He had met the guy at a traffic light and struck up a conversation.  They went to the Rusty Rim where no one recognized him and had a few beers.  The poser was regaling him with stories of his exploits, but Trevor recognized them for what they were, he had told the same stories the same way. They parted ways and didn’t see each other until Trevor went to his house (the guy had bragged about his nice house and the area he lived, Trevor drove around until he saw his bike) and started trashing his motorcycle.  The guy came running out with a baseball bat, something Trevor might have done those first few months, and threatened him.  Wearing a mask, Trevor dealt with him easily enough, took the bat from him and beat him down something serious.  When he finished and threw the bat on top of him, he noticed that a kid had come out of the house in his Spiderman bottoms, no top and holding a bear half his size.  His eyes were wet and wide, he just stood, not knowing what to do.

Trevor stood over the kid’s dad for a minute and they both looked at each other.  Trevor went over and squatted on the balls of his feet, eye-to-eye with the kid and sighed out deeply. The kid didn’t’ move.

“What’s your name, buddy?”

“Kevin.” He said without a twitch or expression. This was abject fear and horror.  It was kind of funny.

“What do you think happened here, Kevin?”

“You beat up my dad with a baseball bat.”

“How much did you see?” Trevor asked without any emotion.

“I saw you hitting my dad with a bat.”

“Did you see your dad try to hit me with a bat?”

“No. He did?” Kevin looked curious and concerned now.

“Yes he did.  Did your daddy tell you it was OK to hit someone over a toy?”

“No, he said I should get a grown up if someone was breaking my things.  That I would get in trouble if I hit someone that was being mean to my stuff. He told me it was just stuff.”

“Your daddy was absolutely right, Kevin.  Your daddy should have called the police instead of trying to hit me.  Or, he should have made sure he was able to do more than use a bat.” Trevor had placed his hand on the kids shoulder and shockingly, the kid relaxed a little and started to show more emotion.

“My daddy tried to hit you because you were breaking something?  His motorcycle?”

“Exactly.  He was pretending to be something he wasn’t.  I was trying to help him change his mind so he wouldn’t get in trouble like I did once.  But your dad wasn’t happy so he tried to hit me with a bat.  The problem is, I don’t need a bat to hurt someone.  A real man doesn’t need a bat, he can hurt people without one if he wants.”

“But you hit him with a bat.”

“I did.  But after I took it away from him, see.” Kevin looked over Trevor’s shoulder at his dad, still lying motionless on the pavement. “If he had just asked me to go away, I would have.  But when he swung his bat at me, I hit him and took it away from him, then decided he should know what it’s like to be hit by a bat.  I know what it is like to be beat up; I learned my lesson.  Now he has learned his.  It’s kinda like I gave him a grown-up spanking.” Trevor chuckled at how cute it was he came up with that last line.  Kevin chuckled nervously, mimicking Trevor unwittingly.

“What should I do?” Asked Kevin with a bit of confusion, fear and curiosity.

“Well, buddy, you should go inside, get a blanket, put it on your dad.  Then when you see the clock turn 3:30, which is in about 15 minutes go next door and start ringing the door bell until someone comes out.  When the police come, tell them that your dad was being punished for starting a fight.”

“OK.” Kevin replied, still a little bit nervous and confused.

Trevor started walking off and had a last thought. “Oh, and Kevin? As you grow up, don’t be weak or this could happen to you.  Be stronger than everyone around you and don’t let them hurt you. If they try, do what I did to your dad.”

Kevin nodded and stared as Trevor walked down the road to where his bike was tucked in the trees, off to the side of the road.  He started up and took off, peeling off his mask as he went.