He knew to be in constant movement while avoiding suspicion had always been his first objective… And by seeing a man leaving the overcoat and a fedora on the bench just to drink coffee and read the newspaper… he knew what to do.