"Jerry! Jerry!"
A familiar voice cut through the commotion. Jerry looked up to see Elsa bounding toward him from a nearby police cruiser, her treasured magic bubble gun clutched tightly in her small hand. Her face was animated with excitement and relief as she raced in his direction.
"Looks like the kid's in good hands now. I'll be on my way," Tony said, noticing a police officer approaching them with purposeful strides.
With a brief nod to the officer, Tony activated his thrusters and launched skyward, the repulsors leaving a momentary blue glow in their wake. He had more pressing matters than bureaucratic debriefings, this encounter had sparked new inspiration that demanded immediate exploration in his workshop.
"Thank you! Don't forget the model you promised!" Jerry called after the retreating figure, waving enthusiastically.
Tony's voice resonated inside his helmet as Iron Man diminished to a speck in the evening sky. "Jarvis, is my reputation with children really that bad? The kid doesn't seem to trust I'll keep my word."
"Sir," Jarvis replied with his characteristic British restraint, "you do occasionally exhibit memory lapses regarding such commitments."
Tony sighed. "Fine. Have the robotic assembly in the lab create a proportionally accurate model of the Mark IV based on the boy's height. Ask Pepper to ensure it's delivered first thing tomorrow morning."
"Of course, sir."
As Tony Stark disappeared completely into the darkening sky, Jerry's expression subtly shifted back to its natural state, alert, calculating, and decidedly un-childlike.
"Jerry! Jerry!" Elsa reached him, breathless with excitement. "Did you send those demons back to hell?"
Jerry smiled warmly and ruffled her hair. "Of course. As a demon lord, I do my best to send evil back where it belongs."
He turned to her with genuine curiosity. "Why are you here alone, Elsa? Where's your dad?"
It was Teacher Bailey who answered, her hand still resting protectively on Jerry's shoulder. "Sheriff Haas received word that you were being held at the warehouse. He's leading a team there right now."
This revelation didn't particularly concern Jerry. Iron Man had evidently forwarded the warehouse location to the police department, but Jerry had been meticulous. During his encounter with the four criminals, he'd taken extraordinary precautions to leave no evidence of his involvement.
Three of the gangsters had fallen to his conjured dagger, a weapon he'd subsequently transfigured back into an innocuous bench leg. The fourth had succumbed to physical trauma that couldn't possibly be traced back to an eleven-year-old boy. Throughout the confrontation, he'd been careful to avoid blood splatter on his clothing.
Even if his fingerprints were somehow discovered, the logical explanation would be that they were left when he was brought to the warehouse as a hostage. The notion that a child, even an academically gifted one, could overpower and eliminate four armed criminals without sustaining injury would strike investigators as absurd.
"Ms. Bailey, I'm feeling a bit tired," Jerry said, allowing a hint of genuine fatigue to colour his voice. The aftereffects of his briefly activated superhuman state lingered in his muscles. "Could we go sit down somewhere?"
"Of course!" The young teacher nodded vigorously. "Let's get you to your father's car to rest."
She guided both Jerry and the still-bouncing Elsa toward a parked police vehicle, navigating through the cluster of officers who had gathered nearby.
Most of the officers were familiar to Jerry, his adoptive father's colleagues in this world. Each greeted him with warm words of admiration. News of his bravery on the school bus had circulated widely among the police force, earning him their respect.
Several veteran officers with children of their own looked at Jerry with a mixture of admiration and wistful comparison, mentally contrasting his composure with their own offspring's behavior. Among his peers in Queens, Jerry had established himself as exceptional.
Midnight struck, and the digital alarm clock's soft chime broke the silence of Jerry's bedroom. He silenced it immediately and rose from his bed with deliberate movements.
The evening had unfolded predictably after his return. Sheriff Haas had rushed back to the scene upon hearing that Iron Man had rescued Jerry. With the robbers dead and most of the stolen money recovered, the investigation's urgency had diminished considerably.
Sheriff Haas had taken Jerry, Elsa, and Teacher Bailey to an upscale restaurant in Queens, a rare indulgence to celebrate Jerry's safe return. During dinner, Jerry casually probed for information and discovered that the police harboured no suspicions toward him. Instead, they theorised that some vigilante with exceptional skills had eliminated the criminals before disappearing without a trace.
The thoroughness with which the scene had been sanitised led investigators to believe this "unsung hero" was someone with professional training, perhaps a military or intelligence background. While the police department didn't officially condone such extrajudicial actions, Jerry detected a certain grudging respect in Haas's tone when discussing the unknown individual.
Now fully dressed and wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his forehead, Jerry carefully opened his bedroom door. With his wand securely tucked away, he moved silently through the darkened living room, slipped out of the apartment, and made his way to the building's elevator.
Tonight marked the beginning of his nightly routine, dedicating two to three hours to earning Little Red Stars.
These luminous rewards had become his most valuable resource. They were essential for his interdimensional travel between worlds, accelerating his magical studies, and activating his superhuman state when necessary. The day's events had confirmed his theory: preventing crimes generated Little Red Stars, with more serious offences yielding greater rewards.
Adjusting his cap to better shield his face, Jerry cautiously avoided the building's security cameras and made his way to the ground floor. Unlike the relatively low-tech world of Harry Potter in the late 20th century, the Marvel universe bristled with surveillance technology. Every street corner, every storefront potentially harboured cameras that could expose him.
Extreme caution was necessary if he wished to remain undetected by local law enforcement or organisations like SHIELD, which specialised in monitoring unusual occurrences. He lamented not yet having mastered the Disillusionment Charm, which would have simplified his clandestine movements considerably.
Walking purposefully through the quiet streets of Queens, Jerry bypassed the high-crime districts that would be his later destination. Instead, he navigated to a shop on a side street.
"Lina's Magic Cabin", read the whimsical sign above the door, a store specialising in fairy tale costumes and props for children. It was Elsa's favourite establishment, the source of her numerous Snow Queen outfits and collection of glittering wands.
Why would Jerry visit such a place at this hour?
The answer was simple: he needed a disguise.
Unlike the fictional world of Superman, where eyeglasses somehow constituted an effective disguise, Jerry understood the need for thorough concealment. To earn Little Red Stars without revealing his identity, he required a distinctive costume that would obscure his appearance, like all proper superheroes.
For a wizard of his caliber, what could be more appropriate than a proper wizard's robe?
Fortune smiled upon him, as "Lina's Magic Cabin" stocked several styles and colours of wizard robes in their inventory, perfect for Jerry's nocturnal crimefighting debut.